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Workflows in Vtiger CRM

Learn about workflows and how to create them.

Ruba

11 Jul, 2025 - Updated 1 day ago

Feature Availability and Limits

	One Pilot	One Growth	One Professional	One Enterprise	One AI
Feature Availability
Standard workflows	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Workflow field updates	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Limits on Workflows
Standard workflows	5	25	75	100	100
Actions allowed	6	8	8	8	8

Introduction

Click here to watch the video on Workflows

Workflows are sequences of automated actions or steps that follow a predefined path to complete a business process. They help standardize and automate tasks, reduce human error, and improve productivity. In Vtiger CRM, workflows let you automate repetitive tasks, streamline business processes, and ensure timely actions without manual effort. By defining specific triggers, conditions, and actions, you can set up workflows that run automatically based on events such as record creation, updates, or time-based schedules.

For example, you can use workflows to:

Send automated emails when a lead is created.
Assign tasks to team members when a deal reaches a certain stage.
Update fields or records when specific conditions are met.
Trigger alerts or reminders based on due dates.

Types of Workflows

Vtiger offers two types of workflows to help automate and streamline your business processes: Standard Workflows and Multi-path Workflows.

Standard Workflows

These workflows follow a single linear path and execute actions based on predefined conditions. They are ideal for straightforward automation needs.

Four Components of Standard Workflows
To create a standard workflow, you must specify the following:

The module on which the workflow is executed.
The trigger that will cause the workflow to execute.
Conditions based on which the workflow will execute its actions.
Actions that the workflow will perform when the conditions are met.

Multi-path Workflows

Multi-path workflows enable you to create multiple actions on a single field, known as the Anchor Field. Unlike in Standard workflows, you need not create a separate workflow to execute an action for each field's value. For example,

If you want to send an email to a sales rep when Invoice status = Accepted, and create a task when Invoice status = Rejected, you must create separate Standard workflows.
However, by creating a multi-path workflow, you can include different actions for different statuses of an invoice in the same workflow. Hence, the name multi-path.

Four Components of Multi-Path Workflows
Similar to Standard workflows, Multi-path workflows also have four components.

The module on which the workflow is executed.
The trigger that will cause the workflow to execute.
Conditions based on which the workflow will execute its actions.
Actions that the workflow will perform when the conditions are met.

Benefits of using Workflows

The benefits of using Workflows in Vtiger CRM are:

Automation of Repetitive Tasks: Save time by automating routine actions like sending emails, assigning records, or updating fields.
Improved Efficiency: Workflows speed up business processes by reducing manual intervention and delays.
Consistency and Accuracy: Ensure every process is executed the same way, every time, reducing human errors.
Faster Response Time: Trigger immediate follow-ups or alerts based on defined conditions to improve customer responsiveness.

In this article, you will learn about:

Standard Workflow
Components of a Standard Workflow
Accessing and Setting up Standard Workflow
Multi-path Workflow
Components of a Multi-path Workflow
Accessing and Setting up Multi-path Workflow

Key Terminology

Field Name	Description
Automation	Automation refers to automatically performing repetitive tasks like sending emails, updating records, and assigning leads.
Workflow trigger	A workflow trigger is the event that starts or activates a workflow.
Workflow conditions	Workflow conditions are the rules that determine when a workflow should run.
Email Opt-in	Email opt-in refers to a user choosing to be added to a mailing list for future communication.

Creating a Standard Workflow

Follow these steps to access Standard workflows:

Log in to the CRM.
Click the User Menu in the top right corner of the screen.
Click the Settings button. The Settings page opens.
Look for the Automation section.
Select Workflows.
Click the +New Workflow button.
Select Standard.
Enter or select the following information:
1. Basic information: Enter the workflow name, target module, and status.
2. Workflow trigger: Select when the workflow should run.
3. Entry criteria: Select the conditions that must be met for the workflow to execute.
4. Actions: Select what the workflow will do, such as sending emails, updating fields, or creating tasks.
Click Save.

Let us look at each components in detail.

Section 1: Basic information

This section provides basic information about a workflow, such as its name, module, etc.

Workflow Name: Specify the name of the workflow.
Target Module: Specify the module on which the workflow must execute, such as Deals, Contacts, Products, etc.
Status: Specify the workflow status as Active or Inactive. The workflow does not execute when the status is set to Inactive
Description: Provide a brief description of what the workflow is used for, the actions it performs, etc.

Section 2: Workflow trigger

Specify when the workflow must trigger by choosing an option from the following two fields:

Trigger Workflow On:
- Record creation: Choose this option if you want the workflow to trigger when a record is created in the Target Module (mentioned in the previous section).
- Record updation (includes creation): Choose this option if you want the workflow to trigger when a record is updated or created in the Target Module (mentioned in the previous section).
- Time Interval: Choose this option if you want the workflow to trigger at a frequent time interval.
- Frequency: Specify the frequency at which the workflow must trigger. To learn more about this option, click here.
Recurrence: This option is shown when you select Record updation in the previous section.
- Only first-time conditions are met: Triggers the workflow if the specified conditions are true. Once executed, the workflow will not trigger on the same record again. However, it will trigger on other records in the selected module.
- Every time conditions met: Triggers the workflow on a record every time the specified conditions are true.

Section 3: Entry criteria

Set the conditions that determine which records the workflow applies to. Workflows are executed on records in the Target Module under Basic Information. More often than not, you might only need to perform actions on select records in the module, and that is when you will need to apply conditions and filter out records.

A workflow executes only on records that satisfy the condition that you specify. You can specify multiple conditions using the +Add condition button.

Two types of conditions

All conditions: It is based on the logical AND operation. Workflow executes when all the conditions are met.

Condition 1
AND
Condition 2
AND
Condition 3
If one condition fails, the others are not executed.

Any condition: It is based on the logical OR operation. Workflow executes when at least one condition is met.

Condition 1
OR
Condition 2
OR
Condition 3
If one condition fails, the others are executed.

Note: There is an AND operation between All conditions and Any condition. The conditions mentioned under both All conditions and Any condition are applied in the entry criteria.

Below is a list of all the conditions available.

Condition	Meaning (Selected field value = Value in the first field, Specified value = Value in the third field)
Equals	Selected field value equals the specified value
Not equal to	Selected field value is not equal to the specified value
Starts with	Selected field value starts with the specified value
Ends with	Selected field value ends with the specified value
Contains	Selected field value contains the specified value
Does not contain	Selected field value does not contain the specified value
Is empty	Selected field value is empty
Is not empty	Selected field value is not empty
Has changed	Selected field value has changed
Between	Selected field value lies between the two specified values
Before	Selected field value lies before the specified value
After	Selected field value lies after the specified value
Less than days ago	Selected field value was less than n days ago
Less than days later	Selected field value is less than n days later
More than days ago	Selected field value was more than n days ago
More than days later	Selected field value is more than n days later
In less than	Selected field value is in less than n days
In more than	Selected field value is in more than n days
Days ago	Selected field value was n days ago
Days later	Selected field value is n days later
Weekdays later	Selected field value is n week days later
More than week days later	Selected field value is more than n week days later
Less than week days later	Selected field value is less than n week days later
Week days ago	Selected field value was n week days ago
More than week days ago	Selected field value was more than n week days ago
Less than week days ago	Selected field value was less than n week days ago
Today	Selected field value is today
Tomorrow	Selected field value is tomorrow
Yesterday	Selected field value was yesterday
Previous FY	Selected field value was in the previous financial year
Current FY	Selected field value is in the current financial year
Next FY	Selected field value is in the next financial year
Previous FQ	Selected field value was in the previous financial quarter
Current FQ	Selected field value is in the current financial quarter
Next FQ	Selected field value is in the next financial quarter
Previous week	Selected field value was in the previous week
Current week	Selected field value is in the current week
Next week	Selected field value is in the next week
Previous month	Selected field value was in the previous month
Current month	Selected field value is in the current month
Next month	Selected field value is in the next month

Workflow Conditions based on Business Hours

Using DateTime and Time Fields in Workflow Conditions

You can use DateTime and Time fields to trigger workflows based on business hours. When adding conditions with these fields, the following options are available:

Less Than
Greater Than
Less Than or Equal To
Greater Than or Equal To

For Time fields:

Example: Time field > 6:00 AM — Triggers for records created between 6:01 AM and 11:59 PM.

For DateTime fields:

Only the time part is considered.
Example: CreatedTime > 6:00 AM — Ignores the date and triggers if the time is after 6:00 AM.

This ensures time-based workflow logic is applied consistently across both Time and DateTime fields.

Counting only Weekdays using Workflow Conditions

If you want to consider only weekdays, you can use the following workflow conditions:

Less than weekdays ago
Less than weekdays later
More than weekdays ago
More than weekdays later
Weekdays ago
Weekdays later

For example, to send an email to a contact three weekdays before the deal’s close date, you must set up the condition as follows:

In this case, workflows exclude non-working days based on the specified business hours.

Examples

You can apply conditions to different fields in a module, and the type of condition may vary depending on the field.

Deals module

You create a workflow on the Deals module. You want the workflow to execute its actions when the deal amount is more than 1000. So, the condition that you specify is that the Amount is greater than 1000. You can specify the condition using three fields. In the first field, you must select the field name (Amount). In the second step, select the condition (greater than), and in the third step, enter the amount (1000).

Contacts module

You create a workflow on the Contacts module. The intent is to send an email to contacts two days before their support end date. Select Support End Date in the first field, less than days later in the second, and enter 3 in the last field.

Section 4: Actions

Workflow Actions define what the workflow must execute after getting triggered and meeting the entry criteria. You can set up different types of actions. Refer to the table below for information.

Action	Definition
Send Email	Send an email notification
Invoke Custom Function	Update target fields in a module by executing predefined functions when source fields in another module are updated
Create Task	Create a task record
Create Event	Create an event record
Update Fields	Update the field in the selected module
Create Record	Create or update records in a module when entry criteria are satisfied
SMS Task	Send an SMS notification
Mobile Push Notification	Notify the user on their mobile with a Push Notification
Webhook	Notify your software application of changes that occur in Vtiger with HTTP callbacks

You can configure a workflow action to automatically generate an invoice from a Sales Order or Quote when specific filter conditions are met.

Consider the following example.

Setting up workflows to update the Email Opt-in field when a contact subscribes or unsubscribes

The Email Opt-in field determines whether a contact has opted to receive marketing emails from you. To learn more about it, click here.
Follow these steps to save or update the date when a contact subscribes:

Select the Contacts module under Basic Information.
Set the Entry Criteria to Email Opt-in has changed to Double Opt-in.
Create a custom field under Settings > Module Layouts & Fields, say Subscription Date, to update the subscription date.
Create an Update Fields action to update the Subscription Date to the current date.

Follow these steps to save or update the date when a contact unsubscribes:

Select the Contacts module under Basic Information.
Set the Entry Criteria to Email Opt-in has changed to Contact Opted Out.
Create a custom field under Settings > Module Layouts & Fields, say Unsubscription Date, to update the unsubscription date.
Create an Update Fields action to update the Unsubscription Date to the current date.

To learn more about the Update Fields action, click here.

Note:

Workflows can create or update records in the CRM account owner's name, even if the record owners do not have write permission. This is referred to as the account owner context.
- Example: Consider a workflow that is configured to create a deal record when Lead Status = Hot. Let us say, a sales rep who does not have write permission for Deals edits a lead record and sets Lead Status = Hot. As a result, a deal record is created with the Created By and Last Modified By fields populated with the CRM account owner's name.
Scheduled workflows always run in the context of the account owner.
The Create and Update actions are done in the account owner context to ensure that profile-level restrictions do not block workflows.

Deactivating a Standard Workflow

Follow these steps to deactivate a standard workflow:

Log in to the CRM.
Click the User Menu in the top right corner of the screen.
Click the Settings button. The Settings page opens.
Look for the Automation section.
Click Workflows.
Click the Standard tab on the top left side of the workflow list.
Select a module from the drop-down at the top to view its related workflows.
Select a workflow.
Disable the toggle button on the left side of the workflow to deactivate it.

Deleting a Standard Workflow

Follow these steps to delete a standard workflow:

Log in to the CRM.
Click the User Menu in the top right corner of the screen.
Click the Settings button. The Settings page opens.
Look for the Automation section.
Click Workflows.
Click the Standard tab on the top left side of the workflow list.
Select a module from the drop-down at the top to view its related workflows.
Select a workflow.
Hover over a workflow and click the Delete icon to delete it.

Creating a Multi-Path Workflow

Follow these steps to create a Multi-path workflow:

Log in to the CRM.
Click the User Menu in the top right corner of the screen.
Click the Settings button. The Settings page opens.
Look for the Automation section.
Select Workflows.
Click the +New Workflow button.
Select Multi-path.
Enter the basic information, trigger, entry criteria, and actions.
Click Save.

Let us take an example of the Sales Stage field to see how Multi-path workflows are used. In the example, we will create a workflow that executes different actions when a deal’s sales stage takes different values, such as Value Proposition, Negotiation, Closed Won, etc.