Workflow Template
Credit Note Approval Workflow
Manages customer credit note requests end-to-end: intake, finance validity/tax check, tiered approval by amount, credit note issuance, and notifications to requester and customer at each stage.
Credit note requests often stall between finance validation and manager sign-off, leaving customers waiting and requesters chasing updates. This workflow captures the request through a public form, runs a finance validity and tax check, routes approval to a team lead or manager based on the credit amount, and issues the credit note with automatic notifications throughout. Finance staff and approvers work through assigned tasks while requesters and customers get email updates at each stage without needing an account.
Business Outcomes
- Faster turnaround on credit note requests with automatic routing to the right approver
- Fewer status-chasing emails since requesters get automatic updates at each stage
- Clearer audit trail with every status change and comment logged on the record timeline
- Reduced risk of incorrect credits going out thanks to a built-in finance validity and tax check step
- Consistent approval thresholds applied automatically based on credit amount
Workflow Steps
Steps
- 1Create Credit Request Recordcreate record
Registers the submitted credit request as a record.
- 2Set Status to Submittedupdate record
Marks the record status as Submitted.
- 3Acknowledge Requestersend email
Emails the requester an acknowledgement with the reference number.
- 4Set Status to Finance Checkupdate record
Updates the record status to Finance Check.
- 5Finance: Check Validity & Tax Treatmentcreate task
Assigns finance a task to check the validity and tax treatment of the credit request.
- 6Save Finance Check Resultupdate record
Persists the finance validity result and comments to the record.
- 7Route on Validity Result
Routes the request based on whether finance found it valid.
finance_validity_result: "Not valid"→Set Status to Returnedfinance_validity_result: "Valid"→Route by Credit AmountDefault→End - 8Set Status to Returnedupdate record
Marks the record status as Returned because the request failed the validity check.
- 9Email Requester - Returnedsend email
Emails the requester finance's comments explaining why the request was returned.
- 10Route by Credit Amount
Routes to the appropriate approver based on the credit amount.
credit_amount: "1000"→Set Status to Pending Approval (Team Lead)credit_amount: "1000"→Set Status to Pending Approval (Manager)Default→Set Status to Pending Approval (Manager) - 11Set Status to Pending Approval (Team Lead)update record
Marks the record status as Pending Approval before routing to the finance team lead.
- 12Set Status to Pending Approval (Manager)update record
Marks the record status as Pending Approval before routing to the finance manager.
- 13Finance Team Lead Approvalrequest approvalrequires approval
Requests approval from the finance team lead for credit amounts under $1,000.
- 14Route Team Lead Approval Outcome
Routes based on the finance team lead's approval decision.
approval_status: "approved"→Set Status to Approvedapproval_status: "rejected"→Set Status to RejectedDefault→End - 15Finance Manager Approvalrequest approvalrequires approval
Requests approval from the finance manager for credit amounts of $1,000 or more.
- 16Route Finance Manager Approval Outcome
Routes based on the finance manager's approval decision.
approval_status: "approved"→Set Status to Approvedapproval_status: "rejected"→Set Status to RejectedDefault→End - 17Set Status to Rejectedupdate record
Marks the record status as Rejected.
- 18Email Requester - Rejectedsend email
Emails the requester that the credit request was not approved.
- 19Set Status to Approvedupdate record
Marks the record status as Approved.
- 20Finance: Issue Credit Notecreate task
Assigns finance a task to issue the credit note and record its number and date.
- 21Save Credit Note Detailsupdate record
Persists the credit note number and date to the record.
- 22Set Status to Issuedupdate record
Marks the record status as Issued.
- 23Email Customer - Credit Note Issuedsend email
Emails the customer their credit note number and amount.
- 24Email Requester - Credit Note Issuedsend email
Emails the requester confirming the credit note has been issued.
Fields
Show all 13 fieldsShow fewer fields
FormCustomer Credit Request Form
- Requester Name*· Text
- Requester Email*· Email
- Customer Name*· Text
- Customer Email*· Email
- Original Invoice Number*· Text
- Credit Amount*· Number
- Reason*· Choice
- Supporting Attachment· File upload
TaskFinance: Check Validity & Tax Treatment
- Validity & Tax Check Result*· Choice
- Finance Comments*· Long text
TaskFinance: Issue Credit Note
- Credit Note Number*· Text
- Credit Note Date*· Date
Other fields
- Credit Status· Choice
- Requester Name*
- Requester Email*
- Customer Name*
- Customer Email*
- Original Invoice Number*
- Credit Amount*
Forms
Customer Credit Request Form
8 fields
Data Views
Credit Requests Overview
customer_name, invoice_number, credit_amount, reason +1 more
Dashboard Widgets
Recommended integrations
Setup the following integrations to extend workflow capability.
Send email in the workflow
AWS SES
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FAQs
How do I set up this credit note approval workflow for my team?
Publish the template in your workspace and it's ready to run immediately, with no installation or development work needed. You'll want to assign your finance staff and the finance team lead and manager as workspace members so tasks and approvals route to the right people. The public request form is live as soon as you publish, so customers or requesters can start submitting credit requests right away.
How do I change the $1,000 approval threshold or add another approval tier?
You can describe the change in plain English, such as raising the threshold or adding a third tier for larger amounts, and the workflow updates accordingly. Alternatively, you can edit the routing step directly in the workflow editor. Earlier versions of the workflow are kept, so you can review what changed.
Who is involved in approving a credit note request?
Finance first checks the validity and tax treatment of the request as an assigned task. Depending on the credit amount, either the finance team lead (under $1,000) or the finance manager ($1,000 and above) is then asked to approve or reject the request. Finance completes one more task to issue the credit note once approved.
What happens if finance finds the request is not valid?
If the validity and tax check comes back as 'Not valid', the record status is set to Returned and the requester is emailed finance's comments explaining why. This happens automatically as soon as finance completes their task, so no request sits unresolved.
What happens if the team lead or manager rejects the request?
If either approver rejects the request, the record status is set to Rejected and the requester receives an email letting them know the request was not approved. The decision and any comments are saved to the record timeline for reference.
Does the customer need to create an account to submit a credit request?
No account is needed. Customers or requesters submit their request through a public form, and all later communication happens by email, including acknowledgements, rejection notices, and the final credit note confirmation.
What information gets saved on the record versus staying with a task?
Because the workflow waits on the finance validity check and the credit note issuance task, the values entered there — the validity result, comments, credit note number and date — are saved directly to the record. Approval decisions from the team lead and manager also drive the record's status and timeline as the request moves through each stage.
Can I track where a credit request is at any point?
Yes. Each request is a record with a reference number, a status such as Submitted, Finance Check, Pending Approval, Approved, Rejected, Returned, or Issued, and a full timeline of what happened. Table views and dashboards let you see all requests grouped by status.
How does the customer find out their credit note has been issued?
Once finance issues the credit note and records its number and date, the record status is set to Issued and the customer is emailed their credit note number and amount automatically. The requester also gets a separate confirmation email at the same time.
Can we send these notifications from our own email address?
Yes, a workspace can connect its own AWS SES account so acknowledgements, rejection notices, and credit note confirmations send from your organisation's email domain rather than a default one.
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