What are "AI Agent Rules" and how do they work in a workflow?
AI Agent Rules are like personal AI assistants that you can place at any step in a workflow to perform intelligent tasks. You give the agent an instruction in plain English, such as "read this invoice and extract the supplier name and total amount," and it will automatically perform that action. These agents can read documents, extract structured data, validate content, and return the results to your form or another system.
How can AI automate our document-heavy processes, like insurance claims or contract reviews?
AI agents are perfect for processes that rely on reading documents, as they can automatically read uploaded PDFs or Word documents, extract key information like premiums, coverage details, or contract clauses, and populate that data directly into your workflow forms. This eliminates hours of manual data entry and reduces the risk of human error. For example, AI can compile a quote comparison report by reading quotes from three different insurers automatically.
What is the AI Summarization feature?
The AI Summarization Agent can be triggered at any stage in a workflow to provide a real-time, natural language summary of the process so far. This summary highlights key decisions made, identifies any blockers or unusual activity, and includes relevant comments or data. It's an excellent tool for improving auditing and giving stakeholders a quick, easy-to-digest update on a process's status.
How do "Smart Assistants" help different types of users?
Smart Assistants provide AI-powered help for both the people building processes and the people using them. For builders, the assistant offers guided setup and auto-suggestions to streamline configuration. For process users, it allows them to use natural language to start a workflow (e.g., "I want to make an insurance claim") and provides AI-led assistance with form filling, requiring zero training to engage with complex processes.
When we use FlowForma's AI, is our sensitive business data used for training AI models?
No, your data remains secure and is not used for training. FlowForma uses Microsoft's OpenAI services, which means the AI does not store or learn from any information about your organisation. Each AI request is a one-time transaction, ensuring your data privacy and confidentiality are maintained.
Can AI help us identify inefficiencies and improve our workflows?
Yes, the AI within FlowForma Insights is designed to analyse your process data to automatically highlight delays, inefficiencies, and bottlenecks. It can analyse usage patterns and suggest process improvements, turning raw data into actionable intelligence. This allows you to make smarter, data-driven decisions to continuously optimise your operations.
Can an AI agent make decisions within a workflow, like approving or denying a claim?
Yes, you can configure an AI agent to make recommendations or decisions based on predefined criteria. For an insurance claim, you could instruct the agent: "You are an insurance claims evaluator. Return 'Approved' or 'Denied' based on the following eligibility criteria.". While a human will always be needed for final oversight, this can dramatically speed up the initial evaluation and filtering of requests.
What is FlowForma Copilot?
FlowForma Copilot is an intelligent process builder that uses Agentic AI to help you create workflows incredibly fast. You simply describe the process you want to build using natural language, and Copilot will instantly generate a high-level version of that business process for you in seconds. It's designed to accelerate the very first step of automation without needing any technical skills
How exactly do I tell Copilot what process to build?
You can interact with Copilot in several ways. You can simply type a description of your process (e.g., "Build me a three-step approval process for purchase requests"), upload an existing paper-based form or a process diagram, or even take a photo of a whiteboard session and feed it to Copilot. It will then interpret your input and build the corresponding process structure.
After Copilot builds the initial process, can I make changes?
Yes, the process Copilot creates is just a starting point that you can easily refine. You can continue to use natural language to prompt changes, such as "add a fourth step for CEO approval" or "change the priority question to severity.". You can also switch to the traditional drag-and-drop designer to make more detailed adjustments to the questions and business logic.
Do I need to be an expert on the process I'm trying to build?
Not necessarily. Copilot is designed to help even if you aren't a subject matter expert, as it draws on a wealth of industry best practices to guide you. If you need to build an offboarding process for HR but don't know all the steps, you can ask Copilot to build one for a third-level education institute, and it will give you a solid, standards-based template to start from.
What types of documents or diagrams can Copilot understand?
Copilot can interpret a variety of inputs to understand your process. This includes paper-based forms, PDF documents, flowchart diagrams, swim lane diagrams, and even photos of a whiteboard where you've sketched out a process. This flexibility allows you to start from whatever existing process documentation you have.
How does Copilot help bridge the gap between business and IT teams?
Copilot is a tool that both business and tech teams can use together to quickly map out and visualise a process. A business user can describe what they need in plain English, see it built instantly, and give real-time feedback to a technical resource. This collaborative approach ensures everyone is on the same page and dramatically speeds up the requirements-gathering phase.
Is Copilot's main purpose to build a complete, ready-to-use process?
Copilot's main purpose is to fast-track the initial creation of the process structure and its high-level components. While it builds a very functional starting point, you will likely want to use the flow designer to fine-tune the details, such as configuring specific business rules, setting up integrations, or branding the forms. It gets you 80% of the way there in a matter of seconds.
What is the FlowForma Ambient Process Discovery Agent?
The Ambient Process Discovery Agent is an innovative AI tool that instantly turns conversations from your meetings into ready-to-use workflows. It is designed to be the fastest way to capture processes directly from voice and everyday work discussions. You simply talk about the process, and the agent captures it in detail for you.
How does the "meeting to workflow" feature work?
You can have a normal conversation during a team meeting to map out a process, and the agent listens in the background without disrupting your flow. It captures all the steps, decisions, and details discussed during the conversation. Within minutes of the meeting ending, it provides a structured, ready-to-review process in the FlowForma designer.
What is the primary benefit of using this agent?
The main benefit is a massive time saving for both business and IT teams. It allows you to skip lengthy, formal process mapping workshops and the tedious task of creating manual documentation. This accelerates the move from idea to automation significantly.
How accurate is the process capture from a conversation?
The agent is designed to capture every detail discussed, ensuring that no steps, ideas, or requirements are missed or forgotten. By capturing the process as it's being naturally discussed, it often results in a more complete and accurate representation of how the work is actually done.
What is the final output from the Discovery Agent?
The output is a ready-to-use workflow structure within the FlowForma platform. You can then open this workflow in the flow designer to make any final tweaks, add specific business logic, or configure integrations before making it live. It essentially automates the entire process documentation and initial build phase.
Who would find the Discovery Agent most useful?
This tool is incredibly useful for business analysts, operations leaders, and IT teams who are responsible for documenting and automating processes. It helps anyone who has ever sat through long workshops trying to get stakeholders to agree on a process map. It makes the process of discovery and documentation collaborative and effortless.
Does this replace the need for process experts?
No, it empowers them. The agent captures the expertise shared by process experts during a conversation, turning their knowledge directly into a functional workflow without the need for a separate documentation step. It makes the transfer of knowledge from the expert to the automation platform seamless and immediate.
What types of systems can FlowForma Process Automation integrate with?
FlowForma is built to connect with thousands of different systems and applications across your digital ecosystem. This includes native integration with Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and Teams, as well as connections to your ERP, CRM, or HR applications. It can connect to any cloud or on-premise application that provides a standard REST or SOAP-based API.
Do I need to be a developer to set up these integrations?
No, you do not. FlowForma includes a no-code Web API system that was designed to allow business users and analysts to build integrations without writing any code. This empowers your team to connect systems and keep data flowing without creating a bottleneck for your IT developers.
How does the no-code Web API connection work?
It's a straightforward process where you first get an example of the data response (usually in JSON format) from the system you want to connect to. You then paste this example response into the no-code business rule in FlowForma and visually map the data fields (like 'name' or 'email') to the corresponding questions in your form. Once mapped, the rule is ready to use.
Can FlowForma connect to our internal SQL databases?
Yes, FlowForma can be configured to have a bidirectional exchange of information with a SQL database. You can use stored procedures to pull master data from your database to populate form questions or to push data collected in a workflow back into your database for reporting and analytics. This is a common method for integrating with legacy or on-premise systems.
Can a workflow be automatically started by an event in another system?
Yes, this is possible through the FlowForma connector on the Microsoft Connector Framework. You can set up triggers in your other business systems, so that an event—like a new customer being added to your CRM—can automatically kick off a related FlowForma process, such as a client onboarding workflow. This creates seamless, end-to-end automation across your entire tech stack.
How does integration help improve data accuracy and save time?
Integrations eliminate the need for employees to manually re-key information between different systems, which is a major source of errors and inefficiency. By pulling data directly from a single source of truth (like your ERP), you ensure the information in your workflow is always accurate and consistent. This also pre-fills forms for users, which reduces administrative work and saves significant time.
Can we build more complex, custom integrations if needed?
Yes, for ultimate flexibility, FlowForma provides an Extensibility Framework. This allows your developers to use JavaScript to create custom product extensions, such as new question types or highly specific business rules that interact with the FlowForma Web API. This option is there for unique scenarios that go beyond the capabilities of the no-code connectors.
What is FlowForma Form Automation?
FlowForma Forms are a core component of the all-in-one platform, designed to collect data accurately and efficiently for each step of a business process. The forms are 100% no-code, meaning business users can easily create and digitise them to replace manual paperwork. They are seamlessly integrated with workflows and document generation to accelerate processes.
How do FlowForma forms ensure we collect accurate data?
The forms have built-in data validation rules that check information in real-time as the user is typing. You can make fields required to prevent incomplete submissions and use conditional logic to guide users to only the most relevant questions. This ensures that the data going into your process is accurate from the very start.
Can forms be pre-populated with data from our other systems?
Yes, forms can automatically interact with your back-office systems, like a CRM or ERP, to pre-populate fields with existing data. For example, when an employee starts an expense claim, the form could automatically pull their name and department from your HR system. This saves time, reduces manual entry, and improves data consistency.
Are the forms accessible on mobile devices?
Yes, all forms are mobile-friendly and can be accessed anywhere, anytime through the FlowForma Mobile App for iOS and Android. The app also supports full offline capability, allowing users in the field without internet access to continue filling out forms and completing tasks. They can then submit their work once they regain connectivity.
What kind of advanced fields can we add to a form?
FlowForma forms support a wide range of advanced fields beyond simple text boxes. This includes repeating tables for entering line items like expenses or cost estimates, wet signature fields for sign-offs, and location questions that capture GPS coordinates. You can even embed spreadsheet-like functionality directly into a form with calculated columns and running totals.
Can people outside our organisation fill out our forms?
Yes, the FlowForma Engage feature allows you to securely share forms with external stakeholders like customers, suppliers, or students. You can embed a public link on your website for processes like customer onboarding or student applications. This allows external users to submit information without needing an internal company account.
How does AI enhance the experience of using forms?
AI is used to accelerate and simplify form interactions in several ways. AI can summarise form inputs, provide dynamic language translation, and enable voice-to-text data entry. Additionally, AI Agent Rules can read uploaded documents and automatically extract data to fill in form fields for the user, saving significant time and effort.
What is FlowForma Document Generation?
FlowForma Document Generation is an intuitive and powerful component of the all-in-one no-code Process Automation platform. It enables users to rapidly automate the creation of digital documents at scale, replacing manual processes with professionally designed documents generated with a single click. The feature seamlessly integrates with forms, workflows, AI, and analytics to accelerate document creation.
How does Artificial Intelligence (AI) enhance the document generation process?
AI plays a crucial role by ensuring documents are automatically filled, summarised, and tailored using live data from workflows. It automates data extraction and validation to produce intelligent, customised digital documents with greater speed, accuracy, and compliance. Specific AI features that enhance document creation include Copilot, Discovery Agent, AI Summarization, and AI Agent Rules.
Who is this tool for, and what are some common use cases?
The tool is designed for various roles across an organisation. HR professionals can automate onboarding documents and approvals, while finance and procurement teams can streamline invoice generation and contracts. For IT and compliance leaders, the tool helps manage workflow deployment, ensure documents meet regulatory and audit requirements, and maintain secure audit trails.
Do I need coding skills to create and manage documents?
No, you do not need any coding knowledge or prior experience. The platform is a no-code solution, allowing you to easily create and manage documents without relying on IT support. You can quickly configure professional templates using the no-code Microsoft Word add-in.
How does FlowForma ensure security and compliance for the documents created?
FlowForma provides robust security and helps streamline compliance by automatically tracking document versions, approvals, and audit trails. This ensures that all generated documents adhere to internal policies and regulatory standards. Documents can be distributed securely and easily converted to PDF format, which reduces manual errors.
Can FlowForma Document Generation integrate with other business systems?
Yes, the feature is designed to scale across departments by integrating with Microsoft 365 and other enterprise systems. This ensures security, consistency, and efficiency as you expand its use. The broader FlowForma platform is built to connect with thousands of applications, ensuring that data flows smoothly across your entire digital ecosystem.
What is FlowForma Insights?
FlowForma Insights is an AI-powered analytics and business intelligence feature that is part of the all-in-one platform. It is designed for process owners to easily create, report on, and analyse process data through intelligent, interactive dashboards. The entire interface is no-code, allowing you to transform raw data into actionable intelligence without needing technical help.
Who is the Insights feature designed for?
It is designed specifically for process owners who need visibility into their processes and business leaders who need real-time visibility into their overarching operations. The no-code, no-configuration interface empowers non-technical users to build their own dashboards in minutes. This puts the power of data analysis directly into the hands of the people who manage the processes.
How does AI help analyse the data in our dashboards?
The Insights feature includes an AI Data Assistant that lets you explore your dashboard data simply by asking questions in natural language. The AI also works in the background to automatically analyse your data, instantly highlighting process delays, inefficiencies, and usage patterns that you can act on to improve performance. This helps you make smarter, faster decisions.
What is the difference between "Process Insights" and "Business Insights"?
Process Insights focus on the performance of your automated workflows, helping you track metrics like what's on time versus overdue, the most-used workflows, and end-to-end process timelines. Business Insights allow you to go further by using the data collected within your forms to create intelligent charts about your actual business operations. For example, you could analyse spending trends from expense claim forms.
How quickly and easily can a new dashboard be created?
You can create dynamic dashboards at the touch of a button, in just a matter of minutes. The no-code interface allows you to simply select the chart type you want, choose the data you want to analyse from your processes, and the chart will appear instantly. This makes it easy to explore your data and build tailored reports without any delay.
Can the dashboards and reports I create be shared with my team?
Yes, you can easily share your insights with others to drive collaboration and ensure everyone is aligned on performance. You also have the option to keep your dashboards private if you want to focus on your own unique analysis. This flexibility allows you to use the tool for both team-wide reporting and individual data exploration.
Is the data shown in the Insights dashboards updated in real time?
Yes, FlowForma Insights provides real-time visibility into your ongoing processes and business data. The dashboards are powered by your organisation's own Azure DB, which is updated every time a step in a process is completed. This means your senior leadership team can make confident decisions based on the most current information available.
Can FlowForma help with regulatory compliance?
FlowForma helps organizations achieve and maintain regulatory compliance by automating and standardizing business processes without coding. Built on Microsoft 365, it ensures consistency, transparency, and accountability across workflows through features such as automated approval processes, detailed audit trails, and secure document management. Its integration with SharePoint enables controlled access, versioning, and retention of records, while real-time reporting and dashboards support ongoing compliance monitoring. Leveraging Microsoft’s security infrastructure, FlowForma also helps protect sensitive data in line with regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO standards, making it a valuable tool for industries such as healthcare, construction, finance, and the public sector.
How does FlowForma support audit documentation and evidence capture?
FlowForma’s Compliance module logs every significant action within a workflow—such as form starts, step submissions, business rule executions, e-signature captures, delegations, and pass-backs—recording who did what and when. This provides a transparent, granular view of the entire process.
You can enable auditing at different levels—globally, on specific flows, or even on individual business rules—so that only relevant events are logged
Is FlowForma ISO Certified?
FlowForma has achieved ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification, which covers its Information Security Management System (ISMS) and services such as Process Automation built on Microsoft 365. This certification was accredited by Certification Europe in May 2023
What types of compliance processes can be automated with FlowForma?
Organizations use FlowForma to automate a wide range of compliance-related workflows, including audit approvals, risk assessments, health and safety reporting, incident management, and regulatory submissions—helping ensure all procedures meet required standards.
How does FlowForma enforce approval hierarchies for compliance?
FlowForma allows organizations to define strict approval hierarchies and routing rules, ensuring that critical compliance steps are reviewed and authorized only by designated personnel.
Can FlowForma maintain historical records for compliance audits?
Absolutely. FlowForma preserves all process data, form submissions, and document versions, creating a secure and retrievable history to satisfy regulatory audits and inspections.
How quickly can FlowForma adapt to new regulatory changes?
Because FlowForma is a no-code platform, organizations can quickly update workflows, forms, and approval processes to reflect new or updated regulations, minimizing risk and ensuring ongoing compliance.
What is FlowForma's workflow automation?
FlowForma's workflow automation is powered by a robust engine designed to standardise both simple and complex processes without any coding. It provides automated communications, audit trails, and seamless delegation to manage how work moves between people and systems. The platform excels at handling complex, multi-step processes that need to move backward for revisions or forward for approvals.
How does FlowForma handle approvals and escalations in a workflow?
The platform automates tasks such as approvals, routing documents to the right people, and sending notifications to keep work moving. If a task is overdue and at risk of breaching its service level agreement (SLA), the workflow can send automated reminders or escalate the task to a supervisor to ensure accountability. This removes the need for manual follow-ups and emails.
Can a workflow involve people from different departments or faculties?
Yes, FlowForma is designed to manage cross-departmental tasks and eliminate bottlenecks between teams. You can create a core "master" process and then deploy slightly different versions to various faculties, allowing for tailored adjustments while maintaining a standardised university-wide workflow. This approach empowers individual departments while ensuring central governance.
How do we track the status of our active workflows?
FlowForma provides complete visibility through real-time dashboards that show where every process is, who is responsible for the next step, and if it is on schedule. These dashboards allow managers to see the volume of work at each stage of a process and identify bottlenecks before they cause major delays. This eliminates the "finger-pointing" that happens with manual, email-based processes.
Do I need coding skills to build or change a workflow?
No, you do not need any coding skills as FlowForma is a 100% no-code platform. The intuitive interface allows business users and process experts to build and maintain their own workflows using simple drag-and-drop actions. This enables the experts who understand the process most deeply to design their own solutions independently, while still involving IT when needed to ensure governance and compliance.
Can a workflow move both backward for corrections and forward for approvals?
Yes, FlowForma excels at managing complex processes that are not strictly linear. A workflow can easily be sent backward to a previous step if a manager requests more information or a correction needs to be made. This flexibility is crucial for real-world approval cycles where revisions are common.
Can a workflow be started by an external user, like a student or customer?
Yes, using the FlowForma Engage feature, a workflow can be initiated by an external stakeholder through a public link on your website. For example, a student could fill out an application form, which then automatically kicks off an internal review and approval workflow within the university. This feature is widely used by our higher education and insurance clients for student applications and customer claims submissions.
What is FlowForma Process Automation?
FlowForma is an all-in-one, no-code process automation tool designed to work with Microsoft 365 and SharePoint. It combines digital forms, workflow automation, document generation, AI, and insights into a single platform. This allows organisations to replace manual, paper-based tasks with streamlined digital processes.
Who is the platform designed for?
The platform is designed to empower business users—the process experts in departments like HR, Finance, and Operations—to build their own automated solutions. It takes the burden off the IT department, allowing them to provide governance while business managers create and test processes in a controlled environment. This self-service model helps scale automation across the entire organisation.
How quickly can we automate our first process?
Organizations can automate processes in a matter of days or weeks, not months. As part of the onboarding service, FlowForma's team works with you to build out your first process, ensuring you see value quickly. Some customers have automated as many as 55 processes in a single year due to the speed of development.
Where is our business data stored when we use FlowForma?
Your data is always secure because FlowForma is not a hosted solution; it installs directly into your own Microsoft 365 and SharePoint environment. This means all data, documents, and files generated by your processes remain under your control and are protected by your existing security policies. This is a key reason why FlowForma is trusted by clients in highly regulated industries like finance and healthcare.
Can the platform handle our most complex business processes?
Yes, FlowForma is specifically designed to handle complex, multi-step processes that other tools struggle with. It easily manages workflows that involve external stakeholders, require moving backward and forward for approvals, and integrate with multiple other systems. Many customers choose FlowForma because of its ability to automate these challenging, real-world scenarios.
Can we start with just a few processes and expand later?
Absolutely. The licensing model is designed to let you start small and scale up as you see success. The Essentials package allows you to automate up to three processes, which is a great starting point for targeting a few high-value areas like HR offboarding or contract approvals. You can then move to a larger plan as adoption grows across other departments.
What kind of return on investment (ROI) do customers typically see?
Customers often report a significant return on investment after digitalising just three processes on the platform. The ROI comes from reduced administrative errors, faster process completion times, and freeing up staff from manual work to focus on more valuable tasks. For example, one college reduced administrative errors by over 5,000%.
How does FlowForma help IT manage and govern automation across the organisation?
FlowForma Governance provides IT with a central hub to oversee all automation activities in a controlled manner. IT can create secure sandbox environments for business users to build and test processes without any risk to live systems. This framework empowers business experts while allowing IT to act as a final gatekeeper for production environments.
Can we have separate environments for development, testing, and production?
Yes, the platform fully supports a standard software development lifecycle with separate sandbox, User Acceptance Testing (UAT), and production environments. An HR Manager, for instance, can build a new process in a sandbox, request it to be moved to UAT for sign-off, and then have IT promote the final version into the live production environment. This ensures changes are properly tested before going live.
How does IT control what gets moved into the live production environment?
IT acts as the gatekeeper over production environments. A business user can build and test a process in their sandbox, but must request that it be promoted. This allows IT to review, test, and approve the process, minimising operational risk while still achieving the benefits of a no-code platform.
How does FlowForma ensure compliance and provide an audit trail?
A full, detailed audit trail is an out-of-the-box feature for every process, requiring no extra configuration. The audit trail captures every action, including who did what and when, right down to the second, which is critical for regulatory compliance and external audits. This is a key reason the platform is used in highly regulated industries.
How do we manage who can see or interact with sensitive processes?
The Security Wizard allows you to set granular permissions at both the process level and the individual step level. You can restrict access to a process to specific SharePoint groups or even deny a specific individual from ever seeing a confidential step, like a manager's review. This ensures that sensitive data, such as HR or financial information, is only seen by the right people.
Can IT see all the processes that are currently running across the business?
Yes, the Governance Hub provides IT with a complete overview of all processes, app environments, and sandboxes across the entire organisation. This central visibility allows IT to understand how the tool is being used and provide advice where needed. Dashboards in FlowForma Insights also provide a high-level view of process performance and volumes.
How do you handle changes or updates to a live process without disrupting business?
You can make changes to a copy of the process in a safe sandbox environment. Once you have tested the new version in UAT and are ready to deploy it, you can promote it to the live environment with the click of a button. This process replaces the old version seamlessly, ensuring there is no disruption to daily business operations.
Our client submission and quotation process is slow and manual. How can FlowForma help speed this up?
FlowForma can automate the entire submission-to-quote process, replacing fragmented emails with a single, standardised workflow. You can send a link to clients to gather information, and then automatically email quotation requests to multiple insurers at once. This standardises the process and saves significant administrative time.
Compiling quote comparison reports for clients takes a lot of time. Can this be automated?
Yes, this is a key time-saving feature of FlowForma. AI agents can read quote documents sent back from different insurers, automatically extract key details like premiums and coverage, and compile them into a professional quote comparison report. This eliminates the need for your team to manually copy and paste information into a Word document.
We need better visibility over our claims management process. How does FlowForma provide this?
FlowForma provides complete visibility through dashboards that track the real-time status of every claim. You can see who is responsible for the next action, how long it has been with them, and if it is on track to meet its SLA. The system can also send automatic reminders or escalate overdue tasks to a supervisor to ensure accountability.
Can clients submit claims or information through our website without needing a special login?
Yes, you can embed a FlowForma link directly on your website for clients to submit claims or other information. This provides a standardised form that ensures you get all the required details upfront, preventing incomplete submissions. The data is then automatically sent into your internal workflow for processing.
Can FlowForma connect with our existing broker management system, like Applied Relay
Yes, FlowForma can integrate with any third-party system that offers a REST API connection, including platforms like Applied Systems. This allows your automated workflows to pull client information from or push updated data into your core management system. This reduces manual data re-entry and ensures consistency across your systems.
Is our sensitive client data secure and stored on our own systems?
FlowForma is a SharePoint application that installs directly into your own Microsoft 365 environment, so it is not a hosted solution. All data generated by your processes, including client information and documents, belongs to you and is always stored within your existing, secure ecosystem.
Can we automate the process of sending standardised claim forms to insurers like Aviva?
Yes, once a claim is submitted and processed internally, FlowForma can automatically generate the required documents and email them to the correct insurer. The workflow can use AI to extract the insurer's name from the initial submission and then route the claim information to them automatically. This ensures claims are registered with insurers quickly and consistently.
How can we manage processes for students, like applications, since they don't have internal university accounts?
FlowForma's Engage feature is perfect for this, as it lets you securely include external people, like students, in your workflows. You can place a public link on your university website for applications, which students can complete and submit without needing an internal account. This is widely used by our higher education clients for student registration, funding requests, and more.
Our HR department struggles with employee offboarding, leading to confusion and a poor audit trail. Can FlowForma help?
Yes, FlowForma creates a structured workflow for processes like offboarding, with a full audit trail for legal compliance. Dashboards provide complete visibility, showing exactly who is responsible for each task and if it's completed, which eliminates "finger-pointing" and ensures accountability. This is critical for meeting any regulatory requirements.
We want to empower staff in different faculties to automate their own processes without relying on IT Is this possible?
This is a core strength of FlowForma, which is a 100% no-code platform designed for business users. Staff can build and manage their own workflows using a simple drag-and-drop interface or even by giving instructions in plain English with the AI Co-pilot. This reduces the burden on IT and allows departments to create solutions tailored to their specific needs.
How can we standardise key processes across the university while allowing faculties to have slightly different ways of doing things?
FlowForma allows you to create a "master" process and then deploy variations of it to different faculties or departments. This allows each faculty to make minor adjustments to fit their specific needs while still following the core, standardised workflow. This approach gives departments autonomy while ensuring university-wide consistency and governance.
Is our student and staff data secure and stored within our own university systems?
Yes, FlowForma is not a hosted solution; it installs directly into your own secure Microsoft 365 and SharePoint environment. All data, documents, and files generated by your processes remain under your control and are protected by your existing security policies. This means no new security sign-offs are required to get started.
Can FlowForma integrate with our other university systems, like our student information system (Banner)?
Yes, FlowForma can integrate with any third-party system, like Banner or your ERP, as long as it offers a REST API connection. This allows your automated workflows to pull student data from or push financial information into your core systems. This eliminates the need for staff to manually re-key the same information across different applications.
Can we use FlowForma to manage finance processes that currently involve a lot of paper forms?
Absolutely, finance processes are a common use case for FlowForma in universities. You can replace paper forms for things like expense claims or purchase requests with digital forms that automatically route for approval. This creates a transparent process where everyone can see the status of a request, reducing delays and manual follow-up.
Our firm uses multiple disconnected systems. Can FlowForma create a single, unified process that works across them?
Yes, FlowForma excels at connecting disparate systems to create seamless, end-to-end workflows. Using its no-code API manager, it can pull client data from your CRM and push transaction details to your core banking system, acting as the central engine for the process. This gives you a standardised approach without needing to replace the specialised systems you already use.
How does FlowForma meet the strict security, compliance, and data residency needs of a regulated financial institution?
FlowForma is not a hosted solution; it installs directly into your own secure Microsoft 365 environment, so your data never leaves your control. This ensures all your existing security protocols and data residency policies are automatically applied without needing new infrastructure sign-offs. We host none of your data, which is why we are trusted by clients in heavily regulated industries.
We are subject to external audits and must maintain a perfect audit trail. How does FlowForma handle this?
FlowForma provides a full and detailed audit trail for every process automatically, right out of the box. Every single action is captured, showing who did what and when, right down to the second. This ensures you are always prepared for both internal and external auditors without needing to build any custom tracking.
Can we create compliance documents, like contracts or client reports, that are locked from being edited after approval?
Yes, FlowForma’s document generation feature can automatically create final documents from a template, convert them to PDF format, and save them to a secure, read-only location. This can help meet compliance requirements, such as ensuring certain documents cannot be edited once they are finalised and approved. You control all permissions from within the workflow.
We need to extract information from client statements and other PDFs. Can FlowForma automate this?
Yes, FlowForma's built-in AI agents can read PDF documents like invoices or client statements and automatically extract the specific information you need. You simply give the AI agent instructions in plain English, such as "extract the supplier name and invoice total," and it populates the data into your form. This saves hours of manual data entry for your team.
Can we map out complex client or advisor workflows, like an account setup process connecting to a custodian
FlowForma is an ideal tool for visually mapping and then automating complex client-facing workflows. You can design the entire process, from an advisor setting up a profile to connecting with a custodian via an API call to pull in account data. This helps your business and tech teams work together to define and build the ideal user experience.
We want our business analysts to be able to build and manage workflows themselves. Do they need coding skills?
No coding skills are needed, as FlowForma is a 100% no-code platform designed to empower business users and analysts. The intuitive, drag-and-drop interface and AI Co-pilot allow non-technical staff to build, test, and maintain their own processes. This frees up your developers to focus on other high-value projects.
What does FlowForma do for an NHS Trust?
FlowForma helps NHS organisations replace manual processes that use paper or spreadsheets with a single, standard digital system. It is especially useful for complicated workflows that involve people from different departments, like HR, finance, and procurement.
How is FlowForma different from RPA or our existing system's e-forms?
FlowForma is different from tools like RPA because it is designed for processes that need input and decisions from multiple people, not just for repetitive tasks. While your finance system may have its own forms, FlowForma is for processes that don't have a current system or need to connect many different departments together. It also offers a fixed price, which can be an advantage over tools like the Microsoft Power Platform that may have variable costs.
Which NHS organisations use FlowForma?
Several NHS organisations use FlowForma to manage their operational processes. Key examples include the Northwest London Procurement Services, which uses the tool across nine different trusts, and Blackpool Teaching Hospital, where it is used to run about 100 different operational processes. FlowForma also works with large hospitals in Ireland and the United States.
How much work is this for IT teams?
FlowForma is a "no-code" tool, which means people in departments like procurement or HR can be trained to build and manage their own workflows without needing technical skills. Your IT team's main involvement is at the start to approve hosting it within your existing SharePoint system. After that, individual departments can take control of automating their own processes.
Can FlowForma help different trusts collaborate?
Yes, FlowForma is well-suited for collaboration across multiple NHS trusts. The system was used to create a single, standardised procurement process for the nine trusts in the Northwest London group, even though each had its own way of working. It could also be used for tasks like "collaborative project management," to help different trust teams get approvals and share information for joint projects.
How does FlowForma work with official NHS procurement rules?
FlowForma is an approved vendor on the official NHS framework, which streamlines the purchasing process. The company is also looking to join new frameworks endorsed by NHS England to make procurement even easier for trusts. Additionally, the system is designed to meet NHS security needs by storing all data within the trust's own SharePoint site.
Our government contract proposals are complex and require input from many people. How can FlowForma manage this?
FlowForma is built for complex, multi-step processes like building a task order response. You can design a workflow that automatically sends the proposal through different internal teams for technical, pricing, and procurement approvals. The process can easily move backwards for revisions or forwards for the next sign-off, ensuring everyone contributes before the final document is created.
We need to collaborate with subcontractors on proposals. Can we do this without giving them full access to our internal systems?
Yes, the FlowForma Engage feature lets you securely share just a single step of a process with external partners like subcontractors. They receive a public link to upload their information or documents without needing an account or access to your main SharePoint site. This is ideal for getting inputs while maintaining security.
Can FlowForma automatically generate our final proposal document once all the information is gathered?
Absolutely. FlowForma's document generation tool uses Microsoft Word templates to automatically create your final plan. It takes all the information entered into the forms during the workflow, including cost tables and technical approaches, and populates the document for you. The final output can then be saved as a PDF for submission to the customer.
We use spreadsheets for cost estimates. Can we import this data directly into a workflow?
Yes, FlowForma can easily import data from CSV files to populate tables within a form, which is perfect for uploading cost tables without manual data entry. The platform can perform calculations on this data, such as creating running totals for different columns. These populated tables can then be included directly in your final generated documents.
How do we control document access, like locking files from further changes after they are approved?
FlowForma allows you to manage permissions for document libraries and individual files directly from the workflow. You can set a rule to make files read-only or revoke a user's permissions once a step is approved. This ensures that once subcontractor data is approved, it is visible but can no longer be changed.
Our projects often have modifications. Can we update an existing task plan without starting from scratch?
Yes, you can easily manage modifications within FlowForma. The system can be set up to pull data from the previous version of a form when a modification is initiated, so you only need to update the relevant sections. This saves you from having to retype all the original information for each new revision
We already have a folder structure in SharePoint. Do we have to rebuild it in FlowForma?
No, you do not need to rebuild anything, as FlowForma is designed to integrate seamlessly with your existing SharePoint architecture. You can simply point the workflow to your current document libraries and folders to save or retrieve files. FlowForma sits on top of your SharePoint structure; it doesn't replace it.