Intwixt DocFlow
DocFlow delivers sophisticated Box.com approval flows directly in Slack. We begin by asking you a few questions about your workflow needs, including the number of review steps and whether to send documents to a channels or users for review.
Team members can then submit documents directly in Slack, where DocFlow orchestrates the process. We send real-time status updates as the document moves through each approval step and instruct submitters to fix rejected documents—all in Slack. Once the process concludes, documents are stored at Box.com, along with a full audit history of the process, including all document versions, approval steps and comments.
DocFlow is intuitive and focused, but it’s definitely not static! Built using Intwixt’s Conversational Automation Platform (CAP), DocFlow can be extended to meet even the most demanding customer requirements. And given our no-code, visual approach, even business users can customize to meet exacting needs. Top it all off with AI, ML and NLP (natural language processing) baked-in, and it’s easy to see why Intwixt’s conversational approach keeps your users productive and happy.
Watch the Demo
Watch the Demo
Deliver document workflows that move beyond simple approvals. Handle rejections, exceptions, timeouts and more—all with unmatched transparency. As the document moves through workflow all users are updated in real time in Slack, while Box versioning, task assignment, and access controls provide secure and auditable document access.
Getting Started
DocFlow organizes users according to the following 5 roles: Installer, Administrator, Submitter, Reviewer and Owner.
Installer
The installer is the individual who installs DocFlow to the Slack workspace. This must be a team member who is authorized to install Slack apps. DocFlow will send notifications to this individual on two occasions. First, if the Slack workspace is configured to NOT share email addresses, DocFlow cannot resolve user identities in Box.com. This is required to assign tasks, so the installer will receive a message, explaining how to enable this setting. Second, if the team uses up all 20 approval flows that are granted to trial accounts each month, a message will be sent, encouraging the installer to consider upgrading their team to a paid account. Click the Add to Slack button to get started.
Administrator
Administrators are responsible for creating approval flows. This requires that the administrator
authorize DocFlow to access Box.com on their behalf. Once authorization is granted, DocFlow monitors the
TASK_ASSIGNMENT.UPDATED event and calls the following
Box.com APIs to perform each orchestration.
- Upload File
- Upload File Version
- Update File Info
- Get Current User
- Create Task
- Create Task Assignment
- Get Task Assignment
- Update Task Assignment
- Create Collaboration
- Delete Collaboration
Administrators create new approval flows by sending the slash command, /docflow create.
They'll then be walked through a wizard-like series of steps directly in Slack. The most complex part of this
process is choosing which folders at Box.com will be used for storing documents as they move through
each step in the approval process. In total, three folders must be configured for each step in an
approval flow: Pending, Approved, and Rejected.
Navigating and choosing subfolders at Box.com is done using two form fields: a select box and a button. The select box is used for drilling down and locating the desired subfolder. Once the subfolder is located, the button is used to confirm the choice. (Please note that if your Box.com instance has no subfolders you will not see the select box. You will only be able to choose your "Root" folder.)
Administrators can send the /docflow reset slash command if they no longer wish to serve
as the DocFlow administrator for the team. This will remove all authorizations and workflows they created,
and allows another team member to serve in this capacity.
Free plans may only have one administrator. Entering /docflow create
when no administrator exists will serve to make the issuing team member an administrator. For paid
plans, the owner responsible for billing is also responsible for assigning administrators.
And remember, administrators can also be end-users. They can use DocFlow to upload their own documents for review at any time.
Submitter
Submitters are the Slack team members who upload documents. Once a submitter uploads a document to the DocFlow app, they will be prompted to choose from the list of approval flows created by the team's DocFlow administrator(s).
Reviewer
Reviewers are the Slack team members who are assigned to review documents. There is no limit to the number of reviewers your team can have. Reviewers can be named individuals assigned when the administrator creates an approval flow. Or a reviewer can self-select, choosing to claim a document that has been sent to a channel they they are a member of.
Owner
The owner is the Slack team member who is responsible for providing payment details if your team chooses to upgrade to a paid plan. There is no need to upgrade if your team runs fewer than 20 approval flows each month. Refer to the DocFlow Pricing page for more information on plans and prices. The owner is responsible for adding and removing administrators.
FAQ
What is the maximum document size allowed?
Free accounts support uploads up to 5MB. Paid accounts start at 20MB and can be configured for more if you choose an Enterprise license.
How many approvals can I run each month?
Slack teams that use the free plan may run up to 20 free approval flows each month for the entire team. An approval flow includes all review steps as well as all necessary document resubmissions for rejected documents. If a submitter needs to fix and resubmit their document 10 times, that’s OK! (We'll feel sorry for them, but we'll still only count the interaction as a single approval flow.) Submitters who belong to a paid plan may initiate unlimited document approvals.
Can we configure multiple approval flow types?
The DocFlow administrator for your team can design up to 5 document approval flows. For example, the administrator may create a “time sheet approval” flow, an “RFP approval” flow, etc. It’s up to the administrator to choose which approval flows would be useful for their team.
How many steps can an approval flow have?
We allow up to 3 steps in each approval flow. Paid accounts support up to 10 steps. Consider an Enterprise license if you need even further customizations.
Can review tasks be assigned to both channels and users?
Yes. As the DocFlow administrator, if you choose to assign the review step to a channel, you must invite DocFlow to the channel, so we can post messages to channel members, alerting them to claim and review submitted documents. If you choose to assign the review step to a user, we will prompt you to choose a named user on your team. Consider an Enterprise license if you'd like further refinements to the assignment process (e.g, routing to users based upon relationships in your company's employee directory).
How many submitters and reviewers can we have?
The free Intro Plan allows unlimited submitters. We limit usage on the Intro Plan by limiting the total number of approval flows that can be run by your team in any given month (20).
The paid Standard Plan is priced according to the number of named submitters your team needs. Each submitter belonging to a paid plan can upload as many documents as they wish each and every month. If you need custom pricing or wish to know more, please refer to the DocFlow Pricing page. There is no limit to the number of reviewers for both free and paid plans.
What happens when a document is rejected?
When a document is rejected, the original submitter is provided steps to fix the issue and is prompted to resubmit the updated document. We then copy the document from Slack to Box and create a new document version in Box. Once the document review process successfully completes, the full audit history is available at Box.com, including all submitted versions.
How many administrators can we have?
The free trial version allows one administrator. This individual must have access to the Box.com
directories where the documents will reside during and after the review process. Administrators are
prompted to grant access to Box.com so that DocFlow may copy files and assign tasks on their
behalf. They can then design and configure
approval flows as needed. Administrators can create approval flows for their team to use (up to 5 total)
by issuing the slash command, /docflow create.
How much does it cost to upgrade if I need more resources?
Teams are assigned to the free Intro Plan when DocFlow is first installed to their Slack workspace. This grants 20 free approval flows each month. If you need to run more flows, consider upgrading to one of our paid plans. The Standard Plan is priced according to the number of Slack team members who will need to submit documents (submitters). Check out our Enterprise Plan if you're interested in your own customized instance, volume pricing, or require specific support options. Refer to the DocFlow Pricing page for more detail.
If you're the individual responsible for
software subscriptions in your organization, enter the /docflow billing slash command
to initiate the payment process or update an existing subscription.
How do you compare to Box Relay?
We think Box Relay is an amazing workflow product. We also feel it can be even more powerful when connected to a messaging platform like Slack. Slack is a natural fit for role-based workflows and it’s hard to overlook just how efficient the approval process can be when paired with Slack channels and real-time, interactive messages.
DocFlow is based upon the same user-first design philosophy that makes Relay approachable to business users. It's possible for users to configure and execute sophisticated approval flows with little technical know-how. Where we differ is our Slack-centric approach. This provides additional features like timeouts, exception handling, and group-based task assignment that leverage Slack channels. Importantly, any approval flow orchestrated by DocFlow can trigger a Relay workflow. Please ask us how DocFlow can help you get the most from your Relay investment.
What private information do you keep on your servers?
We save your Slack Team ID and the Slack user ID for the DocFlow administrator and the DocFlow installer for your team. We also track the number of approval flows run each month in aggregate by your team. As an orchestration platform, we temporarily store the data that is transported through our system; however, all data is fully scrubbed from our servers within 30 minutes of the approval flow completing. We never inspect the contents of the uploaded document and only track its size and file name.
Do you share information with outside parties?
No, never, and not at all. It’s our intent to efficiently move your documents from Slack to Box, call the necessary task assignment APIs, and then delete all traces of the transaction from our servers once the process completes. Our company (Intwixt) designs business process apps that run atop Slack. We built DocFlow to showcase our abilities as a general orchestration platform. We hope you love DocFlow, but we really hope you love Intwixt!
How do I uninstall DocFlow?
DocFlow subscribes to the App Uninstalled event. Once you uninstall the DocFlow app according to Slack's instructions, we will fully remove all information associated with your team and workspace, including your authorization to copy files from Slack to Box.com and assign tasks to reviewers.
Slash Commands
Create Approval Flow*
/docflow create
Design a new approval flow for your team. If no approval flows have been created, this also serves to begin the Box.com authorization process, which will make the user the "official DocFlow administrator" for the team. For paid accounts, the owner assigns which team members (up to 3) can serve as administrators.
Reset Approval Flows*
/docflow reset
Remove the Box.com authorization along with all approval flows created by the current administrator. Issue this command if you no longer wish to serve as the DocFlow administrator for your team.
Manage Payment
/docflow billing
DocFlow is free to use and grants a limited set of free flows each month. If you need to run at scale, a member of your team (the DocFlow owner) can choose to provide payment information. The owner can also use this slash command to change subscription details and update payment information.
Add Administrator**
/docflow add
When billing is enabled, the team member responsible for payment (the owner) can add up to three administrators using this command.
Remove Administrator**
/docflow rem
When billing is enabled, the team member responsible for payment (the owner) can remove an administrator using this command.
DocFlow Help
/docflow help
Get help for using DocFlow. Directs the user to this Web page.
Other Activities
Start Approval Flow (Submit Document)
Starting a new approval flow is as easy as uploading a document to the DocFlow app. We'll show you a list of all approval flows that your DocFlow administrator has configured to kick off the process.
Resume Approval Flow (Resubmit Document)
If you're resubmitting a rejected document, make sure to upload the document to the same conversation thread, so we know that this is a resubmission and not an entirely new approval flow. Once you resubmit your document, it will kick off the approval flow once more, starting at step 1. For example, if the approval flow includes three review steps and the third person in line rejects the document, it will be kicked back to step 1 once you resubmit the document.
Uninstall DocFlow
DocFlow subscribes to the App Uninstalled event. Once you uninstall the DocFlow app according to Slack's instructions, we will fully remove all information associated with your team and workspace, including your authorization to copy files from Slack to Box.com and assign tasks to reviewers.