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Workflow management
How to improve your workflow management using document management software

Workflow Management at a Glance

Business growth creates opportunities, but it also creates more handovers. More systems hold information and more people become involved in approving tasks. 

UK workers could save an average of 122 hours per year by using AI for administrative tasks, according to research from Google, reported by Reuters. Workflow management helps organisations bring order to repeatable processes. It sets out how work is coordinated, who owns each stage, and monitors progress from beginning to end.

Workflow management: key takeaways

  • Broader than workflow automation or workflow management software, workflow management coordinates the tasks, approvals and decisions that keep business processes moving.

  • Good workflow management defines responsibilities, decision points and how work progresses from one stage to the next.

  • Workflow automation supports repetitive activities such as routing, reminders, approvals and escalations.

  • Digital workflows reduce manual handovers, email-based approvals and ambiguity around task ownership.

  • Common workflow management use cases include invoice approvals, employee onboarding, contract reviews, customer requests and operational processes.

  • A workflow management system should reflect how your business operates, not dictate it.  Define the process before choosing the workflow software.

What is workflow management?

Every organisation relies on repeatable processes, whether that's approving invoices, onboarding employees or reviewing contracts. Workflow management provides a structured way to organise those activities, so everyone understands what needs to happen, when it needs to happen, and who is responsible at each stage. 

Most workflows share the same basic structure:

  • A trigger that starts the process
  • Tasks or process steps
  • People responsible for completing or approving each stage
  • Decision points
  • Business rules, deadlines or escalations
  • A defined outcome
Many workflows depend on business documents, including invoices, contracts, employee records, purchase orders and customer information. Integrating those files to the workflow using document management software helps ensure people have the information they need when decisions are made.

Workflow management, workflow automation, business process management and project management

Workflow management is often discussed alongside workflow automation, business process management and project management. While they're closely connected, each has a different purpose.

Main focus Typical use How it relates
Workflow management Coordinating repeatable tasks, approvals and decisions Invoice approvals, onboarding, contract reviews Defines how recurring work progresses
Workflow automation Automating steps within a workflow Routing, reminders, escalations, approvals Supports business workflow management by automating defined process steps
Business Process Management (BPM) Broader process strategy and optimisation End-to-end operational processes Takes a broader view of how business processes are designed and improved across the organisation
Project management Planning and tracking one-off or time-bound work Projects, campaigns, delivery plans Focuses on temporary work rather than repeatable business processes

Why organisations improve workflow management

Many companies only review workflow management after recurring operational issues start affecting day-to-day work. Common problems include:

  • Information spread across email, spreadsheets and multiple systems
  • Different teams handling the same process in different ways
  • Limited oversight of requests, documents and approvals still awaiting action
  • Repeated manual tasks that slow progress and create bottlenecks
  • Managers spending more time following up tasks than reviewing completed work
  • Approvals delayed by unclear responsibilities or repeated follow-ups
  • Governance requirements calling for traceable processes and audit records
  • Customers, suppliers and employees expecting faster responses 

Hybrid working has added another dimension. Teams need digital processes that give everyone the same view of tasks, approvals and outstanding actions.

 

From manual steps to digital and automated workflows

Email, spreadsheets and paper forms still play a central role in many business processes. Over time, keeping track of requests, approvals and supporting documents becomes more difficult, particularly when several teams are involved.

The first step towards better document workflow management is digitising the process. Tasks, documents and information follow a defined route, standardising responsibilities, approvals and decision points. Many organisations also choose to digitise the documents that support those processes, so information is easier to find.

To read more, visit our Go Paperless page.

Once that structure is in place, automation can take care of routine activities such as routing documents, assigning tasks, sending reminders, updating statuses and escalating overdue actions. This reduces administrative effort while ensuring work follows agreed business rules.

Learn more about process automation.

Don’t worry about automating every activity. The aim is to reduce repetitive administration, improve consistency and give people more time to focus on skilled work.

Expert quote

Automating a manual process won't fix the underlying issues if responsibilities and decision points are still unclear. The first step is agreeing how the workflow process should work, then using technology to support it.

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Where workflow management becomes visible in daily operations

Workflow management supports almost any repeatable business process. It becomes especially valuable when documents move between teams, approvals follow defined rules and organisations need a complete audit trail. For example:

Finance and invoice approvals

Finance teams process invoices with different approval requirements depending on supplier, value, department or purchase order status. Invoice OCR captures supplier information automatically, while workflow management sends each invoice through the appropriate approval route.

AP workflow automation gives finance teams a clear view of invoices awaiting review, highlights exceptions and captures every approval, helping support internal controls and HMRC recordkeeping.

Learn more about accounts receivable automation. 

Human resources and onboarding

Bringing a new employee into the business involves contracts, right-to-work checks, IT setup and policy acknowledgements, often spanning several departments. Workflow management coordinates each stage, helping HR teams see outstanding actions without relying on email reminders or manual follow-ups.

Access rights also control who can view employee records as they move through the onboarding process.

Read our ultimate guide to HR document management & workflow automation.

Contracts and legal reviews

Contracts often pass between legal, procurement and finance teams before they're ready to sign. Workflow management keeps reviews, approvals and signatures moving through an agreed process, while version history and approval records provide a complete trail of every change.

Renewal dates and notice periods can also be managed through structured workflows, making it easier to see who is responsible for the next action and avoid missed deadlines.

Learn more about contract management.

Customer service and operations

Customer requests, service cases, incident reports and internal approvals often pass between several teams before they're resolved. Workflow management routes each interaction through an agreed process, giving everyone a clear view of outstanding actions, response times and where delays are occurring.

If work passes between departments or locations, escalation rules reduce the risk of requests being overlooked.

Public sector, healthcare and regulated industries

For regulated industries managing large volumes of case files and sensitive records, workflow management provides a structured way to handle those processes. Access rights control who can view information and audit trails record key decisions, approvals and changes.

This creates a clear record of how information has been handled, raising accountability across organisations where governance is central to daily operations.

Workflow management in action: customer success stories

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Retail/wholesale

Stuart Plumbing and Heating supplies

Processing more than 2,000 supplier invoices each month was placing growing pressure on Stuart Plumbing's finance team. DocuWare digitised Stuart Plumbing's invoice approval process. Supplier invoices are captured automatically and follow the company's approval rules based on invoice value, supplier, department or purchase order status. Invoice processing time has fallen by up to 40%, month-end now closes 10 days earlier, and the business continues to grow without increasing finance headcount.

Read more
Image_CS000_FinFerries_Social-1200x627
Transportation/logistics

FinFerries

Recruiting crews for short-term and seasonal roles meant contracts, approvals and onboarding activities had to move quickly between HR, managers and new employees. DocuWare digitised the onboarding workflow, automating contract generation, electronic signatures and follow-up tasks while creating a complete digital record for every employee. The result was a faster onboarding process and a stronger experience for new starters.
Read more
Image_CS514_BAE_Blog-817x437
Real Estate

BAE Management

Employee records were spread across several hospitality venues, making HR administration increasingly difficult to coordinate. BAE introduced DocuWare to bring personnel records and approvals into one digital platform, giving HR staff a single place to manage employee documentation and cut back on manual administration.

Read more
DW_CaseStudy_HubHeader_GlenkeirWhiskies_635
Retail/wholesale

Glenkeir Whiskies

Business growth placed increasing pressure on Glenkeir Whiskies' document processes. By introducing digital workflows, the company created a more structured approach to handling documents, making information easier to retrieve and reducing administrative effort.
Read more
DocuWare_CaseStudy_HubHeader_ChichesterCollege_163
Education

Chichester College Group

A series of college mergers left Chichester College Group juggling employee records across multiple campuses. Moving personnel processes into DocuWare gave authorised staff secure access to employee files, while supporting GDPR compliance and reducing reliance on physical paperwork.
Read more

Ready to improve your workflow management?

DocuWare Workflow Manager helps organisations coordinate repeatable, document-driven processes with greater consistency.

Request a demo

Governance, visibility and auditability in workflows

As workflows involve more people, approvals and business systems, organisations need a reliable way to oversee how decisions are made and recorded.

Each stage of the workflow has an owner, while company rules determine how requests are handled if they're approved, rejected, delayed or escalated. Managers can see which tasks are still open and where work has stalled.

Audit trails record every review, approval, rejection and change, creating a history of each case from start to finish. Access rights limit who can view or update sensitive information, supporting UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and sector-specific governance requirements.

Core elements of effective workflow management

Clear process steps

Every workflow follows a sequence of activities, beginning with a trigger and ending with a completed outcome. Breaking that journey into defined stages reduces unnecessary handovers and duplication, while outlining what should happens next.

Roles and responsibilities

Each stage needs someone responsible for carrying it forward. That may involve completing a task, reviewing information, approving a request or dealing with an exception. Clear ownership makes it easier to see where actions are still outstanding.

Rules and decisions

Few business processes follow exactly the same route every time. Approval rules account for different situations, whether that's a spending threshold, a missing document, an overdue request or an exception requiring further review.

Visibility and tracking

Managers need to know where requests are sitting, how long they've been there and whether delays are becoming a pattern. Tracking that information makes it easier to identify bottlenecks and review workflow performance over time.

Automation and integration

Some activities follow the same pattern every time. Routing, reminders, notifications and status updates are often automated, while integrations connect workflows with finance, HR, customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems keep information available throughout the process.

Workflow management systems and software

Once a workflow has been mapped and agreed, workflow management software provides the tools to run it day to day. Your organisation can assign tasks, apply approval rules, monitor activity and coordinate digital workflows.

Typical features of a workflow management system include:

  • Workflow design tools
  • Task assignment
  • Approval rules
  • Notifications and reminders
  • Status tracking
  • Escalation rules
  • Reporting
  • Integrations with business systems

For document-driven workflows, approvals are easier to complete when supporting information is available at every stage of the process. That reduces time spent searching across email, shared drives and business systems.

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Create document-driven workflows with DocuWare

DocuWare Workflow Manager brings together workflow design, automation and document management in a single platform.

Learn more

Getting started with workflow management

Identify repeatable workflows

Invoice approvals, employee onboarding, contract reviews and customer requests are common starting points because they happen regularly and follow a recognisable pattern. Processes involving several people, repeated follow-ups or frequent delays usually offer the greatest opportunity for improvement.

Map the current process

The first step is understanding how your existing processes operate. That means identifying the trigger, the sequence of activities, approval points, handovers, deadlines, exceptions, the information needed at each stage and who should have access to it.

Define owners and decision rules

Clear ownership keeps a workflow moving. Each task, review, approval and escalation needs someone responsible for it, while decision rules determine how the workflow handles situations such as rejected requests, overdue tasks, missing information or substitute approvers.

Decide what to automate

Some parts of a workflow benefit from human judgement, particularly when reviews, approvals or risk assessments are involved. Others follow the same pattern every time. Routing, reminders, notifications, escalations and status updates are often the first activities organisations choose to automate.

Measure and improve over time

Once a workflow is in place, organisations can see where delays occur, how long each stage takes and where exceptions or rework are most common. These insights help refine the workflow before automating further business processes.

Ready to improve your key workflows?

From invoice approvals and employee onboarding to contract reviews and operational requests, DocuWare Workflow Manager keeps documents, tasks and business systems connected.

Request a demo

Frequently asked questions about workflow management

What is workflow management?

It’s the way organisations organise repeatable business processes. It sets out how tasks, approvals and decisions are handled, who is responsible at each stage, and how work moves from one step to the next.

What is the difference between workflow management and workflow automation?

Workflow management describes how a business process is organised, including the tasks, approvals and decisions involved. Workflow automation uses software to handle repeatable activities within that process, such as routing, reminders, notifications and approvals.

What is a workflow management system?

A workflow management system is software that helps organisations design, run, monitor and improve digital workflows. Many systems include workflow design tools, reporting, integrations and automation capabilities.

What is the difference between workflow management and project management?

Workflow management is used for processes that happen repeatedly, such as approving invoices or onboarding new employees. Project management is designed for one-off pieces of work with a defined objective, timescale and completion date.

What is the difference between workflow management and business process management?

Business process management looks at how end-to-end processes are designed and improved across an organisation. Workflow management focuses on the individual steps, approvals and decisions within a specific process.

Which processes can be managed with workflows?

Any process that follows a repeatable sequence can usually be managed through a workflow. Typical examples include invoice approvals, employee onboarding, contract reviews, customer requests, incident reporting and internal approvals.

How does workflow management support compliance?

Many organisations use workflow management to strengthen governance. Assigned responsibilities, access controls, approval records and audit trails make it easier to demonstrate how decisions were made and who was involved.

How do organisations start improving workflow management?

A good starting point is a process that happens regularly and involves several people or repeated follow-ups. Mapping the existing process first makes it easier to identify where digitisation or automation will have the greatest impact.
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