Episode 579: Starter Template (2) Procurement Request flow

Continuing from the last week, I will introduce you the operation of "Starter Template" which has been pre-installed in the cloud-based Workflow, "Questetra BPM Suite".

The second one is "Procurement Request".
Episode 463: Procurement Request (Starter Template) (2015-12-28)

It is a business flow that allows anyone to make requests for purchasing from consumables to equipment as long as they are employees. Since status management such as "Decision pending " or "Delivery waiting" is automated, you can check progress at any time.

[Procurement Request flow]

Episode 553: Organizational Responding to Vulnerability Alert

Operation: Vulnerability Response Process

They say, "There is no software without a weak point."

In other words, computers and communication devices with countless software built in are "full of dangerous weak points". There are also business systems that manage sales and salaries...

"Vulnerability Response" by IT department is, in simple words, "repair work of software".

Specifically, the IT department collects vulnerability information from "IT information site" or "Google Alert email" on a daily basis. If information relates with the software used by the company's computer, they conduct "patch application" or "version upgrade", etc. Although there are many software perform "automatic patch" and "automatic update" by themselves recently, there are still not a few "incidents that must be handled manually".

Incidentally, once or twice a year, a security test ("vulnerability assessment") by a specialized contractor should be carried out to check whether the repair work is done properly.

Challenge: Response depends on individual

However, a tremendous number of "attack methods" are found everyday.

"Methods of attack" on old software are also reported almost every day. Even though "weak points" should have been overcome by daily repair, it seems that attackers are also improving their ideas and power, day by day. It seems to continue forever. "Vulnerabilities" announced by CVE, for example, are count to more than 10,000 annually.
(CVE：Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures)

It is no longer the amount that IT department can check through. The reality is, that experienced employees are responding using their "individual information network" and "smell?"

Hmm, wouldn't be there any way to deal it more systematically?

To put it more, I would like to record and share precisely about who decided what kind of judgment on urgent vulnerability. For example, I would like to look back on when and how the correspondence was made against sensational vulnerabilities such as "ShellShock" or "Heartbleed". (OpenSSL, GNU bash)

[Vulnerability Response Process]

Episode 530: Automate Payment Operation with "Banking APIs"

Automatic operation of bank account

"Banking APIs" is booming in Japan.

Questetra Inc., which is hosting this Workflow Sample blog, can also check real-time deposit information by "the benefits of API cooperation between" MF Cloud "(Accounting Cloud) and" Mizuho Business Web "(Bank Online Service)" , And the record to the accounting system is to be processed about on the same day (daily settlement). (Information on accounts receivable and so on that can be created only by workflow is still by "CSV import" ... but I believe MF Cloud itself would provide an API in near future ...)

* Incidentally, cooperation by "scraping method" (method of passing bank password to the Accounting-cloud) has been forbidden to use.

The policy of "Bank API" that enables data connection of this deposit / withdrawal information is expected to be legislated as "revision of the Banking Act" in 2017, and the FinTech industry also accepts it favorably. Therefore, it is expected that the bank system and various online services will be closely connected in the future.

Start with data retrieving API

However, at present, only some businesses can access "Bank API".

For the future as well, it is expected that a certain review will be in place to become an accessible business operator. Moreover, it could be a "licensing system", depending on the discussion in the current Diet session.

Also, regarding the access permission of the bank side, there is a possibility that it will be limited to "Data retrieving API" for the time being.

That is, I suppose that it is started as a service limited to data reference communication without movement of assets such as "acquisition of deposit / withdrawal information" or "acquisition of balance information", as a trial operation period of "API service". (Even though cases of 'Data updating API comes out already since April 2017...)

By the way, "Issues unique to Japan" is also hidden.

That is, there are historical circumstances that most account names have been handled in "Half-width kana" which is uncommon for modern computers. It results that systems accessing to APIs will be required "Data conversion" for their own (Automatic Journal entry rule, etc.)

[Remittance Process]

Episode 522: Want to Manage "Long-term Lending" of Companies Belongings

Who is holding it?

Laser pointers, portable battery chargers, portable projectors...
Corporate credit card, airline mileage card, PC software license...

Equipments in a company would like to be actively "utilized". However, "management" on these items is very troublesome. It will become a mere facade sooner or later if it is by the management method, for example, "record in Excel or Spreadsheet".

• Cumbersome to update.
• Don't know who should update.
• Don't know when it was updated last time.
• First of all, don't know where the management file is.
• Oh no, there are lots of management files...

Hopeless, if it is a premise of"Long-term lending". As a result, even the essential matters, such as who is holding it, or is he or she really holding cannot be managed.

Firstly "loose management"

The following Workflow definition is a mechanism to record lending and return of goods. It can be said to be a system that records "inventory" such as "offered" and "returned".

As you can see from the Workflow diagram, I haven't done anything complicated. It is only a mechanism that the user of goods entries about "goods wanting long-term lending", and the goods manager (teller) records about "contents lent out". In this example, it is unique that the lend period is managed in year, month (e.g. 2017-02) rather than the date (e.g. 2017-02-13). It seems like suggesting "application for short-term lending is unnecessary".

[Lending Management]

Episode 517: Method of Starting up a Large Number of Workflows

Start workflow by external trigger

In the previous article "Episode 516: Method of Starting Workflow by "Email", I wrote about Workflow triggered by" Incoming mail ". Surely, I will be asked the question that "Is there any other way to start Workflow besides email?" (I have not been asked it yet, though...)

Yes, there are!

In the case of the Cloud based Workflow "Questetra BPM Suite", the APIs are provided as follows. "B1. Start Process" among them corresponds to all of HTTP / WebForm / Email. That is, it is possible to design a Workflow triggered not only by "Incoming mail" but also by "Web form input" or "Reception of HTTP request".

• A. "Developer APIs" which Workflow system always provides (OAuth 2 / Basic)
• A1. Operation by User (Workflow APIs)
• A2. Operation by System administrator (System Setting APIs)
• B. "Process Model connection API" which each business application provides
• B1. Process start (Message Start Event) (HTTP / WebForm / Email)
• B2. Standby in the middle of Process (Catching Message Intermediate Event) (HTTP)
• B3. External transmission (Throwing Message Intermediate Event / Auto-step) (HTTP / Email)

Workflow to start Workflow

Even though it becomes a little "beyond the basics"... Since it has a function of "B3. External calling in the middle of Process", If you set it as follows

1. X-Process as to "transmit HTTP request", and
2. Y-Process as to be started by "Receiving of HTTP request",

so that connection between XY Workflows is also possible.


That is, you can realize the followings.

• Auto-starting "Billing Process" Triggered by "Shipping Process" (M411)
• Setting: In order not to forget the Next Billing, Auto-Start a Subsequent Process (M412)
• Setting: Calling Sub-process in the Middle of the Flow, Standing by the Result of It (M413)
• Special Business Process for Aggregation on Business Data through Multiple Business Process (M414)

Well, now, In this article, I would like to think further about a method of"start multiple Issues at once" using CSV data.

[Batch starting of Telephone survey Process (Parent Process)]

[Telephone survey Process (Child Process)]

Episode 500: Manual Input is A Must for Transfer Slip?

A Wave of Cloud computing is surging over Accounting systems, last few years.

In Japan, the start out of "Cloud service" by a long-established software company was a major impact. Specifically, "Yayoi online" entered into a marketplace formed by "MF Cloud" and "freee" in July, 2015. In these systems, functions that are oriented to medium or large enterprises have been enhanced, and these are tools not only for "Startup companies" or for "Sole proprietorship".

The most advantage of these systems is their capability of retrieving "detail data" of "bank statement" and "credit card" collectively. That is, All of the detail records are automatically fetched as sales slip and payment slip. Moreover, accounting titles that should have been entered manually by accounting staffs have been set beforehand by "automatic journal entry function". (Improvement on performance of automatic Journal entry is discernibly.)


However, it will not be so easy for such Cloud accounting systems to automate generating slips which according to human judgment.

* Indeed, regarding "not allocate to sales deeming as advance received" or "allocate to sales as account receivable", who made the judgment and when should be recorded precisely. (Deterrence of accounting fraud, internal control)

The following Business Process is an accounting Workflow related to advance received. It is a mechanism that automatically generates twelve "transfer slip data", for example, upon receiving "service fee of twelve months" in advance.

It is a flow of;

1. Accounting staff determines as "advance received"
2. Supervisor approves on it
3. Bookkeeping staff registers "transfer slip data"

[Advance-received Registration]

Episode 493: Managing Uses of Team Password (Sheets API v4)

Day-to-day work is full of Team passwords...

When you install a wifi router, you configure "Admin password". When you apply for online printing service, you register a "Business account". When you just buy a scanner, you are demanded "User registration". Despite I have grown up having been taught "Never share your password" since my childhood, there are lots of passwords that are inevitable to share in the real adult life! (And, top secret files are stored in the file server of the company...)


The following Workflow is a Business Process for managing "Team password".

You may regard it as a "Password manager" of an organization. It is devised to disclose a password after ten minutes when an employee makes a request. All the information, such as When it was used, Who used it, and Which password, will be recorded. (Moreover, "Password change" by the administrator will be recorded, as well.)

[Password Request]

Episode 490: Placing a Button for Automatic Password Generation

"Too many input fields!"

Dissatisfactions for a Workflow system, many of them are "labor for data input". However, it tends to increase the number of data which is "inevitable to input", for continuing Business Process improvement. Then...

It might seem surprising, but the most efficient burden reduction measures is "to enable to Click-input for some common data". Although nothing is better than to experience actually, the work efficiency becomes very good if one click entry was possible even for five or ten letters. And you will feel so good, if you can input one after another to a lot of input forms that have placed in a row.

The following sample is an altered version of "Button input", which I introduced to you previously, by adding "a button for automatic generation and input of a password". By arranging such a button, you will be able to correspond to a work such as, for example, "issuing a system account" with concentrating.

Reference) Episode 481: Devising of "Button Input" to Input Form

[Test flow for Input Form 2]

Episode 488: Collaboration with Cloud Accounting (Part 3)

Arranging a button for downloading CSV for MS Excel. (previous post)

From the aspect of a person who has to input data into an Accounting system, the "Download button" is very helpful. It allows to add so-called "Journal slip" data snappy to an Excel file. The business efficiency differs greatly depending on "there is" or "isn't" a button. The difference is to take only five minutes for inputting daily accounts receivable, or one whole hour.

However, it is yet a closed to personal process since it is an operation that "to append to an Excel file". The know-hows, which should be associated to the Step, such as "Where is the latest file?" or "Tips and knacks for the work" or "Technique for the case where minor modifications are required", these are tend to be individualism. (As well as anxieties for omission, or miss-copying or fraud.)

The following Workflow is a mechanism of auto-appending of multiple Journal slip data, which have been generated automatically, to Google SpreadSheet. (Either "MF Cloud-accounting" or "Freee",) throwing data to any of Cloud based accounting software, it is very convenient if "Journal slip" was managed uniformly on the Cloud.

By the way, in the first place, it should be the job for the Workflow system that to aggregate the issues which flowed on the Workflow. "List of Issues", for example, total and average of each property are aggregated. However,in a case where each Issue generates "uncertain number of slips", it is difficult to correspond the needs of demanding an aggregation on the "slips". Another table of "List of slips" should be prepared separately in such a case.

Here, we use the "Sheets API v4", which appeared in May 2016.

[Sales Report-SpreadSheet cooperation]

Episode 487: Collaboration with Cloud Accounting (Part 2)

How do I make "Slip data" federated?

In the Latest post, we succeeded to auto-generate some sheets of "Transfer slip" upon reporting orders. Yet, it doesn't mean a thing if they are not entered to "Accounting software".

Well, should I rather say "Cloud-based accounting software" than "Accounting software", for the coming age?

However, unfortunately there are only few Cloud-based accounting software which allows "API access from external" as of 2016. Therefore, I would like to consider to utilize "File import" feature which is supported in every software efficiently.

(Though, REST API over OAuth will be supported in any software service after a year or two.)

Incidentally, although this Business Process is almost the same as the one in the latest post, it has been added a Step of "Superior's approval" for the sake of more practical use.

[Sales Report-CSV Download]

Episode 486: Collaboration with Cloud Accounting (Part 1)

"Debits? Credits? ... What is that? Tastes good?"


Indeed, there are some programmers who show "Allergic reaction" against "Finance and accounting terminology".

However, these are words which working adults should know. Even in the "Information Technology Engineers Examination", which certifies basic IT skills, these terms appear frequently.

Incidentally, there will be nothing wrong if you call them as "Left column, right column" in practice. Both of the column are merely a "breakdown table of assets". If you consist to describe concretely, it will be sufficient to consider that "Left column: Breakdown of cash and cash-like assets", "Right column: Breakdown of assets which must be paid (debt) and which are not needed to be paid."


So... How each of "Breakdown table of assets" (Balance sheet) will be transitioning, in a case that a Cloud service providing company

• sold service provisioning for twelve months
• agreed on April 1st, for 120,000 JPY
• paid on May 30th

For example...

In April, it can be regarded as "increasing of asset for one month of service worth (10.000 JPY)" since they have already provided their service (not yet paid, though.) It is so-called "Selling on credit". (Account receivable) And it will keep on changing on and after May...

[Sales Reporting]

Episode 463: Procurement Request (Starter Template)

I'm going to consider "Starter Template" of the 2016 edition.

This time, it is going to be the 2nd of the series, "Procurement Request" in simplicity.


This procurement flow is a Workflow that allows you to comfortably make requests for anything you think you want to or should buy.

That is, it is possible to request for anything, as long as being an employee, from consumable goods such as "copy paper", "drinking water", or "detergent", to fixtures like "desk", "vacuum cleaner", or "personal computer". However, it is left to the Procurement Department for actually whether or not purchased. Especially, for those difficult to determine the need and urgency, it will be in a status of "pending the decision for purchase" for long term.

Incidentally, "being approved on the Approval flow" in advance will be the premise of purchasing of the "application for purchasing items of more than 100,000 JPY ".

[Procurement Request]

Cooperation of Invoicing Flow and Accounting System

It is no exaggeration to say that all business activities are carried out for the sake of "billing". However, the difficulty of its business process designing is high.

Speaking about "Quotation" (Previous article), it roughly would be 1) approval by supervisor, 2) submission to the client, 3) deal confirmation. In its designing,

• "Expertise" such as tax and accounting
• "Systems knowledge" such as data processing or collaboration with other systems
• Devising of mutual supervision (internal control) such as separation of accounting bookkeeping from Receipts and expenditure

are not needed. ("Quotation Issuance flow" is Peaceful than I have imagined.)

Whereas, 'Billing' has its Downstream Steps such as "Bookkeeping of accounts receivable", "confirmation of payment", "storing as evidence". In fact, it varies according to the industry and the business formats of the company, or the accounting policies, or the deployed systems. Even for the starting point and the end point of the business process, state of "To-Be" is different depending on the companies.

The following Workflow is a Business Process that is focused on "After issuing the bill". Although it is the business process that is closed to the Accounting section, it is devised to "reduce the labor of inputting to the Accounting software / Cloud-accounting".

[Bill Issuance - Bookkeeping]

Visualization and Labor Saving on Appraisal of Competitive Quotes

"Competitive quotes" are important.

"RFQ" should be created properly not only in listed companies, but also in every company. These will be notified to the suppliers, and then should be saved as important business records together with the subsequent business data ("quote from the suppliers" and "evaluation to each estimate", etc.).
(RFQ: Request for Quotation / Request for Price Quotation)

The following Business Processes is a Competitive Quotes flow for general purpose. (Procurement)

From "purchasing of raw materials" to "Planning of Company outing", it can be utilized for various RFQ. All the progress of procurement will be automatically recorded / visualized when you import this flow into your Workflow platform and run it as a business system.

• 1). RFQ will be sent automatically,
• 2). Received quotes will be attached,
• 3). Quote will be evaluated by two people,
• 4a). Notification to the winner will be transmitted automatically,
• 4b). Notification for the loser will be transmitted automatically.

Needless to say, there will be benefits in various aspects, such as business records, knowledge sharing and internal control.

• Destinations of past RFQ will be be referable
• Track records of answers from requestee (suppliers) will be referable
• Track records of evaluation of requestee (suppliers) will be referable
• Frauds and unsavory ties will be prevented

[Competitive Quotes flow]

Reimbursement for Out-of-Pocket Expenses in Your Company, Does the Business Flow Prevent 'Fraud'?

Isn't there any 'Fraud' in the reimbursement flow?

For sure, internal control which involves other sections is important, such as 'Job rotation' or 'strengthen the Auditing system'. However, fundamentally 'to steadily continue improving own operations on a daily basis' is the only thing that would raise the existence value of own.

In this article, I would like to consider how to lower the risk occurrence by the workers themselves.


First of all, 'activities to lower the risk occurrence' begins with 'activity of assuming the risks'. Let's make a list of 'Fraud' that could occur in reimbursement.

[Create] Insertion of Incorrect Data

• Creating fictitious receipts in the computer!
• Asking for making fake receipts to a familiar store!
• Resale or return and refund, after actually paid out-of-pocket!!

[Update] Overwriting with Incorrect Data

• Modifying the handwritten Price part of the receipt!
• Miscalculation in summing plural receipts!
• Entering larger amount than the price on the receipt into application data!!

[Delete] Deletion of Correct Data

• Forgetting to make a request!
• Missing the receipts in Accounting!
• Boss covering-up his man's request deliberately!!

In fact, as you can feel it if you tried in "familiar workflow" such as Reimbursement Request practically, "assumption of risks" itself is not so difficult. For the people who are involved in the Business flow on the daily basis, it will be easy to list five ten risks.

Whereas, the bar will be raised when it comes to ""Controlling the Risks". (Basically, there is no choice but to diligently learning in the designing examples of Business process.)

The following Workflow is plotted Risk reduction by mutual restraint. The first major ingenuity is 'Requesting on the occurrence'. It will be checked while the memories of persons concerned are new because reimbursement requests are to be made on occurrence of payment made on behalf each time, rather than batch request at the end of the month. Another ingenuity is 'Scan & Save'. It will allow more people who concern to check concurrently, because the digital images of receipts which are paper evidence have been attached.

[Reimbursement Request for Out-of-pocket Expense]

Let the Expense Claim Go Online Completely!

In companies in Japan,

• Employees: Tiresomeness to deliver paper receipts to Accounting in head office
• Accounting staff: Tiresomeness to bind the collected receipts to the binder (to stick to notebook)

Suffering these 'Tiresomeness', binders are added every year. Then, those binders go to sleep for seven years in the bookshelf. Nobody in the company would see in the meanwhile.

However, fall in 2014, such absurdities finally became expecting to be improved. This means that the "Law" of Japan will be amended, and "Scan & Save" will be allowed. So, we would like to prepare for "Scan & Save" of receipt promptly. (Foreseeing October 2015?)

Above is the story I have posted in the last entry. -"Scan & Save" the Receipts (2014-01-19)

Well now, this 'Digitization paper receipts', its 'Business Process To-Be' differs depending on various conditions (namely companies) such as;

• Scale of organizational member
• Number of collected receipt
• Shape and type of receipt
• Number of branch office
• Number of Scanner
• Assumption of who operates scanning, and so on...

The following is a 'Expense Reimbursement Process' (Workflow) in which assumed that the claimer him/herself to scan the receipts. The whole thing is completed in digital and online, so the companies hiring many teleworkers are able to utilize it immediately.

[Expense Reimbursement Request]

"Scan & Save" the Receipts

Promote the "paperless" by the use of scanner!

Although it is not so difficult to paperless in-house approval documents and application form, there is a wall of law against the digitization (paperless) of documents received from the suppliers.

However, "Act of e-book storage method" of Japan (*) has been turned into expecting to be significantly revised in autumn in 2014. Although for the latest trend, I would like you to search by the words "scanner save revision" for it is in the middle of discussed in the government and Diet currently, however, the direction of the discussion as of January 2015 is as follows. Notably, "Store the documents of Contract and Receipt of more than \ 30,000, in paper!" will be lifted within 2015.

• It will be alright by "Scan & Save" for important documents which they were saying 'Must store in paper!'
• Regarding to "digital signature", also not needed anymore (timestamp and the input user ID will be still required)
• Regarding "pre-application to the tax office", it will be no longer needed.

* Official name of the Act: Act on Special Provisions concerning Preservation Methods for Books and Documents Related to National Tax Prepared by Means of Computers (1998-2007)


▽The Nikkei (Nov. 5, 2014)

TOKYO -- Businesses in Japan will be able to keep digital copies of receipts and contracts for tax purposes as early as next year, eliminating costs for transporting and storing paper documents.

The government began coordinating with the business community on the matter last month. Companies must now store original paper receipts and contracts for seven years for amounts of 30,000 yen ($261) or more. The proposed changes let businesses keep scanned files instead, regardless of the amount...

...the Ministry of Finance plans to require businesses to introduce internal compliance mechanisms. It will likely obligate companies to scan documents promptly and to record the time and date of scanning. Digital copies will be kept for seven years.

Then, is it good enough only scanning all of the 'Agreements' which signed by procurement section or the 'Receipts' which Sales personnel brought back, and saving the captured data into the computer?

Things are not so easy. According to "Tax law amendment outline" by the ruling party, 'To ensure internal controls, establish internal regulations about mutual supervision, periodic checks and preventative measures, and administrative processings are based on it.' will be the requirement. That is called "Appropriate Administrative Processing Requirements", and in other words, 'a framework for the clerical work to be done properly' must have been established.

The following "Expense Claim" is a Workflow that contains digitizing of Payment voucher. It is also capable of Starting triggered by captured paper image using 'Scan to Email' function of MFP. (Let's talk about the transaction documents which are classified as "sales", in another occasion...)

[Expense Claim]

ISBN by Touch Input

'Book purchase' on the company. It happens often.

Like Research institutes, R & D department, Marketing department... Books are indispensable for survey works.
Like Software company, Designing company, Construction company... Latest books are also indispensable for those creative businesses.

It's alright that 'someone buy books when he or she needs them', but information about those books which purchase on the company should be shared within the company. If there is an environment that anyone can see 'who and when bought which books' quickly, you may not have to buy books that you think you need. You may browse a book which you think not worth paying for at the office next door.

The following Workflow is a Book Purchasing Request. Not only for 'Purchase Request', you can use it for 'Report after the fact'. In other words, all the book purchase will be recorded, and that will become a Database of in-house library.

[Books Purchase Request flow]

Registry Flow of New Share through Third-party Allotment

Precisely establish "daily work procedures", and rotate it efficiently and with fun.
"Decision-making", "Drafting", "Complaint handling"... through a Workflow system, you can proceed the work efficiently and without missing.

On the other hand, it is also quite important to establish "unusual operating procedure " precisely.
It is good especially that processings of business will be automatically recorded. You can see when and which document it was (is) processed. The operational efficiency of the successor will be improved dramatically, if reusing past data become available.

In the following Workflow definition, administrative procedures of "issuance of new shares to a third party allocation" (fund procurement) have defined.
It occurs frequently in venture businesses. Even it is not bad that you would leave it to the "judicial scrivener" every time, but you can save several tens of thousand JPY the "judicial scrivener fees" of each time, if you can handle it by yourself, including the administrative registration to the Legal Affairs Bureau. Moreover, when you get used to registration itself, you'll be able to do registration of the "Share Option issuance" and"Reappointment of officer" of each year, by yourself!

[Share issuance Procedure flow]

The Product Photo Shoot Worflow

Our second article in the "photo shoot" series shall concern product photo shoots for mail-order companies.
In particular, an apparel company's mail-order website has to change its photos for every shift in season, trend, or current topic. Photo shoots are an everyday workflow. They will need to be speedy. (In our sample today, we envision at least five directors, five photographers and five web designers in charge of image processing.)