Form workflows

A workflow is an automation that runs when something happens on a form, such as an entry being submitted or an admin clicking an Approve button. Typical uses are trade account approvals, internal notifications, order request processing and routing by customer data.
You build workflows on a visual canvas, with no code, from the Workflows tab of the form builder at Forms (opens in your SparkLayer Dashboard in a new tab). The form templates come with workflows ready to use, such as the Approve/Reject workflow on the Wholesale Registration Form. Forms is only in the SparkLayer Dashboard, not in the SparkLayer Wholesale app in Shopify admin.
Creating and editing workflows needs the Growth plan or above (see Plans and features).
Workflows are part of the form version: changes only go live when you publish the form.

How it works

Every workflow starts with a trigger: the event that starts it. Steps follow: the actions it performs. Connections (paths) link the steps together on the canvas.

The shape of a workflow

Trigger

For example, Form submitted.

Step

For example, a Condition that checks an answer.

Step

For example, Create customer.

End

The workflow run is recorded against the entry.

Steps run one after another, in order (synchronously). While it runs, a workflow can use the entry's answers, the form structure, outputs from earlier steps, and data tables or other stored values. It reads them through data references.

The Workflows tab lists the form's workflows, each with What it does and a Status (such as On). Click View to open one. Forms made from a template already have these:

Workflow	What it does
Approve/Reject workflow	Creates the customer in Shopify with the group's tag and emails them, or sends a polite no. (Wholesale Registration Form)
Prevent duplicate email registrations	Stops a second application from an email that already has an account. (Wholesale Registration Form)
Notification of submission	Emails your team when an entry comes in.

Example workflows

Most forms need one of these patterns. Build them with the steps in Create a workflow.

Approve a trade account application

Add a decision and a button as internal fields. The button is a Workflow trigger button field. Then run a workflow when your team clicks it:

Approve a trade account application

Internal button clicked

Your team approves the entry.

Create customer

Creates the customer in your store, with their customer group's tag.

Send email

Tells the customer their account is ready.

The Wholesale Registration Form template comes with this set up. Its Approve/Reject workflow creates the customer in Shopify with the chosen customer group's tag, so they see trade prices as soon as they sign in. You approve or reject from the entry: see Approve or reject an application.

For a full walkthrough of an approval process, see the account credit request form.

Notify your team

Email your team about each new entry:

Notify your team

Form submitted

Trigger

Send email

An internal email to your team.

Route by answer

Send an entry to a different team depending on an answer:

Route by answer

Form submitted

Trigger

Condition

Category equals "Sales"?

Send email

True path: the sales team. False path: the support team.

Multi-step approval

Work out a value, record it, then ask for approval only when it's needed:

Multi-step approval

Form submitted

Trigger

Calculation

Work out totals.

Update entry or row

Write the totals to the entry.

Send email

Confirm to the customer.

Condition

If the total is over a threshold, request approval.

Reset a dependent field

Use this when one field controls the valid options for another. For example, a customer picks a country, and a second field shows that country's regions. If they change the country, the region they chose may no longer be valid, so the workflow clears it.

Reset a dependent field

Answer updated

Watching Country.

Clear answer

Target: Region.

Customer chooses again

They pick a valid region for the new country.

Other pairs this suits: country and region, customer group and available products, product category and product, department and approval reason, order type and required supporting details.

Create a workflow

Open your form from Forms (opens in your SparkLayer Dashboard in a new tab) and go to the Workflows tab.
Click Create workflow. The canvas opens.
To rename the workflow, click the pencil icon next to its name at the top left.

Add a trigger

Click + Add Trigger.
Choose the trigger type (see Triggers).
Set its options, for example which answers to watch for Answer updated.

Add steps

Click the + on a trigger or step, or drag its path handle out onto the canvas.
Choose a step type (see Steps).
Set up the step in the panel on the right. Click Expand for more room, or Delete step to remove it.
Connect further steps as needed. Steps with several paths, such as Condition, let you branch the workflow.

Click Arrange steps to tidy the layout. Disable turns the workflow off without deleting it.

Publish the workflow

Workflow changes stay in the draft until you publish the form.

Check your changes are saved.
Click Publish and include Workflows in what you publish.

Entries created before you publish keep using the workflows from their own version. See How versions affect entries.

Check workflow runs

SparkLayer records a run every time a workflow runs. Check it to see what happened.

Open an entry.
Go to Workflow Runs.
Select a run to see its details.

Detail	What it shows
Start and end time	When the run happened.
Duration	How long it took.
Status	Completed or failed.
Step logs	Each step's inputs, outputs and results.

Debug a workflow

Open the workflow run.
Review each step. You can see exactly which path the run took, including conditional branches.
Check error messages and conditions that weren't met.
Fix the workflow or the entry data.

Triggers

Trigger	Runs the workflow when
Form submitted	A form is completed and submitted.
Entry created	A new entry is created, which is when someone starts filling in the form.
Answer updated	One or more selected answers change.
Internal field updated	One or more selected internal fields change.
Page loaded	A selected form page loads.
Button clicked	A button field on the form is clicked.
Internal button clicked	An admin clicks a button in the internal fields.
API request	It's called by an API request.

For example: send an internal notification when a form is submitted, recalculate a value when an answer changes, start an approval when an admin clicks an internal button, update internal fields when review data changes, or start a workflow from another system with an API request.

Steps

Step	What it does
Send email	Sends an email to one or more recipients.
Condition	Branches the workflow based on rules.
Calculation	Calculates values using numbers, formulas and data references.
For each loop	Repeats a set of steps for each item in a list, such as line items, repeatable fields or data table rows.
Update entry or row	Updates a field on a form entry or a data table row.
Clear answer	Clears one or more values from a form entry or data table row, for example when related data changes.
Read/Unread entry	Marks an entry as read or unread.
Create entry or row	Creates a form entry or data table row.
Delete entry or row	Deletes a form entry or data table row.
API request	Sends data to another system, such as your ERP or CRM. Usually set up by a developer.
Get customer	Finds an existing SparkLayer customer by ID, platform ID or email.
Create customer	Creates a customer in your eCommerce platform and SparkLayer.
Update customer	Updates an existing SparkLayer customer.

Choose the right step

Step	Use it when
Condition	The workflow needs to make a decision.
Calculation	You need totals, scores, discounts or other numbers.
Update entry or row	You want to write a value to the current entry, an internal field, another form's entry or a data table row.
Clear answer	A previous value is no longer valid, such as a selected option after the field that controls its options changes.
For each loop	You need to process every item in a list, such as repeatable fields, line items or filtered data table rows.
API request	Another system needs the form or workflow data.
Get customer, Create customer, Update customer	You need to find, create or update customer accounts.

Step paths

Some steps have more than one path out. The path decides what happens next.

Step	Paths
Condition	True, False
For each loop	Loop body (for each item), After loop
API request	Success, Error
Get customer	Found, Not found, Error
Create customer	Success, Error
Update customer	Success, Error
Most other steps	Next

For example, an API request continues on the Success path if the request works, or follows the Error path if it fails.

The workflow canvas

You build a workflow by placing and connecting nodes on the canvas.

Action	How
Pan	Click and drag the canvas.
Zoom	Scroll, or use the zoom controls at the bottom left.
Select a node	Click it.
Select several nodes	Shift-click, or drag.

Triggers and steps appear as nodes, joined by connections. Click a node to edit its settings, see its input and output data, delete it or reconnect it. To connect steps, drag from one node to another. A step can branch into several paths:

Path	Meaning
Next	Continue to the next step.
True / False	Conditional branching.
Error	Runs when a step fails.
Loop	Used in repeated processes.

Tips

Keep each workflow to one process, and name it clearly. Don't combine unrelated automations.
Before publishing, use the Preview tab, submit test entries and check the workflow runs for errors.
Plan for errors: add Error paths where needed, log important outputs, and protect critical workflows.
Avoid unnecessary API calls and very long chains of steps.