This guide will help you configure the request catalog (a.k.a. the request portal) to use approval flows. By doing so, your users will be able to log into your company portal and search for individual assets. They can click on a custom request button which will capture their desired pickup / return times for the item and also start an approval process. Approval processes can allow one or more people to view a request and approve it before the item is finally reserved and then checked out to the user.
Note: This guide assumes you already have users and access roles in your Reftab account. For more information on creating users and assigning them to access roles click here.
This guide will cover:
- Disabling checkouts and reservations from the portal
- Setting access role to allow users to make requests
- Creating an approval flow
- Requesting an item from the portal
- Fulfilling the reservation request
Disable checkouts and reservations from the portal
Step 1) Log into your Reftab account as an administrator and click, “Settings” > “Request Portal”
Step 2) Scroll down and find the setting “Portal Loans Settings” and set it to “Off“
Scroll back up and click “Save Portal Settings“
Set your access role to allow users to make requests
Step 3) Go to “Access Roles” and edit your access role. Click the tab “Loan Rights“. Then, look for the setting “Allow Equipment Requests” and set it to “On” and click “Save“
Create an approval flow
Step 4) Next, create an approval flow for assets. Click “Requests” > “Approval Flows“
Step 5) Click “New Approval Flow” > “Asset Based“
Step 6) Click “Close- Create Flow From Scratch“
Step 7) Give your Flow a name and click “Add Step” at bottom:
Step 8) Next, we’ll create a step in our approval flow that sends an email to a specific user. This will act as the notification and allow the approver to view details of the request and approve or deny the reservation.
Give your step a name and then select a named approver:
Step 9) Scroll down to “Step Actions” and click “Send Email“
You can customize the subject line and body of the email if required.
Step 10) Scroll down and click, “Save Step“
Step 11) Next, Click “Add Step” again.
Step 12) Next, name this step “Fulfillment”
Scroll down and enable the setting, “Check-out / Reserve at this step?” and click “Save Step“
Step 13) Click and drag the fulfillment step until it as the bottom. It should be your final step.
Step 14) click “Save Approval Flow“
Requesting an item from the portal
Next, when your users log into the request portal, they will be able to search for assets and see your “Reservation Request” button.
They can submit their dates of pickup and return and click “Submit“
Once the reservation is submitted, your first approver in your first step will be notified via email. The approver can click “Approve Request” or “Reject Request“
Fulfill Reservation Request
You as the Admin can click on the “Requests” page in your Reftab account. You’ll be able to see the current step that each request is on which will inform you of the status of your requests and the individual stages they are in:
Click on the request. You’ll see a timeline of the history of approval steps. You can click “Review and Fulfill Request” if the request is currently in the last step.
On the next page, you’ll see all the details submitted by the user. For example, you’ll see the dates requested, along with the items requested.
You’ll now need to fulfill the reservation by either scanning with a handheld scanner in the barcode input or, select the asset manually.
Click “Search / Add Items“:
Next, select the asset and click “Select 1 Asset“
Finally, click “Submit Reservation“
Thats it! The item will now be reserved to the user for the dates selected. The user will also receive an email that item has been reserved for them. You can click on the “Reservations” page to see the reserved item:
Additional Information:
Note that you can customize the approval flows to include specific steps based upon specific categories of equipment being requested. There’s no limit to how many approval flows or steps you can create. You can also configure other actions such as web-hooks and checking assets back into stock or transferring assets between two users. There’s a lot of customization options available. The best place to start is to build a simple request that performs a single, important function, like approving usage, then building from there. Note that you can also download the mobile app and make requests for equipment from the app. For additional help, email us at “Help@Reftab.com”.
Thanks!