Lesson 1 of 8 · 8 min

What are workflows?

Understanding matter workflows and why they matter.

Lesson 1 of 8

A Matter Workflow defines the stages your matters move through — from file opening to completion. This lesson explains what workflows are in MatterFirst and why building one is the fastest way to make your firm's process consistent.

Workflows are the stages of a matter

In MatterFirst a workflow is an ordered set of stages that a matter passes through. Each stage can gate progress (a matter only enters once its entry requirements are met), auto-create tasks for the team, and run automations when a matter enters or leaves it. You manage them from Settings, under the sidebar item 'Workflow Builder' (Settings > Workflows). Each matter type points at one active workflow, so every matter of that type follows the same path.

Why workflows matter

Without a workflow, every matter depends on someone remembering the next step. A workflow makes the process explicit, repeatable, and measurable: stages appear on the matter, tasks are created automatically, and reporting counts matters as they move between stable reporting buckets. New team members can follow the firm's process from day one.

Two building blocks: stages and transitions

A workflow is drawn on a visual canvas as boxes (stages) joined by arrows (transitions). A stage has a type — Sequential (the default, straight-through) or Decision (the team chooses which branch to take). A transition is the labelled path a matter takes from one stage to the next, e.g. 'Approve' or 'Reject'. Later lessons cover stage types, the actions each stage runs, and the separate Automations engine.

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    See a workflow on the canvas

    Open Settings > Workflows (sidebar: 'Workflow Builder'). Once your firm has at least one workflow, the page opens straight into the visual builder for it. Each box is a stage and each arrow is a transition — this Conveyancing example runs File Opening → Contract Review → a Decision → Settlement → Completed.

    A Matter Workflow drawn as stages (boxes) connected by transitions (arrows).

Tips & pitfalls

  • Managing workflows requires admin access (the 'manage workflows' permission). Staff and read-only users can follow a workflow on a matter, but only admins can edit the workflow itself.
  • Editing a live workflow applies immediately to matters already running on it — the builder shows a 'Live on N matters' warning so you know when changes will affect real work.

Key takeaways

  • A workflow is the ordered set of stages a matter type moves through
  • Stages gate entry, create tasks, and run automations; transitions are the labelled paths between them
  • Workflows live under Settings > Workflows ('Workflow Builder') and make your process consistent and measurable
Creating your first workflow

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