Project Requests are a ProWorkflow feature that allows you to have Clients (or Staff members if you are on the Advanced plan and have Internal projects enabled) input responses to a form and create a request for a Project, which you can then choose to approve and turn in to a Project.
Two types of Project Requests are possible: Standard Project Requests which are available to all accounts, and Custom Project Requests which are only available to accounts on the Advanced Plan (if you're currently on the Professional Plan and would like to talk to us about switching to the Advanced Plan, please reach out to support@proworkflow.com and we will be happy to assist).
How to Enable Project Requests on Your Account
To get started with either type of Project Requests, you must first enable Project Requests on your account.
To do this, navigate to your Settings, select General Settings, and then "Account Settings". Make sure Requests are toggled to "Enabled" here:
How to Create Custom Project Requests
Custom Project Requests can be created by using Custom Forms. For our complete guide to Custom Forms, please see this article.
Key Benefits
Access control (in app or external; restrict for certain users only or restrict per user type (Staff or Clients)
Auto create new Client Contacts
Upload important documents & files
Set required fields or skip sections/pages
Set or restrict valid date ranges
Change the Managers or Staff assigned to the Project based on the answers
Use templates to auto create custom workflows
Easily create complex workflows via drag/drop interface
To create a Custom Form, navigate to your Settings, then select Custom Form Builder. Once on the Custom Form Builder page, select the "Custom Request" tab:
On this page you are able to edit existing Custom Requests, and add new Custom Requests by clicking "+ Create Form":
Unlike Standard Requests, Custom Requests can be enabled for external users without a login to the system:
Again, for our complete guide to creating Custom Forms, please see this article.
How to Create Standard Project Requests
Once Requests are enabled, Standard Project Requests can be configured by going to your Settings, and then Request Settings:
This page allows you to enable the following fields on a Standard Request: Budget, Start Date, Due Date, and Files. You can also choose to enter a Default Title, and a Default Description which allows you to insert rich text, tables, images, and links. You can also set the "Recipients" of the Request, which is the staff who get generated a notification of every Request that is submitted.
How to Submit a Standard Project Request
To submit a Standard Project Requests, users must first log in to ProWorkflow (Custom Project Requests allow you to enable Requests for users without a login). Once logged in, a user can click the "+ Add" button in the top left corner of the screen, then select "Request"
If you also have Custom Requests enabled, and you wish to submit a Standard Request, then "Request" in this menu will open up a sub-menu, from which you can select "Add Request":
This will open the Project Request screen, which is populated based on the choices that you made in your settings:
Fill out the desired details, and then click "Create" to submit the request:
This results in a Project Request, which can then be approved to turn in to a Project, or declined:
How to Submit a Custom Project Request
To submit a Custom Project Request, click on the "+ Add" button in the top left corner of the screen, go to the "Request" menu, and select the Request Form you wish to submit:
Alternatively, if you want an external user without a login to complete this form, simply provide them with the link to the form in question. Note that you will need to ensure that "Access" for the form is set to "External":
You can obtain this link from the Custom Form Builder either on the Custom Request tab by selecting the ellipsis menu against the Form you wish to link to:
Or from the edit screen of the form in question, at the top of the screen:
Once a user has opened the Custom Form, they can fill out their desired (and/or required) details and then click "Submit" to submit the form.
This then creates a Project Request, which also includes the submitted Form details. The Request can then be approved to turn in to a Project, or declined:
How to Manage Submitted Requests
All submitted Requests, whether they are Standard Requests or Custom Requests, can be found in the Requests section of your site, which you can get to from the left-hand menu:
Pending Requests can be found under "Pending", and if you need to refer back to a Request after you've processed it, "Accepted" requests can be found under "Accepted". You can access Declined requests by hovering next to Requests and accessing the ellipsis menu:
To Approve or Decline a Request, go to the Pending section and select the Request you wish to review. You can make changes to the request if you wish to do so (and you have the relevant permissions), and then in the top right corner of the screen click "Decline Request" to decline the Request, or "Approve Request" to approve the Request and turn it in to a Project.
Once you Approve a Request, the Request will be moved to the "Accepted" Requests list, and a Project will be created from the Request.