Setting up Bitrix24 business processes

Setting Up Business Processes in Bitrix24

Approving a business-trip request takes three days: the manager missed the notification, the accountant didn't know her sign-off was needed. Bitrix24 business processes automate this chain — but only when the right tool is chosen: BP or CRM robots.

Business Processes vs. CRM Robots

CRM robots are a simplified visual constructor for linear scenarios inside a funnel. Business processes are a full-featured engine with branching, loops, parallel branches, waiting for user actions, and complex conditions.

Technically both run on the same bizproc engine (\Bitrix\Bizproc\Workflow), but the BP editor provides significantly more elements: "If-Then-Else", "Loop", "Parallel Actions", "User Task", "Wait".

Use BP when:

• A user action is required (confirm, reject, enter data)
• There is conditional branching
• The process spans several departments sequentially
• Loops or parallel branches are needed

Where Business Processes Are Configured

BP in Bitrix24 work on four entity types:

• List items (lists) — requests, registers, reference books
• Disk documents (disk) — files and folders
• CRM items (via the crm module)
• Site pages (on-premise Bitrix)

For corporate processes Lists are most commonly used: a list "Leave Requests", "Invoices for Payment", "Purchase Requests" is created, and a BP is attached to it.

Path: Bitrix24 → Lists → [List] → Business Processes → Add.

The Business Process Editor

The editor is visual, drag-and-drop. Elements are connected with arrows forming a graph. Core blocks:

User Task — stops the process and sends a notification to the required user with action buttons (Approve / Reject). The user sees the notification in the activity feed. The process continues after a response.

If-Then-Else — branching based on a field value, the result of the previous task, or a variable. For example: "If amount > 50,000 → approval by CFO, otherwise → proceed to execution".

Wait — a pause for a specified time or until an event occurs.

Modify Document — updates a field on the item. Used to set a status after approval.

Variables and Parameters

BP works with three types of variables:

• Parameters — passed when the BP is launched (e.g., the request amount)
• Variables — internal process variables (e.g., the vote result)
• Document fields — field values of the item the BP is attached to

Variables are passed between actions using the syntax {=Variable:VariableName} or {=Document:FIELD_NAME}.

Launching Business Processes

A BP can be launched:

• Manually — the user clicks a button in the item's interface
• Automatically — on item creation or modification
• On schedule — via an agent (on-premise Bitrix only)

Setup Time

Setting up a typical corporate approval process — 1 working day including testing with real users.