Workflow Engine

FreeMaint's workflow engine lets you automate any maintenance process: when X happens, check Y, then do Z. Configure once, runs forever. Starter capped at 5 active automations; Business and above unlimited.

Anatomy of a workflow

• Trigger — what fires the workflow (work order created, status changed, meter reading exceeds threshold, etc.)
• Conditions — optional filters (priority = HIGH, asset category = pumps, work order overdue, etc.)
• Actions — what happens (assign technician, send email/notification, create child WO, update field, call webhook)

Common patterns

• Auto-assign — new HIGH priority WO → assign to on-call technician
• Escalation — WO overdue 2 days → notify manager + raise priority
• PM trigger — meter reading > 10000 hrs → create PM work order
• Status sync — WO completed → update parent project + send customer email
• Webhook out — incident created → POST to Slack/Teams

Simple vs Visual mode

Switch between Simple mode (a form, one card per step) and Visual mode (a drag-and-drop canvas). Both edit the same configuration and save the same thing: a status trigger with its approval steps chained beneath it, running top to bottom. Edit in one, save, and the other shows exactly that.

Step conditions (Business)

Beyond the trigger status, a step can carry conditions that decide whether it is enforced for a given record: cost thresholds on purchase orders and requisitions (the step applies only when the total falls within a min/max band) and request-type conditions on requests (the step applies only to the ticked types — e.g. improvements approved by the zone manager while repairs go to the maintenance manager). Both are Business-plan field-level add-ons over the standard builder; steps without conditions keep applying to everything.

Escalation after a delay (Business)

A step can set "Escalate after (hours)". The clock starts when a record starts waiting for the step — records already waiting when you set the delay are not counted. The approvers are reminded at half the delay; when it runs out, the members of the role chosen in "Escalate to role" who can open the record are alerted. Without an escalation role, the approvers are reminded once the delay runs out. Each happens once per record and per step, and stops as soon as the record moves on. The delay never gives anyone the right to approve. To add a backup approver, tick "This role can also approve" under the escalation role: its members can then approve the step at any time, alongside the approver.

Tier limits

• Core — workflow engine not available
• Starter — 5 active workflows max per company
• Business — unlimited workflows
• Enterprise — unlimited workflows + advanced triggers (ML, multi-company)

Which transitions you can gate

A step fires when someone tries to move a record INTO its trigger status. Every status in the record's lifecycle is available.

• Work orders — Open, Scheduled, In Progress, On Hold, Completed, Validated, Closed and Cancelled. A step on Closed is the usual supervisor sign-off before a job is filed for good; one on Cancelled stops a job being dropped without review.
• Requests, purchase orders, purchase requisitions and work permits each expose their own statuses.
• When a rule blocks a transition, the record explains why — which role must approve, or which fields are still missing. If you are allowed to make the move and only information is missing (a photo, a signature, a form), the button stays: its window lists what is missing and collects it.