Skip to content

Business Processes

Business Processes let you build and maintain a centralized catalog of your organization's core end-to-end processes, such as Order-to-Cash, Procure-to-Pay, or Hire-to-Retire. By keeping process names, categories, and owners in one place, you create a single reference point that the rest of KANAP can link to for ownership, reporting, and audits.

Getting started

Navigate to Master Data > Business Processes to open the list.

Required fields:

  • Name: the process name, ideally including a short code (e.g. "Order-to-Cash (O2C)").

Permissions:

  • View: business_processes:reader
  • Create / edit: business_processes:member
  • Delete, import/export CSV: business_processes:admin

If the page is missing or fields are read-only, ask your tenant admin to adjust your role permissions.

Working with the list

The list shows all business processes for your tenant.

Default columns:

  • Name: the process name. Click to open the workspace.
  • Categories: one or more categories the process belongs to (e.g. "Customer & Sales", "Finance & Controlling"). Multiple categories are shown as a comma-separated list.
  • Process Owner: the user responsible for the process.

Additional columns (hidden by default; enable them with the column chooser):

  • Status: enabled or disabled.
  • Updated: when the process was last modified.

Filtering and sorting:

  • Quick search filters across all visible columns.
  • Use the Show: All / Enabled / Disabled toggle above the list to choose which processes appear. The list shows enabled processes by default.
  • The default sort groups rows by Categories, then by Name.

Actions (top-right toolbar):

  • New (business_processes:member): create a new business process.
  • Manage Categories (business_processes:member): open the category management dialog.
  • Import CSV (Admin): bulk-import processes from a CSV file.
  • Export CSV (Admin): export the processes the list shows, or all processes, to CSV.
  • Delete Selected (Admin): delete one or more selected rows. Interfaces and requests linked to a deleted process stay, without the link.

The Business Process workspace

Click any row in the list (or the New button) to open the workspace.

The workspace has a single Overview tab on the left, and a toolbar across the top:

  • Prev / Next: step through processes in the current list order.
  • Reset: discard unsaved changes.
  • Save: persist changes.
  • Close (X icon): return to the list, keeping your filters and sort intact.

If you navigate away with unsaved changes, you will be prompted to save or discard them.

Overview

The Overview tab is organized into three sections.

Basic info

  • Name (required): use a clear name including the short code, e.g. "Order-to-Cash (O2C)" or "Hire-to-Retire (H2R)".
  • Description: a short summary of what the process covers. A good description captures the start and end points (e.g. "From customer order through delivery, invoicing, and payment received.").
  • Status switch: labelled with the current state (Enabled or Disabled). Enabled processes appear in selectors across the app. Disable a process to retire it without deleting it, so historical references stay intact.

Classification

  • Categories (multi-select): assign one or more categories. You can pick from existing categories, create a new one inline with New category, or click Edit categories to open the full category management dialog.
  • Process Owner: the user ultimately responsible for the process. Shown in the list grid and available for future notifications and approvals.
  • IT Owner: the user responsible for the IT systems and tools that support this process.

Details

  • Notes: free-form field for internal information such as links to process maps, SOPs, scope notes, or improvement plans.

Applications

Below the details, the Applications section lists the applications that support the process, with their reference, criticality and IT owner. Add opens a search; a link saves at once, without Save. Hover a row and click its cross to unlink it. The application shows the same link in the Business processes section of its Relations tab.

You need business_processes:member to change the links. The section appears only if you can read applications. A Business Contributor sees and links only the applications in their scope.

Managing categories

Categories are shared across all business processes. You can manage them from two places:

  1. On the list page, click Manage Categories.
  2. In the workspace, under the Categories field, click Edit categories.

Both open the Manage Business Process Categories dialog.

What you can do:

  • Rename: edit the name directly in the text field.
  • Activate / Deactivate: toggle whether a category appears in selectors. Inactive categories are hidden from new assignments but preserved on existing processes.
  • Delete: remove a category. Deletion only works if no process is using it; otherwise the message counts the processes that use it. Disable it instead.
  • New category: add a new row at the top of the dialog.

Save and cancel behavior:

  • Nothing is saved until you click Save. While the dialog is open, all changes are tracked locally.
  • Cancel closes the dialog and discards everything you changed.
  • If an error occurs on save (e.g. a duplicate name or a category still in use), the dialog stays open so you can correct the problem.

CSV import/export

Use CSV import and export for bulk onboarding or offline editing of your process catalog. Both require Admin access.

Exporting

Click Export CSV on the list page. You can export:

  • A template (header row only) to use as a starting point.
  • Data (all processes for the current tenant).

The separator follows the language of your screen. See CSV files for the encoding, the separator and the two import steps.

Columns: name, categories, description, notes, status.

The categories column may contain multiple category names separated by semicolons inside the cell (e.g. Customer & Sales; Finance & Controlling).

Importing

Click Import CSV on the list page, then:

  1. Upload your CSV file with the column titles of the template. Commas or semicolons both work.
  2. Run the Preflight check. It validates headers and data, and shows how many rows will be created vs. updated.
  3. If preflight passes, click Load to apply changes.

Matching rules:

  • Rows are matched by Name, whatever the case. A matching name updates the existing process and keeps its stored spelling (the preflight check says which process the row matched); a new name creates a new process.
  • Each category in the categories cell is trimmed and matched by name. If a category does not exist yet, it is created automatically as an active category.
  • The file has no end of validity column. On an update, a blank status, or one equal to the process's current status, keeps its end of validity. A different status applies it: enabled clears the end of validity, and disabled ends the process today unless its end of validity has already passed. A new process is enabled unless the row says disabled.

Tip: export your current data first, modify the CSV, and re-import. This avoids accidental duplicates and ensures you are working from the latest state.

Tips

  • Naming convention: stick to the "Plain Name (CODE)" format (e.g. "Order-to-Cash (O2C)") so processes are easy to search and recognizable at a glance.
  • Retire, don't delete: disable processes you no longer use instead of deleting them. This preserves historical references and audit trails.
  • Categories first: set up your category structure before importing processes in bulk. The import will auto-create missing categories, but planning ahead keeps things tidy.
  • Process Owner early: assigning a Process Owner now means ownership data is already in place when future features like notifications and task routing come online.