Why Is My Workflow Locked?

There are two ways a workflow can be locked:

Lock One: On the "Start New Workflow" page, you are unable to click on a workflow, the text is grey and there is a lock symbol next to it

When you try to start a workflow, you may find the workflow in grey letters with a lock symbol alongside the task. This one type of "lock" on the platform.  When you attempt to click on this workflow, you are unable to do so. This could be happening for many reasons, for example:

• Your lawyer has not been registered yet, and this workflow is only unlocked after your lawyer is registered
• You have not completed incorporation, and this workflow is only unlocked after you have completed your incorporation workflow
• You have not completed post-incorporation, and this workflow is only unlocked after you have completed your post-incorporation workflow

If you hover over the gray lock icon to the right of the workflow, text will appear explaining exactly why this particular workflow is locked, and what action needs to be taken to unlock it.

This type of lock exists because more advanced workflow build on the information provided in foundational workflows.  More advanced workflows are locked until the foundational workflows are completed.

Lock Two: Another type of lock you will encounter on the platform is if you find that you run into a screen in the middle of a workflow that declares you may not continue since another instance of the workflow is in flight

Another type of lock you'll find on the platform, is a screen in the middle of a workflow that declares you may not continue since another instance of the workflow is in flight. Not to worry! There are a few reasons why this might happen:

• One of your coworkers might be running the same exact workflow or one closely related (i.e., running grant shares while you're trying to terminate the grantee).
• You have run this workflow before and have left it in an unfinished state.

Regardless of the reasons listed above, it is likely that you will encounter a locked workflow throughout the course of running your business.

This type of lock exists so that effort is not inadvertently doubled (i.e., shares aren't granted so the same employee in the same amounts twice, shares aren't repurchased twice, and so forth).

What Should I Do If I Encounter This? 

If another person is running the duplicate workflow:

In the event that your workflow or workflows are locked, you should first verify with your other collaborators to make sure that you aren't crossing over in your actions. For instance, you should communicate with your team to make sure that someone else hasn't attempted to run the "Employee Termination" workflow at the same time as you. If someone is trying to run the workflow at the same time, you can either Delete your Workflow and allow them to finish the task, or you can have them Transfer the Workflow to your account.

If you are running the duplicate workflow:

Find the duplicate workflow and discard it or complete it. You can learn more about discarding a workflow here.