Workflow reference · updated August 8, 2026

Stelaah workflow library

Complete workflow patterns for connecting problems, steps, automation opportunities, modules, and expected outcomes. Adapt each pattern to the team's permissions, plan, integrations, and operating context.

Client onboarding

Problem: A new client arrives with missing context. Steps: capture the client, qualify the work, create the project, collect requirements, agree owners and dates, and open the client-facing workspace. Automation: task creation, reminders, forms, and status updates where supported. Modules: CRM, projects, forms, documents, tasks, portal. Outcome: a visible first-week plan.

Marketing campaigns

Problem: Briefs, assets, approvals, channels, and reporting are disconnected. Steps: define the brief, plan work, assign owners, route approvals, publish, and review results. Automation: reminders, recurring tasks, approval states, and reporting prompts. Modules: projects, documents, approvals, calendar, reports.

Content production

Problem: Content moves through drafts and reviews without a stable record. Steps: brief, outline, draft, review, approval, publication, archive. Automation: due-date reminders and review assignments. Modules: documents, files, tasks, approvals, and notes.

Construction management

Problem: Client, job, change, vendor, and schedule context is fragmented. Steps: capture the job, define scope, assign tasks, record changes, coordinate documents, and close out. Fit note: specialist estimating, safety, CAD, and field systems may still be required.

Event operations

Problem: Events, vendors, clients, schedules, and billing handoffs compete for attention. Steps: inquiry, engagement, vendor plan, schedule, approvals, delivery, closeout. Modules: CRM, projects, calendar, files, approvals, invoices.

Approvals

Problem: Feedback and sign-off are buried in messages. Steps: identify decision, publish material, assign reviewer, capture feedback, revise, record approval. Automation: reminders and state changes where supported. Outcome: a findable decision trail.

Scheduling and resource planning

Problem: committed work exceeds visible capacity. Steps: list commitments, estimate effort, compare capacity, assign owners, schedule milestones, and review changes. Modules: calendar, planner, time tracking, projects, reports.

Knowledge management

Problem: useful decisions and operating knowledge disappear after delivery. Steps: capture, classify, link to work, review, and reuse. Modules: documents, notes, files, projects, and search.

Approval workflow

Problem: A request needs sign-off but there is no named approver, response window, or escalation path. Steps: route the request to a named approver, set a default response window, escalate to a backup if the window is missed, and record the decision. Automation: routing by request type or value, and escalation on missed response windows, where supported. Modules: approvals, notifications, audit trail. Outcome: a request that either resolves within its window or escalates automatically instead of stalling silently.

Hiring

Problem: Candidate status, interview feedback, and hiring decisions are scattered across email and individual notes. Steps: approve the role, post it, screen applications, schedule interviews, collect panel feedback, and record the decision. Automation: interview scheduling reminders and status updates where supported. Modules: tasks, calendar, documents, approvals. Outcome: a single, current record of where each candidate stands.

Employee onboarding

Problem: Equipment, access, and a first-week plan are assembled ad hoc after a new hire's start date instead of before it. Steps: trigger setup on offer acceptance, prepare access and equipment ahead of day one, assign a first-week plan, and schedule 30/60/90-day check-ins. Automation: checklist creation and check-in scheduling from the accepted start date, where supported. Modules: tasks, calendar, documents. Outcome: a new hire whose first day does not depend on last-minute preparation.

Proposal to payment

Problem: Scope agreed in a proposal gets re-typed into a contract, then re-typed again into an invoice, creating repeated entry and drift. Steps: discovery call, scope drafted, proposal sent, signed, deposit invoiced from the same scope record, deposit paid, work authorized. Automation: deposit invoice generation on signature, and a follow-up reminder if a sent proposal has no response, where supported. Modules: documents, contracts, invoices, approvals. Outcome: work only authorized once funding is actually confirmed.

Product launch

Problem: Engineering, marketing, and support each work from their own timeline with no shared view of readiness. Steps: define launch scope, build a cross-team plan, prepare assets and messaging, run a readiness review every team must pass, and review after launch. Automation: readiness checklist tracking across teams, where supported. Modules: projects, tasks, calendar, documents. Outcome: a launch date nobody discovers they weren't ready for.

Invoice tracking beyond email

Problem: invoices are sent through email but ownership, status, due dates, payment, and follow-up are not visible. Steps: create the invoice record, confirm delivery, set the next action, reconcile payment, and review exceptions. Guide: How to stop losing invoices in email.

Dropbox to invoice for agencies

Problem: approved files and billing triggers live in separate systems. Steps: preserve the approved asset, record the decision, confirm delivery, trigger billing from the agreement, and track payment in the invoice record. Workflow: Dropbox and invoice workflow for agencies.

Automation principles

Automate repeated, understandable steps with explicit triggers, actions, permissions, and review points. Do not automate an ambiguous decision simply because it is repetitive. Use the automation feature reference and AI recommendation guide.

Operational handoffs worth designing

Step-by-step guides for the transitions where client work most often loses context.

Proposal, Contract, Deposit, and Project WorkflowTurn an accepted proposal into a signed, funded, owned project without re-entering the promise.Client Feedback and Creative Approval WorkflowCollect feedback, resolve contradictions, record approval, and trigger the next project action.Monthly Retainer Invoicing WorkflowConnect recurring scope, completed work, exceptions, approval, invoice, payment, and renewal evidence.Scope Creep and Change Request WorkflowIdentify out-of-scope work early, quantify the impact, get a decision, and preserve the original promise.Photography Inquiry Follow-Up WorkflowRespond quickly, qualify the opportunity, preserve context, and move serious inquiries toward a confident booking.Client Offboarding and Final Payment WorkflowClose delivery, access, documents, invoices, payment, archive, feedback, and follow-up without leaving loose ends.Move from Studio Ninja to StelaahA controlled migration plan for photography studios moving active clients, jobs, documents, invoices, and workflows.Move Spreadsheets and Dropbox into a Client WorkspaceMigrate project status and client context while keeping specialist file storage where it still belongs.Client Onboarding Automation WorkflowAutomate predictable setup while keeping scope, access, expectations, and relationship judgment under human control.Project Kickoff WorkflowCarry the sold promise into owners, milestones, risks, access, communication, and client expectations before delivery accelerates.Invoice Approval WorkflowCreate, review, authorize, send, reconcile, and follow up on invoices with clear separation between preparation and approval.Agency Capacity Planning WorkflowCompare available people and hours with confirmed work, tentative demand, leave, operating buffer, and skill constraints.