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Dynamics 365 Community / Forums / Microsoft Dynamics CRM (Archived) / Scheduling Workflow fo...
Microsoft Dynamics CRM (Archived)

Scheduling Workflow for Contract End Date notifications

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Posted on by Community Member

I am creating a workflow where an email should be sent 60 days before the contract end date and then 3 days before the contract end date.  The System Job shows the workflow status as 'Waiting' continuously. That means if a contract will expire after one year from now, the workflow will remain in 'Waiting' state for the entire year and will be changed to 'Succeeded' only when the condition is met. Could you please advise how to create this process so that it does not remain in waiting state for so long?  Is there some way that workflow wakes up only once a day to check the condition?

We are using CRM Online and I am new to workflows.  Thanks in advance.

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  • Verified answer
    GL-23071537-0 Profile Picture
    GL-23071537-0 on at

    Hi Saima,

    You have accomplished a lot for being new to workflows!!  Good job!

    This is true that they will remain in the waiting stage until the day arrives when the workflow should take action.  There is no other way to have the workflow "wake up" and trigger UNLESS your business users are doing something else on the record that would trigger it.

    If the contract dates can change, then you might be at risk of having multiple waiting workflows for the same contract, in which case this article may help.

    www.powerobjects.com/.../multiple-waiting-workflows-wait-conditions-and-timeouts

  • Community Member Profile Picture
    Community Member on at

    Hi Gretchen.

    Thanks so much for the immediate response, it is very helpful.  I started using Dynamics CRM since December 2012 and liking it a lot.

    The plan B I can think of is creating a countdown field 'Days remaining' in contract form.  At the time contracts become Active, the field will show the same number as it appears in 'Duration in days' field.  A workflow deducts a day from this field everyday. And when it reaches to 60, another workflow checks this condition and sends notification.

    Please advise whether this scenario is feasible. I do not know yet about how to create the countdown field and workflow.

    Thank you.

  • Suggested answer
    GL-23071537-0 Profile Picture
    GL-23071537-0 on at

    Hi Saima,

    Just curious--what is your aversion to the waiting workflow?  One concern I have is the performance of the system if you have too many waiting workflows.  The scenario where a workflow deducts from the duration each day seems feasible, but it also seems like it would create a lot of workflow tasks each day--it's hard to say which is worse!

    If I were staying within the application's toolsets, I think I would go with the waiting workflow, personally.  However, if you have other options available to you, you might consider an SSIS or Scrbe script that runs nightly or something of that nature to continue with optimal performance.

    I'd welcome others to chime in with their opinions as this is an interesting question!  

  • Community Member Profile Picture
    Community Member on at

    Hi Gretchen,

    Thanks again. My concern too is the performance of the system. Though I am not sure that while using CRM Online, should system performance (in terms of waiting workflows) be a matter of concern?  Also, how much disk space waiting workflows might take (Online allows total 5GB).

    We are certainly considering staying within the application's toolsets.  I would go with waiting workflow, however, it would be very helpful to know what other best practices are used for creating similar workflows.

    Thank you.

    Saima

  • Verified answer
    GL-23071537-0 Profile Picture
    GL-23071537-0 on at

    Hi Saima,

    This is an interesting blog with some thoughts for you.

    community.dynamics.com/.../workflow-wait-conditions-best-practices-dynamics-crm-2011.aspx

    Hope this helps!  Good luck!  

  • Community Member Profile Picture
    Community Member on at

    Hi Gretchen,

    Very helpful article...thanks so much.

    Here is another article explaining how to reduces the wait time if the condition is 7 days away. Interesting but obviously cannot be applied to year long contracts.

    community.dynamics.com/.../workflow-best-practices-8211-reduce-wait-time.aspx

    Thanks,

    Saima

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