Exit Workflow
When to Use
Use Exit Workflow when:
• A workflow is designed for one kind of document and you want to stop anything else, for example purchase orders or credit notes that arrive in an invoice workflow.
• A document is not ready to be processed, for example a contract that has not been signed by both parties.
• A document does not need any further action, for example a zero-value invoice or a test submission.
• A person reviewing a file decides that it should not go ahead, for example by choosing Cancel in a Supply Information step.
• You want to tell the person who added a file, automatically and in plain language, why it was not processed and what they should do instead.
How It Works
1. A file reaches the Exit Workflow action.
2. Willow360 evaluates the exit condition using the file's metadata at that moment.
3. If the condition is met, the workflow ends for that file. No further actions are performed, and the file's status becomes Completed.
4. If an exit message is configured, an email is sent to the chosen recipients explaining why the file exited.
5. If the condition is not met, the action is skipped and the file continues from the next action in the workflow.
Every outcome is recorded in the file's File History, so you can always see whether a file exited and why.
Key Rules and Considerations
• The condition is part of the action. Most actions use the standard condition button to decide whether they run. Exit Workflow does not have that button. Instead, its exit condition is configured directly inside the action, and on the workflow scheme the action is always shown with the small condition icon.
• Standard condition rules apply. The exit condition works in exactly the same way as the Run only if the condition is met option on other actions, so all the usual expression rules apply (see Building the Exit Condition below).
• An exited file is Completed. A file that leaves through Exit Workflow is given the status Completed. The job it belongs to is also considered complete, even if some of its files finished normally and others exited.
• Later actions do not run. Nothing placed after the point of exit is performed for that file, including uploads, emails, Export Data to CSV and Compliance Report. Plan where you place these actions accordingly.
• The file is not passed to another workflow. Exit Workflow stops processing. It does not move the file into a different workflow. Use the exit message to tell people which workflow to use instead.
• You can use it more than once. A workflow can contain several Exit Workflow actions, for example one immediately after AI Data to check the document type and another after a Supply Information step to respect a reviewer's decision.
• Metadata must exist before it can be checked. The exit condition can only use metadata produced by actions earlier in the workflow.
Configuration
There are two parts to configure in the Exit Workflow action.
Exit Condition
Build one or more expressions that describe when a file should leave the workflow. Each expression compares a left value with a right value using an operator. Typically, you compare a metadata value, such as a field extracted by AI Data, with a fixed value.
For example:
• Is Invoice = No
• Total Amount ≤ 0
• Document Type does not contain Invoice
• Currency ≠ GBP
When the File Exits
Choose what happens when the exit condition is met:
• Exit silently (no message sent). This is the default. The file exits and no email is sent.
• Send exit message. An email is sent to explain why the file left the workflow.
If you choose Send exit message, configure the following:
Send to. This is prefilled with the user who added the file. You can add registered users of your organisation or external email addresses. A warning is shown when a recipient is external. Recipients can also be chosen dynamically from metadata, using any of the following:
• User who added file
• Approver
• Form Data fields of the User or Email type
• External Data fields of the Email type
• AI Data fields of the Email type
Subject. This is prefilled with "The document [File Name] has exited the workflow" and can hold up to 200 characters.
Text. This has no default content, only the prompt "Please type the reason the file exited the workflow", and can hold up to 10,000 characters. Explain clearly why the file was stopped and what the recipient should do next.
Both the subject and text can include metadata, including the file name, so each email is specific to the file concerned. When counting characters, each metadata item counts as a single character, whatever value it eventually contains.
Building the Exit Condition
The exit condition follows the same rules as all other conditions in Willow360. For a full guide, see Using Conditions in Willow360.
Operands. Each side of an expression can be a metadata value, fixed text, or a combination of the two.
Operators. You can use equal (=), not equal (≠), less than (<), greater than (>), less than or equal (≤), greater than or equal (≥), contains, does not contain, starts with, ends with, does not start with and does not end with.
Text comparisons. Comparisons of text are not case-sensitive, so "invoice" and "INVOICE" are treated as equal. The operators contains, does not contain, starts with, ends with, does not start with and does not end with always compare values as text.
Numbers and dates. The operators <, >, ≤ and ≥ only work with numbers and dates. Fixed dates must be entered in your organisation's date format, for example 31/03/2026 for UK format or 03/31/2026 for US format.
Calculations. Either side can be a calculation using +, -, * and /, for example Total Amount * 1.2. Calculations are worked out only when both sides are numbers.
Combining expressions. Several expressions can be combined with AND and OR. Expressions are evaluated from top to bottom, and any OR expressions must appear at the top, before any AND.
Missing data. If an expression refers to metadata that does not exist for a file, for example because the action that supplies it was skipped, that expression is treated as false. In most cases this means the file will not exit and will continue through the workflow.
Calculation errors. If the condition cannot be calculated at all, for example because of a division by zero, the action fails and the workflow stops for that file.
Practical Examples
Wrong document type. An invoice workflow begins with AI Data asking "Is this document an invoice?" as a Yes/No field. Exit Workflow follows with the condition Is Invoice = No and sends an exit message to the user who added the file: "[File Name] does not appear to be an invoice and has not been processed. Please add purchase orders to the Purchase Orders workflow." Genuine invoices continue to approval and upload.
Credit notes in the invoice workflow. AI Data asks "Is this document a credit note?" If the answer is Yes, the file exits and an exit message is sent to the accounts team mailbox so credit notes can be handled through their own process.
Unsigned contracts. A contract archiving workflow uses AI Data to ask "Has this contract been signed by both parties?" If the answer is No, the file exits with a message asking the sender to provide a fully signed copy. Only complete contracts reach the archive.
Zero-value documents. AI Data extracts the Total Amount from each invoice. An Exit Workflow action with the condition Total Amount ≤ 0 exits these files silently, so they never create approval tasks.
Expired identity documents. An onboarding workflow uses AI Data to read the expiry date from a passport or ID card. An Exit Workflow action with the condition Expiry Date < Current Date stops expired documents and emails the onboarding team to request a valid one.
A reviewer cancels a request. A purchase request workflow includes a Supply Information step where a budget holder chooses Proceed or Cancel from a list. An Exit Workflow action placed after it, with the condition Decision = Cancel, ends the workflow and emails the requester, whose address was captured in the original form.
Foreign currency invoices. An invoice workflow handles payments in one currency only. AI Data reads the invoice currency, and Exit Workflow stops any file where Currency ≠ GBP, with an exit message directing the sender to the foreign currency payments workflow.
Test submissions. A form-based workflow exits silently whenever the submitted Requester Name contains "Test", so trial submissions made while setting up or training do not reach live approvers.
Department routing from a scanner. Files arrive with External Data from a multifunction device. An Exit Workflow action stops any file where Department ≠ Finance and emails the scanning team, so documents scanned to the wrong destination are picked up quickly.
Several checks in one workflow. A supplier onboarding workflow uses one Exit Workflow action straight after AI Data to stop documents that are not a completed supplier form, and a second Exit Workflow action after a Supply Information review step to stop suppliers the reviewer has declined.
Seeing What Happened
Exit Workflow records its result in the File History:
• File exited the workflow. Recorded when the exit condition is met. Select Show condition to see the condition and the actual values compared at that moment. If an exit message was sent, the recipients' email addresses are listed in the entry details. Because the file left the workflow at this point, no "File has been completed" entry follows it.
• Exit Workflow skipped. Recorded when the exit condition is not met and the file continues.
If a recipient chosen from metadata cannot be determined, for example because the action that provides their details was skipped, the email is not sent to that recipient. The file still exits as normal.
Best Practices
Place Exit Workflow as early as possible. For document checks, the ideal position is immediately after the AI Data action that reads the values you need, so files that do not belong are stopped before any approvals, tasks or modifications take place.
Use AI Data to drive the decision. Asking a clear Yes/No question such as "Is this document an invoice?" usually gives the most dependable exit condition. If AI Data cannot read a value, the configured person is asked to supply it, so the value is available when the exit condition is checked.
Write exit messages that help. Say what was wrong and what to do next, such as which workflow to use or what document to provide. Include the file name so the recipient knows exactly which document you mean.
Use silent exits for routine filtering. Where nobody needs to act, such as zero-value documents or test submissions, exiting silently avoids unnecessary email.
Think about records. Because later actions do not run for an exited file, it will not appear in uploads, CSV reports or Compliance Reports placed after the Exit Workflow action. If you need a record of exited files, send the exit message to a shared mailbox, or rely on the File History.
Test both paths. Before using the workflow live, add one file that should exit and one that should not, then check the File History for each to confirm the condition behaves as expected.
Troubleshooting
A file exited when it should not have. Open the File History, find the "File exited the workflow" entry and select Show condition to see the values that were compared. Check whether the extracted value differs from what you expected and whether the operator is the right one.
A file did not exit when it should have. Check whether the metadata used in the condition was available. If the action that provides it was skipped, the expression is treated as false. Also check the order of AND and OR expressions, and that fixed dates use your organisation's date format.
The exit email was not received. Confirm the recipients configured in Send to. If a recipient is chosen from metadata, check that the action providing that metadata ran for the file. Ask recipients to check their junk or spam folders. The recipients an email was sent to are listed in the File History entry.
Files are failing at the Exit Workflow action. The condition could not be calculated, for example because of a division by zero in a calculation. Review any arithmetic in the condition.
Related Articles
AI Data: Let Your Documents Tell You What You Need to Know
Unlocking the Power of Metadata in Willow360
How to Configure and Use Each Action
FAQs
Q: What happens to a file after it exits the workflow?
A: Processing stops and the file is marked as Completed. No further actions in the workflow are performed for it. The file follows the same retention rules as any other completed file in the workflow.
Q: Can Exit Workflow send the file to a different workflow?
A: No. Exit Workflow stops processing but does not pass the file anywhere else. Use the exit message to tell the person who added the file which workflow they should use instead.
Q: Can I add a normal condition to Exit Workflow?
A: Exit Workflow does not have the standard condition button, because deciding whether to exit is the purpose of the action. Its exit condition is configured inside the action and uses the same rules as any other condition.
Q: Can I have more than one Exit Workflow action in a workflow?
A: Yes. You can place Exit Workflow actions at different points to check different things, for example after AI Data and again after a Supply Information step.
Q: Can the exit message go to people outside my organisation?
A: Yes. You can add external email addresses, or pick them dynamically from Email type fields in Form Data, External Data or AI Data. A warning is shown when a recipient is external.
Q: What happens if a recipient's details are missing?
A: The email is not sent to that recipient, but the file still exits the workflow. Other recipients still receive the message.
Q: If one file in a job exits, does the rest of the job stop?
A: No. Exit Workflow applies to each file individually. Other files in the same job continue normally, and the job is considered