meet Gehn -- Karbon API powers bot to keep our work types tidy


Userlevel 7
Badge +19
  • Sr. Karbon Community Guide
  • 1114 replies

Problem

Our work types are tied to our service codes in QuickBooks Online (QBO). When one of our staff members add a work item with default work type, it doesn't map to any of our services in QBO. I manually searched for work set to default work type and added notes for people to pick the appropriate work type.

Current countermeasure

I put together a function that acts like a bot. I called it Gehn, and it checks work items to see if they have an appropriate work type. For any work set to default, Gehn creates a note on the work item timeline, assigns it to the work assignee, and asks them to pick the appropriate work type. The note includes a direct link to the work item’s details page, which makes changing the work type simple.

Here’s what it looks like this in triage:

 

Here’s a list of other things I would love to see automated:

  • For all company phone calls, search Karbon for a business card with the corresponding phone number and add a note to the timeline asking staff to recap the call and add any action items as notes or work items.
  • Add a template folder structure to our document management system whenever a work item is added
  • Automatically send clients an email when their tax return goes from “ready to start” to “in-progress”

If you had a bot that could interact with Karbon, what would you have it do?


10 replies

Userlevel 2
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Tax tracker

Userlevel 3
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@Trey Fulmer I have a ‘tax tracker’. But I call it my ‘pizza tracker’.
2 versions. 1 more for tax clients that sends a daily update if the status of their work has changed. Another sends a weekly update of any work that is ‘active’; more designed for CAS clients.

Userlevel 7
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I would love to know how that works. 😀

Userlevel 3
Badge +2

@max It iterates through the work list by status, stores the status (1st run), compares the previous stored value. If it changed it send a notification.

Weekly iterates through a client list by work and does the same but sends a summary.

Userlevel 7
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Are you using the webhooks or pulling a list of work from the API each day? Or something else entirely?

Userlevel 3
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Pulling a work list each week day.
Using the work subscription isn’t overly viable in this case as a work item can change status 4-5 times in a matter of hours and spamming isn’t cool haha

Userlevel 7
Badge +19

That’s interesting. What are you using for a platform?

I was thinking that our implementation would be triggered when the work item reaches certain milestones, not every time the work changes status.

Notification milestones:

  1. waiting for client documents → ready for prep
  2. ready for prep → prep in-progress
  3. ready for review → review in-progress
  4. processing in-progress → waiting for signatures
  5. ready for filing → waiting for IRS acceptance
  6. waiting for IRS acceptance → accepted

Something like that… with a webhook implementation, we hope to pass this information along programmatically in real-time. it’s two or three projects away right now, though. 😀

Userlevel 3
Badge +2

I use Zapier for this.

Yep. I build in filters if they want to skip a status for example. Ultimately you can define those milestones that you want to notify. The other ‘problem’ with the subscription is if someone accidentally changes the status. That is now client facing and you might look like a doofus for an accidental click.

The client facing portion wording wise is often different and I apply different graphics etc to the notifications.

Userlevel 4
Badge +6

@max It iterates through the work list by status, stores the status (1st run), compares the previous stored value. If it changed it send a notification.

Weekly iterates through a client list by work and does the same but sends a summary.

How many zap actions are you using per day on that? I assume you’re using Zapier Storage and Looping by Zapier? 

Userlevel 3
Badge +2

Hey @blueprintbrian,
It’s a minimum 4 tasks per work item off the top of my head.
I’m not using Zapier storage anymore because of the limitations and am just using a Gsheet now. Yep Looping by Zapier.

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