Substitutions
Substitutions allow another user to act or receive notifications during an absence.
Administrators should verify validity dates, active status, client assignments, e-mail settings, and whether the specific workflow supports delegated visibility.
Two Different Questions
Substitution support should always be clarified with two separate questions:
- Does the substitute receive notifications?
- Does the substitute see and process the original user's tasks or documents?
Some installations only use substitutions for e-mail reminders. Others also transfer task visibility or workflow action rights. The behavior is installation- and workflow-specific.
Required Conditions
A substitution normally needs:
| Condition | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Active substitute user | Inactive users should not receive tasks or notifications. |
| Valid date range | Prevents outdated substitutions from granting access. |
| Matching client assignment | The substitute must be allowed to access the same mandate. |
| E-mail address | Required for reminder or report forwarding. |
| Workflow support | The workflow must explicitly consider substitutions for visibility or actions. |
| Object permission | The substitute may still need ACL/read/write access depending on implementation. |
Audit Trail Behavior
When a substitute performs an action, the audit trail should record the acting user. The represented user may be relevant as context, but the actual actor must remain visible for compliance.
Typical Support Cases
| Symptom | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Substitute receives no reminder | Invalid date range, inactive user, no e-mail, or notification logic does not include substitutions. |
| Substitute receives reminder but cannot open document | Notification forwarding works, but object read permission is missing. |
| Substitute can open document but cannot approve | Read permission exists, but write permission or workflow action permission is missing. |
| Substitute sees only some documents | Client assignment, ACL, lifecycle, or accounting area differs per object. |
Recommendation
For approval workflows, substitution should be tested end-to-end:
- original user has an open task,
- substitute is valid today,
- substitute sees the task,
- substitute can open the document,
- substitute can perform the expected action,
- audit trail records the action correctly.