👤 For all users
🔐 Available on all plans
🎯 For those who want to build their first process and see their first result
Digitizing a process doesn’t have to be a project. In Pipefy, you go from an idea to a working flow in minutes — no code, no IT dependency, no requirements gathering meetings.
This guide takes you from zero to your first card up and running.
We’ll use employee onboarding as the example throughout, but the logic is the same for any process you want to structure.
📖 What you’ll do here:
Step 1 — Create the pipe
In the side menu, click + New pipe.
Give it a name that represents the process — something like "Employee Onboarding" or "Expense Approval". Click Create to confirm.
The pipe will be created with some default phases already in place. You’ll adjust them in the next step.
Choose a process you already run today — even if it’s done by email or spreadsheet. You’re not inventing a new process; you’re digitizing one that already exists.
Step 2 — Set up the phases
Phases are the columns in your pipe — each one represents a step in the process. Here’s what you can do:
To rename an existing phase:
Click directly on the phase title in the kanban and edit the text. Press Enter to save.
To add a new phase at the end:
Click New phase at the end of the kanban.
To add a phase between two existing ones:
Move the cursor between the two phases and click the + button that appears.
To move a phase:
Click the three-dot button on the phase and select the desired direction.
To delete a phase:
Click the three-dot button and select Delete phase.
Warning: deleting a phase permanently removes all cards and information inside it.
Example phases for employee onboarding:
- Pending documentation
- Equipment requested
- Access configured
- Completed
Start with three to five phases. A simple pipe that the team actually uses is more valuable than a perfect pipe that no one fills out.
Step 3 — Add fields to the start form
The start form is the entry point of the process — it’s how cards are created. Each field in the form becomes a piece of information recorded on the card, available for the team to view, filter, and use in automations.
To configure: hover over the first phase and click the gear button. Then add the fields that make sense for your process.
Available field types and when to use each one
Choosing the right field type from the start avoids rework — especially when you start building automations and dashboards that depend on this information.
| Field type | When to use | Onboarding example |
| Short text | Brief, objective information | Full name, job title, city |
| Long text | Notes, descriptions, instructions | Manager notes about the hire |
| Date | Deadlines, milestones, and reference dates | Start date, document submission deadline |
| Single select | When only one option is valid — and you’ll filter or automate based on it | Contract type: Full-time, Contractor, or Intern |
| Multiple select | When multiple options can be true at the same time | Equipment requested: notebook, headset, mouse |
| Number | Values, quantities, indexes | Salary, weekly hours |
| File | Documents, images, receipts | ID, Tax ID, proof of address |
| Connection | Link to another pipe or database | Link to the Equipment pipe to trigger an automatic request |
Full example: employee onboarding fields
See how the fields connect to the actual process — from what’s collected in the form to what’s used at each phase:
- Full name (short text) — appears as the card title, identifying who is being onboarded
- Start date (date) — used to calculate deadlines and trigger automatic reminders before day one
- Contract type (single select: Full-time, Contractor, Intern) — defines which documentation flow will be required; can trigger different automations per type
- Job title (short text) — base information for requesting role-specific equipment and access
- Responsible manager (short text) — allows the card to be automatically assigned to the right manager when the process starts
- Required equipment (multiple select: laptop, headset, monitor, mouse) — feeds the IT request without an extra meeting or email
- Submitted documents (multiple select: ID, Tax ID, proof of address, work card) — makes it easy to visually check what’s still missing
- Document file (file) — the employee or HR uploads directly to the card, no separate email needed
- Department (connection to Departments database) — links the card to the correct department and can automatically notify the area owner
Single select and Connection field types are the most powerful for automations: you can create rules like ‘if the contract type is Contractor, automatically send an email with invoice instructions.’ That’s covered in the next step of the trail.
Want to control what appears based on what was filled in?
Pipefy lets you configure conditional logic on fields — meaning a field only appears if a previous condition is met. For example: the "Tax ID Number" field only appears if the Contract type selected is "Contractor."
This keeps the form clean and prevents the submitter from seeing fields that don’t apply to their situation.
- See how to configure it: How to use conditional logic to show or hide fields
Only add fields you’ll actually use day to day. Too many fields make filling out the form tedious and reduce team adoption.
Step 4 — Create the first card
With the pipe configured, it’s time to create the first card.
Click + New card in the first phase of the pipe. Fill in the start form fields and click Create card.
The card will appear in the first phase. Click on it to see the details: on the left are the main fields — title, assignee, due date. On the right are the current phase fields, the activity history, and the button to move the card to the next phase.
Step 5 — Check that everything is correct
Before you start using the pipe for real, do a quick check:
- Do the phases represent the actual steps in your process?
- Do the fields capture the information the team needs?
- Does the created card appear correctly in the first phase?
If something isn’t right, you can adjust at any time — pipes in Pipefy are editable without losing already recorded data.
How many cards are in each phase? As soon as you start using the pipe, that’s one of the first questions that comes up. In Pipefy, you can see the card volume per phase directly in the kanban — and build dashboards that show this and other metrics in real time.
Completion checklist
By the end of this article, you should have:
☐ A pipe created with a defined name
☐ At least three phases configured
☐ Relevant fields in the start form — including at least one select field
☐ The first card created and visible in the kanban
What comes next: automations and AI Agents
Your pipe is live and running manually. That’s a good start — but Pipefy was built to go further than that.
The process you just built can now get automations that eliminate repetitive work:
- When a card enters the Equipment requested phase → automatically create a request in the IT pipe
- When the contract type is Contractor → automatically send an email with invoice instructions
- When a card is stalled for more than 3 days → automatically move it to an alert phase and notify the manager
- When all documents are marked as received → move the card to Completed without manual intervention
After automations come AI Agents — which do more than execute fixed rules. They read documents, validate information, classify requests, and make decisions based on card content. All without code.
- Understand the logic before building: How to create automations in Pipefy
But before automating, the next practical step is to bring the data you already have into the pipe — without having to create cards one by one manually.
