👤 For people designing or reviewing processes and shared records
🔐 Available on all plans
🎯 For those who want to separate active requests from reusable information
Every new purchase request sends someone back to check the supplier’s contact details. At the same time, the team needs to know who is reviewing the request and what still needs to happen before approval. Some information belongs to the purchase; other details will be useful again next time.
By the end of this article, you will know where to organize each type of information, how to distinguish a shared record from work in progress, and when to combine the two structures. Start with the role of the information in your daily work, before planning fields or forms.
📖 What you will learn:
Start with the role of the information
Ask what each item represents. Is it a request that needs an outcome, or a reference your team consults while carrying out other activities?
A Pipe organizes a process. Each card represents one instance of work, such as a purchase request, and brings together the information needed to follow its progress through phases.
A Database organizes structured information into records, such as supplier identification and contact details. These records can serve as references for different requests.
| Criterion | Pipe | Database |
|---|---|---|
| What each item represents | A request or an instance of work | A reference record |
| What the team needs to do | Take work through stages to an outcome | Consult and maintain information |
| Purchasing example | Review and approve a request | Look up supplier contact details |
A list’s name does not determine the structure. “Suppliers” might mean a contact directory or a supplier qualification process. Describe what your team needs to do with each item before choosing.
For more context, read how to create and use Databases in Pipefy, in Portuguese.
If pipes, phases, and cards are new to you, the Fundamentos do Pipefy course, in Portuguese introduces these concepts before you start building.
Choose a Pipe for work that needs to progress
When an item needs review, a decision, and an outcome, organize that work in a Pipe. Your team can follow the stage of each request and identify what needs to happen next.
Consider supplier qualification. The team collects documents, checks the information, requests corrections when needed, and decides whether the supplier meets the company’s criteria. The work in progress is the qualification request.
In this example, each request can have its own card. The information collected and the decisions made belong to that review, even if other processes already reference the supplier.
The same reasoning applies to an IT ticket. Identifying the requester provides context; investigating and resolving the ticket is the work that needs to move forward.
- Learn more: see what a card is and how it brings together request information.
Choose a Database for reusable reference information
Consider a Database when information needs to remain available beyond one specific request. A supplier’s identity and contact details, for example, can be useful across many purchases.
Here, the record represents the supplier. The quantity ordered, negotiated price, and approval belong to the purchase where they were agreed. Keeping this distinction clear separates shared supplier information from the terms of each transaction.
A stable reference can still change. Updating a supplier’s phone number is record maintenance. Collecting documents and deciding whether to qualify that supplier is process work.
This also applies to employees and IT tickets. An employee’s identity can be a reference used across several support requests, while each ticket has its own progress.
If another system already holds the company’s official records, decide which information needs to be available in Pipefy and who will maintain it. Make that decision before creating another database.
Once you have identified the reference information, read how to prepare a Database import in Pipefy, in Portuguese to plan the next stage.
Combine the structures when a process needs shared records
A workflow may need both structures. Imagine a supplier involved in two purchases: office supplies for one request and equipment for a new location for another.
The supplier record can be their shared reference. Each purchase still needs its own amount, decisions, and progress. In Pipefy, a connection lets you associate a card with a Database record.
Before setting up that relationship, decide what each piece of information should represent:
- Current reference: the supplier contact your team consults for new purchases.
- Request information: the quantity and price agreed for that order.
- Required historical information: a term your company needs to preserve as it stood on the purchase date.
Connecting a record to a card does not, by itself, define rules for copying information, updating it, or preserving historical values. If your process depends on these behaviors, define the requirement and check the appropriate configuration before using it.
The same applies to qualification. Completing a review and updating a supplier record are separate actions in the process design. Decide how the decision will be applied and who will be responsible.
- Learn more: explore the options for connecting Pipes and Databases.
Review your choices before building
Choose a real workflow and list the information it needs. For each item, note where it belongs and give a brief reason. In purchasing, supplier contact details provide a reference; the negotiated price belongs to the order; approval is part of the work to complete.
Finish your review with these questions:
- Which request needs to reach an outcome?
- Which reference will be useful in other requests?
- Who maintains the records, and which system is the official source?
- Who needs to consult the information, and who may change it?
- Which information needs to be preserved as it stood when the request was made?
With this separation defined, build your planning and modeling skills through the Certificação de Implementação de Processos course, in Portuguese, from Pipefy Academy.
Before moving on, confirm that you understand:
☐ A card represents an instance of work; a Database record can provide a reusable reference.
☐ A qualification request and a supplier record serve different purposes.
☐ A purchase amount belongs to that request, even when several requests share the same supplier.
☐ You can identify where each piece of information belongs and who will maintain it.
Ready to prepare your reference data? → Continue with How to import data into a Pipefy Database, in Portuguese.
