Application status updates
When to use it
Section titled “When to use it”- You run a local government office, a licensing or permits desk, an agency or an appointments desk, and applicants keep calling to ask where their application is.
- Staff already give each application a reference number, on a receipt or in a case register.
- You want applicants told the same day a status changes, and a supervisor warned when a case has gone quiet.
Where the data comes from
Section titled “Where the data comes from”| How | What |
|---|---|
| A form people fill in | The Application form, the Upload Documents form and the Service Feedback form this playbook creates. Put the Application link on your website and in your office, or let staff fill it in with the applicant at the counter. |
| A form your staff fill in | A staff-only Status Update form your officers fill in each time a status changes, matched to the applicant by phone number and reference. |
| A Google Sheet or Excel file, synced | Optional: a case register synced as People (phone, reference number, service type, stage, last update date). The daily check for stalled cases works from it. The messages for each status are sent only when staff use the Status Update form. |
What it sets up
Section titled “What it sets up”| Kind | Name | What it does | Lands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Case officers | Reviews uploaded documents. | Empty |
| Team | Supervisors | Hears about applications that have gone quiet and low feedback, and gets the monthly report. | Empty |
| Form | Application | The application form. A hidden field sets the stage to received. | Draft, not published |
| Form | Status Update | Staff-only form where officers record a status. Matched to the applicant by phone. | Draft, not published |
| Form | Upload Documents | A short form for applicants to upload documents. A hidden field marks the stage as documents received. | Draft, not published |
| Form | Service Feedback | A two-question service feedback form sent after a decision. | Draft, not published |
| Segment | Applications in progress | Applications received or with documents received, and not yet decided. | Ready |
| Segment | Applications with no update | Applications in progress whose last update is older than the service level. | Ready |
| Segment | Waiting for documents | Applicants who were asked for documents and haven't sent them. | Ready |
| Template | Application received (SMS) | SMS that acknowledges an application, with its reference and the usual time. | Ready |
| Template | Application received (email) | Email that acknowledges an application, with its reference and the usual time. | Ready |
| Template | Documents needed (SMS) | SMS with the secure upload link when documents are needed. | Ready |
| Template | Documents reminder (SMS) | Reminder SMS when the documents haven't arrived. | Ready |
| Template | Documents received (SMS) | Acknowledgement when documents are uploaded. | Ready |
| Template | Application approved (SMS) | SMS when an application is approved. | Ready |
| Template | Ready for collection (SMS) | SMS when an application is ready for collection. | Ready |
| Template | Application not approved (SMS) | SMS when an application is not approved. No reasons, a pointer to the official notice. | Ready |
| Template | How was it (SMS) | SMS that asks for feedback after a decision. | Ready |
| Question | Report: applications by service | Applications received for each service (counts only), for the monthly report. | Ready |
| Question | Report: applications received | How many applications were received, for the monthly report. | Ready |
| Question | Report: status updates by status | Status updates recorded by staff, by status (counts only), for the monthly report. | Ready |
| Report | Monthly: applications | Each month, applications received, status updates and applications waiting too long, to the supervisors. Counts only. | Off |
| Follow-up | Application 1: received | An acknowledgement by SMS and email with the reference and usual time. Starts the waiting clock. | Off |
| Follow-up | Application 2: documents needed | Staff record "documents needed": the applicant gets the upload link, and a reminder if nothing arrives. | Off |
| Follow-up | Application 3: approved | Staff record "approved": the applicant gets the message, and a feedback request later. | Off |
| Follow-up | Application 4: ready for collection | Staff record "ready for collection": the applicant gets the collection details, and a feedback request later. | Off |
| Follow-up | Application 5: not approved | Staff record "not approved": the applicant gets a plain message that points to the official notice. | Off |
| Follow-up | Application 6: documents received | Uploaded documents get an acknowledgement and a review task for a case officer. | Off |
| Follow-up | Application 7: no update | Daily run over "applications with no update": a task for a supervisor to look at the case. | Off |
| Follow-up | Application 8: low feedback | A low feedback score gives a supervisor a task. | Off |
The questions it asks
Section titled “The questions it asks”| # | Question | Default | Fills in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What should messages call your office or agency? | none, must answer | org_name |
| 2 | What services can people apply for? (one per line) The Application form shows these as choices, and the monthly report counts applications for each one. | Business permit, Trade licence, Certificate | services |
| 3 | Which team reviews uploaded documents? (your case officers, one person is fine) | Case officers | officers_team |
| 4 | Which team hears about applications that have gone quiet, and gets the monthly report? (a supervisor) | Supervisors | supervisor_team |
| 5 | How many working days does an application usually take? | 10 | expected_days |
| 6 | Where do people collect a finished application, and when? (a few words) | none, must answer | collection_point |
Other settings
Section titled “Other settings”These have defaults. Change any that don’t fit.
| Setting | Default | Key |
|---|---|---|
| Link to your official page or notice about decisions and next steps (leave empty to skip it) | info_url | |
| Number applicants can call with questions | ‹workspace phone› | office_phone |
| Days to wait for documents before the reminder | 5 | docs_wait_days |
| Days without an update before a supervisor is asked to look | 10 | sla_days |
| Feedback request after a decision or collection notice | 2d | feedback_delay |
| A feedback score at or below this (out of 5) gives a supervisor a task | 2 | low_score |
| Hours a task has to be handled | 24 | call_due_hours |
| Daily time for the check on stalled applications | 08:00 | send_time |
| Monthly report (first day of the month) | 0 8 1 * * | report_cron |
| Time zone for the daily check and the report | ‹workspace timezone› | timezone |
| Default phone country on the forms | ‹workspace country› | default_country |
| Sender address | ‹workspace default_sender› | email_from |
| Greeting when a first name is missing | applicant | greeting_fallback |
Timings
Section titled “Timings”- A new application gets an SMS and an email straight away.
- A status recorded on the Status Update form sends the matching SMS straight away.
- Documents needed: the upload link goes straight away, and a reminder 5 days later if the applicant hasn't uploaded anything.
- Documents uploaded through the Upload Documents form get an SMS straight away and a review task for Case officers, due in 24 hours.
- Every day at 08:00 (‹workspace timezone›), applications with no update for 10 days give Supervisors a task, due in 24 hours. A case is flagged at most once a week.
- Approved or ready for collection: a feedback request 2d later. A low score gives Supervisors a task.
- Monthly report to Supervisors: cron 0 8 1 * * in ‹workspace timezone›.
Channels
Section titled “Channels”| Channel | Needed for | Before it can send |
|---|---|---|
| sms | Every message to applicants | An SMS provider, or Origamy managed SMS after business verification (KYC). Use your agency's registered sender name where the country allows it. |
| The acknowledgement, if the applicant gave an email address | A verified sending domain for ‹workspace default_sender›. |
What you need to do
Section titled “What you need to do”- Add your case officers to the Case officers team and supervisors to Supervisors (Settings → Collaborators → Teams). A task or report sent to an empty team reaches nobody.
- Issue a reference number for every application from your own register or receipt book. Origamy does not create reference numbers. Applicants type theirs on the forms, and staff type the same one on the Status Update form.
- Have staff fill in the Status Update form every time a status changes, using the applicant's phone number and reference. It is the only thing that sends the status messages and resets the waiting clock.
- Limit who can open submitted forms. Uploaded documents may hold ID and other personal data. Give access only to the staff who process applications, and keep them only as long as your records rules allow.
- Tell applicants on the form and at your counter that documents go only through the upload form, and that you will never ask for a PIN, password, payment or code by SMS or call. No message in this playbook asks for one.
- Check the wording with your communications office. Messages state the status and point to the official notice. They never give reasons for a decision, mention penalties or carry any political or campaign content.
- Review and publish the four forms, connect an SMS provider or finish business verification, switch the follow-ups and the report on and test with your own phone and a fake application.
- Reference numbers are the glue. Origamy doesn’t create them: they come from your case register or receipt book. Applicants type the number on the forms and staff type it on the Status Update form. Match them by phone number too, because one applicant with two open applications will have the newest reference on their profile.
- The Status Update form is the only trigger for the status messages. Make it part of the officer’s routine, in the same minute the register is updated. A sheet kept in sync can drive the daily check for stalled cases, but it can’t send the messages for each status.
- “Average age” isn’t something a report can compute, so the monthly report shows how many applications are in progress, how many have gone without an update for longer than your target, and how many wait for documents. If those numbers grow month by month, the average age is growing too.
- Keep messages plain and official: the status, the reference, where to find the official notice and a phone number. Reasons for a refusal, fees and appeal routes belong in the notice, not in an SMS. Where the country allows it, register your agency’s sender name so applicants recognise the message, and tell them you never ask for a PIN or payment by message.
- Documents are personal data. Use the upload form only, restrict who can open it, and set how long your records rules let you keep the files.
This playbook is synthesized: no customer has run it with us yet. If you build it, tell us what you changed, and we’ll replace it with the real version.
Copilot eval
Section titled “Copilot eval”The request used to test the copilot on this playbook (a live eval):
We're a licensing office. Make an application form with name, phone, email, service type and reference number, and text the applicant an acknowledgement with their reference and that it takes about 10 working days. Our staff will record a status on a staff form (documents needed, approved, not approved, ready for collection) and the applicant should get the right SMS; for documents needed include a link to upload them and remind them after 5 days. Every day, give a supervisor a task for any application with no update in 10 days. Two days after approved or ready for collection, ask for feedback. Send supervisors a monthly report with counts only. Keep the tone plain and official, with no penalties mentioned.
It passes when every piece is a valid draft and everything lands off, with at least: form, segment, workflow, message_template, team, report. It must never use: penalty, prosecution, fined, campaign, vote.