How to build human in the loop workflow in Moxo: A step-by-step guide
Business processes fail when humans disappear from critical decisions. They also fail when humans waste time on repetitive manual work. A human in the loop workflow solves both problems by automating busywork while keeping people in control of decisions that matter.
According to McKinsey research, automation with human oversight improves process efficiency by 30 to 50 percent while maintaining quality and compliance. The challenge is not whether to automate, but how to build workflows that blend automation with human judgment in the right places.
Palmetto simplified solar customer onboarding with Moxo, moving from inquiry to installation through structured workflows that replaced manual chaos. By the end of this guide, you will know how to create a complete HITL workflow with forms, approvals, documents, and automation hooks using Moxo's no-code Flow Builder.
Key takeaways
No-code HITL eliminates technical barriers: Modern platforms like Moxo let non-technical users build human in the loop workflow using drag-and-drop interfaces, defining when to pause for human input and when to automate handoffs.
Strategic human placement drives better outcomes: Effective HITL workflows identify 3 to 5 critical decision points where human judgment prevents errors or ensures compliance, then automate everything else around those moments.
Templates accelerate implementation significantly: Pre-built workflow templates for common processes like client onboarding or contract approvals reduce setup time from weeks to hours while embedding proven best practices.
Client-facing workflows require simplified design: External stakeholder workflows need mobile-first interfaces, Magic Links for password-free access, and clear task instructions that work without training.
What is a HITL workflow
A human in the loop workflow combines automation with strategic human decision points. Instead of running completely on autopilot or requiring manual work at every step, these workflows pause at specific moments for human review, approval, or exception handling.
The workflow identifies which tasks can run automatically, like sending reminders, routing documents, or updating status fields, and which require human judgment, like approving high-value contracts, reviewing compliance documents, or handling unusual customer requests. When the workflow reaches a human checkpoint, it stops, notifies the right person through real-time notifications, waits for their input, and then continues based on their decision.
HITL workflows matter most in regulated industries and high-stakes processes.
Financial services firms use them for KYC reviews, where AI flags suspicious documents but humans make final calls.
Legal teams use them for contract approvals where junior staff review standard clauses, but senior partners sign off on non-standard terms.
As a verified G2 reviewer from Mass Inbound noted: "Our team has been using Moxo for almost two years. Before Moxo, project updates and client communication were scattered across emails and multiple tools. Now everything happens in one place." This consolidation allows teams to see exactly where human input is needed versus where automation carries the load.
Using the Moxo visual workflow builder (step-by-step)
Building a human-in-the-loop workflow in Moxo follows a structured approach. This guide walks through each step using a real example: a consulting firm's client onboarding process requiring intake forms, document uploads, legal review, and final approval.
Launch a new Flow workspace
The problem: Most workflow projects fail at the starting line because teams lack a dedicated space to organize moving pieces. Clients send documents via email, approvals happen in Slack, forms get lost in shared drives, and nobody knows the current status. This fragmentation causes delays when documents go missing and creates compliance risk when audit trails span multiple systems.
How Moxo solves it: Moxo organizes every workflow inside a Flow workspace, acting as a container for all related activities. When you create a new Flow, you get a dedicated space including the workflow itself, a messaging area for discussions, a document library for storing files, and a task list showing what needs human action.
Navigate to your Moxo account, select Create New Flow, then choose to start from a blank canvas or template library. For first workflows, templates are faster because they include common patterns already connected. Give your Flow a clear name and assign team members with defined roles.
Enter the workflow builder canvas and add workflow actions
The problem: Business processes require different action types at different steps. You need to collect information through forms, gather documents from clients, route approvals to managers, assign manual tasks to team members, and trigger automated notifications. Most platforms handle one or two of these well, but force you to use separate tools for the rest.
How Moxo solves it: Click Edit Flow to open the canvas showing your workflow as a visual flowchart where each box represents an action and arrows show sequence. Moxo's workflow automation platform treats forms, documents, approvals, and tasks as first-class workflow actions you drag onto the canvas.
Form actions: Drag a Form action onto the canvas after your start point. Open the form builder to create custom fields for client information with required versus optional designations. The form auto-saves responses and makes data available to subsequent steps.
Document requests and eSign: Place a Document Request action to gather specific documents with clear instructions. Add an eSign action that automatically routes engagement letters to clients for signature, then to your legal team for countersignature. The platform tracks signature status and sends automatic reminders through automated notifications.
Approval workflows: Drag an Approval action where you need human review. Moxo's approvals engine lets you configure multi-stage approvals that route to specific people or roles. Add approval conditions like approved, rejected, or needs revision, then draw arrows from each outcome to the appropriate next steps.
Task assignments: Use Task actions for work requiring human effort but not approval. Assign to specific people or roles with due dates and instructions. Tasks appear in that person's Moxo inbox automatically.
Configure role-based assignments and conditions
The problem: Workflows break when the wrong people get assigned tasks or when nobody knows the deadlines. Common failures: approvals route to someone on vacation, technical reviews get assigned to junior staff lacking authority, or tasks have no due dates so they sit in inboxes forever.
How Moxo solves it: Role-based assignment separates workflow logic from specific people. Instead of assigning tasks to individuals, you assign to roles like Account Manager or Compliance Reviewer. When workflows run, the platform looks up who currently holds that role and routes tasks accordingly. Select any approval or task action, find the Assign To section, then choose role-based assignment.
Set due dates using fixed dates or relative dates that adapt to when workflows start. Configure escalation rules through workflow automation for missed deadlines. If approvals are not completed within 24 hours, workflows can escalate to managers or send urgent notifications.
Conditional branching: Real processes do not follow straight lines. Add conditions based on form data, document properties, or user responses. High-value contracts need executive approval while small contracts go to managers. Documents failing AI review go back to clients, while clean documents move forward. Click actions where decisions occur, find the Conditions section, then add conditions using dropdown menus.
How to add forms, approvals, and documents to your workflow
Moxo's strength is workflows spanning organizations, involving clients, vendors, and partners who need simple interfaces without extensive onboarding.
The challenge: Traditional enterprise tools force external users to create accounts, remember passwords, and navigate complex interfaces. This friction causes abandonment. Baymard Institute research shows 34 percent of users abandon forms due to forced account creation.
Moxo's solution through Magic Links: Moxo workflows generate Magic Links, taking clients directly to pending tasks without login. Clients receive emails saying documents are ready for signature, click links, and land on signature pages. They complete tasks and close browsers with no username or password required. The system maintains full security through SOC 2 and GDPR compliance with complete audit trails while eliminating authentication friction.
Form-based data collection: Place Form actions at workflow beginnings. Design fields matching the information you need to collect using clear labels that clients understand. Configure validation rules preventing clients from submitting incomplete or incorrect data. Enable auto-save so clients do not lose progress, and ensure mobile responsiveness since many complete forms on phones.
Secure document collection: Add Document Request actions with clear lists of required documents. Use Moxo's AI Review Agent to automatically validate uploaded documents. For driver's license requests, AI checks files are ID documents, are not expired, and have readable text. Documents failing validation go back to clients for resubmission before humans review them.
eSignature workflows: Drag eSign actions where contracts need signatures. Upload template documents and mark signature fields. Configure signing order if documents require sequential signatures. Add conditional paths based on signing outcomes through white-labeled client portals that maintain your brand throughout.
Get started fast with workflow templates
Pre-built templates represent workflows tested in production by hundreds of companies. They include standard actions in logical sequences, error handling for common edge cases, and notification patterns keeping people informed without overwhelming them.
Access Moxo's workflow template library from the main menu with templates organized by function, like client onboarding, contract approval, and invoice processing, plus by industry including financial services, legal, and consulting. Preview templates before importing to see full workflow canvases and understand expected inputs and outputs. Import selected templates to create customizable copies you modify without affecting originals.
Best practices: Choose templates matching your workflow complexity and stakeholder mix. Simple approval templates work for internal sign-offs but lack external stakeholder features needed for client-facing processes. Start with simpler templates for first workflows, then move to complex multi-branch templates once you understand the basics.
Template success: BNP Paribas used Moxo's wealth management onboarding template to build MyWealth app workflows. The template provided structure for KYC document collection, compliance review, and account setup. They customized it to match specific regulatory requirements, achieving 50 percent faster onboarding with full audit trails.
For detailed guidance on approval-specific workflows, see our comprehensive guide on how to set up document and approval workflows.
Testing and publishing your workflow
Testing process: Click Test Workflow to enter test mode, creating sandbox copies running independently from production. Create test scenarios covering main workflow paths and common exceptions. Run each scenario by filling forms with test data, uploading sample documents, and clicking through approval steps. Review workflow execution logs showing every action taken, decision point evaluated, and notification sent.
Publishing: Once testing confirms workflows work correctly, click Publish to make them live. Configure workflow triggers based on how you want workflows to start, either manually or automatically, based on events like CRM status changes or form submissions. Set workflow permissions controlling who can view, edit, or run workflows.
Stakeholder invitation: For client-facing workflows, use Magic Links to invite external participants without requiring account creation. For internal workflows, invite team members using email addresses. Configure notification preferences by stakeholder type with options for instant notifications, daily digests, email, or integrated channels like Slack.
Deployment success: FLEX Racing tested workflows thoroughly using sample orders before inviting real clients. This caught the file format and approval routing issues that would have caused production delays. After launch, they achieved 150 percent throughput increases without adding staff because workflows handled coordination and status updates automatically.
Best tips for first-time workflow builders
Start simple: Your first workflow should follow straight lines with intake forms, document uploads, approvals, and completions. Once simple workflows run smoothly for weeks, add conditional branches or parallel approvals.
Add conditions only where decisions actually differ: Before adding conditions, ask if outcomes truly require different next steps or if you are just tracking status. Good conditional use includes contract values above thresholds requiring CFO approval versus department manager approval.
Label steps clearly: Use descriptive names like Client submits documents, Compliance reviews for completeness, and Legal approves contract instead of Step 1, Step 2, Step 3. Clear labels help everyone understand workflow status.
Monitor for bottlenecks: Moxo's dashboard shows which workflows are running, which steps have waiting tasks, and where delays occur. Review dashboards weekly for first months to spot patterns. Multiple G2 reviewers highlight that centralized workflow management significantly reduces multi-tool confusion plaguing many organizations.
Establish clear ownership: Every workflow step should have clear owners receiving notifications and responsible for completing tasks. Use role-based assignments so workflows continue running even when specific individuals are unavailable.
Build your first HITL workflow with Moxo today
Business processes should flow, not fragment. When you build human in the loop workflow correctly, automation handles repetitive coordination while humans focus on judgment calls that matter. The result is faster cycle times, fewer errors, better compliance, and happier teams spending time on meaningful work.
Moxo makes this transformation accessible to operations teams through no-code Flow Builders, pre-built templates, and seamless integration of forms, approvals, documents, and AI agents. Companies like BNP Paribas cut onboarding time by 50 percent, Peninsula Visa reduced processing time by 93 percent, and FLEX Racing increased capacity by 150 percent without adding staff.
The platform consolidates capabilities that organizations currently spread across multiple tools. Third-party integrations with CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot, document systems like Dropbox and SharePoint, and communication tools like Slack mean workflows connect to your existing tech stack.
Every action generates audit trails automatically through comprehensive compliance tracking. Every task routes to the right people based on roles. Every notification arrives through preferred channels.
Ready to build your first HITL workflow? Get started with Moxo to see pre-built workflows for client onboarding, contract approvals, and project delivery.
FAQs
What is the first step in building a workflow in Moxo?
Create a new Flow workspace serving as a container for your entire workflow. Navigate to your Moxo account, select Create New Flow, then choose to start from blank canvas or pre-built template. Name your Flow clearly, assign team members who need access, and define their roles.
Can I invite external users to a Flow?
Yes, Moxo workflows are designed for external stakeholder collaboration. Invite clients, vendors, and partners using Magic Links taking them directly to pending tasks without requiring account creation or password management. External participants see simplified interfaces showing only what they need to complete.
How do approvals work in a workflow?
Approvals are workflow actions pausing execution until humans review information and make decisions. Drag Approval actions onto workflow canvases at points requiring human judgment. Configure approvals by assigning to specific users or roles, setting due dates, and defining possible outcomes like approved, rejected, or needs revision.
Is there a way to start with templates?
Yes, Moxo provides comprehensive template libraries organized by workflow type and industry. Common templates include client onboarding, contract approval, invoice processing, and project delivery. Access libraries from main menus, preview templates to see workflow structures, then import ones closest to your needs.
How do I test workflows before going live?
Moxo includes test modes letting you run workflows using sample data without affecting production or notifying real stakeholders. Click Test Workflow to create sandbox versions, then execute different scenarios including happy paths and edge cases. Review execution logs showing every action during testing.
Can workflows include branching logic?
Yes, conditional branching is core to Moxo workflows. Add conditions based on form data, document properties, approval outcomes, or any workflow information. Configure conditions using dropdown menus specifying if fields equal, are greater than, are less than, or match various other operators.
