Overview
Connect: Flow can embed two history related, fully-structured data blocks in every order export (XML or JSON):
-
Job History – a chronological log of all order-level status changes.
-
Approval History – a dedicated log of approval events that captures the approver’s comments (e.g., a billing code) alongside the status that triggered the event.
These optional nodes give your MIS or downstream XSLT transformations immediate visibility of what happened, when it happened, and, for approval events, why it happened. The result is cleaner hand-offs to production, richer reporting, and fewer support calls asking “what changed?”
Key Settings
Setting |
Location |
What it Does |
Typical Impact |
Include job history |
Admin ➜ Configuration ➜ Plugins ➜ Connect: Flow [Configure] |
Adds a <History> (XML) / history (JSON) node under each <OrderLine> containing every recorded status change for that line. |
Enables detailed audit trails and MIS dashboards that rely on end-to-end status progression. |
Include approval history |
Admin ➜ Configuration ➜ Plugins ➜ Connect: Flow [Configure] |
Adds a <ApprovalHistory> / approvalHistory node under each <OrderLine> containing only approval-related statuses. |
Allows an MIS to pick up approver comments (e.g., purchase codes) without parsing the entire job history. |
Good to know:
- Both settings are independent. You can export only job history, only approval history, or both, depending on the needs of each supplier-specific flow.
- Both settings can be applied at a general level for Connect: Flow or on a supplier basis
What You’ll See in the Payload
Each history entry is serialised as a HistoryItem with the following fields:
Field |
Description |
Timestamp |
UTC time in the platform’s global date-time format. |
Status |
Human-readable status name (e.g., AwaitingApproval ). |
StatusId |
Integer enum value – useful for systems that map on numeric codes. |
CustomerId |
Identifier of the user whose action triggered the event. |
Info |
Free-text note. For approval events this contains the approver’s comment. |
The approval log is automatically filtered to include only: UnapprovedOrder
, AwaitingApproval
, PartiallyApproved
, Approved
, and Rejected
.
4️⃣ Typical Use Cases
-
Billing-code hand-off to an MIS
Approver enters a billing code in the approval comment. The MIS extracts it from the Info
field of the first Approved
entry and routes the job to the correct cost-centre.
-
Shop-floor dashboards
Production screens poll the job-history node to display live status changes without hitting the storefront API.
-
Supplier-specific compliance logs
For suppliers that require a full audit trail, enable both settings at supplier level; for low-touch suppliers, leave them disabled to reduce payload size.
5️⃣ Step-by-Step Implementation Guide
-
Open the Connect → Flow plug-in settings
-
In your storefront admin, navigate to Admin ➜ Configuration ➜ Plugins ➜ Connect: Flow [Configure].
-
(If supplier overrides are required) open Admin ➜ Configuration ➜ Plugins ➜ Connect: Flow [Configure] ➜ Suppliers [Section].

-
Enable the desired history blocks
-
Update or create your XSLT / JSON transform
<ApprovalComments>
<xsl:for-each select="ApprovalHistory/HistoryItem">
<xsl:if test="Status='Approved'">
<xsl:value-of select="Info"/>
</xsl:if>
</xsl:for-each>
</ApprovalComments>
-
Place a test order
-
Use a product that requires approval.
-
Approve the job and enter a distinctive comment.
-
Download the raw export from Admin → Sales→ Orders → [Order] → Extra Data and verify that:
-
Validate downstream processing
Run the export through your MIS or a staging transform to ensure the new data is consumed correctly.