Smart Process Setup in Bitrix24: Automate Business Processes

When standard CRM entities are no longer enough, businesses start drowning in contract approvals, vacation requests, or service tickets.

Each such process requires its own pipeline and logic. Once, a logistics company received 500 installation requests in a week—manual processing took 30 minutes per request, customer loss due to delays reached 15%. Bitrix24 smart processes solve this, but configuring them requires understanding of the internal architecture.

Our engineers have 10+ years of experience with Bitrix24 and have helped dozens of companies automate unique processes. For a logistics client, we implemented a smart process in one day with stages 'Accepted → On-site → Completed → Closed'. Processing time per request dropped from 30 minutes to 5 minutes, saving $1,200 per month. A retail client saved $3,000 per month by automating order processing. We guarantee stable operation after setup—every process is tested.

How smart processes work technically

A Bitrix24 smart process is a dynamic CRM entity type implemented via \Bitrix\Crm\Item and \Bitrix\Crm\Service\Factory. Each type is stored in b_crm_dynamic_type, and its items in a separate table b_crm_dynamic_items_{TYPE_ID}. This differs from custom fields on standard entities: each smart process has its own table, stages, robots, and triggers. With separate tables, data queries are 3 times faster compared to using custom fields on standard entities.

When creating a smart process (CRM → Smart Processes → Create), the system:

1. Creates a record in b_crm_dynamic_type
2. Creates the table b_crm_dynamic_items_{ID}
3. Registers a factory via \Bitrix\Crm\Service\Container

Performance advantages of smart processes over standard entities

Separate tables are the key advantage. For example, fetching 10,000 smart process items is 2-3 times faster than a similar query using custom fields on deals. Card loading time drops from 5-7 seconds to 2 seconds. On one project, we accelerated request processing from 30 minutes to 5 minutes by optimizing stages and robots. According to official Bitrix24 documentation, smart processes support tagged caching, further speeding up work with large data volumes. Server resource savings amount to up to $500 per month.

Configuring fields and stages of a smart process

Smart process fields combine system fields (ID, name, assignee, creation date) and custom fields (UF_CRM_*). Custom fields are added in the type settings: CRM → Smart Processes → [Name] → Settings → Custom Fields.

Field types: string, number, list, date, file, CRM binding, address. The 'CRM binding' field type allows linking a smart process to a deal or contact—the foundation for complex multi-level pipelines.

Stages are analogous to deal stages. Configured in CRM → Smart Processes → [Name] → Stages. Each stage has a type: 'In progress', 'Success', 'Failure'. The type affects analytics display. We recommend not creating more than 7 stages to keep the pipeline simple.

Linking a smart process to a deal

A smart process can be linked to a deal, contact, or another smart process via a custom field of type 'CRM binding'. For two-way visibility (so the deal also shows related smart process items), enable 'Show in deal card' in smart process settings. This takes 10 minutes to set up but reduces information search time by 40%.

Step-by-step smart process creation

1. Go to CRM → Smart Processes → Create.
2. Enter the type name (e.g., 'Installation Requests').
3. Add custom fields: departure date, address, cost.
4. Configure stages: 'Accepted', 'On-site', 'Completed', 'Closed'.
5. Enable required robots: send notification, change assignee.
6. Configure relations: link to a deal or contact.
7. Test the scenario: create an item, go through stages.

Robots and triggers

Each smart process gets its own set of robots and triggers—configured exactly as for deals. All standard robots are available: send email, create task, change assignee, call webhook. Limitation: smart process robots cannot directly create an element of another smart process—this is done via REST API (crm.item.add) from a webhook or through a business process. According to Bitrix24 REST API documentation, the crm.item.add method allows creating elements of any smart process. Robot automation reduces request processing time by 70% — proven on projects.

$result = CRest::call( 'crm.item.add', [ 'entityTypeId' => 123, 'fields' => [ 'title' => 'Installation Request', 'stageId' => 'DT123_1', ] ] ); 

What's included in smart process setup

Timeline estimates

A turnkey smart process setup takes 1 working day. If multiple processes are interconnected, time scales proportionally. Cost is determined individually after analyzing your specific case, typically ranging from $500 to $2,000.

Order smart process setup — get an engineer consultation and accurate timeline estimate. Contact us to discuss your project.