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Business Rules

The Business Rules Engine enables you to define, manage, and execute automated business logic without writing code. Rules are evaluated when specific events occur in your system, allowing you to enforce policies, validate data, calculate values, and trigger actions automatically.

What Are Business Rules?​

Business rules are conditional statements that execute actions when certain criteria are met. They follow an "if-then" logic pattern:

  • IF conditions are true (e.g., order total > $1000)
  • THEN execute actions (e.g., require manager approval)

Rules can be applied to any entity type in your system (Orders, WorkOrders, Customers, etc.) and triggered by lifecycle events (beforeCreate, afterUpdate, etc.).

Business Rules Overview

Business Rules navigation showing Rules, Rule Sets, and Execution Logs pages

Why Use Business Rules?​

Centralized Business Logic Define business policies in one place instead of scattered throughout code. Rules are easier to audit, update, and maintain.

No-Code Automation Business users and administrators can create and modify rules without developer involvement. Changes take effect immediately.

Consistent Enforcement Rules are executed automatically and consistently across all channels (UI, API, integrations). No manual checks required.

Audit Trail Every rule execution is logged with input context, output, and performance metrics. Full visibility into decision-making.

Flexible and Powerful Complex logic with nested conditions, multiple actions, field comparisons, and special values (current date, logged-in user, etc.).

Key Concepts​

Rules​

A rule defines when and how business logic should be executed. Each rule has:

  • Basic information - Name, description, type, category
  • Scope - Entity type and event type (when to trigger)
  • Conditions - Logic that determines if the rule applies
  • Actions - What happens when conditions are met (success) or not met (failure)
  • Metadata - Priority, version, effective dates, enabled status

Rules List View Rules list page showing all defined business rules with filters and actions

Rule Types​

Open Mercato supports five rule types:

  • GUARD - Block or allow operations (e.g., prevent work order release without materials)
  • VALIDATION - Validate data before saves (e.g., require approval for large orders)
  • CALCULATION - Calculate derived values (e.g., compute discount based on volume)
  • ACTION - Trigger side effects (e.g., send notifications, call webhooks)
  • ASSIGNMENT - Set field values automatically (e.g., auto-assign based on criteria)

Conditions​

Conditions determine when a rule applies. They support:

  • Field paths - Access nested data with dot notation (e.g., user.email, order.items[0].quantity)
  • Operators - 15 operators including equality, comparison, collection checks, string matching, regex
  • Special values - Dynamic values like {{today}}, {{now}}, {{user.id}}
  • Logical groups - Combine conditions with AND/OR, nest groups for complex logic

Actions​

Actions define what happens when conditions pass (success actions) or fail (failure actions):

  • User feedback - Display messages (errors, warnings, info)
  • State control - Allow or block transitions
  • Field updates - Set entity field values
  • Notifications - Send notifications to users
  • Logging - Write to execution logs
  • Integrations - Call webhooks, emit domain events

Rule Sets​

Rule sets group related rules together. They provide:

  • Organization - Group rules by domain (e.g., Quality Control, Pricing)
  • Execution order - Control sequence of rule execution
  • Bulk management - Enable/disable entire sets at once
  • Per-rule control - Enable/disable individual rules within a set

Execution Logs​

Every rule execution is recorded with:

  • Timestamp - When the rule was executed
  • Rule details - Which rule was executed
  • Entity context - What entity triggered the rule
  • Result - SUCCESS, FAILURE, or ERROR
  • Input/output - Data before and after execution
  • Performance - Execution time in milliseconds

Logs are essential for debugging, auditing, and analytics.

Common Use Cases​

Quality Control​

Enforce quality standards automatically:

  • Block work order completion if quality checks fail
  • Require inspection for specific product types
  • Validate measurements against tolerances

Approval Workflows​

Route items for approval based on criteria:

  • Require manager approval for orders above threshold
  • Escalate to senior management for high-priority issues
  • Auto-approve routine requests

Resource Management​

Manage resource allocation intelligently:

  • Auto-assign work orders based on skills and availability
  • Block scheduling if resources are unavailable
  • Warn about conflicts and capacity issues

Compliance and Safety​

Enforce regulatory and safety requirements:

  • Require safety certification before hazardous work
  • Block operations on expired equipment
  • Ensure required documentation is complete

Customer Experience​

Improve customer interactions:

  • Apply discounts automatically based on volume
  • Send notifications at key milestones
  • Escalate issues based on customer tier

Getting Started​

  1. Create Your First Rule - Step-by-step guide to creating rules
  2. Build Conditions - Learn how to create complex conditional logic
  3. Configure Actions - Set up actions for success and failure scenarios
  4. Organize with Rule Sets - Group related rules together
  5. Monitor Execution - View logs and debug issues

Best Practices​

Start Simple Begin with straightforward rules (single condition, single action) before building complex logic.

Test Thoroughly Use dry-run mode to test rules without side effects. Review execution logs carefully.

Use Descriptive Names Name rules and rule sets clearly to indicate their purpose (e.g., "Block WO Release Without Materials").

Set Appropriate Priority Higher priority rules execute first. GUARD rules should typically have high priority.

Monitor Performance Review execution logs for slow rules. Complex conditions or many rules can impact performance.

Version Control Use the version field to track changes. Consider effective dates for time-based rule changes.

Document Rules Use the description field to explain the business rationale and any special considerations.

RBAC Features​

Access to Business Rules functionality is controlled by these features:

  • business_rules.rules.view - View rules and rule sets
  • business_rules.rules.create - Create new rules
  • business_rules.rules.edit - Edit existing rules
  • business_rules.rules.delete - Delete rules
  • business_rules.rules.execute - Manually execute rules
  • business_rules.logs.view - View execution logs

Contact your administrator to request access.

Next Steps​