Required Roles: Editor
Required Permissions: Workspace Manager
Introduction
Version labels help clearly communicate the lifecycle state of a document after approval, such as when it becomes effective, expires, or is superseded. This article explains how to enable version labels, configure label behavior, and apply them to workflows so document status is consistent and easy to understand.
Overview
Version labels are applied automatically after a document is approved and provide additional context beyond the approval status. They are driven by workflow configuration and date-based rules. Version Labels make it easy to automate important lifecycle dates, reducing manual steps and removing room for error.
Version labels are used to:
Clearly show when a document is effective
Indicate when a document has been superseded by a newer version
Support expiration and periodic review workflows
Standardize document lifecycle states across the organization
How Version Labels Work
Version labels are applied automatically when a document completes the Approve step in a workflow. Based on the workflow configuration, Kivo calculates key lifecycle dates such as when a document becomes effective, when it expires, and when it is eligible for review.
Default date intervals can be defined within the workflow to help keep document lifecycle timing consistent across your organization. When an approval is initiated, the user completing the approval can adjust these dates for that specific document if needed, allowing flexibility while maintaining standardized defaults.
Version labels also support an automated periodic review process. When configured, documents become eligible for review a set number of days before their expiration date, giving teams an opportunity to confirm the document is still effective or extend its validity as part of a controlled review.
Version Labels Lifecycle Flow
This visual shows how version labels are applied as a document moves through its workflow:
Draft
The document is created and edited.
⬇️
Approve
The approval step is completed and lifecycle dates are set based on the workflow defaults (with the option to adjust per document).
⬇️
Version Labels Applied
Kivo automatically applies version labels such as Effective, Expired, or Superseded based on the configured dates and workflow rules.
⬇️
Periodic Review
If configured, the document becomes eligible for periodic review a defined number of days before expiration, allowing teams to confirm continued effectiveness or extend validity.
Enabling Version Labels
Step 1 – Enable the Feature Flag
Before configuring version labels, the feature must be enabled at the organization level. Reach out to [email protected] to ensure the functionality is enabled for your organization
Step 2 – Review or Customize Label Names (Optional)
Workspace Managers can update the front-end status names used for version states if their organization uses different terminology. By default, the following status names are used for each status description:
Effective – An approved document that has reached its effective date
Expired – An approved document that has reached its expiration date
Superseded – An approved document for which a newer version has been approved
Out-of-the-box labels are designed to work for most customers and typically do not require changes. If your organization utilizes different terminology, the Status Name(s) can be altered by clicking the edit button to the left of the status name.
Step 3 - Apply Version Labels to a Workflow
Navigate to the Workflow of your chocie
Add or navigate to the Approve Step
Enable Apply Version Labels
Specify the appropriate intervals for your organization for the following lifecycle dates. Not all are required to be utilized:
Effective Date
Default Days After Approval is configured as a number of days after approval the document should become effective and supersede the previous version (for example, 14 days)
A default value can be set at the workflow level, however the user initiating approval can modify the interval if needed.
Typically marked as required
Expiration Date
Default Days After Effective is configured as a number of days after the effective date the document should expire without a review (for example 365).
Requires an effective date to be configured first
Allows documents to expire automatically and allows organizations to configure a review window.
Review Date
If an expiration date is configured:
A Periodic Review window can be defined (for example, 30 days before expiration)
Requires a corresponding Review workflow step
During periodic review, reviewers can:
Confirm the document is still effective
Extend the expiration date
The updated expiration date is recorded and applied
Step 4 - Add a Period Review Step to the Workflow
If Review Date was enabled, a Period Review step must be added to the workflow.
Click + Add Step
Add A Period Review Step and define the :
Name
Initial Task Status
Define the following elements for the review period
Default Duration (days)
Threshold Requirement
Minimum Number of Participants
Number Required
Note: If a periodic review step is added. A workspace manager must take the additional steps to ensure the correct users and/or groups have been added to the
Version Labels in Action
Routing Documents for Approval
When a document enters the approval step, the user initiating approval can review and adjust key lifecycle dates.
The effective and expiration dates default to the intervals defined in the workflow.
These defaults help maintain consistency across documents.
Dates can be adjusted on a document-by-document basis if needed.
This approach balances standardization with flexibility, ensuring lifecycle dates remain controlled while accommodating real-world scenarios.
Approved Documents
Upon completion of the approval. The document card will include the calculated approval and review dates.
Completing Periodic Review
Once the periodic review window opens, the workflow of the document will show a Start Periodic Review button.
Take the following steps to perform a periodic review:
Click Start Periodic Review
Select the appropriate individuals to participate in the review and click next
Define the Due Date, and the Expiration and click Start.
Participants will be able to preview the document and either Accept or Reject the Period review
If the review is accepted, the version labels for expiration date will update and a new label will be added to capture the date the periodic review was performed.
Default Behavior (No Version Labels)
If Version Labels are not implemented, the following can be assumed:
The current approved version is labeled Approved
Any older approved versions are labeled Superseded
This configuration is useful when you only need to indicate which version is current.
Recommended Configuration Pattern
A common quality-focused configuration includes:
Effective Date (required) - 14 or 30 days after approval
Expiration Date (required) - 730 days (2 years)
Periodic Review enabled - 60 or 90 days before expiration.
In this setup:
There is a window for training and other prerequisites to be completed prior to effective date.
Expiration and review are automatically populated and enforced
Older versions are clearly marked as superseded
Notes and Important Behavior
Version labels only apply to workflows where they are enabled
Other workflows will not apply version labels unless configured
Editing effective or expiration dates after approval will be supported in a future release for Product Module Managers
Existing customers will require additional migration steps