Flowcharts
Draw the steps, decision points and direction of a process. There are three chart types: workflow, process flow and data flow. The type you pick determines which box shapes are available.
Register nowWhen to use it?
- Workflow chart: to show tasks, decisions, approvals and who performs them.
- Process flow chart: to analyze a production or service process through operation, transport, inspection, delay and storage steps.
- Data flow chart: to map how data moves between external entities, processes and data stores.
Step by step
- 1The type picker appears the first time you open the tool. You can change the type later; boxes are converted to the closest equivalent in the new type.
- 2The chart menu at the top left lets you keep several charts in the same project and switch between them.
- 3Move the pointer over a box: a + appears at each of its four connection points. Click one, pick a shape, and the new box lands on that side already connected. Double-click a box to rename it; right-click for the other options.
- 4Drag boxes wherever you want; there is no automatic layout here, the arrangement is yours.
- 5To draw a connection, drag from any point on one box to any point on another: side to side, top to top, in any direction you want. To move an end, grab the tip of the line and drop it on another point. Double-click a line to write on it (for example yes / no).
- 6Zoom with the controls at the bottom left and navigate large charts with the mini map at the bottom right.
Keyboard shortcuts (desktop)
Tips
- Label every path leaving a decision box; the reader must see which condition leads where.
- If a chart no longer fits on one screen, split it: move a crowded section into a subprocess box and draw it as a separate chart.
- The Role box in a workflow chart is there to show who performs a step; leave it out if you want to describe the process independently of people.
Worked example
Example: how a leave request is handled
Everyone in the company has a slightly different version of this process in their head. Who approves, when it gets rejected, when HR steps in — none of it is written down. Drawing it narrows the argument to a single box.
Steps
- Start: employee submits a leave request
- Process: system calculates remaining leave days
- Decision: are there enough days left?
- No → request rejected, reason written back
- Yes → Process: request goes to the manager
Continued
- Decision: does the manager approve?
- No → reason goes back to the employee, process ends
- Yes → Process: HR records it in the calendar
- Process: team calendar updates
- End: confirmation sent to the employee
Once it was drawn, one thing stood out: there was no step at all that sent a reason back on a rejected request. Nobody noticed while the process lived in people's heads. Put into boxes, the gap showed itself.
Frequently asked questions
What is a flowchart?
A diagram showing the steps a process goes through from start to finish, where decisions are made and where the path splits. Processes that take five minutes to explain out loud usually take five seconds to read as a flowchart.
What do the flowchart shapes mean?
A rounded box is a start or an end, a rectangle is a process step, a diamond is a decision. A decision always has at least two arrows leaving it, usually yes and no. That split is what leaves the reader with one interpretation instead of several.
Is a flowchart the same as a process map?
Close, but not the same. A flowchart shows the order of steps. A process map is usually broader: it also shows who owns each step and where work crosses from one team to another.
Where should I start drawing?
At the end. Write down how the process finishes, then work backwards asking "what has to happen before this". Starting at the beginning tends to produce the ideal process rather than the real one.
Is it free?
Yes. Klarsti is free and ad-free right now, and you do not need an account to draw a flowchart.