Understand the collaboration workflow

The workflow keeps an application decision, a commercial proposal and the resulting Collaboration distinct. This article is for merchants and creators who need to understand state changes before operating the program.

Opportunity to application

An Opportunity describes the collaboration context, eligible creators, WooCommerce products, requested deliverables, application window and questions. A creator submits one application with a structured proposal. The merchant can add private notes, shortlist, counter or reject while the application remains eligible for those actions.

Selection

A merchant can select from one application directly or use Compare & Select for two to five creators. Comparison is factual; there is no ranking or automated recommendation. Capacity controls how many creators may be selected for the Opportunity.

Selection creates a selection offer. The creator can Accept, Counter or Decline. A Collaboration begins only after the offer is accepted through the implemented workflow.

Collaboration stages

The merchant workspace follows the Collaboration through:

1. Selected / offer accepted.
2. Agreement or external/manual agreement confirmation.
3. Product and shipping readiness.
4. Fulfillment and tracking.
5. Content deliverables and submission.
6. Merchant review.
7. Completion and history.

Final Terms and agreement records

Free/Core can record an externally handled agreement and creates an immutable Final Terms snapshot of the accepted commercial context. It does not claim to generate, validate or sign an external legal agreement. Pro 1.0.2 adds the implemented contract workflow on top of Free/Core 1.0.7.

Verification

Use the North Studio demo journey: City Essentials Launch → one creator application → Select influencer → creator Accept → Collaboration. For multi-applicant validation, compare Lena Moretti, Maya Collins and Alex Rivera, then make the selection manually.

Common recovery

If an action is unavailable, check the current application, offer or Collaboration state instead of editing database records. A state-specific action is shown only when the transition is permitted.

Related documentation

See Review creator applications, Compare and select creators, and Manage collaborations.