Pathways organize services, milestones, and program requirements into a single step or a multi-step workflow. The Pathway Library lets administrators configure the steps, default prices, and custom fields used to track participant progress.
Participants are labelled Clients, Students, Residents or Explorers depending on the account type. This article calls them participants.
⚙️ How It Works
Web app only.
Opening the Library needs the Pathways module at Administrator on your role. Supporters can start and update participant progress but never see the Library link. Account owners always can.
Pathways is turned on for your account by the Equip team, for every account type except family accounts. If you do not see Pathways in the left sidebar, ask us to enable it.
Billable, Price and Price By only appear once Pathway Authorizations is on for your account.
Create a Pathway
Open Pathways, then Library in the left sidebar, and click Add Pathway.
Under Step Configuration, choose Single Step when the pathway is one service, requirement or milestone, or Multiple Steps when team members track separate phases. Single Step uses the pathway's name and description as its one step.
Enter the pathway Name and an optional Description.
Add any Categories used to group pathways in filters and reports, and any pathway-level custom fields under Custom Fields.
For Multiple Steps, complete Configure First Step with a Step Name, optional Code and Step Description.
With authorizations on, turn on Billable and enter the Price and Price By (Hour, Service or Unit) when the step is billed.
Click Create Pathway. The pathway's page opens.
For Multiple Steps, click Add Step for each remaining step and fill in the same fields, then save. Steps are listed in the order they were added.
Codes are optional short identifiers for a step: a service or billing code, a course number or a reporting reference. The participant import matches steps by code, and codes show on authorizations, invoices and reports.
✅ Benefits
Consistent workflows — use the same steps across participant pathways.
Less repeated entry — set a default step price for new authorization lines.
Flexible tracking — organize pathways with categories, codes, and custom fields.
⚙️ Customization and Options
Single Step or Multiple Steps — choose one service or a workflow with separate phases.
Categories and codes — organize pathways and identify services for reporting.
Custom Fields — capture information at the pathway or step level.
Billable, Price, and Price By — configure the default rate and whether it is priced by Hour, Service, or Unit. Billing fields require Pathway Authorizations.
Update the Default Rate
Open Pathways, then Library, and select the pathway.
Open the step’s menu and select Edit Step.
With Billable enabled, update Price and check Price By.
Click Update Step. Repeat for other steps only if their prices also need to change.
Important: The updated price is the default for new authorization lines. Rates already saved on existing authorizations do not change automatically.
Editing a pathway that participants are already on
Warning: deleting a step or a pathway permanently deletes every participant's progress on it, including dates, supporters, custom field values and step discharges. This cannot be undone, and Equip does not stop you if participants are enrolled. Before deleting anything in the Library, open Pathways, then Progresses, filter by the pathway, and confirm nobody is on it. If anyone is, keep the pathway and stop starting it for new participants instead.
Open the pathway from the Library and use Edit Pathway, or Edit Step and Delete Step on a step's row. Participants' progress records point at the pathway and its steps, so a change is not limited to future rounds:
Renaming the pathway or a step, or changing a description or code, shows immediately on every participant's Pathways tab, on the Progresses list and in reports.
Adding a step makes it available to participants already on the pathway. It appears on their form the next time someone clicks Update Progress, toggled off, and joins their round only when switched to Included and saved.
Changing a step's Price only affects new authorization lines. A rate already saved on a participant's authorization keeps the value that was typed.
Removing a custom field from the pathway or a step permanently deletes every value recorded for it.
Deleting a step deletes that step's progress for every participant, including their dates, supporters, discharges and recorded custom field values. With Pathway Centralization on, Equip previews what goes: linked notes, forms and other records can be kept at the pathway level by ticking them, form assignments are removed, and recorded custom field values are permanently deleted. Equip confirms with the step's name followed by "has been deleted!".
Deleting a pathway deletes every participant's round of it. The confirmation reads "Are you sure you want to delete this pathway? It will be permanently removed and this action cannot be undone."
To retire a pathway without losing history, stop starting it for new participants and leave it in the Library.
Limits and what the errors mean
Name can't be blank on a pathway or step: every pathway and every step needs a name.
Price can't be blank and Price by can't be blank: a step with Billable on needs both.
Use Move Step in the step’s menu to move a step with existing participant progress. Changing its pathway through the regular edit form is not allowed once progress exists.
"... was not deleted: a kept ... link could not be moved to the pathway": a linked record you ticked to keep could not be re-linked. Untick it and delete again; the record itself is never deleted.
Import Pathways on the Library page creates pathways and steps from a spreadsheet; see Fill out the Pathway Import spreadsheet.
Umbrella accounts have no Library of their own.
💡 Best Practices
Set default step prices before adding new authorization lines.
Review existing authorization rates separately when pricing changes.
Check participant enrollment before changing or deleting pathway steps.
Keep unused pathways in the Library rather than deleting historical progress.
❓ FAQs
Can Higher Ed programs use pathways?
Yes. Pathways are on for every account type except family accounts. Use them for program milestones, course or service requirements, or any structured plan; billing fields only appear when your account also uses authorizations.
What is the difference between a pathway and a step?
The pathway is the whole structure, for example a service or a program year. A step is one phase, service or requirement inside it that gets its own supporter, dates, forms and data fields per participant.
Can I add steps after creating a pathway?
Yes. Open the pathway and click Add Step. Participants already on the pathway get the new step as an optional toggle the next time their progress is updated; it is not added to their round until someone includes it.
Does editing a pathway change progress that has already been started?
Yes. Renames and code changes show everywhere at once, a removed custom field deletes its recorded values, and a deleted step takes every participant's progress on that step with it. Step prices only affect new authorization lines. Add steps freely, but treat renaming and deleting as changes to live participant records.
Who can open the Pathway Library?
Team members whose role has the Pathways module at Administrator, and account owners. Supporters start and update participant progress from the participant's profile without ever seeing the Library link.
Can I undo deleting a step or a pathway?
No. Deleting a step removes every participant's progress on that step, and deleting a pathway removes every participant's round of the pathway, permanently. Check Pathways, then Progresses for enrolled participants before deleting, and prefer leaving an unused pathway in the Library.
Related Articles
Assign a form to pathway steps
Fill out the Pathway Import spreadsheet