How to Structure Statuses in Karbon for a Predictable, Linear Workflow

When you first look at Karbon, you see the five main status columns:

• Planned
• Ready to Start
• In Progress
• Waiting
• Completed

And underneath them, Karbon automatically provides a long list of substatuses. Substatuses are essential—every firm should use them. The issue is where those substatuses live on the Kanban board.

If you place “ready-type” substatuses in Ready to Start and “waiting-type” substatuses in Waiting, your work cards will leap forward and backward across the board, breaking the clean left-to-right flow that Kanban is designed for.

This article explains how to avoid that chaos and how to structure statuses so your work moves in a smooth, linear sequence through clearly defined stages.

The Core Principle: Kanban Requires Linear Flow

Kanban works best when your team can glance at the board and instantly understand where each work item is in the process.

But when waiting substatuses are placed under the top-level Waiting column, work cards jump around visually:

• A card in Request Information (Ready to Start)
• switches to Waiting for Information (Waiting) → it jumps several columns right
• then switches to Preparation (In Progress) → it jumps back left again

Even though the substatus might be accurate, the visual sequence becomes chaotic.

That is why we ignore the top-level Waiting column entirely.

Why We Embed Waiting Inside the Workflow

Waiting is not a standalone phase of work—it is a condition that naturally occurs inside a phase.

So instead of putting “Waiting for Information” in the Waiting column, we keep it inside Ready to Start, right between “Request Information” and “Review Received Information.”

Likewise:

• Waiting for Authorization (client approval, signature, authorization)
• Waiting for Acceptance (IRS/state acceptance, agency confirmation, submission verification)

These belong inside In Progress, not in the Waiting column.

Embedding waiting inside the workflow preserves:

• left-to-right continuity
• predictable movement
• clear context
• a readable Kanban board

Your visual workflow stays truthful and easy to understand.

The Clean, Linear Workflow Structure

We treat substatuses—not the parent columns—as the true stages of work. Work items move through each substatus in order, without skipping forward or jumping backward.

Here are the statuses that some of the best firms use.

1. Planned

The work exists, but no one should touch it yet. A global automation moves the work into Ready to Start when the start date arrives.

2. Ready to Start

Everything leading up to actual preparation lives here:

• 2.1 Gather Information
• 2.2 Request Information
• 2.3 Waiting for Information
• 2.4 Review Received Information

This keeps all document gathering, requests, and validation in logical order.

3. In Progress

Everything from preparation through final wrap-up lives here:

• 3.1 Preparation
• 3.2 Review
• 3.3 Revision
• 3.4 Final Review
• 3.5 Assembly
• 3.6 Delivery
• 3.7 Waiting for Authorization (client approval, signature, or authorization)
• 3.8 File
• 3.9 Waiting for Acceptance (confirmation from IRS, state, agency, bank, portal, or other recipient)
• 3.10 Wrap Up & Organize

Once Wrap Up & Organize is complete, the work can move to Completed.

4. Completed

Most firms stop here. But for operational needs, you can add optional substatuses:

• 4.1 To Bill
• 4.2 Billed
• 4.3 Archived

These help manage post-engagement cleanup without affecting the main workflow.

Why This Structure Works

By embedding waiting statuses inside the correct phase and ignoring the top-level Waiting column, you create:

• a clean, predictable, left-to-right sequence
• no visual card-jumping
• clear ownership and accountability
• accurate stage visibility
• a Kanban board that reflects reality
• consistent naming and intuitive stage transitions

Your team will know exactly where each work item is—and what comes next.