Document approval management system for creating document approval workflow

A document approval management system comprising an image forming apparatus, a document management server, and a mail server connected to each other via a network,

• wherein the image forming apparatus includes:
• an operation device;
• an image acquisition device that acquires an image of a document for which an applicant requests for approval to an approver, when the operation device receives an instruction to create a workflow from the applicant;
• a control device including a processor, and configured to act, when the processor executes a document management control program, as:
• a character recognizer that recognizes a character in a predetermined region included in the image acquired by the image acquisition device;
• a workflow information acquirer that acquires workflow information including an e-mail address of the approver, from the character information recognized by the character recognizer;
• a coded image creator that creates a coded image by encoding the workflow information acquired by the workflow information acquirer, and image identification information for identifying the image acquired by the image acquisition device;
• a generator that generates an image with coded image, by adding the coded image created by the coded image creator to the image acquired by the image acquisition device;
• and
• a workflow creator that creates a workflow by associating the image with coded image generated by the generator with the workflow information acquired by the workflow information acquirer;
• an output device that outputs the image with coded image of the workflow created by the workflow creator, to the document management server;
• an e-mail transmission device that transmits an e-mail accompanied with the coded image to the mail server, indicating the e-mail address of the approver including in the workflow information as destination;
• and
• an authentication information storage device that contains authentication information stored in advance,
• the control device being further configured to act, when the processor executes the document management control program, as:
• an authenticator that decides whether information inputted by the approver through the operation device upon receipt of the e-mail accords with the authentication information stored in advance in the authentication information storage device, and decides that the approver is logging in, upon confirming the accordance;
• and
• a reading controller that retrieves the image with coded image stored in the document management server, when the coded image attached to the e-mail is read, or upon receipt of an instruction to print the image with coded image after the authenticator decides that the approver has logged in,
• the image forming apparatus further including an image forming device that forms an image representing the image with coded image retrieved by the reading controller, on a recording sheet,
• the control device being further configured to act, when the processor executes the document management control program, as:
• an approval receiver that receives a decision of approval or rejection with respect to a content of the recording sheet on which the image with coded image has been formed by the image forming device, when the authenticator decides that the approver has logged in;
• and
• a signed image acquirer that acquires a signed image, created by the approver by putting a signature on the recording sheet on which the image with coded image has been formed by the image forming device, when the approval receiver receives the decision of approval, and
• the output device outputs the signed image acquired by the signed image acquirer, to the document management server.