What a workflow is and how it runs

A workflow is work that happens without you. It watches for something, such as a new enquiry, a booking or a purchase, and then does a list of things for that person in order: wait a day, send an email, add a tag, move them on your pipeline, tell a colleague.

Before you start

• Nothing. This article explains the ideas; the others show the steps.

Steps

1. Go to Automations and open the Workflows tab.
2. Look at the list at the bottom. The tabs filter it: All, Running, Paused and Drafts.
3. Read the columns: Name, Status, Enrolled (everyone who has ever been on it), Active (people on it right now), Last updated and Created.
4. Click a workflow to open it. The top box, Starts when, is its trigger. The boxes below it are its steps, numbered in the order they run, with the wait before each one.
5. Click the three dots on a row for Edit workflow, Rename, Duplicate, Pause, Resume or Switch on, and Delete.

What happens next

These are the ideas that explain everything a workflow does.

Trigger. What starts it for somebody, such as A new contact arrives or They book an appointment. A workflow can have several triggers; any of them starts it. A workflow with no trigger only runs for people you add by hand with Add people.

Steps. What it does, in order. Each step waits its own gap after the one before, set in days and hours. A Wait step only waits.

Run. One person going through the workflow. Each run is Running, Finished or Stopped. Somebody already on a run is not started again by another trigger.

Status. The whole workflow is in one of three states: - Draft: nothing sends, nobody can be added, and the triggers do not fire. Everything made from a template or by AI starts as a draft, so you can read it first. - Running: triggers start new runs and every step goes out on time. - Paused: nobody moves on until you switch it back on. People stay where they are.

Timing. Steps that are due are sent in a sweep every five minutes, so a step goes out within a few minutes of its time, whether or not anybody has the app open.

Workflows and sequences. A sequence is the same thing without a trigger: several emails spaced out, for people you add. Both open in the same editor. Your sequences are also listed under Marketing › Email › Campaigns › Email Sequences.

For example, Bright Dental's "Ask for a review after the visit" workflow starts when an appointment is marked completed, waits a day, sends one short email asking for a review, then adds the tag "asked for review" so nobody is asked twice.

Troubleshooting

I switched a workflow on and nobody is on it. A workflow only starts for people when its trigger happens from now on. It does not look back at past bookings or purchases. To start it for people you already have, open it and use Add people.

Duplicate made a copy with no trigger. That is on purpose. The copy is a draft with the same steps and no triggers, so it cannot fire by surprise. Add a trigger when it is ready.

Deleting a workflow stopped people part-way. Deleting stops everyone where they are. To stop new people joining but let current runs finish, remove the triggers instead; to hold everyone, Pause it.

A draft will not let me add people. Drafts cannot enrol anybody. Switch the workflow on first.

Related

• Create a workflow by describing it
• Start a workflow from a template
• Build, explain and switch on a workflow
• Every workflow trigger explained
• Every workflow step explained