---
title: Automations
description: Send routine emails or create project tasks after booking, payment, contract, questionnaire, and audience activity.
section: Growth
order: 3
---

# Automations

Automations handle one routine follow-up after a known client event. Each rule has one trigger and one action, which keeps the outcome easy to predict and review.

Go to **Settings -> Automations**. You need the automations permission for the account to view or manage this page.

## Prepare the action first

Before creating a rule:

- For **Send Email**, create the reusable message under **Settings -> Templates**.
- For **Create Task**, create the destination task board and step under **Settings -> Task Boards**.

Task creation requires project context. Use it with a trigger that can point to a project; booking, audience, or invoice activity without a project may not provide a valid destination.

## Create an automation

1. Select **New Automation**.
2. Give the rule a clear internal name.
3. Under **When this happens**, choose one trigger.
4. Add the filters shown for that trigger.
5. Under **Do this**, choose **Send Email** or **Create Task**.
6. Choose the message template or task destination.
7. Choose a delay.
8. Save the rule, then confirm it is active when you are ready to use it.

The automation list can be filtered by **All**, **Active**, or **Inactive**. After saving, use the switch on the automation card to pause the rule while you review its trigger, scope, message, and destination.

## Choose the trigger

Triggers are grouped around real client activity.

### Project triggers

- Project created.
- Project booked.
- Contract published.
- Contract signed.
- Payment received.
- Project payment overdue.
- Project delivered.

Project triggers can be limited to a service. **Project Created** can also distinguish all projects, manually created projects, and projects created by forms.

### Booking and session triggers

- Booking started.
- Booking confirmed.
- Booking cancelled.
- Booking payment failed.
- Mini session waitlisted.
- Mini session spot opened.
- Contract still pending.
- Booking contract signed.
- Questionnaire still pending.
- Questionnaire submitted.
- Session reminder time.

These triggers can show event and booking-type filters. A session reminder also asks how many minutes before the session it should run.

### Audience and invoice triggers

- Audience joined.
- Audience invited.
- Audience converted.
- Invoice paid in full.

Audience triggers can be narrowed by audience, event, audience type, or entry type. Use the most specific scope that matches the message.

## Choose the action

### Send Email

Choose a message template. The email uses the client and project, booking, checkout, or invoice context available from the trigger.

The **Booking Started** trigger does not offer Send Email. A started checkout is not yet a confirmed client booking, so use the actions the editor makes available for that trigger.

### Create Task

Choose:

- Task board.
- Step.
- Optional task-title template.
- Optional due offset in minutes.

Use this for internal work that should begin after a project milestone, such as creating an editing task after a project is booked.

Moving the task later does not move the project's sales, contract, payment, or fulfillment lifecycle. Those are separate records.

## Choose a delay

The standard delay choices are:

- Immediately.
- 5 minutes.
- 15 minutes.
- 30 minutes.
- 1 hour.
- 24 hours.

The delay starts after the trigger happens. For session reminders, the trigger's **minutes before session starts** decides when the trigger occurs; the automation delay is added after that.

## Practical first rules

Start with rules whose success is easy to verify:

- Send a booking confirmation after **Booking Confirmed**.
- Send a payment follow-up after **Project Payment Overdue**.
- Create an editing task after **Project Booked**.
- Send a planning reminder after **Questionnaire Still Pending**.
- Notify a waitlisted contact after **Mini Session Spot Opened**.

Avoid creating several active rules with the same trigger, scope, and action unless you intentionally want every action to run.

## Edit, pause, or delete a rule

Select the edit action on an automation card to change it. Turn the rule inactive when you want to stop future matches without deleting its setup.

Deleting is permanent. Pausing or deleting a rule does not undo an email already handed off or a task already created.

## If a rule does not run

Check:

1. The automation is active.
2. The client activity happened after the rule was active.
3. The service, event, booking type, audience, or creation-source filters match.
4. The email template still exists, or the task board and step still exist.
5. A Create Task action has a project to attach to.
6. The selected delay has elapsed.

## Related guides

- Write reusable copy in [email and templates](/docs/email).
- Prepare task destinations in [tasks and workflows](/docs/tasks).
- Review triggers from [projects](/docs/projects) and [events and bookings](/docs/bookings).