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Why is my automation not working?
Why is my automation not working?

How to troubleshoot if a HoneyBook automation isn't functioning as expected

Updated over a week ago

Automations put your processes on auto-pilot and save you time, so we understand that it's frustrating if they're not working as intended. 

There may be a few reasons why your automation isn't functioning and/or steps within your automation aren't being triggered.

📣 NOTE

This article references automations, available for Essentials and Premium plan members. Learn more about the features included in each plan here.


Automation includes one or more steps that require approval

If some steps require approval, be sure to approve the task so that the next step will trigger.


Automation includes one or more steps that are triggered by project date

Does your Automation have steps that are triggered by the project date?

Make sure your project has a date associated under its project details. If it has a TBD date, the automation will not know when to trigger each step.


Automation includes a task that needs to be checked off

Did you set up your automation to create a task?

When creating an automation, you can add a task as an action. Applying the automation to a project will add this task to your Task Management section, as well as to the project workspace.

Be sure to check off and complete the task so that the automation can move to the next step.


Automation is incorrectly linked to contact form/project type

Is your automation not automatically assigning to inquiries like you intended?

Once you create an automation, you can set it to automatically assign to inquiries that come in through your contact form. If your automation is not applying to new project in HoneyBook like you intended, there are a few places to check:

Step 1: Make sure that the automation is linked to contact form inquiries

First, you'll want to check the automation side of things. Head to your Automations Dashboard and locate the automation in question.

In the Automate via Contact Form drop-down, make sure the correct project type(s) are selected to trigger the automation. You can select a single project type, choose more than one if the automation applies to multiple scenarios, or set the automation as the default for contact form inquiries.

  • HoneyBook Tip: Assigning specific project types to an Automation will override the Default for contact form option for forms with these specific project types. So, for example, let’s say you have your Standard Onboarding Automation marked as the default for contact form, and your Event Onboarding Automation set to trigger for “Birthday” and “Corporate Event” project types. Any contact forms with Birthday or Corporate Event selected as the project type will receive the Event Onboarding Automation, while all other project types will receive the default of Standard Onboarding Automation.

Step 2: Make sure that your contact form(s) are linked to project type

If you choose to apply automations based on specific project types and this is not correctly included in your contact form, the link between automation and inquiry will be broken.

You can make sure that project types are included in a contact form in one of two ways:

To check if the suggested project type question is added to your contact form, open your contact form template.

You can see which question is associated with project type (if any) by hovering over the linked icon.

PLEASE NOTE: If you’re using a custom project type question, your inquiries will not be assigned a project type. It’s crucial to use the suggested project type question!

If you need to add this Suggested question, click the large Plus (+) button to add a new block.

Next, simply select Questions > Suggested > Project Type!

As always, if you make changes to your contact form, remember to hit Publish.

To check if a default project type is assigned to a contact form, first select the Settings icon in the sidebar.

Next, under Assign Project Type, check the project type set as the form's default.

Remember to hit Publish if you make any changes!



Still have questions? Feel free to send us a message by clicking the Question Mark icon on any HoneyBook page. Our team is always happy to help!

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