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FAQ: Automations

Answers to frequently-asked questions about automations

Updated over 4 months ago

Can you tell me more about automation trigger rules?

Rule

Explanation

Each step in an automation will fire only once.

If the automation has a “first payment” trigger, it will fire only on the first payment of the first file. If there is a second file in the project containing payments, the trigger will not run again.

Automation steps will not trigger retroactively.

If you add an automation to a project after an event trigger has occurred in the project, the automation will wait until the next time the event trigger happens to run.

The order in which steps trigger will depend on the triggers themselves.

Since most triggers are not dependent on other triggers, they may occur in a different order than the steps you have in place.

Example:

  • Automation Step 1: trigger an action 1 week after project date

  • Automation Step 2: trigger an action 1 week before project date

In this case, Step 2 will run before Step 1.

One event can trigger multiple automation steps.

Example:

  • Automation Step 1: trigger an action 1 week after first payment

  • Automation Step 2: trigger an action 1 week after invoice paid in full (i.e., after final payment)

If you apply this automation to a project with only one payment in the payment schedule, both steps will trigger when that single payment is made.


How are automations activated?

An automation can be activated in one of three ways:

From your Automations page, you can designate which automations are activated by incoming contact form inquiries and lead form submissions.

  • For example: You may have a standard “Welcome Automation” that you assign all incoming inquiries. Or, you can create different automations that are specific to different project types, allowing, for example, your web design clients to automatically get a different email and file than your branding clients

For automations that don’t need to activate as soon as an inquiry comes in, you can apply them to projects manually (and make edits to the automation’s sequence before activating, if you need). Once the automation has been applied, it will begin running based on the actions, triggers, and timing you set up.

  • For example: If you’ve applied an automation with a step that sends an email 2 days after a contract is signed, you can apply the automation at any point pre-signing. That way, it’s ready to begin running 2 days after your client signs their contract, whenever that may be


Can I apply multiple automations to one project?

At this time, each project can have only one automation applied to it. You can always edit an active automation in a project if you need to add or remove steps.


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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