The basics
Why should I use automations?
Why should I use automations?
Automations help you save time, clear mental space, and focus on your client work. They allow you to automate specific actions in client projects–such as sending files and emails, creating tasks, and moving pipeline stages–at the trigger and timing of your choice.
If you find yourself manually taking the same action at the same time, across multiple projects–it might be time to create an automation to take care of that work for you.
Conditional logic
Is conditional logic (if/then) supported in automations?
Is conditional logic (if/then) supported in automations?
Yes! Learn more about adding conditional logic to your automations here.
How does the system know when to follow the "No" path?
How does the system know when to follow the "No" path?
When you didn't set a timeframe
The validation is immediate. When the automation reaches the condition step, it will immediately check if the condition was met or not.
When you set a timeframe
Once the automation reaches the condition step, it starts waiting. If the condition is met during that time, the automation immediately proceeds to the "Yes" path, even if the timeframe hasn't completed. If the timeframe passes and the condition was never met, the automation proceeds to "No."
Automations in projects
What are automation runs?
What are automation runs?
Automation runs are all of the instances of an automation triggering in projects. Learn more about automation runs here.
Can multiple automations be active in a project at once?
Can multiple automations be active in a project at once?
Yes, multiple automations can be active in a project at once. So long as the trigger criteria is met for an automation, the automation will “run” in a project.
📚 Tip
For more control over what automations will run in what projects, set the specific project type(s) that the automation will trigger in. Learn more here.
Can a singular automation run multiple times in a project?
Can a singular automation run multiple times in a project?
If an automation can run multiple times in a project depends on the automation's trigger.
An automation will run only once per project if the trigger is:
Contact form submitted
Lead form submitted
Project start time
Project end time
Session scheduled
Session start time
Session end time
📚 A note about session triggers
Automations trigger once per session, not once per session type.
For example:
You’ve scheduled two video calls on Wednesday—one at 1PM and another at 2PM. If you have an automation set to send a questionnaire 3 days before each session, it will send one questionnaire for each session, exactly 72 hours before their respective start times.
What happens if you reschedule?
If the questionnaire has already been sent, changing the session time (ex: from 1PM to 3PM) will not send it again.
If the questionnaire has not been sent yet, the automation will adjust and send it based on the new start time—still 3 days before.
Good to know
If your trigger is set up to run an automation for any session type in a project, automations will be triggered twice if there are two sessions of the same type (like two video calls) or different types (like a video call and a phone call).
If your trigger is set up to only run an automation for a specific session type (like a video call), only that session type will trigger an automation.
An automation can run multiple times per project if the trigger is:
File is completed
Questionnaire submitted
First payment paid
Invoice paid in full
Contract signed (first required client signature)
All signatures signed (required signatures)
Project stage changed (if moved more than once to the same stage)
Tags added to project
Manual trigger
These triggers can be triggered more than once, every time the criteria of the trigger is met.
Troubleshooting
I'm seeing an error with my automation–what does the message mean and how can I fix it?
I'm seeing an error with my automation–what does the message mean and how can I fix it?
When you’re looking at an active automation in a project, there are three possible errors that can appear.
Error message: No participants in the workspace
What it means: This error will appear if an automation has been triggered in a project that has no participants and a file or email attempted to send
The automation will stop in the project at this point, with no additional actions taking place
To fix: Add participants to the project and ensure the automation trigger is met again
Or, add participants to the project and manually take the actions
Error message: Email template is missing
What it means: This error will appear if an email template associated with an action was deleted while an automation was running in a project
The automation will stop in the project, with no additional actions taking place
To fix: Manually take the additional actions in the project
Error message: File template is missing
What it means: This error will appear if a file template associated with an action was deleted while an automation was running in a project
The automation will stop in the project, with no additional actions taking place
To fix: Manually take the additional actions in the project
Error message: Pipeline stage is missing
What it means: This error will appear if a pipeline stage associated with an action was deleted while an automation was running in a project
The automation will stop in the project, with no additional actions taking place
To fix: Manually take the additional actions in the project
Error message: Automation failed
What it means: An unexpected error occurred while trying to run the automation in the project
The automation will stop in the project, with no additional actions taking place
To fix: Manually take the additional actions in the project
Why can't I select files or tasks for a condition step?
Why can't I select files or tasks for a condition step?
The options (e.g. files) selectable for a condition depend on the previous automation steps. For example, if you select the “File was viewed” condition and a file was not sent earlier through the automation, no files will be selectable.
If needed, you can add a previous action step to your automation.
Why is my automation not running in projects?
Why is my automation not running in projects?
Check out this resource for comprehensive troubleshooting 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!