Automations let you set up “if this, then that” rules that run automatically in the background — sending a message, scheduling a follow-up, advancing a stage, and more — so your team can spend less time on repetitive manual steps and more time with prospects, residents, and referral partners.
This guide walks through creating a new automation from start to finish using the four-step setup wizard.
Before You Begin
- Where to find it: Automations live in Setup. You’ll need access to the Setup area to create or edit them.
- Permissions: If you can open the Automations page but can’t edit a specific automation, you likely don’t have edit permission for it (you’ll see the tooltip “You do not have permission to edit this automation.”). Reach out to an administrator at your organization.
- What you’ll decide as you go: who the automation applies to (the audience), what event kicks it off (the trigger), and what happens when it does (the action).
Pro Tip
Before you build anything, write your automation as a plain sentence first — “When a prospect advances to Connection, send the Assessment Scheduled email to the point of contact.” If you can say it clearly, the wizard steps map directly onto that sentence: Who → When → What.
Step-by-Step
1. Open the Automations page
- Open Setup from the left navigation.
- Select Automations.
The Automations page opens as a list showing every automation in your account, with columns for Name, Record Type, Trigger, Action, Communities, and Status.
The Setup › Automations list view, with the green “New Automation” button in the top-right corner.
From this page you can:
- Search for an automation by name.
- Filter the list by Trigger, Action, and Community/Agency.
- Sort by any column.
- Export the current view to CSV.
- See a status badge on each row — a green Active badge (on and will run) or a red Inactive badge (off and will not run).
Pro Tip
Use the row menu (•••) on any existing automation to Duplicate it. Copying a working automation and adjusting a few fields is almost always faster than building from scratch.
2. Start a new automation and name it
Click the green New Automation button in the top-right corner. The automation builder opens with a canvas on the left that visually assembles your automation as connected cards, and a configuration panel on the right where you fill in each step. The first panel asks “What is the name of this automation?”
- Enter a clear, descriptive name in the Name field (required).
- Click Next.
The automation builder: the canvas on the left and the Name step on the right. The Inactive toggle at the bottom stays disabled until the automation is created.
Pro Tip
Name automations so anyone can understand them at a glance in the list. Lead with the audience or purpose and include the outcome — for example, “Assessment Scheduled – External” or “Still Interested? (45 Days No Contact).”
3. Record Type (Who)
This step asks “What audience is your automation for?” and defines which records the automation can act on.
- Choose the Record Type — Prospects or Referrers. The filters below update automatically based on your choice.
- Choose your Filter Source: Select from filters, or Select from a list (a saved list).
- Narrow the audience using any combination of filters — Community/Agency, Service Line or Care Type, Lead Source, Secondary Lead Source, Creation Method, Stages, Score, Veteran Status. Filters like Service Line accept multiple values, shown as removable chips. An empty filter means “any.”
- Click Next.
The Record Type step with the Prospects/Referrers toggle and the Service Line filter holding multiple selections as chips.
Note on current terminology
In today’s product, Once per record and Include historical profiles are configured on the Trigger step (Step 4), not here. The screenshot above is from an earlier release where these two options appeared on the Record Type step; Allow on historical events was later renamed Include historical profiles and relocated.
4. Trigger (When)
This step asks “When will the automation be triggered?” As the panel explains: A “trigger” is what event or condition you want to use to kick off this automation.
- Select a Trigger from the dropdown. Options are dynamic and depend on the record type. Common triggers include Advance Stage, Schedule Activity, Complete Activity (Any Result / Successfully / Unsuccessfully), Prospect Closed (Incl. Rejected), Prospect Rejected, New Prospect Created, and Days Since Last Contact.
- Configure any trigger-specific conditions that appear (for example, which Stages an Advance Stage trigger should watch).
- Set Once per record (run at most once per record) and Include historical profiles (allow the automation to act on records that already existed before it was created).
- Click Next.
The Trigger step with the Trigger dropdown expanded. The canvas card shows a live summary of the record type and filters selected so far.
Pro Tip
Leave Include historical profiles off unless you specifically intend to reach existing records. Turning it on can trigger a wave of messages or activities against records that entered your system long ago — a common cause of “why did everyone suddenly get emailed?” surprises.
5. Action (What)
This step asks “What should happen?” Select the Action, then configure the settings that appear (the settings change based on the action). Common actions include Send an Email or Text, Schedule an Activity, Advance Stage, Send a Calendar Invite, Reopen Prospect, and Sync to EMR.
The Action step with the Action set to “Send an Email or Text.”
Configuring a “Send an Email or Text” action. The settings group into sections:
- Message Details — To (the recipients, e.g. Trigger Event Participants, First Available Contact, or for prospect automations Prospects / Influencers / Points of Contact), From (who it’s sent as), and the Send message template.
- Delivery Details — Send communication (choose Auto send or Prompt) and the Delivery method (Prefer Email, Only Email, Prefer Text, Only Text, or Email and Text).
- Timing & Additional Settings — Time amount and Time unit for a delay; Before or After (enabled only for date-based triggers, otherwise locked to After); Related activity; Only send during business hours; and If the activity would be scheduled for a past time (Ignore Activity or Schedule for Current Time).
A completed Send an Email or Text action, with recipients, timing, an Assign to value, a message template, and delivery settings filled in.
When the action is configured, click Review.
6. Review
The Review panel summarizes every setting so you can confirm accuracy before creating the automation. Note the warning: “You will not be able to modify the record type, action, or trigger once created.” Those three choices lock after creation; other settings can still be edited later.
The Review step, showing the full summary of the record type, trigger, and action, with the notice that record type, action, and trigger cannot be changed after creation.
Pro Tip
Because the record type, trigger, and action can’t be changed later, treat Review as your real checkpoint. If any of the three is wrong, click Back and fix it now — otherwise you’ll have to rebuild (or duplicate and edit) the automation.
7. Set the initial state and create
Click Create Automation. A dialog appears with the prompt “Set the initial state for this automation: active or inactive.”
- Active — “This automation starts running when you click Create. Update or disable it at any time.”
- Inactive — “Your automation will be created but inactive. Activate it when you are ready to use it in your workflows.”
Choose the state you want, then click Create.
The “Create Automation” dialog with the Active/Inactive toggle. New and duplicated automations default to Inactive.
Pro Tip
For any automation that sends messages or advances stages, create it Inactive first, review the finished setup once more from the list, and flip it on only when you’re confident.
After You Create an Automation
- Turn it on or off anytime. Open the automation and use the Active/Inactive toggle in the action bar at the bottom. State changes are recorded in the audit log.
- Save quickly. Use Update & Exit to save changes and return to the list in one step.
- Spot automation activity easily. Activities created by an automation appear with a dashed border and a “Created by [Automation Name]” label; manually created activities keep a solid border.
Editing an existing automation. The Active toggle (bottom-left) is now enabled, and an Update & Exit button lets you save and return to the list.
Quick Reference: The Four Steps
| Step | Question | What you set |
| 1. Name | What is the name of this automation? | A clear, descriptive name |
| 2. Record Type (Who) | What audience is your automation for? | Prospects vs. Referrers, filter source, and filters |
| 3. Trigger (When) | When will the automation be triggered? | The trigger, plus Once per record and Include historical profiles |
| 4. Action (What) | What should happen? | The action and all its settings |
| Review | — | Confirm everything (record type, trigger, and action lock after creation) |
| Create | — | Set Active or Inactive, then Create |