Before You Start with Automation
Automation appears once Business Automation is licensed. What you can open still depends on your role under Settings → Users & roles.
Access, in plain language
Builder screens and logs typically need elevated Automation access — often granted through administrator-style roles your company assigns. Ask your administrator if the menu is visible but pages show access denied.
Module permissions for related areas (CRM, Expense, and so on) still matter for the events those modules publish.
Optional companions
| Module or setting | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| Communication Center | Email templates and drip sequences for Send email / Enroll actions |
| Setup → Email Settings | Outbound mail delivery |
| CRM | Lead and deal triggers; Create task actions |
| Expense | Submit / approve / pay triggers |
| Labour Scheduling | Shift, no-show, swap, and budget events |
Finding your way around
Open Automation in the top navigation.
| Menu item | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Workflows | Dashboard counts, search, activate / deactivate, edit, duplicate, delete |
| New Workflow | Linear steps and conditions |
| Visual Builder | Canvas with nodes and connections |
| Templates | Browse categories and create a copy for your company |
| Execution Logs | Filter runs, open step detail, retry failures |
You can edit the same workflow from either builder — pick the style that fits the flow.
Workflow concepts to know
| Concept | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Trigger | The event type that starts the workflow |
| Conditions | Optional filters on the event data |
| Steps / nodes | Ordered actions |
| Active | Must be activated after save |
| Priority | Higher priority runs first when several match |
| Run once | Fire only once per entity (for example a welcome email) |
| Cooldown | Minimum minutes between runs on the same entity |
:::tip Start inactive, then activate Save and review the definition first. Activate from the Workflows list when you are ready for live events. :::