Automations FAQ

In this article, you'll find short answers to the questions people ask most about automations: what's included, who gets the messages, how to check what a rule did, and what happens when a job changes after a message is already queued.

To open your automations:

  1. In the menu, click Automations.
  2. Click the My Automations tab to see your rules. Discover holds the ready-made templates.

On the phone app, tap the bolt at the top of the Home screen, or Automations in the menu. The screens match the web.

Is Automations an add-on I have to turn on?

No. Every account has it. You won't find it in Features, and there's no cap on how many rules you can make.

Who gets a message sent to "your team"?

The people you pick. When a rule sends to your team, a row of names appears under the sentence. Click a name to add or remove them. If you pick nobody, the message goes to the account owner. The message uses each person's phone or email from their team record.

How do I see what a rule actually sent?

Click Activity on the rule's card. Each entry has a label:

  • Sent: it went out, with the message and who got it.
  • Scheduled: it's waiting, with the date it's due.
  • Skipped: it didn't go, with the reason. Common reasons are "conditions not met", "message is empty", "no contact on file", "job cancelled" and "invoice already settled".
  • Failed: the send was tried and the system rejected it. The reason is shown.
Tip: The card also shows Triggered N times and how many conditions the rule has.

Does a customer who opted out still get texts?

No. Every customer send is checked against that customer's Do Not Disturb settings before it goes out. A blocked send shows in Activity as Failed with a reason like "Client has DND selected for texting". Messages to your team aren't checked against the customer's settings, so your tech still hears about the job.

What happens to a queued reminder if the job moves or is canceled?

  • Moved: the reminder moves with it. A "4 hours ahead" text counts from the new time.
  • Canceled: the reminder is skipped. Activity shows "job cancelled".
  • Date removed: the reminder is skipped with "job no longer has a date to count from".

If I edit a rule, does it change messages already scheduled?

Yes. A scheduled message is written when it comes due, not when it was queued. At that moment the rule's current wording, conditions and send window are used. If you've turned the rule off by then, the message is skipped with "rule inactive". An invoice reminder is also skipped if the invoice has been paid or voided since it was queued.

Scheduled messages are checked every 10 minutes, so a change you make lands within that window.

Does a new rule run on jobs I already have?

No. A rule fires when its trigger happens after the rule exists. A "when a job is done" rule won't text customers of jobs already marked Done. It fires the next time a job is moved to Done.

Does updating a rule switch it on?

No. The toggle on the card is the only on/off switch. Clicking Update automation saves your changes and leaves the toggle as it was.

Can a rule send a review request?

Yes. When you pick what the rule does, choose send client a review request. The wording and image come from your Review settings, not from the rule. Click Preview/edit message to see a sample, and Edit in Review settings to change it.

Note: On a review request rule, only job tag conditions are used. A job type switched off under Settings, Job types, "Review when Done" never asks, whatever the rule says.

Can a rule send an On My Way text?

Not from here. On My Way texts are set up on the OMW page under Send automatically, where you point a job status at a truck or a tech's phone. OMW is switched on in Features first.

How do "and" and "or" conditions work?

Conditions are read in order. Every condition joined by and must be true. An or starts a new group that can match on its own. The rule fires if any one group has all its conditions true. Click the small and / or pill between conditions to flip it, or use + Add "or" condition in the condition panel.

Warning: A job has one job type, so "job type is HVAC and job type is Plumbing" can never be true. Use or for that.

Why is part of my message blank?

Short codes fill in from the record. If the data isn't there yet, the spot is empty. A tech code on a job with no crew, or a job date on an unscheduled job, comes out blank. The client first name code falls back to "there" when the customer has no first name.

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