Automations 101: What they are and how they work

Automations do the repetitive follow-ups for you. Instead of remembering to email a client when their estimate is approved, nudging a client who hasn't signed a contract, or creating the same onboarding tasks every time a project starts, you build the rule once and Workroom runs it every time — day or night.

The three parts of every automation

If you can say it in a sentence, you can build it: When something happens → (only if a condition is true) → do one or more things.

• Trigger — the "when." The event that starts it: When an invoice is created… When a contract is signed… When a form is submitted…

• Conditions — the "only if" (optional). Filters that decide whether to carry on: …only if the amount is over $5,000.

• Steps — the "do." What Workroom carries out, in order: send an email, create a task, wait three days, move a lead, notify a teammate and more.

In the builder these appear as connected cards on a canvas, read left to right:

Where to find it

Click Automations in the left sidebar under Management. The page lists every automation as a card showing its on/off switch, status (Active or Paused), a one-line summary (e.g. "When contract sent → Email the client (main contact)"), how many times it has run and when it last ran.

Along the top you'll find Needs review, Build with AI and New automation, plus a search box and All / Active / Paused filters and the Trash.

Things that are always true

• They look forward, not back. An automation only acts on events that happen after it's switched on. It won't go back and process last month's invoices.

• They run in the background. You don't need a tab open. Workroom checks for due work about once a minute, so "wait 3 days" steps happen on their own.

• Each event runs a matching automation once. One new invoice won't fire the same automation five times.

• New automations start Paused. Whether you build from scratch, a template or Walter, nothing runs until you switch it on.

• You're always in control. Every automation can be paused, edited, tested, duplicated or moved to the trash at any time.