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Automations

Automations are "when → then" rules. When something happens, Fifi does the rest: create a follow-up task, add a tag, set the lead status, hand it to someone or email a teammate. They run in the background within a minute or so, and never email anyone outside your team.

Automations are part of the Forms and automations module (Settings → Automations).

Who can do it:

TaskOwnerAdminMember
See automations and run logsYesYesYes
Create, edit, switch on or off, deleteYesYesNo

Create an automation

  1. Go to Settings → Automations and click New automation.
  2. Give it a Name, for example "Welcome new leads".
  3. When → This happens, pick a trigger:
    • A form is submitted (pick the Form);
    • A contact is created;
    • A deal moves to a stage (pick the Stage, or Any stage);
    • A deal is won;
    • A deal is lost;
    • A task becomes overdue;
    • A booking is confirmed.
  4. Only if (optional), add up to 5 conditions. Every one must hold:
    • Contact has tag / Contact doesn't have tag;
    • Lead status is;
    • Deal value is at least (Value in USD).
  5. Then, in order, add 1 to 5 actions:
    • Create a task: a Task title ({{name}} becomes the record's name, e.g. "Follow up with {{name}}"), Assign to (the record's owner or a chosen teammate) and Due in (days) (0–365);
    • Add a tag (contacts);
    • Set the lead status (contacts);
    • Assign an owner;
    • Email a team member, with an optional Note.
  6. Tick On and save.

A workspace can have up to 25 automations. Deal triggers need Deals on; the booking trigger needs Online booking on.

How they run

  • A trigger is recorded together with the change that caused it, so a change that's undone runs nothing.
  • Actions run in order. If one fails, the rest stop; earlier ones stand.
  • Nothing an automation does triggers another automation. That prevents loops.
  • Contacts and deals added by CSV import don't trigger automations.
  • "A task becomes overdue" is checked every 15 minutes and fires once per task due date.
  • Turning an automation back on doesn't replay what it missed.

The run log

Open an automation to see its Run log, kept for 30 days. Each run is Waiting, Done, Skipped or Failed, with a reason such as:

  • "Its conditions didn't hold"
  • "Not run: the workspace was over its hourly limit for automation runs, so none of its actions were taken" (a skipped run is not tried again)
  • "The record was deleted"
  • "The tag was deleted"
  • "That member isn't active any more"
  • "Over today's limit for notification emails"
  • "Forms and automations were turned off"
  • "The automation was turned off"

Limits

LimitAmountWhen it's hit
Runs per workspace1,000 an hourFurther runs are Skipped
Notification emails per workspace200 a dayThat action Fails
Notification emails to one teammate50 a dayThat action Fails

Fifi doesn't switch an automation off when it hits a limit. Watch the run log.

Troubleshooting

ProblemWhat to do
Nothing happenedCheck it's On, the trigger's module is on, and the run log's reason. Runs take up to a minute or so.
Skipped: "Its conditions didn't hold"The record didn't match Only if at the time.
Skipped: "Over the workspace's hourly limit…"Too many runs this hour. Check for an automation firing far more than expected.
Failed: "The tag was deleted"Edit the automation and pick another tag.
Imported contacts didn't trigger "A contact is created"Imports never trigger automations.
A task created by an automation didn't trigger "A task becomes overdue"Automations never trigger each other.

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