Create your first automation workflow

Automations save you hours every week. Instead of remembering to follow up on a proposal or thank a client after their event, you build a workflow once and Joinways handles the rest, indefinitely and without ever forgetting. A workflow is a simple, readable sequence: a trigger, a delay, optional conditions, then an action. This guide walks you through building your very first workflow end to end, either from a ready-made template or from a blank page.

The core idea to keep in mind: you describe once "when this happens, wait X days, then send this email", and Joinways continuously watches all your events to run that rule automatically whenever it applies. You move from manual follow-up that depends on your memory to systematic follow-up that runs in the background.

Prerequisites

• Owner role: only workspace owners create and edit workflows. Other members see the section read-only.
• An active email connection, required for the “Send an email” action. Without a connection, the workflow triggers but the send is “Failed”.
• The Pro plan, or the free trial. On Free, the section shows an invitation to upgrade to Pro.
• A few events already created in your workspace, ideally with a contact and email address filled in, so the variables have real data to replace.

What you'll learn

• Understand a workflow's structure (trigger, condition, delay, action)
• Create a workflow from a template or from scratch
• Personalize the email sent with dynamic variables
• Test and activate your workflow safely
• Track executions and troubleshoot sends that don't go out

The building blocks of a workflow

Before building, take a minute to picture the four blocks. Each workflow reads in order: you start with a trigger, optionally wait a delay, check any conditions, then run an action. Understanding this skeleton makes everything else obvious.

• Trigger: what starts the workflow. Six choices: “Event ended”, “Upcoming event”, “Status unchanged for”, “Event created”, “Event confirmed” and “Proposal sent, no reply”. It is the mandatory starting point.
• Condition: an optional filter on event type, venue, number of guests, contact email or event owner. Operators “equals”, “contains”, “is empty”… The condition restricts the workflow to a subset of events.
• Delay: the days and hours to wait before the action (for example 2 days after the event). A delay of 0 acts on the next hourly pass.
• Action: what Joinways does. “Send an email” to the client, “Create a task”, “Send a notification” in the app or “Call a webhook”.

Create a workflow from a template

The fastest way to start is from a ready-made template. The template pre-fills the trigger, the delay and a draft email that you only need to adapt to your voice. This is the recommended approach for a first workflow.

1. Open Settings > Workflows.
2. Under the list, in “Ready-to-use templates”, click a template: “Post-event feedback D+2”, “Pre-event reminder”, “Acknowledgment when the event is created” or “Proposal follow-up (sequence)”. The rule is created paused and opens in the editor.

1. Adapt the email subject and body to your tone and venue.
2. Save, test, then activate.

At every step, the editor shows you the assembled workflow: you can review the trigger the template chose and tweak the delay without starting over.

Create a workflow from scratch

If no template matches your need, start from a blank page. You then assemble the four blocks yourself, in order. It's a bit longer, but it gives you full control over the trigger, the conditions and the content.

1. In Settings > “Workflows”, click “New workflow” (or “Create from scratch” when the list is empty). The rule opens with the “Event ended” trigger already in place.
2. Pick the trigger (e.g. “Event confirmed”, matching status “Confirmed”).
3. Add a condition if needed (e.g. event type equals "Wedding").
4. No delay here: “Event confirmed” runs on the next pass (within the hour) and the editor refuses a Delay step. For the other triggers, add a delay if needed.
5. Add the action "Send an email" and write the message.

Reference of available blocks

Here are the options most used for a first workflow. The complete list (six triggers, five condition fields, seven operators, four actions) is in the article “Triggers, conditions and actions: the reference”.

• Trigger "Event ended": fires when an event finishes.
• Trigger "Status unchanged for": fires when an event has stayed in the same status for the number of days you choose (for example still on Hold after 3 days).
• Condition "Event type": limits the workflow to a given type (wedding, seminar…).
• Condition "Venue": limits the workflow to a specific venue.
• Condition “Number of guests”: filters on the expected guest count, with “is greater than” and “is less than”.
• Condition "Contact email": filters by the attached contact's email address.
• Operator "equals": the value must match exactly.
• Operator "contains": the value must include the given text.
• Operator "is empty": the field must hold no value.
• Delay: days and hours to wait before the action, with an optional “Preferred run time”; 0 = on the next hourly pass.
• Action "Send an email": sends a personalized email to the client with subject and body.

Personalize the email with variables

Insert variables to personalize each send automatically. They are replaced with the real event data at send time, making every message unique with no manual typing:

• {client_name}: the client's name
• {event_title}: the event title
• {event_date}: the event date

Write your email like a real letter, dropping the variables where the name, title or date should appear. If a variable has no matching data on an event, it is simply replaced with nothing; so make sure your contacts are properly filled in.

How it works

Behind the scenes, Joinways watches your events continuously. Here is the mechanism, step by step, once your workflow is active:

1. An event meets the trigger: it ends, approaches, is created, is confirmed or stays in its status, or a sent proposal gets no reply.
2. The delay runs: Joinways waits the configured days and hours.
3. When it is due, Joinways checks the conditions: if one is not met, the run is “Skipped” for that event.
4. At the deadline, the action runs: the email is composed by replacing the variables, then sent.
5. The execution is logged in the workflow's history.

Test and activate

1. In the email action, open “Send a test email”, enter your address and click “Send test”. You receive the email with sample data, subject prefixed [Test] (at most 5 tests per hour).
2. Check the subject, body and replaced variables.
3. Toggle the workflow to Active. It will run automatically on every trigger.

Track executions

Each workflow keeps an execution history: you can see when it ran, on which event, and whether the email was sent. Handy to confirm everything works as intended, and to spot a send that may have failed.

Edge cases

A few situations deserve your attention to avoid surprises:

• Event with no contact email: the send is “Skipped” (reason: the contact has no email address). Add the condition “Contact email” “is filled in” to every rule that sends.
• Conditions too restrictive: a combined filter (type + venue + guests) may match no event, and the workflow never triggers.
• Cancelled event: there is no condition on status. Leave “Cancelled” unticked in the trigger's “Matching statuses” (only “Confirmed” is ticked by default on “Event ended”).
• Long delay: with a delay of several days, the email goes out well after the trigger; that's normal, follow it in the history.
• Inquiry from a platform that keeps the client relationship (Kactus, Funbooker): the email action never writes to the client outside the platform; the run is “Skipped” with the reason.

Tip: send yourself a test email before activating the workflow. You'll see exactly how it looks, variables included, and you'll avoid sending a shaky message to a real client.

Best practices

• Start with a single simple workflow (e.g. post-event thank-you) before adding more.
• Pick the “Matching statuses” carefully and add conditions so the wrong client never gets the wrong message (e.g. leave cancelled events out).
• Review your automated emails every quarter to keep the tone right.
• Check the execution history after activation to confirm the first sends went out.

Troubleshooting

Problem: the email isn't sending.

Cause: the workflow is inactive, no email connection is set up, or the conditions are too restrictive. Solution: check that the workflow is Active, an email connection is configured, and the conditions don't block every trigger.

Problem: I can't create or edit a workflow.

Cause: only workspace owners create or edit workflows, and the section needs the Pro plan (or the trial). Solution: ask the workspace owner, and check your plan if an upgrade invitation is shown.

Problem: the variables show up empty in the received email.

Cause: the event has no contact or filled-in data. Solution: complete the contact, title and date on the event before the workflow triggers.

Real-world example

Marc runs a hotel-restaurant. He builds a workflow: trigger “Event ended”, a 2-day delay, action “Send an email” with a thank-you message and a Google review link. Result: every client automatically gets a personal note two days after their seminar, and the hotel's number of online reviews grows with no effort.

Another example

Sophie manages a reception hall. She wants to chase proposals that get no reply. She builds a workflow: trigger "Proposal sent, no reply" after 3 days, condition "event type equals Wedding", action "Send an email" gently reminding the couple their proposal is awaiting an answer. Weddings make up most of her revenue, and the chase stops on its own the moment a client accepts or signs, so nobody is ever nudged twice.

FAQ

Can I chain several emails?

Yes, with one rule per email: a rule holds one delay and one action of each type. That is what the “Proposal follow-up (sequence)” template does, creating three rules (D+3, D+7, D+12).

Do workflows apply to existing events?

They trigger on future events matching the trigger, not retroactively.

What happens if I deactivate a workflow?

It stops triggering; its configuration and history are kept and you can reactivate it at any time. On reactivation, events that became eligible while it was paused are ignored.

Does the client see variables like {client_name}?

No, they are replaced with the real data at send time; the client receives a readable, personalized message.

Do I need an email connection to test?

Yes. The test email goes out from your own connected mailbox: without one, the test is refused.

Can I filter by venue if I manage several venues?

Yes, the "Venue" condition limits the workflow to events at a specific venue.

Can a workflow trigger several times on the same event?

No. A rule acts only once per event (once per proposal for “Proposal sent, no reply”). For a second send, create a second rule.

See also

• Event emails
• Event statuses