Create your first automation workflow

Automate your follow-ups and confirmations: set up a workflow that sends the right email at the right time, with no manual work.

Automations save you hours every week. Instead of remembering to follow up on a quote 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, optional conditions, a delay, 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 — managing automations is limited to workspace owners. If you are a member without that role, the section won't appear.
An active email connection — required for the send-email action to work. Without a connection, the workflow will trigger but the send will fail.
Automations are included depending on your plan; check your plan if the section is locked.
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 left to right: you start with a trigger, optionally filter with a condition, wait a delay, then run an action. Understanding this skeleton makes everything else obvious.

Trigger — the event that starts the workflow: an event ending or an event status changing. It's the mandatory starting point.
Condition — an optional filter: event type, venue, guest count, contact email. Operators "equals", "contains", "is empty"… The condition restricts the workflow to a subset of events.
Delay — the number of days to wait before the next step (for example 2 days after the event). A 0-day delay runs the action immediately.
Action — what Joinways does: send a personalized email to the client.

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.

Open Settings > Workflows.
Click New workflow, then pick a template (post-event follow-up or quote follow-up).
Adapt the email subject and body to your tone and venue.
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.

In Settings > Workflows, click New workflow > Start from scratch.
Choose the trigger (e.g. "Event status changed" → "Confirmed").
Add a condition if needed (e.g. event type equals "Wedding").
Set a delay (e.g. 1 day after confirmation).
Add the action "Send an email" and write the message.

Reference of available blocks

Here is the full inventory of the options you can assemble. Keep this list handy while configuring: each line states in one sentence what the option does.

Trigger "Event ended" — fires when an event finishes.
Trigger "Status changed" — fires when an event moves to a specific status (e.g. Confirmed).
Condition "Event type" — limits the workflow to a given type (wedding, seminar…).
Condition "Venue" — limits the workflow to a specific venue.
Condition "Guest count" — filters by the expected number of guests.
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 (in days) — number of days to wait before the action; 0 = immediate.
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:

An event meets the trigger condition (it ends, or its status changes).
Joinways checks the conditions: if they aren't met, the workflow stops for that event.
The delay starts: Joinways waits the configured number of days.
At the deadline, the action runs: the email is composed by replacing the variables, then sent.
The execution is logged in the workflow's history.

Test and activate

Click Send a test to receive the email at your address.
Check the subject, body and replaced variables.
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 {client_name} variable stays empty and the send may fail for lack of a recipient; always fill in the contact.
Conditions too restrictive: a combined filter (type + venue + guests) may match no event, and the workflow never triggers.
Cancelled event: exclude it with a condition to avoid sending a thank-you to a client whose event didn't happen.
Long delay: with a delay of several days, the email goes out well after the trigger; that's normal, follow it in the history.

💡 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.
Use conditions to avoid sending the wrong message to the wrong client (e.g. exclude cancelled events).
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 see the Workflows section.

Cause: the section is owner-only and may depend on your plan. Solution: sign in with an owner account or contact your workspace owner, and check your plan.

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. The result: every client automatically gets a personal note two days after their seminar, and the hotel's online reviews grow effortlessly.

Another example

Sophie manages a reception hall. She wants to chase unsigned quotes. She builds a workflow: trigger "Event status changed" → "Pending", condition "event type equals Wedding", a 3-day delay, action "Send an email" gently reminding the couple their quote is awaiting a reply. Weddings make up most of her revenue, and this automatic nudge recovers several files that would otherwise have slipped through the cracks.

FAQ

Can I chain several emails?

Yes, by adding a delay and then a new action after the first send.

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 on new events; its configuration and history are kept and you can reactivate it at any time.

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?

Actual email sending relies on the email connection; the test lets you preview the result on your own address before activating.

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?

It triggers when the trigger condition is met; the history shows you each execution for clear tracking.