Getting Started with Workflow Automation in CrmLeaf
All editions. Requires the Workflow Automation add-on for your company. CrmLeaf support must also switch automations on for your account; until then you can build rules but they do not run.
Availability: All editions. Requires the Workflow Automation add-on for your company. CrmLeaf support must also switch automations on for your account; until then you can build rules but they do not run.
Overview
Workflow Automation answers one question: what should happen by itself when a record is created or changed? You write a rule once, for example when a ticket is created, if its priority is urgent, tell every admin, and CrmLeaf applies it to every matching record from then on. Nothing is run by hand, and nothing is sent until you switch the rule on.
How It Works
Every rule has the same three parts, and the rule builder is laid out in the same order.
When a record is created or updated → If it matches your conditions → Then run one or more actions
| Part | You choose | Example |
|---|---|---|
| When | A record type, and whether it was created or updated | A ticket is created |
| If | Which records the rule applies to | Priority is equal to Urgent |
| Then | One or more actions | Notify everyone with the Admin role |
- A rule looks at a record at the moment it is saved. There are exactly two triggers: Record is created and Record is updated. Deleting a record triggers nothing, and there is no "wait three days and then" step. A rule fires when the save happens, not at a later time.
- Eight record types are covered: Lead, Deal, Client, Task, Ticket, Proposal, Invoice and Project.
- Rules act on saves from now on. They do not run on records you already have.
- Rules run in the background. They do not slow down the person saving the record, but a busy company may see a few seconds' delay between a save and its actions.
Where to Find Automations
Automations has its own app in the app switcher (the grid icon at the top of the page). In the Solar and Construction apps it sits in the unheaded block of links beside the dashboard; in the all-modules sidebar it can appear inside a group, next to Webhooks. Search the sidebar for Automations if you cannot see it. The page has three tabs:
- Automations: your rules, with a switch on each.
- Activity: everything the rules have done.
- Templates: ready-made rules. This tab only appears if you may create automations.
Company-wide preferences are under Settings → Workflow Automation Settings.
Who Can Use This Feature?
Administrator
- Create, edit, switch on and off, and delete rules, subject to the permissions described in Who Can See and Change Automations.
- Choose which record types are available under Workflow Automation Settings.
User
- View the rules and the Activity tab, and use Test Run, if your role holds the view permission.
- Receive the notifications, emails and tasks that rules create.
Prerequisites
Four things have to be true, and the first two are not under your control. If a screen is missing or a rule never runs, check them in this order.
- Your company has the Workflow Automation add-on. Without it the menu entry is absent, and opening an Automations page directly shows a "forbidden" message.
- Automations, and the actions you want to use, are switched on for your account. Both start switched off, and only CrmLeaf support can switch them on. While automations are paused you can still build rules, but nothing runs, and a yellow banner says so on the Automations, Activity and Templates screens. Actions are switched on one at a time, so an account with none switched on shows an empty template gallery and an empty action list in the builder. Contact CrmLeaf support to have either switched on.
- You hold the permissions. See Who Can See and Change Automations.
- The record type is available to you. Lead, Deal and Proposal rules need the Leads module; Client, Task, Ticket, Invoice and Project rules need the Clients, Tasks, Tickets, Invoices and Projects modules respectively. A record type whose module you do not have is simply not offered.
Record Types
An administrator with the settings permission can untick any of the eight record types under Workflow Automation Settings → Record types. Unticking a type hides it from the builder and stops its existing rules from running. The rules are kept and start working again when the type is ticked.
Expected Result
You can open Automations, see its three tabs, and know whether rules will actually run: no pause banner is showing, and the record types and actions you want are on offer.
Important Notes
- Menu names and their position can differ between product editions and can be customised for your account, so your sidebar may not match these paths exactly. Use Search or your Quick Access items if you cannot find a screen.
- Rules cannot act on Employees, on deletions, or on a schedule.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Possible Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| There is no Automations entry in the menu | Your company does not have the add-on, or your role lacks the view permission | Confirm the add-on is part of your plan and check your permissions. |
| A yellow banner says automations are paused | Automations are not switched on for your account | Contact CrmLeaf support to switch them on. Rules you build in the meantime do not run. |
| The template gallery or the action list is empty | No actions are switched on for your account | Contact CrmLeaf support to switch on the actions you need. |
| A record type is missing from the builder | You do not have its module, or it is unticked in the settings | Check your modules and the Record types setting. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Will a rule run on records I already have?
No. Rules act on saves from now on.
Can a rule run later, on a schedule, or after a delay?
No. Rules run when a record is created or updated.
Can a rule act on deletions, or on Employees?
No. Only creation and updates of the eight record types.
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Our support team answers on business days. Reference WFA-01 so we can jump straight in.