# Configuring an automation

> Build an automation from an application, a trigger or schedule, optional conditions and one or more actions.

Source: https://help.clockworkcrm.com/automations/configure
Last updated: 2026-09-30

## Building an automation

**Configure Automation**, or **Add** in the top bar, opens the automation builder on the right of the
page. It reads as a set of questions, and the sentence at the foot of the builder describes the
automation as you build it.

![The automation builder: name, the application, the trigger, and the actions](https://clockworkcrm.blob.core.windows.net/public-internal/docs/automations/automation-builder.png?v=9172e47b)

To build an automation:

1. Enter a **Name** (required).
2. Add a **Description** if you want one.
3. Leave **Enabled** on for the automation to run once saved, or turn it off to save it without
   running.
4. Under **What application do you want to use with this automation** choose the application.
5. Under **When do you want this automation to run?** choose the **Automation Trigger**, or set the
   schedule.
6. To limit which records it runs for, turn on **and meets the following conditions** and add
   conditions.
7. Under **What should it do?** select **Add Action** and set up each action.
8. Select **Save**. You aren't able to save until the automation has a name and at least one action.

Clockwork CRM confirms that the automation was created or edited and returns you to the list.

Changing the application after adding conditions or actions asks you to confirm, and removes all of
them. Changing the trigger removes any conditions and actions the new trigger does not support,
after telling you how many and asking you to confirm.

## Applications

**What application do you want to use with this automation?** decides what the automation watches.

| Application | What the automation runs for |
|---|---|
| **None, run on a schedule** | Nothing in particular. It runs at the scheduled time with no record |
| **None, run when an automation succeeds** | An automation run that finished successfully |
| **None, run when an automation fails** | An automation run that failed, or finished with failures |
| **Cases** | A case |
| **People** | A person |
| **Companies** | A company |
| **Sales** | An opportunity |
| **Project Tasks** | A project task |
| **Projects** | A project |
| **Products** | A product |
| **Forms** | The person or company that submitted a form |
| **Bookings** | The person who made a booking |

The record the automation runs for is the one its merge fields, recipients and **Set field values**
actions work on.

## Triggers

For every application except the three **None** choices, **Automation Trigger** lists the events
that can start the automation. The **Cases**, **Sales**, **Project Tasks**, **Projects** and
**Products** lists have a search box at the top.

### Cases

- When a case has been added, updated or deleted
- When a comment is added to, updated on or deleted from a case
- When a user is added to or removed from a case
- When a person is added to or removed from a case
- When a company is added to or removed from a case
- When a tag is added to or removed from a case
- On a schedule

### People

- When a person has been added, updated or deleted
- When a tag has been added to or removed from a person
- When a file is added to or removed from a person
- When a note is added to, updated on or removed from a person
- On a schedule

### Companies

- When a company has been added, updated or deleted
- When a tag has been added to or removed from a company
- When a file has been added to or removed from a company
- When a note has been added to, updated on or removed from a company
- On a schedule

### Sales

- When a sale has been added, updated or deleted
- When a comment is added to, updated on or deleted from a sale
- When a team is added to or removed from a sale
- When a user is added to or removed from a sale
- When a person is added to or removed from a sale
- When a company is added to or removed from a sale
- When a tag is added to or removed from a sale
- On a schedule

### Project Tasks

- When a project task has been added, updated or deleted
- When a tag is added to or removed from a project task
- When a comment is added to, updated on or deleted from a project task
- When a user is assigned to or removed from a project task
- When time is logged on a project task, or a time log is updated or deleted
- When a file is added to or removed from a project task
- On a schedule

### Projects

- When a project has been added, updated or deleted
- When a user is added to or removed from a project
- When a team is added to or removed from a project
- When a person is linked to or unlinked from a project
- When a company is linked to or unlinked from a project
- When a file is added to or removed from a project
- On a schedule

### Products

- When a product has been added, updated or deleted
- When a tag is added to or removed from a product
- When a file is added to or removed from a product
- When stock drops below the reorder point
- When stock is adjusted on a product
- When a variation is added to or removed from a product
- When a product's price changes
- On a schedule

### Forms

- When a form is submitted

The automation runs for the person the submission created or matched. When the submission has no
person, it runs for the company instead. A submission with no contact at all does not start the
automation. See [Forms](https://help.clockworkcrm.com/marketing/forms).

### Bookings

- When a booking is made (no payment taken)
- When a booking is paid for
- When a booking is rescheduled
- When a booking is cancelled
- When a booking is completed

The automation runs for the customer who made the booking. See [Bookings](https://help.clockworkcrm.com/calendar/bookings).

## Schedules

**None, run on a schedule**, and the **On a schedule** trigger of an application, show the schedule
fields:

| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Days of the week | **Sunday** to **Saturday**. Select each day the automation runs on. With no day selected, it never runs |
| **At (UTC)** | The time it runs, in UTC, in steps of five minutes |
| **Run until (optional)** | The last date the automation runs. Once this date is reached, Clockwork CRM disables the automation |

By default a new automation is set to start on Mondays at 09:00 UTC.

An application's **On a schedule** trigger runs once for all the records that match the
automation's conditions at that time. With no conditions, it runs for every record of that type, and
the builder warns you of this. For **Products**, archived products are left out unless the automation
has an **Archived** condition.

![The schedule fields: the days of the week, the time and an optional end date](https://clockworkcrm.blob.core.windows.net/public-internal/docs/automations/automation-schedule.png?v=f10722bd)

## Conditions

Turn on **conditions** to run the automation only for records that match.
For a trigger event, the conditions are checked against the record when the event happens. For a
schedule, they decide which records the run covers.

Each condition is a field, a test and a value. Conditions are built in groups:

- **When all of these are true** is the first group. Every condition in a group must be true.
- **+ and…** adds another condition to the group.
- **+ Add OR group** adds a group headed **Or when all of these are true**. The automation runs when
  any one group is true.
- **− remove group** removes a group.

The fields you can test are the application's own fields, such as a person's **First Name** or a
case's **Status**, and its custom properties. Custom properties are offered for **Cases**, **People**,
**Companies**, **Sales**, **Project Tasks** and **Products**. See
[Custom properties](https://help.clockworkcrm.com/general/custom-properties).

**Forms** and **Bookings** also offer:

- **Form**, and an **Answer** for each field on the form. For a booking, the form is the booking's
  details form.
- the fields of the person, and for forms the company, the automation runs for. Company fields start
  with "Company:".
- for **Bookings**: **Booked Service**, **Booked Staff Member**, **Booking Link**, **Booking Price**,
  **Amount Paid**, **Payment State** and, on the cancelled trigger only, **Cancelled By**.

The tests offered depend on the kind of field:

| Field | Tests |
|---|---|
| Text | Contains, Doesn't Contain, Ending With, Not Ending With, Starting With, Not Starting With, Is Exactly, Is Not, Has Value, Has No Value |
| Number, currency and date | Greater Than, Greater Than Or Equal To, Less Than, Less Than Or Equal To, Is Exactly, Is Not, Has Value, Has No Value |
| Records, users and tags | Contains Value, Does Not Contain Value, Is Any Of, Is None Of, Has Value, Has No Value |
| Yes or no | Is Exactly, Is Not, Has Value, Has No Value |
| Lists | Is Exactly, Is Not, Is Any Of, Is None Of, Has Value, Has No Value |

A date can be a fixed date or a relative one, such as **Current Date**, **Yesterday**, **Tomorrow**,
**Next Week** or **Last Month**.

Some tests only appear with certain triggers:

- **Has Been Updated**, on an "updated" trigger, is true when that field changed in the update.
- **Added Is**, on a "tag added" trigger, tests the tag that was just added. **Removed Is**, on a
  "tag removed" trigger, tests the tag that was just removed. Each group can hold only one **Added
  Is** or **Removed Is** condition. To react to several tags, pick several tags in one condition, or
  use a separate OR group for each.

**None, run when an automation succeeds** and **None, run when an automation fails** offer one
field, **Automation**: the automation that finished. Without this condition they run after any
automation. A run of one of these automations does not start another.

For **Products**, **Stock** and **Reserved Stock** test the total of the product's variations when it
has any, and the product's own stock when it has none.

The **Payment State** values are **Free (nothing to pay)**, **Unpaid**, **Deposit paid** and **Paid
in full**. **Cancelled By** is **The customer** or **A staff member**.

## Actions

**Add Action**, under **What should it do?** opens the action form. An automation can have several
actions. They run in the order shown, and you can drag them to change the order. Each action has an
edit button and a delete button.

![The action form, set to send an email](https://clockworkcrm.blob.core.windows.net/public-internal/docs/automations/automation-action.png?v=48c68e23)

Every action has:

| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| **When triggered** | The type of action |
| **Name** | A name for the action, up to 255 characters. It is shown in the builder and in the sentence at the foot of it |

The action types are:

| Action | What it does | Where it is offered |
|---|---|---|
| **Send an email** | Sends an email | Every application |
| **Send a HTTP request** | Sends a request to a web address | Every application |
| **Send a marketing or stencil email** | Sends one of your marketing templates or email stencils | Cases, People, Companies, Sales, Project Tasks, Projects, Forms and Bookings |
| **Set field values** | Changes fields on the record | Every application except the three **None** choices |
| **Add Tag** and **Remove Tag** | Changes the record's tags | Cases, People, Companies, Sales, Project Tasks, Products, Forms and Bookings |
| **Send an SMS** | Sends a text message | Every application, when you have an SMS-capable mobile number |
| **Create a calendar entry** | Adds an entry to the calendar | Every application |
| **Add an opportunity** | Creates an opportunity | Every application except Sales |

On a "deleted" trigger, only **Send an email**, **Send a HTTP request**, **Send an SMS**, **Create a
calendar entry** and **Add an opportunity** are offered.

**Set field values**, **Add Tag** and **Remove Tag** have a **Trigger further automations?**
switch. Leave it on for the change to start other automations, as if a user had made it. Turn it
off to make the change without starting any.

The **Merge Fields** button next to a field inserts a value from the record, which is filled in
when the action runs.

### Send an email

| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Who should it be sent to?** | Email addresses, users, teams, people and companies. It also offers the record's own addresses, such as **Person Email Address**, and email-type custom fields |
| **Separate the emails for each address** | Sends each address its own email, instead of one email to all of them |
| **Add ... as an attachment (.csv)** | Attaches the record's details as a CSV file |
| **Perform the action for each ...** | Sends a separate email for each record the run covers |
| **Subject** | The email's subject. Required |
| **Message** | The email's content. Required |

The record's own addresses and merge fields are only filled in when **Perform the action for each**
is on. The attachment and **Perform the action for each** switches are not shown on the three
**None** applications.

Emails are sent from Clockwork CRM's own address, with the name "Clockwork CRM". Emails sent to
people and companies in Clockwork CRM appear on their records. An email to an address on a known
list of defunct or temporary accounts is not sent, and the run lists the error.

### Send a marketing or stencil email

| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Send to specific addresses** | Off: sends to the people and companies linked to the record. On: shows **Who should it be sent to?** to choose the recipients |
| **Sender Address** | The address the email comes from, from your [sender domains](https://help.clockworkcrm.com/admin/domains). Required |
| **Select a stencil or template** | The marketing template or email stencil to send. Required |

With **Send to specific addresses** off, the email goes to:

| Application | Recipients |
|---|---|
| **People** and **Bookings** | The person |
| **Companies** | The company |
| **Forms** | The person or company that submitted the form |
| **Cases** | The case's stakeholder people and companies |
| **Sales** | The opportunity's linked people and companies |
| **Projects** | The project's linked people and companies |
| **Project Tasks** | The linked people and companies of the task's project |

Each recipient gets their own copy with the template's merge fields filled in, and it appears on
their record. If the template includes a signature, the sender address's signature is added. See
[Email templates and merge fields](https://help.clockworkcrm.com/marketing/email-templates).

If email send credits run out, the email is not sent to the remaining recipients and the run lists
the error. The automation's next action still runs.

### Send a HTTP request

| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Perform the action for each ...** | Sends a separate request for each record the run covers. Not shown on the three **None** applications |
| **HTTP Method** | **GET**, **POST**, **PUT**, **PATCH** or **DELETE** |
| **URL** | The address to send to. Required, up to 255 characters |
| **Payload** | The request body, for **POST**, **PUT** and **PATCH** |
| **Headers (optional)** | **Add Header** adds a **Header** and **Value** pair |

The body is sent as `application/json` unless you add a `Content-Type` header. If the response is
not a success, the run fails and the actions after it do not run. Merge fields from the record are
filled in only when **Perform the action for each** is on.

### Set field values

**Available Properties** lists the record's fields and custom properties. Select a field to add it
under **Set Field Values**, then enter the value to set. Text fields have a **Merge Fields** button.
At least one field is required.

### Add Tag and Remove Tag

**Available Tags** lists your tags, with a search box. Select one or more tags to add to, or remove
from, the record. At least one tag is required.

### Send an SMS

This action is only offered when you have an SMS-capable mobile number. See
[Communication services](https://help.clockworkcrm.com/admin/communication-services).

| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| **From number** | The number the message is sent from. Required |
| **Add a specific number** | Adds a phone number to the recipients |
| Record phone fields | The **Merge Fields** button adds a phone source from the record, such as **Phone Number** (the record's best available number), **Mobile**, **Telephone**, linked people or companies, or a phone-type custom property |
| **Message** | The text to send. Required. The character count is shown, and long messages are billed as more than one segment |

At least one recipient is required. A number reached through more than one source is only texted
once, and the message appears on each matching contact's record. On the **None, run on a schedule**
application, only specific numbers can be used.

### Create a calendar entry

Clockwork CRM creates one entry for each record the run covers.

| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Title** | The entry's title. If left empty, the action's name is used |
| **Description** | The entry's description |
| **Location** | The entry's location |
| **Type** | **Activity**, **Event**, **Meeting** or **Call** |
| **Who should it be assigned to?** | The users the entry is for. The first user is the organiser. Left empty, it is assigned to whoever created the automation |
| **Schedule** | When the entry is. See below |
| **All day** | Makes it an all-day entry |
| **Duration (minutes)** | How long it lasts, when not all day. Defaults to 30 |
| **Link the ... to this entry** | Links the record to the entry. On by default |

The link switch is not shown for Products, the three **None** applications, or a "deleted" trigger.

**Schedule** has three choices:

| Choice | Fields |
|---|---|
| **In an offset from when it runs** | **In** and **Unit** (minutes, hours, days or weeks) after the run. For days and weeks, **At (UTC)** sets the time |
| **On the next day of the week** | **On the next** day, at **At (UTC)**. If that day is today and the time has not passed, the entry is today. Otherwise it is next week |
| **On a fixed date** | **Date**, and **Time (UTC)** |

### Add an opportunity

Clockwork CRM creates one opportunity for each record the run covers.

| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Name** | The opportunity's name. If left empty, the action's name is used |
| **Description** | Its description |
| **Value** | A number, or a merge field that gives one. Left empty, the opportunity's value is zero |
| **Pipeline** and **Status** | Where the opportunity goes. Both required |
| **Pipeline fields** | The custom fields the chosen pipeline and status collect. Required ones must be filled in |
| **Who should own it?** | The owner. Left empty, the owner is whoever created the automation |
| **Importance** | **1 - Lowest** to **5 - Highest**. Defaults to **3 - Medium** |
| **Likelihood (%)** | 0 to 100. Defaults to 50 |
| **Estimated close date** | **No estimated close date**, **In an offset from when it runs** (**In (days)**, default 30), or **On a fixed date** |
| **Link the ... to this opportunity** | Links the record's contacts to the opportunity. On by default |

The contacts linked are the person or company itself, or the people and companies linked to a case
or project. If a value does not give a number for a record, no opportunity is created for that
record and the run lists the error. See [Opportunities](https://help.clockworkcrm.com/sales/opportunities).

The link switch is not shown for Products, Project Tasks, the three **None** applications, or a
"deleted" trigger.

## Related

- [Automations](https://help.clockworkcrm.com/automations/automations), the list of automations and automation credits
- [Automation runs](https://help.clockworkcrm.com/automations/runs), what happened each time an automation ran
- [Custom properties](https://help.clockworkcrm.com/general/custom-properties)