Automations handle repeatable work on a board, such as creating a task, notifying a teammate, or sending an email. Start with one clear outcome and one action, then build on it once you have checked the result.
Before You Begin
- Choose the board and stage or card fields your automation will use.
- Have the details for your action ready. For email or SMS, this includes the sending inbox or phone line, communication template, and intended recipients.
- Plan to use a dedicated test card with sample information, not a resident’s or customer’s working card.
Understand the Four Parts
- Trigger: what Aptly watches for, such as a card entering a stage.
- Conditions: the requirements that decide which cards qualify, such as the selected stage or a field value.
- Action: what Aptly should do, such as create a task.
- Timing (When): when the action should run after the trigger and conditions qualify. Timing does not replace the trigger.
Create a New Automation
Open the board where you want the automation to run. The steps below create a draft first, so you can review it before going live.
First Example: Create a Follow-Up Task
Try a simple internal task before automating messages to customers. For example: when a card enters your new-lead stage, create a task to review the lead. Use the stage name that exists on your board.
- Title: Create Task: Review new lead
- Trigger: On Stage Change
- Condition: your new-lead stage
- Action: Create Task, with the task name “Review new lead”
- When: Immediately
- Status: Draft while you build
Set Up Your Draft
- Open Automations using the sparkle/wand icon in the board’s upper-right toolbar.
- Click New Automation. The editor opens with Status set to Draft.
- Enter a descriptive title that names the action and when it applies, such as the example above.
- Choose a folder to keep related automations together. Folders organize automations; they are not connected to stages.
- Select the trigger and complete its conditions. For the example, choose On Stage Change and your new-lead stage.
- Select the Action and fill in its details. For the example, choose Create Task and add “Review new lead.” Start with one action; you can add more later.
- Select When and review Only fire if office is open. For the example, choose Immediately; this uses the automation queue, so the result may not appear instantly.
- Keep Status: Draft and click Save. Reopen the saved automation to confirm your settings.
Review, Test, and Go Live
Before changing the status to Live:
- Check the scope. Confirm the board, stage, and conditions. For Custom Condition, use View to inspect matching cards and make sure unrelated cards are excluded.
- Check the result. Review every action, task detail, field change, recipient, template, and timing setting. Consider whether another automation could react to the same change.
- Set up testing. Open Test Mode Settings and review the selected test card and test destinations. Use sample data and test destinations you control. Review any action that sends data or changes linked records before testing. See Using Test Mode for Automations.
- Check the outcome. Select Test Mode when ready to test. Review the test result and the test card. In the example, confirm that the intended “Review new lead” task appears. Correct anything unexpected before continuing.
When ready, open the automation, set Status to Live, and click Save. Check the first live result and automation logs. If the result is unexpected, return the automation to Draft, save, and investigate before retrying. See Troublesbleshooting Automations.
Trigger Reference
On Stage Change
Use this when a card enters a selected stage. Choose the stage that should qualify. If your workflow needs to repeat on the same card, review Understanding Automation Triggers: Stage Change vs. Custom Condition before choosing your trigger.
On Reply
Use this for an inbound email reply associated with a card. The originating email must have created the card or been sent from it.
- Choose Only run once for the first reply or Run on every reply.
- Choose the qualifying stages, or Any stage.
- Select the senders by contact type.
- Decide whether to ignore replies to archived cards or reopen the card.
Custom Condition
Use this when card fields meet criteria you define.
- Select the fields and criteria. Available criteria depend on the field type.
- Use + And condition to add requirements. All conditions joined by AND must be met.
- Use the condition’s three-dot menu to remove it.
- Click View to preview existing cards that match.
Avoid loops: review whether an action changes a field used by this or another automation in a way that could trigger repeated changes.
Field Group Completion
Choose the field group. The automation qualifies when all fields in that group are completed.
Task Completion
Choose a task template and the tasks to check. If you select more than one task, all selected tasks must be marked complete.
Action Reference
Choose what Aptly should do when the trigger and conditions qualify. For more than one action, see Multi-Action Automations.
Action | Description |
Archive Card
Archive Card & Conversations | Typically used when a card enters a closed stage, you can have the card archived immediately or after a certain amount of time. Additionally, you can set the card to update if it's unqualified. This is usually used for lost leads.
Choosing Archive Card & Conversations will move the card and any attached conversations to archived. |
Change Stage | Aptly can move a card to a different stage when conditions for the trigger are met. |
Create eSignature | Create an eSignature document using the options configured for this action. |
Create Task | Add tasks to the card when the conditions are met. You can manually add 1 or more tasks or use a task template (recommended for multiple tasks). |
Create PDF | Generate a PDF using a selected template to save to a specified Files field. The files field must be a multiple attachments field. |
Notify via a mention | Set up a notification to all selected users or to a whole team. You can include a message to add details to the notification. It will also be added as a comment with an @mention to the card comments along with a follow-up on the dashboard. |
POST to URL (Webhook) | Send card details to a 3rd party when conditions in the automation are met. You’ll need the webhook URL from the 3rd party source. Aptly will send card details. |
Send Email | Send an email to selected recipients using a communication template. Configure the sending inbox, sender, template, recipients, and CC addresses. Review timing and office-hours settings before saving. |
Send Text/SMS | Send a text/SMS using a communication template. Configure the sending inbox, template, recipient contact types, and additional recipients. Review timing and office-hours settings before saving. |
Update Assignee | You can change the assignee of the card once it is triggered. This is helpful when a process is shared in a team. Each team member is responsible for different stages. Aptly can reassign the cards automatically. |
Update Due Date | Changes the due date to a later date or updates the date on a specific field. |
Update Related Cards Stage | If there are related cards (usually on a linked board), they will be moved in tandem with the cards on the current board. |
Update Specific Fields | Select card fields to update when the automation is triggered, including writable mirror fields. Address fields can receive a value copied from a text, long text, text-type calculation, or another address field. |
When updating a mirror field, the mirror field cannot be set to read-only. Note: This will update information immediately on the source card. If 2-way sync is enabled for your Property Management Software (PMS), the update in the PMS will occur in real time.
Copy a value into an Address field
Use Update Specific Fields when an address is already stored in another field and you want to copy it into an Address field on the card.
- Keep the automation in Draft while you configure it.
- Choose Update Specific Fields, select the destination Address field, and choose Copy from another field.
- In Copy From, choose the source field. Supported sources are text, long text, text-type calculation, and address fields.
- Save the draft and follow the testing steps above. Check the destination address on your sample card before making the automation live.
For example, copy a mailing address collected in a long text field into the card’s Mailing Address field. Check that your conditions only include the cards you intend to update, especially when the destination already contains an address.
Timing Reference
Select When to control when an eligible action runs. Review timing together with the trigger, conditions, and Only fire if office is open setting.
Option | What to check |
Immediately | The automation runs when it qualifies and reaches the front of the queue. “Immediately” does not mean an instant result. |
Specific Day of Week / Specific Day of Month | Choose the day and time for the action. |
Specific Days of the Month / Certain Days of Week | Choose the permitted days for the action. |
After... | Choose the delay and check what starts the countdown, such as the stage change, conditions being met, or a date field. |
Every X Days | Review the interval and the trigger together before using this option for a repeating workflow. |
For a repeating workflow, confirm the trigger is suitable too; choosing a day or interval alone does not explain how the automation will behave on the same card.
Where to View and Edit Automations
Once you have created your first automation, continue with Managing Automations to find, organize, edit, and troubleshoot it.
Board
Open the board’s Automations toolbar icon to view its automations. Use All, Live, Drafts, or Test, then narrow results with Stage and Action filters.
Stage
You can access automations for a particular stage by clicking on the sparkle icon on the stage. Note: this will not show ALL automations on the board, only those applicable to that stage.
Can’t find your automation? Open the board’s Automations window, check the status and filters, and look in Other for automations without a folder. Confirm that you clicked Save.