Overview
Use Send Email to send a communication template when a card meets an automation’s trigger and conditions. This guide covers email-specific settings; for the full editor walkthrough, see Creating an Automation.
Before You Begin
- You need access to the inbox you will send from.
- Prepare a communication template. Its merge fields must relate to this board and have data on the card.
- For location merge fields, the location must be stored in a card field or added under the card’s Related section.
- Choose the intended recipients and a dedicated test card with sample data. Use test destinations you control.
Create the Draft
- Open the board’s Automations window using the sparkle/wand icon, then click New Automation.
- Enter a descriptive Title, such as Send Email: Welcome new lead. Choose a Folder if needed. Use the optional Description to explain the rule’s purpose.
- Keep Status: Draft while building the rule.
- Select the Trigger and complete its conditions.
- Select Action: Send Email and configure the email options below.
- Set When, review Only fire if office is open, then click Save. Reopen the draft to confirm the saved values.
Choose the Trigger and Conditions
Aptly supports five trigger types. See Intro to Automations for an overview.
- On Stage Change: use the selected stage’s first entry for a card. Moving the card out and back does not make the same rule run again.
- On Reply: use an inbound email reply associated with the card. The originating email must have created the card or been sent from it. Review the reply frequency, qualifying stages, sender contact types, and archived-card settings.
- Custom Condition: use card fields and criteria. Conditions joined by AND must all be met. Use View to preview matching cards.
- Field Group Completion: use completion of every field in the selected group.
- Task Completion: choose a task template and the tasks to check. All selected tasks must be complete.
For recurring messages on the same card, review Understanding Automation Triggers: Stage Change vs. Custom Condition. A calendar-based timing option does not make a one-time trigger repeat.
Choose When to Send
Set When to the timing your workflow needs: Immediately, a selected day or days, After..., or another available timing option. For a delay, check whether the countdown starts from the stage change, conditions being met, or a date field.
Immediately uses the automation queue, so delivery is not instant. A delay is not a guarantee that another automation will finish first. If the message depends on an assignment or field update, make sure the required data is present and test the dependency.
Review Only fire if office is open and the applicable office-hours settings before saving.
Email Setup Options
Send From Inbox
Use Send From Inbox to choose the inbox the email will be sent from:
- Shared inbox (recommended): Provides visibility and shared access.
- Assignee’s Default Inbox: Sends from the assigned user’s default inbox (set under My Profile).
Email Delivery
Choose how emails are delivered when multiple contacts are involved:
- Multiple emails - One email per recipient: each contact receives a separate email.
- Single email - One email for all recipients: all qualifying contacts receive one email and can see each other’s email addresses.
Template Selection
- Choose an existing communication template.
- Or create a new template directly from Choose Template.
File Attachments
- Include files from a specific file field on the card, or
- Choose not to include files.
Note: If you need to attach the same file to every email, add it directly to the communication template instead.
Unassigned Card Default Sender
If a card does not have an assignee, choose how the email should be handled:
- Use the inbox name: appears as sent from the inbox and remains unassigned.
- Specify a user: appears as sent by that user and assigns the email to them in the inbox.
If the card does have an assignee, the email will automatically use that person as both the sender and inbox assignee.
Emails are only assigned to users who have access to the selected inbox.
Fallback to SMS (Optional)
If you enable SMS fallback, select the Twilio phone line and SMS template. Confirm that your Twilio integration, phone-line approval, and any required A2P 10DLC registration are in place before using it.
Review the SMS recipients and template as carefully as the email settings. Include fallback in your test plan.
Choosing Recipients
Use the Send to options to control who receives the email:
- All contacts: Every related contact on the card
- Assigned user: Useful for internal notifications
- Certain contact types: Sends to contacts with a specific contact label
- Specific contact field: Sends to the contact stored in a selected field (e.g., Primary Contact)
- Email field: Sends to an email address stored in a standard email field
- Specific address: Manually enter an email address
Additional options:
- CC recipients
- Additional delivery rules to send the same email to multiple recipient types
Test Before Going Live
- Open Test Mode Settings from the board’s top-level Automations window.
- Review Test Mode Email, Test Phone Number if SMS fallback is enabled, and Test Cards.
- Open the automation with Edit, set Status: Test Mode, and save.
- Follow Using Test Mode for Automations to test on a dedicated test card.
- Check the received message, subject, merge fields, attachments, sender, and test result. Confirm that cards outside the intended scope do not qualify.
Test destinations are separate from the action’s normal recipients. Review both, including CC, additional delivery rules, and SMS fallback. Do not treat Test Mode as a guarantee that all external effects are blocked.
When the result is correct, set Status: Live and click Save. Check the first live result and the automation’s Logs. Publish, where shown, activates an automation; it is not a routine save control.
Example Setups
Welcome a New Lead
Use On Stage Change for your board’s new-lead stage, Send Email with a welcome template, and a shared leasing inbox. Select the intended prospect contact type or a specific contact field. Use Multiple emails - One email per recipient when each contact should receive a separate message.
This can complement Create Task: Review new lead from the creation guide. Review both rules to avoid duplicate messages or assumptions about which runs first. Choose timing intentionally; do not use a fixed delay as proof that the task or assignment has completed.
Send Recurring Balance Reminders
For a workflow that repeats on the same card, use Custom Condition with precise criteria, such as the relevant stage and a positive balance. Choose the appropriate day or date-field timing, a reminder template, the shared accounting inbox, and the intended payer contacts.
Test both a qualifying balance and a nonqualifying balance. Review repeat behavior and prevent overlapping reminders. Do not use On Stage Change for a recurring cycle merely because the card returns to the same stage.
Notify an Internal Team
Use the trigger that matches the event, such as Task Completion, Field Group Completion, or On Stage Change. Choose an internal template and the assigned user or a specific email address. Review whether a single email is appropriate for the recipients; everyone on that message may see the other addresses.
Troubleshooting Email Automations
- Check Status, trigger conditions, When, and the office-hours option.
- Open the automation’s three-dot menu → Logs and compare the result with the intended card and event.
- For missing-contact or channel errors, check the selected recipient type or field, the contact’s email address, and access to the sending inbox.
- For blank merge fields or missing attachments, check the card data and selected template or file field.
- Correct the cause and test again before changing the rule to Live. Do not assume moving a card out of a stage and back will rerun an On Stage Change automation. Check for an earlier delivery before retrying to avoid duplicate messages.
If the result remains unclear, contact Aptly support with the automation title, relevant card, event time, and error text. Remove personal information from screenshots.