Trigger and conditions determine which cards qualify. When controls timing. Only fire if office is open, where offered, adds an office-hours restriction.
Before You Begin
- Decide whether the result should happen once or repeat.
- Identify the stage, conditions, and any date field the rule uses.
- Review the board's business hours and any override of company hours.
- Use a dedicated test card with sample data. If the action sends a message or data outside Aptly, prepare test destinations you control.
- Review every action; When is shared.
Choose a Timing Option
- Open Automations → three-dot menu → Edit for the rule.
- Coordinate any pause with your team. Save a Live rule in Draft before editing.
- Reopen When and complete the selected timing settings.
- Review the office-open option if shown, keep Status: Draft, and Save.
Timing Options
Option | What to configure |
Immediately | No configured delay. The automation queue still applies. |
After... | Delay amount, unit, and starting point: stage entry, conditions being met, or a date field. |
Specific Day of Week | The weekday and time. |
Specific Day of Month | The monthly day and time. |
Certain Days of Week | The permitted weekdays and time. |
Specific Days of the Month | The permitted day range or selection shown in the editor. |
Every X Days | Day interval, first-run choice, and optional hour. |
For After..., the countdown uses its configured starting point, not necessarily when you save. Check any selected date field's value.
Configure Every X Days
- Select Every X Days under When.
- Enter the day interval, such as 7.
- Choose Fire immediately on entry to let the automation fire on all currently matching cards immediately. Turn it off to wait until the next cycle run.
- If you need a time restriction, enable Fire After Specific Time and select the hour.
- Review the trigger, conditions, and the intended first and later runs before saving in Draft.
Use View to inspect matching cards before enabling the first run. Every X Days does not show Only fire if office is open; its optional hour selector is not that checkbox.
Set Up a Repeating Workflow
Use Custom Condition for repeating work. On Stage Change runs once for a card in the selected stage, even if it later re-enters.
Define when work is still needed, and check whether actions change qualifying fields or trigger another rule.
Example: Review Leads in Nurturing
Use an internal task to review leads every seven days.
- Create a Draft titled Create Task: Nurturing review. Select Custom Condition → Stage → Any in → Nurturing, using your actual stage name.
- Add other requirements with + And condition. All AND conditions must be met. Use View to inspect matching cards.
- Choose Create Task and name the task Review nurturing lead.
- Set When: Every X Days to 7. Choose whether Fire immediately on entry should include currently matching cards now or wait until the next cycle. Review any Fire After Specific Time setting, then save in Draft.
A lead outside Nurturing fails this condition.
Review Office Hours
When Only fire if office is open applies, a qualifying automation outside office hours waits until the next opening.
With Global Company Settings, the board inherits the company's business hours and time zone. With Override Company Settings, the board's configured business hours and time zone take precedence over the company settings.
- Open Board Settings → Business Hours. Check Global Company Settings or Override Company Settings.
- Review TIMEZONE, days, and start/end times for an override, or review the inherited company schedule.
- Return to the automation and review the office-open option where offered. Save only intended changes; shared settings can affect other rules.
See Advanced board settings for the business-hours settings.
Review, Test, and Go Live
Use Using Test Mode for Automations to check the action and qualifying conditions. A manual test does not by itself prove future scheduling or repeat behavior.
- Follow the linked test guide with a sample card and controlled destinations. Save in Test Mode and run the rule's Test.
- Check the output and a case that should not qualify. Select Verified after review; it does not activate the rule or prove future scheduling.
- Recheck the day, time, delay starting point or interval, first-run choice, and available office-hours settings.
- When ready, set Status: Live and Save. Check the first result and the next expected occurrence.
If the result is unexpected, save in Draft and inspect existing output before retrying.
Troubleshoot Timing
Nothing Happened at the Expected Time
Check Status, conditions, When, business hours, and three-dot menu → Logs. For a date-field delay, check its value and starting point. Compare times using the TIMEZONE shown under Board Settings → Business Hours.
The Rule Ran Only Once
Check whether On Stage Change already ran for this card. For recurring work, review Custom Condition, timing, and the card's eligibility.
The Rule Runs More Often Than Expected
Check overlapping Live rules, repeat intervals, field-changing actions, and repeated test output.
An Action Needs a Different Delay
The automation's When setting is shared. Use a separately configured automation when a step needs a different schedule, and review both rules for overlap or loops. See Multi-Action Automations.