Automation usually consists of automation triggers, conditions, and actions. In this article, we will explain how to use automation triggers.
The automation trigger is an event that starts the automation of your choice in the CRM system. It is always the first step of an automation.
There are three ways to set up the trigger in Raynet:
Automation triggered by an event
The following operations can trigger the automation:
- Creating a new record
- Editing a record
- Deleting a record
- Changing the status/stage of a record (e.g., of a Deal, Quote, or Sales Order)
- Signing a document
Trigger settings
Automation can be triggered by:
- Running (completing) another automation, if the steps of the individual automations are related to each other. This happens if, for example, the automation’s last step is to create an Account and the next automation’s trigger is "New Account is created". When creating a new custom automation, this option is enabled by default, but you can disable it.
- Selected users only (initiators). An administrator can restrict which users can or cannot trigger the automation.
- Users from selected security profiles only. This option will only appear if you have security profiles enabled in your CRM system. You can restrict the automation to a selected group of users who have a specific security profile assigned to them.
- Via API. If you use the RAYNET CRM API, you can also enable automation via API. This will make it possible to run automations using API requests.
Automation triggered by a manual action
You can trigger the automation in your CRM system by clicking a button on the record detail. The button will appear on the record detail after running the automation. You can test it out in the automation editor itself.
Trigger settings
To set up the trigger, you need to define the Button name. The button name can be changed freely. It is also possible to add your own automation Description to the name to make it easier to understand.
Automation triggered based on time
When set time passes
If you want to keep track of a specific date field, e.g., a contact’s birthday, you can use this trigger. Every day at a set time, it will check if there is a record that matches your settings and an automation needs to run.
Example: In the image below, it is set to start checking every day at 8:00 AM if it is a Contact’s birthday that day. If it is, an action (next step) will follow, which can, for example, automatically create a task to remind you to wish them a happy birthday.
When GDPR legal title expires
If you have the GDPR module enabled, you can set up date tracking, e.g., expiry of all contracts for individuals (accounts).
Example: in the picture below, it is set up to check every day at 9:00 AM if any of the contracts with Accounts will be expiring in 7 days, e.g., a performance of a service contract. Central Time (GMT-06:00) is selected as the time zone.
Field settings for both time triggers
For time triggers, you need to set:
- Which field you want to track - You can keep track of, e.g., an Account anniversary, a Contact’s birthday, the lead conversion date, the expiration date of a Quote, etc.
- How many days before or after to run the automation - set up how long before or after the deadline the trigger should start the automation. You also have the option to enable the Only day and month (regardless of year) button, which will ignore the year.
- What time will it start - when you want the automation to start.
- Which time zone should the automation follow - you need to select a time zone.