Automations are commands that cause set processes to occur within your account without you needing to perform them manually.

For example, pipeline automations are set so that every time you send a proposal, a project will automatically move from the "New lead" section of your pipeline into the "Proposal sent" section of your pipeline.

This is an example of a very simple preset automation.

Automations are available to Payaca users in two different formats, either as template automations or as custom automations.

Automations are structured as follows:

Those with access to custom automations can control all three of these parameters.

Template automations are prebuilt automations that can be switched on and off. These cannot be edited like you can with custom automations.

Template automations have a specific prebuilt function or job that they are designed for. These automations are clearly labelled, describing what they do.

Currently, these automations are split into the 3 categories they affect: projects, proposals and invoices.

Those with growth plans have the option to use either preset automations (template automations) or they can create their own custom automations.

Custom automations allow you to control the parameters that an automation runs within.

You can switch automation on and off and decide what triggers and exceptions govern how they run.

There are many different types of automations that can be used to achieve different functions.

Here are some of the most common types of automation and how to set them up.

This automation trigger is highly flexible as it can be used for system stages (e.g. Proposal sent or Fully paid) but can also be applied to custom stages you create (e.g. Order parts).

Automation type = "Project"

What will be the trigger for your actions(s) = "Pipeline stage changed"

You could have multiple conditions but generally you will want at least one.

In the example below we are using the condition, "Project pipeline stage = Complete - fully paid".

Whenever a project moves to this stage the automation will run.

In the example below we have set up an email and an SMS to be sent when the pipeline stage changes and it meets the condition.

This could be used to message the customer or a teammate responsible for the next stage of the process.

When you complete a service form in Payaca, or any form that has a "Next Inspection Due Date" you will see the option to Add a new project and calendar event for this future inspection.

Ticking this box will:

This will all happen automatically but the next step is important and gives you complete control over how you configure your service reminders. Here's a simple starting point:

*Important - you need to set up this automation*

You can configure multiple actions including emails and SMS messages as well as the automatic progress of the project through the pipeline depending on what action the customer takes.

Set the Trigger Automation type to "Event"

Set the trigger to "Tagged"

Click to add a new condition

In this instance, we are going to set the conditions to the following:

On Way matches the tag used for the event status

To set up the SMS, click "Add action"

Choose "SMS Notification" from the drop-down list

Choose "Customer phone number"

Click in the message area to add your text.

Add custom variables to your messages from the list on the right.

When you're happy with your automation, click "Save".

Use the "On/Off" switch to turn the automation on or off.

Name your new automation

Change the Trigger Automation type to "Project"

Set the trigger to "Tagged"

Click to add a new condition

In this instance, we are going to set the condition as "Has a Tag", "equals", "Google Review" for Google review requests or "TrustPilot Review" for trust pilot review requests

To set up the Email, click "Add action"

Choose "E-mail Notification"

Choose "Customer e-mail"

You can also customise the information such as the email subject line, Cc and Bcc addresses and add attachments

Click in the message area to add your text

For Google review requests, use this message to request your review, making sure you include your Google review link. If you do not know how to find your link, follow the instructions here

For TrustPilot review requests, use this message to explain to your customer that a review link will be coming from TrustPilot. See here for more information on setting this up.

Add custom variables to your messages from the list on the right

When you're happy with your automation, click "Save".

Use the "On/Off" switch to turn the automation on or off.

Name your new automation

Change the Trigger Automation type to "Event"

Set the trigger to "Created"

Click to add a new condition

In this instance, we are going to set the conditions to the following:

For every event that you want to trigger a booking confirmation, you will need to assign this specific tag for it to work.

You now need to choose the action that the automation performs.

For booking confirmations this could be an email or a text. You can create multiple actions so you could set the automation to send both an email and text.

From the drop-down choose between "E-mail notification" or "SMS Notification".

Proceed to fill out the information that will populate either the text or email that gets sent out. You can use the variables to automatically send out personalised information.

These automatic reminders work in a similar way to automation templates, however, these automations can be found and switched on from the "My Company" section under "Schedule".

Click "Add reminder".

This will open the "Type", "Time" and "Include description" dropdowns.

Choose if you want your reminder to be an email or text reminder.

Choose how many days, hours or minutes before the event you want the event reminder to trigger.

Once set up reminders will be sent out for any upcoming events with an associated customer address.

Reminders will contain the following message:

You are unable to customise this message, however you can choose to include the event description in the message for email messages.

If you choose to do this make sure that you are happy with the text in your event description as this will be used word for word in your reminders and will be applied to all events.