Workflows & automation
Test a workflow before it runs
Read the rule back as one sentence, try it on a real order without sending anything, and look at the exact email or text it would send.
- 2 min read
- Checked against MoveBoard
- For owners & admins
On this page
Three ways to check a workflow before it ever sends anything.
1. Read it in plain words
On the right of every workflow, In plain words says the whole rule as one sentence, for example:
> When an order becomes Booked, delay 1 hour (never at night). Only if the inventory has a Piano: create a task "Confirm the piano: type, floor, stairs" for the sales rep, due in 1 day.
Anything still missing is listed under it in orange — Pick when it starts., Add at least one step. — and Save won't go through until it's fixed.
2. Try it on an order
- In Try it on an order, type an order number.
- Press Try (or Enter).
MoveBoard answers with:
- Order 12345: it would run, it would stop or it would not run
- When: — when it would act
- Why: — the condition that decided it, in words
- It would: — each step it would take
It reads the order as it is now and checks your unsaved changes too, so you can try before you save. It never sends anything — no email, no text, no task.
3. See the message
- On the Workflows page, the eye on a row (See the message) opens What the customer gets — the real email or text, filled in.
- In the editor, Open full preview on an email or text step does the same for that step.
- Either window has Open full size: the whole message in a bigger window, with its subject, from and to.
After it's live
Watch the first few runs in Last runs on the right of the editor, or the row's Log. See The run log.
If something goes wrong
- There is no order 12345. — check the number (you can type it with or without #).
- Pick an order to try it on. — type an order number first.
- Try stays grey until the workflow has a When.
Related guides
- Workflows & automationSet up a Workflow (the piano example)Build a When · Wait · Only if · Do rule — here, a task to confirm the piano whenever an order with a piano is booked — and try it on an order before it ever runs.
- Workflows & automationThe run log — why something did or didn't sendEvery run of a workflow — sent, done, waiting, skipped, stopped or failed — with the reason in plain words, on the Workflows page.
- Workflows & automationOnly if: conditionsNarrow a workflow to the orders it's meant for — status, move type, inventory, money, documents, addresses and more — with ALL or ANY, groups, and conditions that make it stop by itself.
- Workflows & automationWorkflows: when every message goes outHow MoveBoard decides when each email, text, document and task goes out — one plain sentence per workflow, When · Wait · Only if · Do — and where to find them.
Still stuck? A person will help.
Open a ticket from Support inside MoveBoard, or email us — we usually reply within one business day.