Workflows & automation
When: the moments that start a workflow
Every way a workflow can start — something that happens (a lead comes in, an order is booked, a customer pays) or a date on the order coming round — how to pick one, and how to pick several so one workflow covers them all.
- 4 min read
- Checked against MoveBoard
- For owners & admins
When is what starts a workflow. It's either something that happens, or a date on the order coming round.
Pick it
- Open a workflow and press the first part of its sentence (or Pick when it starts).
- When does it start? opens. Type in Search — "booked", "deposit", "signs", "piano", "move date" — or scroll the groups.
- Press the moment you want. It gets a tick and shows on top.
- Want the same workflow for more moments — the same status for several service types, for example? Press more of them; each one gets a tick. Press Done.
Several moments in one workflow
A workflow can start on any of several moments: "Local move non binding order status changes to can book online", "Loading help binding … can book online" and "Long-distance interstate … can book online" can all send the same template from one workflow. The sentence then says "When any of 3 status changes …", and the When card shows each moment as a chip — press × on a chip to take it out, or Add another moment to add one.
- Picked a service-type status moment? Every service type for "Can book online" adds all of them at once.
- It runs once per moment, never twice: if two of your moments fit the same status change, the customer still gets one email.
- A service-type status moment runs when an order of that service and estimate type gets that status (for example a Loading help, binding order becoming Can book online).
- A built-in workflow on a service-type status moment starts off until you switch it on — see Built-in workflows.
- A date on the order is a choice on its own: picking one replaces the moments.
Something that happens
The moments are grouped the same way as the Workflows page:
| Group | Some of what's in it |
|---|---|
| New leads & quotes | A new customer comes in (any way, from the website, from a lead provider), the office creates a new customer, an existing customer asks for another quote, an Angi lead comes in |
| Status changes | An order becomes Booked, Reserved, Can book online; an order expires, is canceled; any status change |
| Reminders | The day before a booked move, 5 days before, some time after a completed move, every day an order stays Reserved, your Automation timeline rows |
| Surveys | An in-home or virtual survey is booked; the day before one |
| Payments & invoices | The customer pays the deposit, a payment goes through, cash is collected, the office sends an invoice, an invoice is overdue, the deposit link is texted from the order |
| Crew & jobs | Someone is put on a job, a crew changes, the crew is on the way, a job is completed |
| Messages & files | The customer sends a message or a text, the office uploads a file |
| What the customer does | Signs in to their portal, opens an email, changes their inventory, signs the order for service, asks for a COI |
| What the office does | Books an order, changes the move date, sends the inventory link from the order |
| Storage | A storage bill is made, a storage payment is declined, a late fee is applied |
| Long distance | The driver is on the way, a shipment is picked up, a delivery is tomorrow or delayed |
| Other | Anything else MoveBoard writes down |
New moments appear in the list by themselves as MoveBoard adds them.
A date on the order
At the top of the search results, choose Some time before or after one of these dates:
- the move date
- the delivery date (the move's last day)
- the storage billing date
- the order was created
- the order was booked
- the last activity on the order
For the first three (dates without a time) you set how many days — before, on the day of or after — and the Time of day on your branch's clock. For example: "1 day before the move date at 10:00 AM".
For the other three (moments with a time) you set How long after, for example "2 days after the order was created".
Tips
- Start from the narrowest moment. "The customer pays the deposit" is better than "An order's status changes" with a condition on the status.
- Use Only if to narrow further — by move type, service, branch, inventory and more. See Only if: conditions.
- A workflow that starts from a date on the order is the right choice for "X days before the move" reminders. A moment such as "An order becomes Booked" plus a long wait would ignore a later date change.
Related guides
- 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.
- Workflows & automationWait: when the steps runThe four ways a workflow can wait before it acts — right away, delay the template by a while, until a time of day, or until a date on the order — how to repeat it while it is still true, and how quiet hours move it out of the night.
- 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 & automationDo: the steps a workflow takesEvery step a workflow can take — emails, texts, the deposit and inventory links, documents to sign, tasks, a note to a teammate, a status change, a flag, a sales rep — and what each one checks before it acts.
- 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.
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