Workflows & Automations

Custom objects have full workflow support. You can build automations that trigger when records are created or updated, run on a recurring schedule, or fire based on specific field conditions. This is where custom objects go from a structured database to an active part of your operations.

To create a workflow: open the object type → Automations → New automation.

Trigger Types

Record created

Fires when a new record of this type is created — by a person, by another automation, or via the API.

Use for: welcome notifications, kickoff actions, creating linked records in other systems, logging the creation event to an audit trail.

Example: When a new Vendor record is created, notify the procurement team lead and create a service request to complete vendor onboarding.

Record updated

Fires when any field on a record changes, or when a specific field changes.

By default, any field update triggers the automation. Narrow it with conditions:

• Trigger only when a specific field changes (e.g. fire only when Status changes, not when Notes is edited)
• Trigger only when a field changes from a specific value to another (e.g. fire only when Status changes from Active to Renewal Pending)

Use for: status-change notifications, escalations, handoffs between teams when a record moves through a lifecycle.

Example: When a Contract's Status changes to Renewal Pending, notify the Owner and send a service request to procurement to start the renewal process.

Example: When a Vendor's Status changes to Suspended, notify all Contract owners with active contracts linked to that vendor.

Scheduled — recurring

Fires on a repeating schedule: hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly. You define the interval and can specify the time of day and timezone.

Use for: periodic reviews, data hygiene, recurring reports, proactive alerts based on date fields.

Example: Every day at 8am, find all active contracts where End Date is within 30 days and send a reminder to each contract's Owner.

Example: Every month on the first, find all Vendor records where Status is Active and Renewal Date is in the past, and update Status to Under Review.

Scheduled — run once

Fires at a specific date and time. Set it when creating the automation.

Use for: one-time migrations, delayed actions, reminders tied to a specific event date.

Condition Filtering

Every trigger type supports condition filters that limit which records the automation acts on.

Conditions can check:

• Whether a field equals, contains, or matches a value
• Whether a field is empty or filled
• Whether a field changed from one value to another (for update triggers)
• Whether a relationship field links to a specific person or record

Conditions are evaluated at trigger time. An automation with a condition only runs when both the trigger fires and all conditions pass.

Example: A scheduled daily automation that checks End Date is within 30 days only sends reminders for contracts actually expiring soon — not every contract in the system.

Actions

Workflow actions available on custom objects:

• Send notification — email or in-app notification to a person, a relationship field value (e.g. the contract owner), or a group
• Update a field — change a field value on the triggering record or a related record
• Create a service request — opens a ticket in a workspace, pre-filled with context from the custom object record
• Call a webhook — send record data to an external system
• Run a script — execute custom logic via the code action

When building action templates, you can reference field values from the record using variables — {{record.name}}, {{record.owner.email}}, {{record.end_date}} — so notifications and requests include the relevant context without manual copy-pasting.

Practical Examples

Contract expiry pipeline

Three automations working together:

1. 60 days out — scheduled daily, condition: End Date within 60 days AND Status is Active. Action: update Status to Renewal Pending, notify Owner.
2. 30 days out — scheduled daily, condition: End Date within 30 days AND Status is Renewal Pending. Action: create a service request to procurement with contract details.
3. Past end date — scheduled monthly, condition: End Date is in the past AND Status is Active. Action: update Status to Expired.

Vendor offboarding

Trigger: Status changes to Offboarded. Action: find all contracts linked to this vendor with Status is Active, update their status to Under Review, and notify each contract owner.

New client kickoff

Trigger: Record created on the Client object type. Action: create a service request in the onboarding workspace pre-filled with the client name, tier, and account owner. The onboarding team picks it up immediately without anyone having to manually open a ticket.