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When an automation’s trigger fires and its conditions are met, it performs an action. There are three types of action: send an email, send a text message, or create a task.

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Send an email

The most common action. When the automation fires, it sends an email using one of your notification templates.

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Setting it up

1

Choose the email template

Select a notification template from your library. These are the same templates you manage in Settings > Notifications. The template controls the layout, branding, and content of the email.
2

Set the recipient

Choose who receives the email. This can be the customer on the order/event, a specific team member, or a custom email address.
3

Add freehand content (optional)

You can include a custom subject line and message body using the freehand fields. Use {{freehand.subject}} and {{freehand.content}} in your template to insert this content. This lets you reuse a single template across multiple automations with different messages.

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Scheduled emails

You can schedule an email to send before or after a date on the order or event, rather than sending it immediately when the automation fires. For example:
  • Send a reminder email 1 day before the delivery date
  • Send a follow-up email 3 days after the event date
Set the number of days and whether it’s before or after. The system calculates the send date based on the relevant date field on the order or event.
Scheduled emails are queued when the automation fires and sent at the calculated date. If the order or event date changes after the automation fires, the scheduled email won’t automatically update.

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Template variables for loops

If your automation includes a loop (see below), you can use these variables in your email template to reference each item:
VariableWhat it inserts
%name%The name of the item (product name, recipe name, or ingredient name)
%quantity%The quantity
%price%The price
These variables repeat for each item in the loop, so your email can include a full list of products, recipes, or ingredients.

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Send a text message (SMS)

Sends a text message to the customer’s phone number when the automation fires. This is useful for time-sensitive notifications like delivery updates.

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Setting it up

1

Write your message

Enter the SMS content. Keep it short — text messages have a character limit and longer messages may be split into multiple parts.
2

Check the recipient

The SMS is sent to the phone number on the order or event. Make sure your orders have phone numbers recorded.
SMS sending requires an active SMS integration. If you haven’t set one up, the automation will log an error but won’t block anything else.

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Create a task

Automatically creates a task when the automation fires. This is great for making sure preparation steps, follow-ups, or checks don’t get forgotten.

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Setting it up

1

Enter the task title

Give the task a clear name, like “Prepare arrangement” or “Follow up with client”.
2

Add a description (optional)

Include any extra detail the team needs.
3

Add a checklist (optional)

You can generate a checklist from a loop — for example, one checklist item per product in the order, or one per recipe in an event quotation. See Loops below.
The created task appears on your Tasks board and can be assigned, completed, and tracked like any other task.

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Loops

Loops let you repeat part of an action for each item in a list. They’re available for email and task actions.
LoopWhat it loops overAvailable for
Order itemsEach product line on the orderOrder automations
Event quotation recipesEach recipe in the event’s quotationEvent automations
Event quotation ingredientsEach ingredient across all recipes in the quotationEvent automations

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How loops work with emails

When you use a loop with a send email action, the template variables (%name%, %quantity%, %price%) are replaced for each item. This lets you include a full product or ingredient list in the email.

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How loops work with tasks

When you use a loop with a create task action, the system generates a checklist on the task with one item per loop entry. For example, if an order has 3 products and you use the “Order items” loop, the task gets a 3-item checklist — one for each product.
Loops are especially powerful for event automations. You can automatically create a prep task with a checklist of every recipe that needs to be made for a wedding, or send the client an email listing every ingredient in their quotation.

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Common questions

Each automation performs one action. If you need multiple actions (e.g. send an email AND create a task), create two automations with the same trigger and conditions.
There’s no dry-run mode, but you can create a test order or event and let the automation fire on it. Check the Logs to confirm it worked.
The template controls the overall look and layout of the email. Freehand content lets you inject a custom subject and message into that template using {{freehand.subject}} and {{freehand.content}}. This way, you can use one template for many automations with different messages.
Loop variables (%name%, %quantity%, %price%) are primarily designed for email templates. For SMS, keep the message simple and direct.

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What’s next?

Triggers & Conditions

Control when your automations fire.

Logs & Troubleshooting

Check what your automations have done and fix issues.

Notifications

Manage the email templates your automations use.

Tasks

View and manage tasks created by automations.
Last modified on March 9, 2026