In this article we will discuss the topics below, scroll to the right section to keep reading.
1. The power of automation
2. How to create an automation
3. Triggers
4. The actions
5. Other options: Conditions & Pauses
6. Examples of automation you can copy today
1. The power of Automations
Automations are a powerful tool when it comes to triggering notifications or specific actions. Here are all the things you can achieve automatically using Clustdoc automation feature. You can combine the triggers and actions below to automate your work.
You can create simple automation or multi-steps automation. A simple automation would require at least a "trigger" and an "action, a more complex automation may include "conditions' and "pauses' as well.
We're showing in this article an example of automation: automatically assigning a stakeholder
2. How to create an automation
- Go to Resources>Processes
- Select one of your processes
- From the sidebar, click on Automation
- Click on the New automation blue button to get started,
- Name your automation and click confirm. You'll land on the builder
- Drag and Drop the automation buckets from the sidebar menu
3. List of Triggers you can use
| Trigger | Explanation |
|
When a contact is invited to start an application |
When someone from your team invites a contact to start or join a process |
| When a contact registers on a portal | When someone online registers on one of your portals to start a process |
| When a contact clicks on button <I’ve finished> | Your end-user may click this button to let you that the submission made through the application is ready for approval. |
|
When an application is created |
Applications can be created manually (invite), automatically (portal or API) |
| When an application status is updated |
Your application would progress from missing to Ongoing right after one of your contact completes the checklist for example. Status refers to system statuses (not customizable) |
| When an application progress stage is updated |
This relates to custom stage that you can define based on your needs. For example, the application would progress from Onboarding docs to Audit pending |
| When an application task has been completed |
This relates to the team todo list being completed. For example, if you've listed several tasks that must be completed by team members during the review phase. |
| When a step status is updated in the checklist | Eg: Valid ID moves from missing to pending review |
| When a step progress stage is updated |
This relates to custom stage that you can define based on your needs for each step of your checklist. For example, the ID you've listed in your checklist would progress from ID OK to Sent to Compliance |
| When a step task is completed |
This relates to the internal todo being completed for a specific step of the onboarding process. Eg. On a form that needs to be filled, a user could mark the task form printed as completed |
| When a new step is added to the application checklist |
This means that you would trigger an automation based on when you request additional items as part of your checklist. |
| When a message is sent to an end-user | |
| When an attachment is added to a live application |
For example, if you attached a brochure to an existing application |
| When a shortcut button is clicked |
Shortcut buttons are added on the application page header. Read this |
|
When an application is prevalidated |
It allows you to trigger an automation based on when/once your client application is pre validated. |
4. List of Actions you can leverage
| Action | Explanation |
| Notify concerned contact (when applicable) | Eg. 'Concerned contact' is the person already mentioned in your triggers. If your trigger doesn't include a notion of Contact, use the action below instead. |
|
Notify owner of application |
Will send an email of the team member who is assigned as the owner of the application |
| Notify several stakeholders | Eg. You'll select which person(s) must be notified based on your trigger |
|
Notify team members |
Will send an email to other team members |
| Notify specific email addresses | Eg. You'll list which emails should get notified here (if they don't have access to Clustdoc, they may not be able to see the content you're planning to share) |
|
Update application status |
Eg: Move application from 'On going' to 'Closed' |
| Progress application to custom stage | Eg. Move application to a stage you created |
|
Update application deadline |
Eg. Extends deadline by X additional days |
|
Assign a stakeholder |
Create a new stakeholder automatically |
|
Apply tags to applications |
Applies tag 'VIP clients' to related application |
|
Export application to an email |
Will send the content of an application to an external email as a ZIP or Unique PDF |
|
Update step status in checklist |
Eg. Marks step as 'Approved' |
|
Update step custom stage in the checklist |
Will progress a step within the checklist from stage A to stage B |
|
Generate step files |
Will force the creation of any step-related file in the admin interface |
|
Start a new application |
Launch a new process with the same contact as current application or someone else |
|
Changing owners of an application |
Will change the owner of an application |
| Updating step visibility for stakeholders |
E.g change the visibility of a specific step of the application once a stakeholder has completed it. |
5. Additional Settings: Conditions & Pauses
To take your workflow automation to the next level, you can also leverage additional parameters such as conditions and pauses. Let more below.
Conditions
They allow you to run your automation workflow once a specific condition is met. E.g; send an email to Compliance director if the form field called 'Number of company employees ' is above '50'.
Pauses
A pause allows you to add some buffer time in your workflows. This way, you can also use time as one factor for triggering a specific flow. E.g; When an application is created, wait 1 day before sending a welcome message.
5. Testing automations with pause
Sometimes, you need to build an automation which includes a Pause step but you don't want to wait several days to see if it works.
Eg: Send a reminder 3 days before the deadline of the application.
We have built a tool that allows you simulate these automation.
Here is the test link you can use : https://clustdoc.com/test/execute-automations/YYYY-MM-DD/APPLICATION_ID
Eg: https://clustdoc.com/test/execute-automations/2021-10-12/274578965
This link will simulate the execution of any automation action planned on the provided date. For instance, if your application ID is 111111, your deadline is 2022-10-21 and you want to send a reminder 3 days before, open the link https://clustdoc.com/test/execute-automations/2021-10-07/111111 . Any action linked to the Pause step in your automation will be executed.
6. Automation examples you could leverage today
Check out this article where we list some of our best automation examples. Use these to create yours!
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