TDS Automations — Staff Guide

TDS Automations — Staff Guide

The TDS Automations module runs your operational workflows automatically. When something happens in the system — a form is submitted, a lead converts, an appointment is booked, an invoice is paid — an automation can react by performing one or more actions in sequence, with no manual step. It is the engine that ties the platform together: it takes over once a business event occurs and carries the work forward on its own.

1. How an automation is built

Every automation is made of three parts, in this order:

1. Trigger — the event that starts it (for example "Form Submitted" or "Lead Converted to Customer"). One trigger per automation.
2. Conditions — optional filters that decide whether to proceed (for example "only when the form is the Onboarding form"). If the conditions are not met, the automation stops and does nothing.
3. Actions — one or more things to do, run in order (for example convert the lead, create a project, assign a staff member, send an email).

Read it as a sentence: When [trigger], if [conditions], then [actions].

2. Creating an automation

1. Go to Automations in the admin menu and click New Automation.
2. Give it a clear name and leave Active ticked (untick it to build a draft without it running).
3. Under Trigger, choose a module and then the specific event.
4. Optionally add a Condition Group to narrow when it runs.
5. Add one or more Actions. They run top to bottom, so order matters.
6. Click Save Automation.

Automations run in the background on a queue, so actions happen a moment after the event, not instantly. Each run is recorded (see section 6).

3. Triggers — what can start an automation

The available triggers depend on which modules are installed. Common sources:

• TDS Core: Lead Created, Lead Converted to Customer, Customer Created, Project Created, Project Status Changed, Task Created, Task Status Changed, Invoice Created, Invoice Paid, Ticket Created, Ticket Status Changed, Estimate Created, Estimate Accepted, Contract Created, Staff Member Created, Web-to-Lead Form Submitted.
• FlexForms: Form Submitted — the primary conversion trigger. Filter by form so a given automation only fires for one intake form.
• Appointments: Appointment Booked, Appointment Booked (Public Form), Appointment Status Changed, Appointment Cancelled, Appointment Reminder Sent.
• Recruitment: Candidate Added, Candidate Updated, Interview Scheduled, Candidate Rated.
• Mailflow: Campaign Sent.

4. Conditions — running only when it matters

Conditions compare a field from the trigger against a value you set (for example form is Onboarding, or appointment status is Completed). Add a condition group when an automation should only run in specific cases. With no conditions, the automation runs every time its trigger fires.

5. Actions — what an automation can do

Actions are grouped by area. Add as many as you need; they run in order.

• Leads: Convert Lead to Customer (with options for permissions, feature access, customer admin, customer group, and an optional Send Welcome Email), Update Lead Status, Assign Lead to Staff, Copy Lead Custom Fields to Customer.
• Projects: Create Project (from a project template, which brings across its milestones and tasks), Assign Staff to Project.
• Tasks: Assign Task, Set Task Due Date, Mark Task Complete, Create Reminder (a staff reminder tied to the task, lead, customer, project, or invoice).
• Emails: Send Email Template (a core template), Send ETM Template (one of your Email Template Manage designs, with open-tracking), Send Custom Email (a one-off message you write inline).
• Invoicing: Generate e-Invoice (render the e-invoice or e-credit-note and either email it to the customer or attach it to the record).
• Notes / Logs / Fields: Add Note, Log Activity, Set Custom Field Value.

6. Checking that an automation ran

Each automation keeps a run history showing when it fired and whether it succeeded or failed. If a run shows Failed, open it to see which action failed and why. A common cause is an action that needs information the trigger did not provide — for example a task action on a trigger that has no task attached. Re-order or adjust the actions and the conditions to fix it.

7. Practical examples

• Onboarding: When a FlexForm is submitted, if it is the Onboarding form, then convert the lead to a customer, copy its custom fields, create the onboarding project from a template, assign the account manager, and send the welcome email.
• Appointments: When an appointment status changes to Completed, then send a follow-up email and create a 2-day reminder for the assigned staff member.
• Billing: When an invoice is paid, then generate the e-invoice and email it to the customer.

8. Good to know

• Order matters. Actions that depend on an earlier one (assigning staff to a project depends on the project being created first) must come after it.
• Keep triggers and conditions tight. A specific trigger plus a condition prevents an automation from firing on events you did not intend.
• Deactivate to pause. Untick Active to stop an automation running without deleting it.
• Module-specific actions need their module. ETM templates, e-invoices, and appointment triggers only work where those modules are installed; they are simply hidden or inactive otherwise.