Automations Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about creating and managing automation workflows in Zipper. Find answers to questions about automation creation, triggers, actions, execution tracking, and troubleshooting.

Product Capabilities and What It Can Do

Q: What can I do with automations?

A: Automations allow you to:

• Create automated workflows that trigger actions based on events
• Automate email sending, SMS messaging, and tag assignment
• Trigger automations when customers register for events, submit forms, or purchase products
• Schedule delayed actions (e.g., send follow-up emails days after an event)
• Track automation executions and prevent duplicates
• Personalize automated communications with customer data

Q: What events can trigger automations?

A: Automations can be triggered by:

• Event Registration: When customers register for events
• Form Submission: When forms are submitted
• Product Purchase: When products are purchased
• Roster Join: When customers join your roster
• Lead State Change: When leads move through pipelines
• Appointment Booking: When appointments are booked
• Class Registration: When customers register for classes

Q: What actions can automations perform?

A: Automations can:

• Send Email: Automatically send emails to customers or providers
• Send SMS: Automatically send SMS messages
• Add Tag: Automatically assign tags to customers
• Create Customer: Automatically create customer records
• Update Lead State: Automatically move leads through pipelines
• Multiple Actions: Execute multiple actions in sequence

Q: Can I delay automation actions?

A: Yes! You can:

• Trigger actions immediately when events occur
• Delay actions by a specified number of days
• Trigger actions relative to event dates (e.g., days before or after)
• Trigger actions relative to billing cycles
• Set automations to run only once per customer

Q: How do automations identify customers?

A: Automations automatically:

• Extract customer details from triggering events (forms, registrations)
• Match customers to existing roster entries by email or phone
• Create roster entries for new customers if needed
• Use customer data to personalize automated communications

Q: Can automations trigger other automations?

A: Automations are designed to prevent infinite loops:

• System prevents automations from triggering each other infinitely
• Business rules validate automation configurations
• Execution tracking prevents duplicate executions
• Error handling maintains system reliability

How to Use the Product

Getting Started

Q: What do I need before I can create automations?

A: Before creating automations, you should have:

• An active organization account at https://app.joinzipper.com
• Organization owner or admin permissions (you need the "manage-automations" permission)
• Events, forms, products, or other entities to trigger automations
• Email templates or SMS campaigns to use in actions

You can start creating automations immediately once you have the required permissions.

Q: How do I get started creating my first automation?

A: To create your first automation:

1. Log in to https://app.joinzipper.com
2. Go to Automations (or Marketing → Automations)
3. Click Create automation button
4. Configure automation:
   • Trigger: Select event type (event registration, form submission, etc.)
   • Entity: Choose specific entity or "any"
   • Timing: Set when automation runs (immediate, delayed, etc.)
   • Actions: Add actions to execute (send email, add tag, etc.)
5. Click Save

Your automation will be active and ready to run.

Common Tasks

Q: How do I create an automation?

A: To create an automation:

1. Go to Automations → Create automation
2. Configure trigger:
   • Select trigger type (event registration, form submission, etc.)
   • Choose specific entity or "any"
   • Set timing (immediate, delayed, etc.)
3. Add actions:
   • Click Add action
   • Select action type (send email, send SMS, add tag, etc.)
   • Configure action settings
4. Review automation
5. Click Save

The automation will be active and run when triggered.

Q: How do I trigger an automation on event registration?

A: To trigger on event registration:

1. Create automation
2. Select Event Registration as trigger type
3. Choose specific event or "any event"
4. Set timing (immediate, delayed, etc.)
5. Add actions (send email, add tag, etc.)
6. Save automation

Automation will run when customers register for events.

Q: How do I delay an automation action?

A: To delay actions:

1. Create automation
2. Configure trigger
3. Set timing to Days After or Days After Event Occurs
4. Enter number of days to delay
5. Add actions
6. Save automation

Actions will execute after the specified delay.

Q: How do I send automated emails?

A: To send automated emails:

1. Create automation
2. Configure trigger
3. Add action: Send Email
4. Select email template
5. Choose recipient (customer or provider)
6. Save automation

Emails will be sent automatically when automation triggers.

Q: How do I track automation executions?

A: To track executions:

1. Go to Automations → select automation
2. View Execution History:
   • See when automation ran
   • See which customers received actions
   • View execution status
3. Monitor execution performance

Execution tracking helps you understand automation performance.

Configuration and Settings

Q: How do I set an automation to run only once per customer?

A: To run only once:

1. Create or edit automation
2. Find Only Run Once option
3. Enable the option
4. Save automation

Automation will run only once per customer, preventing duplicate communications.

Q: How do I trigger automations on form submissions?

A: To trigger on form submissions:

1. Create automation
2. Select Form Submission as trigger type
3. Choose specific form or "any form"
4. Set timing and actions
5. Save automation

Automation will run when forms are submitted.

Troubleshooting

Q: Why isn't my automation running?

A: Automation might not run if:

• Trigger conditions aren't met
• Automation is disabled
• Entity doesn't match automation configuration
• Execution limit reached (if "only run once" is enabled)
• Customer already received automation (if "only run once" is enabled)

Solution: Check trigger configuration, verify automation is enabled, ensure entity matches, and check execution history.

Q: Why do I get "Invalid automation configuration"?

A: This error appears when:

• Automation would create infinite loops
• Trigger and action configuration is invalid
• Required fields are missing
• Business rules are violated

Solution: Review automation configuration, ensure trigger and actions are valid, and check for infinite loop risks.

Q: Why don't customers receive automated emails?

A: Customers might not receive emails if:

• Email template doesn't exist
• Customer email address is invalid
• Email sending failed
• Automation didn't trigger

Solution: Verify email template exists, check customer email addresses, review email sending status, and check if automation triggered.

Q: Why can't I create an automation?

A: You might not be able to create automations if:

• You don't have "manage-automations" permission
• Required entities (events, forms, etc.) don't exist
• You're not logged into the correct organization

Solution: Check your permissions, ensure required entities exist, and verify you're in the correct organization.

Edge Cases and Advanced Usage

Q: Can I have multiple actions in one automation?

A: Yes! You can:

• Add multiple actions to a single automation
• Execute actions in sequence
• Combine different action types (email, SMS, tags)
• Create complex automated workflows

Multiple actions help you create comprehensive automation workflows.

Q: What happens if an automation action fails?

A: When actions fail:

• System handles errors gracefully
• Failed executions are logged
• Other actions may still execute
• You can review error logs

Error handling maintains system reliability even when individual actions fail.

Q: Can I edit an automation after it's created?

A: Yes! You can:

• Edit automation configuration anytime
• Update triggers, timing, and actions
• Enable or disable automations
• Delete automations when no longer needed

Editing helps you adjust automations as needs change.

Q: How do I prevent duplicate automations?

A: To prevent duplicates:

• Enable "Only Run Once" option
• System tracks executions per customer
• Duplicate executions are prevented automatically
• Execution history shows when automation ran

This prevents customers from receiving duplicate communications.

Q: Can I trigger automations on lead state changes?

A: Yes! You can:

• Create automations triggered by lead state changes
• Automate lead nurturing workflows
• Send communications when leads move through pipelines
• Update lead information automatically

Lead automations help you automate sales workflows.

Q: How do I personalize automated communications?

A: Personalization is automatic:

• System extracts customer data from triggering events
• Customer information is used in email/SMS templates
• Personalization happens automatically
• You can customize templates with customer data

Personalization helps you create relevant automated communications.