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Automations

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What Are Automations?

• Trigger based on events or schedules
• Evaluate conditions to determine if actions should run
• Execute actions like sending emails, updating records, or calling APIs
• Branch and loop for complex logic

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Key Concepts

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Triggers

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Conditions

IF invoice.amount > 1000
AND customer.segment = "enterprise"
THEN continue
ELSE skip

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Actions

• Send email
• Send SMS
• Create task
• Update record
• Call webhook
• Retry payment

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Steps

• Action steps - Execute a single action
• Condition steps - Branch based on logic
• Delay steps - Wait before continuing
• Loop steps - Iterate over collections

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Supported Triggers

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Event Triggers

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Schedule Triggers

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Available Actions

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Communication

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Billing

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Records

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Workflow

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Creating Automations via Dashboard

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Step 1: Create the Automation

1. Navigate to Settings → Automations
2. Click Create Automation
3. Choose how to start:
   • From Template: Select a pre-built template (Dunning, Welcome Series, etc.)
   • From Scratch: Build a custom automation

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Step 2: Configure the Trigger

1. Select Trigger Type:
   • Event: Runs when something happens (e.g., payment failed)
   • Schedule: Runs on a schedule (daily, weekly, etc.)
2. Choose the specific event or schedule
3. Click Next

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Step 3: Add Conditions (Optional)

1. Click Add Condition
2. Build your condition:
   • Field: invoice.amount, customer.segment, etc.
   • Operator: equals, greater than, contains
   • Value: The value to compare
3. Combine multiple conditions with AND/OR
4. Click Next

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Step 4: Add Actions

1. Click Add Action
2. Choose action type:
   • Send Email: Select template and recipients
   • Send SMS: Configure message
   • Retry Payment: Attempt payment again
   • Update Record: Change customer/subscription fields
   • Wait: Delay before next action
3. Configure action settings
4. Add more actions as needed

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Step 5: Test and Activate

1. Click Test Automation to run with sample data
2. Review the test results
3. Click Activate when ready

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Example: Payment Dunning Workflow

1. Create automation with trigger: Payment Failed
2. Add action: Send email (template: “Payment Failed - Gentle Reminder”)
3. Add wait: 3 days
4. Add condition: If invoice still unpaid
5. Add action: Retry payment
6. Add action: Send email (template: “Payment Failed - Urgent”)
7. Add wait: 7 days
8. Add action: Final notice email
9. Activate

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Managing Automations

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View Executions

1. Navigate to Automations → [Automation Name]
2. Click Executions tab
3. See each run with status, trigger details, and results
4. Click any execution to see step-by-step log

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Pause/Resume

1. Find the automation in the list
2. Click the toggle to pause or resume
3. Paused automations won’t trigger until resumed

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Version History

1. Open the automation
2. Click Versions
3. View previous versions
4. Restore if needed

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Automation Templates

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Quick Start (API)

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Example: Payment Failed Dunning

name: Payment Failed - Dunning Email
trigger:
  type: event
  event: payment.failed

steps:
  - type: condition
    if: "{{trigger.failureCount}} == 1"
    then:
      - type: action
        action: send_email
        template: payment_failed_first
        to: "{{trigger.customer.email}}"

  - type: delay
    duration: "3d"

  - type: condition
    if: "{{invoice.status}} == 'unpaid'"
    then:
      - type: action
        action: retry_payment

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Template Variables

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Invoice Variables

{{invoice.id}}
{{invoice.total}}
{{invoice.currency}}
{{invoice.status}}
{{invoice.dueDate}}
{{invoice.customer.name}}
{{invoice.customer.email}}

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Payment Variables

{{payment.id}}
{{payment.amount}}
{{payment.status}}
{{payment.failureReason}}
{{payment.failureCount}}

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Customer Variables

{{customer.id}}
{{customer.name}}
{{customer.email}}
{{customer.segment}}
{{customer.createdAt}}

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Automation Templates

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Versioning

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Version Workflow

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Execution Tracking

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View Executions

• Execution status (success, failed, running)
• Trigger details
• Step-by-step execution log
• Error messages

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Execution API

curl https://api.alguna.io/automations/auto_123/executions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

{
  "executions": [
    {
      "id": "exec_456",
      "status": "completed",
      "triggeredBy": "invoice.paid",
      "triggeredAt": "2024-01-20T10:00:00Z",
      "completedAt": "2024-01-20T10:00:05Z",
      "stepsExecuted": 3
    }
  ]
}

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Error Handling

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Retry Configuration

{
  "errorHandling": {
    "retries": 3,
    "retryDelay": "5m",
    "backoffMultiplier": 2
  }
}

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Fallback Actions

steps:
  - type: action
    action: send_email
    onError:
      - type: action
        action: create_task
        assignee: "{{trigger.accountOwner}}"
        message: "Email failed to send"

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Best Practices

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Use Cases

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Dunning Management

1. Send email on first failure
2. Wait 3 days
3. Send second email with payment link
4. Wait 5 days
5. Retry payment automatically
6. Escalate to collections if still unpaid

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Subscription Renewal

1. 30 days before: Send renewal reminder
2. 7 days before: Send confirmation request
3. On renewal: Send receipt

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Usage Alerts

1. Check usage threshold daily
2. If exceeded: Send alert to customer
3. If > 120%: Notify account manager

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Next Steps