Automations
ProAutomations let you build if-this-then-that workflows that run automatically when contacts hit certain triggers - stage changes, tag additions, and more.
Overview
An automation consists of a trigger (when something happens) and one or more actions (what to do). RadiusOS evaluates triggers in real time - when a contact moves stages, gets tagged, or meets your criteria, the automation fires immediately.
Automations are a paid feature. Free plan users can see sample automations to understand what's possible, but creating and running automations requires Pro (up to 5) or Business/Team (unlimited).
Ready to go: turn one on without building it
Most people never build an automation from a blank editor, and they shouldn't have to. At the top of the Automations page is a row of ready-made ones written for the way trades actually work: get the job on the calendar the moment a quote is approved, ask for the review two days after you finish, rebook a visit where nobody was home, chase a new lead you haven't heard back from.
Each one shows you how many times it would have run for you in the last 30 days, using your own history, before you turn it on. That number is the point. An automation that emails your customers is the one thing you shouldn't find out about by trying it, and "this would have run 9 times last month" tells you exactly how loud it will be.
Tap "See exactly what it does" to read the wording of any email it sends before you turn it on. Once it's on it's an ordinary automation: rename it, rewrite the email in your own words, pause it, or delete it.
You only see the ones that fit your setup. A roofing account sees the job and quote ones; an account with no jobs or invoicing doesn't, because an automation that can never fire is worse than no automation.
When a customer replies to you
Email Received is the one worth knowing the rules of, and the first rule is the timing. RadiusOS reads a customer's incoming email when you open their emails, not quietly in the background. So this goes off the next time you or anyone on your account looks at that customer, not the second they hit send. It is a catch-up, not an alert.
That is worth knowing before you build something around it. If you need to know the moment somebody replies, your inbox is still the thing that tells you. This is for making sure the reply turns into a task instead of getting lost.
It counts a conversation, not a message. If a customer sends you three in a row while you are on a roof, that is one reply as far as your automation is concerned, and you get one task rather than three. Your own emails never set it off either, or every message you sent would answer itself.
It also will not go off twice for the same person inside an hour. That is on purpose, and it matters if you ever point this trigger at a Send Email action: their out-of-office answers your email, which looks like a reply, which sends another email. The hour is the brake. The ready-made version of this one creates a task instead of sending anything, which is the safer shape.
If you want an automatic answer to a reply, send it on a delay of a day rather than immediately. A same-second response reads as a robot to the customer and gives an auto-responder something to bounce off.
Background reading of customer replies is not built yet. Until it is, an automation on this trigger only runs once somebody opens that customer's emails. We would rather say so than let you find out from a task that never appeared.
Creating an automation
Go to Automations in the sidebar
Click + New Automation to open the automation editor. If one of the ready-made ones above already describes what you want, turn that on instead and edit it afterward.
Choose a trigger
Select what starts the automation. Customer-level: Stage Change, Tag Added, Contact Created, Email Received. Job-level, which is where the trades recipes live: Quote Approved, Job Status Changed, Visit Completed, Walkthrough Approved, Invoice Paid.
Add actions
Define what happens when the trigger fires. Available actions: Create Task (with title, due date offset, and optional assignee), Send Email (using an email template with merge fields), Move to Stage (advance the contact to a different pipeline stage), and Wait (pause for a specified number of days before the next action).
Name and activate
Give your automation a descriptive name, toggle it to Active, and save. It starts evaluating immediately.
Trigger types
| Trigger | Fires when | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Stage Change | Contact moves to a stage | From stage, to stage (or any) |
| Tag Added | A tag is applied to a contact | Specific tag name |
| Contact Created | A new customer is added | None |
| Walkthrough Approved | You approve a site visit recap on a customer | None |
| Quote Approved | A customer accepts a quote, whether they signed it themselves or you marked it accepted | None |
| Job Status Changed | A job moves along, e.g. anything to Completed | From status, to status (or any) |
| Visit Completed | You check out of a visit | None |
| Invoice Paid | An invoice is marked paid | None |
Job Status Changed is the one worth learning. Pick "To status: Completed" and you have "when I finish a job, ask for the review" without writing anything else. Leave both ends on Any and it fires every time a job moves, which is almost never what you want.
A job's status and a customer's step are different things, and the automation builder keeps them apart on purpose. A Job Status Changed automation will not fire because a customer moved to a step called Completed, even if your setup has one.
Walkthrough Approved is the one that saves a trade the most typing. Finish the walk, tap Approve, and the automation tags the customer, creates the follow-up task, and moves them along, all without you opening anything else. It fires for walkthroughs on a customer, an invoice or a job, because all three resolve to a customer. A walkthrough recorded against a company does not fire it.
Action types
| Action | What it does | Configuration |
|---|---|---|
| Create Task | Adds a task linked to the contact | Title, due date offset (days) |
| Send Email | Sends an email via Gmail using a template | Template selection, merge fields auto-filled |
| Move to Stage | Changes the contact's pipeline stage | Target stage |
| Wait | Pauses the automation for N days | Number of days |
Example automations
Auto-create follow-up task on qualification
Trigger: Stage changes to "Qualified"
Action: Create task "Send proposal" due in 2 days
Welcome email on new contact
Trigger: Tag "new-lead" added
Action: Send email using "Cold Outreach" template
Re-engage stale leads
Trigger: Stage changes to "Stale"
Actions: Wait 7 days â Create task "Re-engage check-in"
Managing automations
From the Automations list you can:
- Toggle any automation on/off without deleting it
- Edit triggers and actions at any time
- Delete automations you no longer need
Automations run independently - disabling one doesn't affect others.