FreeAgent CRM automation is a supercharged feature that will allow you to get more done, as it will take over those repetitive tasks. This will give you some extra time to take care of what is really important, your business. From creating Call Next steps for newly added contacts, to send an email automatically when a contact is converted to a customer, automations are the way to go.
Edition Qualifier: Automations is only available in Enterprise and Unlimited editions.
User Permissions: Only Administrators can create automations.
In this tutorial we will cover the following topics:
Navigate to Automations
Open the menu and go to 'Admin Settings' to display the available options, then click 'Automations'. You can also use the search function to get there faster, just start typing 'Automations'.
Create a New Automation
To get started, click the 'Add New Automation' button.
Each automation needs a name and also the Object for which you are creating it. In this case, 'Object' means 'App', and you can select between all your existing apps.
Then you need to specify when the automation should be triggered.
| TRIGGER | DESCRIPTION |
| On App Action | As soon as you click the App Action Button, the automation will be triggered. |
| On Creation | As soon as you create a new record on the specified App, the automation will occur. |
| On Change Of | When a change in the selected field is detected, the automation will take place. |
To learn more about App Actions, please visit the following tutorial:
App Actions
Conditions
It is also possible to add more conditions to the automation. These rules are inclusive, meaning that all the rules you specify need to occur for the automation to be triggered. Just click 'Add Conditions' to create your own set of rules.
The operators will vary according to the type of field selected. Here is the list of those available:
| Operator | Description | Availability (field type) |
| Is, Is Not |
The selected value is included (IS) or excluded (IS NOT) from the filter results.
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| <=, >= |
Less Than or Equal To; Greater Than or Equal To, will return records that fall above or below the selected value. |
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| Between |
This will return all the records that fall between a given range of numbers or a range of dates. |
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| Period |
Returns the records for a specified period, such as Last Week or This Month. |
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| Relative |
From X to X days, months, or years. |
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| After / Before |
All the records that fall before or after the specified date. |
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Actions
The next section is where you specify the Actions for your automation. This will allow you to define what will happen when the conditions you set up before occur. To do this, just click the 'Add New' button.
The available options will depend on your configuration. Basically, there are two major actions:
- Create New Record (for any of your existing apps).
- Create Next Step
- Custom Code
Your automation can have either a single action or multiple ones, and they could be a combination of the two major groups. Let's review each of the actions in detail:
Create New Record
When the conditions of the automation are met, you can create new records on any of your existing Apps. Just click on 'Create {App Name}' to get started.
The form to create a new record for the selected app will appear. Here is where you can add or specify relevant information for the creation of the record.
Some fields have the option to manually specify the information or get it from the record that is triggering the automation.
| From | Description |
| Triggering Record | When this option is selected, you can specify the field from which you want to get the information. This field will be one of those available in the App for which the Automation is being created. |
| Record |
This option allows you to assign an independent value one or more of the fields of the record that will be created by the automation. This is particularly useful for those fields that should have a unique value that is not related to the triggering record. It could be a great way to set a placeholder to remind the team members to update the information. |
Note: If the label below the field is 'From Record' it means that the option enabled is actually 'From Triggering Record' and vice-versa.
Create Next Step
According to the selected Object in your automation, there are different Next Steps types available.
| Next Step Type | Description | Availability (App) |
| Reminder |
A task to be performed when the automation occurs. Example: when a new contact is created, remind the contact's owner to add social media information. |
All Apps |
| Phone Call | It allows team members to call the contact with a single click to the phone icon. | Contacts App |
| Send Email | Either create an Email next step that allows the team member to email the contact later on or set it up to be sent 'Automatically'. | Contacts App |
Note: To receive a notification for the Next Step's due date, you will need to keep in mind the time you set for your Next Step Reminders in your Notification's settings.
The next time you create or update a record on FreeAgent CRM that complies with the automation conditions, the Next steps, or New Records that you have specified will be created automatically.
Custom Code
Similar to Calculated Fields, this type of Action enables you to write custom code to create very powerful automations. Some of the possibilities allow you to interact with 3rd party APIs to keep the information between different systems updated, add notes to the activity timeline of a record, interact with different systems to further develop your process, among others.
You can use Axios to interact with other integrations. Find more information below:
Axios
Automation Details
In the Automations list, you have the option to expand them in order to see their details. You can do this by clicking on the down arrow. This is a great way to get additional information about your automation. If you would like to see more, click on the Automation's name.
Automation Examples
Email New Customer
If we want to automatically send an email when a new Lead is created, then the Object of the automation should be set to 'Contact' and the trigger to 'On creation'.
We also, want to make sure that this automation only occurs if the Lead has a 'Work Email' in the contact information and its status is set to 'Converted' which is the field that will let us know when a contact becomes a customer.
Note: You might need to select different fields according to your own configuration.
For the Next Step we just want to email the new contact automatically. For this, we need to check the 'Send Automatically' box, chose from our existing Email Templates, and select if we want the owner to send the email or assign it to a specific team member.
Since this will be automated, we want the email to be sent right after a contact with a work email, and the status converted is created. Here you also have the option to select if the email will be sent from the Owner or you can select a specific team member.
Once a new contact, whose status is 'converted' and includes an email in their work email contact information, is created in FreeAgent, the automation will create the 'Send Welcome Email' Next Step and the email will be sent automatically immediately after the creation of the contact.
Create New Opportunity when Contact Status = Customer
We are looking to create a new opportunity automatically when the status of a contact changes to Customer. Therefore the App should be Contact and the trigger "On Update". The field that will need to be updated for the automation to happen is 'Contact Status'.
Then for the condition, we want to make sure that the Contact Status is "Customer". Any other status shouldn't trigger this automation.
Next up, for the action, we just want to create a new Opportunity.
The details for the Opportunity creation will vary according to your own FreeAgent CRM configuration. Click Add New -> Create New Opportunity to specify the details of the new Opportunity. There are some fields that will allow you to either use the information that comes from the 'Triggering Record' or give them a specific value. In the example below, the following fields were configured to get their value from the 'Triggering Record':
- Account
- Owner
- Contacts
You can add as much information as you require here, but it is not necessary to fill out the form entirely.