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Workflow rules

Updated

Overview

Workflow rules let CRM take automatic action when something specific happens. Instead of manually sending a follow-up email every time a deal advances or assigning a task each time a new contact is created, you define the rule once and CRM handles it from that point forward.

How a Workflow Rule Works

Each rule has three parts:

  1. Trigger — the event that starts the rule (for example, a contact is created, a company is updated, or a deal is updated).
  2. Conditions — optional filters that must all be true for the rule to fire (for example, deal value is greater than $10,000 AND the deal owner is a specific rep).
  3. Actions — what CRM does when the trigger fires and all conditions pass.

Creating a Workflow Rule

  1. Go to Settings > Workflow Rules.
  2. Click New Rule.
  3. Give the rule a Name that describes what it does (for example, "Notify manager on large deal close").
  4. Pick a Trigger Event. CRM dispatches these record events to workflow rules:
    • contact.created / contact.updated — a contact is added or changed.
    • company.created / company.updated — a company is added or changed.
    • lead.created / lead.updated — a lead is added or changed.
    • deal.created / deal.updated — a deal is added or changed. Closing a deal — won or lost — and moving it between stages are deal updates, so there is no deal.closed_won or deal.closed_lost workflow trigger: a rule keyed to one of those never fires. (deal.stage_changed is not a workflow trigger — it is an event CRM publishes on the crm-events bus for other services.)
    • email.inbound.received — an inbound email is ingested into CRM.
  5. Add Conditions if you want the rule to fire only in specific situations. Each condition compares a field to a value (for example, "deal.value is greater than 10000"). All conditions must be true for the rule to proceed.
  6. Add one or more Actions:
    • Update Field — change a field value on the record.
    • Send Email — send an email to a contact, rep, or a specific address using a template.
    • Create Activity — log a task or note on the record automatically.
  7. Set the rule to Active.
  8. Click Save.

Reviewing Rule History

Every time a workflow rule fires, CRM records the run on the server. That record is not surfaced anywhere in CRM — there is no Execution Log tab and no run history view to open, so you cannot read back what a rule did.

Because there is no run history to read, work from the rule's own definition instead:

  1. Is the rule Active? An inactive rule never fires.
  2. Did the trigger event match exactly? A rule watching contact.updated does not fire on contact.created.
  3. Did every condition pass? Conditions are AND-ed, so a single unmet condition stops the rule.
  4. Is every action supported? The console flags a rule stored with an action this CRM does not implement — recreate that rule with a supported action.

Common Rule Examples

  • Auto-assign new leads: When contact.created, assign the owner to a specific rep.
  • Alert on large deal close: When deal.updated AND the stage is "Closed Won" AND deal.value > 25000, send an email notification to a manager.
  • Follow-up task after proposal sent: When deal.updated AND the stage is "Proposal", create a task to follow up in 3 days.

Frequently Asked Questions

My rule is active but it did not fire. What should I check?

There is no run log to check — CRM records each run on the server but does not surface a run history anywhere in CRM. Most common causes: the rule is inactive, one condition was not met (all conditions must pass together), the trigger event did not match exactly, or the rule hit an error during the action step. Check the rule's own definition and the record the rule should have changed.

Can I have multiple actions in one rule?

Yes. Add as many actions as needed. They run in order. If one action fails, subsequent actions in the same rule may still run.

Can a workflow rule trigger another workflow rule?

Rules fire based on events that happen to records. If an action in one rule updates a field that another rule is watching, the second rule can fire as a result.

Can I temporarily disable a rule without deleting it?

Yes. Open the rule and change its status from Active to Inactive. The rule is preserved but will not fire until you reactivate it.

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