Triggers overview
A trigger is the "when" of your automation — the event that kicks off the workflow. Every automation starts with exactly one trigger.
Trigger types
| Type | How it works | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Event triggers | Fires when something happens in the platform | Form submitted, contact created, opportunity stage changed |
| Time-based triggers | Fires on a recurring schedule | Every Monday at 9 AM, first of each month |
| Manual triggers | Fires when you click "Run" on specific records | Run for a selected account, company, or contact |
| Advanced triggers | Fires from external systems or API calls | Webhook received, Zapier integration, API request |
How trigger scope works
The trigger you choose determines which actions are available downstream:
| Trigger scope | What's in context | Available actions |
|---|---|---|
| Account-scoped | The account that fired the trigger | Account-focused steps — assign salesperson, activate products, add tags |
| Company-scoped | The company (and its account) | Company-focused steps — assign owner, log call, start campaign |
| Contact-scoped | The contact (and its company/account) | Contact-focused steps — assign owner, send email, add to list |
| No entity | No record in context (webhook, API, schedule) | Entity-creation steps only — create company, send webhook, delay, if/else |
If your automation needs company data but your trigger is contact-scoped, use a Find company or Get company from contact step to bring the company into scope.
Choosing a trigger
React to user or customer actions — Use event triggers (form submitted, contact created, opportunity changed). These are the most common and fire in real time.
Run on a schedule — Use time-based triggers for recurring tasks like weekly check-ins, monthly invoice reminders, or daily AI employee invocations.
Start from an external system — Use Zapier, webhook, or API triggers to connect third-party apps.
Run on demand — Use manual triggers to execute automations for specific records you select in the CRM.
Trigger conditions
After choosing a trigger, add conditions to filter which events actually start the automation:
- AND conditions — all must be true (e.g., company industry is "Healthcare" AND company city is "Edmonton")
- OR conditions — any can be true (e.g., trigger on form A OR form B)
Combine AND/OR to build precise filters so your automation only runs for the right records.
Pages in this section
- Automation triggers reference — Complete list of every trigger, organized by category
- Time-based triggers — Set up daily, weekly, or monthly schedules
- Trigger via Zapier — Connect third-party apps to start automations