Automations

Save time and improve client experience by automating routine communications and notifications.

What Are Automations?

Automations are rules that automatically send emails or SMS messages when certain events happen in your business. Instead of manually sending appointment reminders or follow-up emails, YardPilot handles it for you.

How Automations Work

Each automation has three parts:

1. Trigger - The event that starts the automation (e.g., "Quote is approved")
2. Timing - When the action happens (instantly, before, or after the event)
3. Action - What happens (e.g., "Send email to customer")

Example

Visit Reminder automation:

• Trigger: Upcoming visit
• Timing: 1 day before
• Action: Send reminder email to customer

This means your customers automatically get a friendly reminder the day before their scheduled visit.

Types of Automations

YardPilot includes 63 pre-configured automations across 14 categories:

Category	Examples
Visits	Reminders, on-my-way notifications, completion notices, rescheduling alerts
Quotes	Sent notifications, approval confirmations, expiry reminders, decline alerts
Jobs	Creation notices, scheduling confirmations, completion notifications
Invoicing	Invoice sent, payment receipts, overdue reminders
Work Requests	Confirmation emails, internal alerts, conversion notices
Reviews	Review requests, thank-you messages, negative review alerts
NPS Surveys	Survey requests, promoter thank-yous, detractor follow-ups
Meetings	Scheduling confirmations, reminders, cancellation notices
Properties	New property alerts, service due reminders
Contacts	Welcome emails, birthday messages, inactivity alerts
Expenses	Submission alerts, approval notifications, reimbursement confirmations
Timesheets	Submission alerts, approval notifications, overtime warnings
Scheduling	Conflict alerts, unassigned visit notifications
Inventory	Low stock alerts, reorder notifications

Click to enlarge

Manage all your automation rules with easy enable/disable controls and clear visibility of what's automated

In This Section

• Built-in Rules - Pre-configured automations ready to use
• Creating Custom Rules - Create your own automation rules
• Notification Preferences - Control which contacts receive notifications

Quick Start

1. Go to Settings > Automations
2. Review the list of available automations
3. Toggle ON for automations you want to enable
4. Automations start working immediately

Default Automations

YardPilot comes with sensible defaults enabled. We recommend reviewing them and adjusting to match your business style.

Email Delay Setting

Automation emails are not sent immediately — they're scheduled with a delay so you can review and cancel them before they're delivered.

Configuring the Delay

1. Go to Settings > Automations
2. Find Email Delay at the top of the page
3. Choose a delay period:
   • 5 minutes — Quick delivery with minimal review time
   • 10 minutes — Balanced approach (default)
   • 15 minutes — More time to catch issues
   • 30 minutes — Extended review window
   • 1 hour — Maximum review time

How It Works

When an automation triggers an email:

1. The email appears in Email Logs with "Scheduled" status
2. The log shows when the email will be sent
3. You can cancel the email during the delay period
4. After the delay, the email is sent automatically

Viewing Scheduled Emails

Go to Communication > Email Logs and filter by Status: Scheduled to see all pending automation emails. Click any email to view details or cancel it.

Why Use a Delay?

The delay gives you a safety net. If an automation triggers incorrectly (e.g., wrong recipient, outdated information), you can catch and cancel it before it reaches the customer.

System vs Custom Rules

System rules are pre-built automations provided by YardPilot. You can enable or disable them, but to modify timing or messaging, you'll create a custom copy.

Custom rules are rules you create specifically for your business. You have full control over triggers, timing, and templates.

Feature Roadmap

YardPilot automations are continuously being enhanced. Here's the current status:

✅ Available Now

Category	Features
Core Engine	Automation rules, timing calculations, scheduling
Visit Automations	Reminders, on-my-way, completion notices, rescheduling
Quote Automations	Sent notifications, approvals, expiry reminders
Job Automations	Creation, scheduling, completion notifications
Invoice Automations	Invoice sent, payment receipts, overdue reminders
Work Request Automations	Confirmations, internal alerts, conversion notices
Review Automations	Review requests, thank-you messages, negative alerts
Custom Rules	Create your own automation rules
Template Integration	Email and SMS templates with merge fields
Email Delay & Cancellation	Configurable send delay, cancel before delivery

Meeting, contact, timesheet, and expense rules are in the built-in list. Expense rules only matter once the Expenses screen ships. There is no separate automation analytics page.