Timer Trigger¶

Overview¶

The Timer Trigger allows you to run workflows automatically at specific times or intervals. This is perfect for recurring tasks like daily reports, weekly reminders, monthly invoices, or any time-based automation.

When to use this trigger:

• Generate and send daily/weekly/monthly reports
• Process end-of-day transactions
• Send recurring reminders or follow-ups
• Sync data between systems at regular intervals
• Clean up old records periodically
• Check for updates or changes on a schedule

Quick Start¶

Builder fields¶

The Field column is the label as it appears in the task builder; Key is the name the value is stored under and referenced by.

1. Create a new workflow
2. Add a Timer Trigger as the first task
3. Set Frequency (how many) and Unit (Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, Months or Years)
4. Set Time of Day — in the account's Business Timezone (Settings → General)
5. Optionally set Minute, and for a weekly schedule tick the Day(s) of week it should run on
6. Save and enable the workflow
7. Check Last Triggered after the first interval to confirm it fired

Schedule Types¶

The settings above run the workflow every Friday at 16:30.

There is no list of schedule "types" to pick from. You set Frequency (a number) and Unit, and the two combine into a repeating interval. Time of Day and Minute fix when it fires, and on a weekly schedule Day(s) of week fixes which days.

Last Triggered is the quickest check that a schedule is really running: a workflow that looks right but reads Never triggered has never fired.

Day(s) of week¶

Set Unit to Weeks and tick the days the workflow should run on. A weekly report with Friday ticked runs every Friday at the Time of Day you set, whichever day the workflow was switched on.

• Tick several days to run on each of them: Monday to Friday is "every weekday".
• With Frequency above 1 the trigger runs on all the ticked days of one week, then skips weeks: 2 with Monday and Friday ticked runs both days, every second week. Weeks run Monday to Sunday.
• Leave every day unticked and the trigger repeats every 7 days from the day it last ran. Triggers set up before this setting existed work this way and are not changed.

Minute¶

Minute runs the workflow part-way through the hour: Time of Day 08:00 with Minute 30 runs at 08:30. Leave it empty to run on the hour. It applies to Days, Weeks, Months and Years; Minutes and Hours repeat on time passed since the last run and have no fixed minute.

Time of Day follows the account's timezone¶

Time of Day is read on the account's Business Timezone (Settings → General): 08 means 08:00 there, and it follows that clock through daylight-saving changes. An account with no timezone set runs on America/Chicago — set yours.

The date_created the trigger outputs is UTC; the schedule description is on the account's clock, and timezone names it. Convert date_created with a Date Formatter if a message needs the local time.

Outputs¶

run_date, week_start and week_end are plain dates on the account's clock, ready to use as a report's date range without a Date Formatter. They describe the day the trigger fired, so a run that is re-run later keeps the dates it was meant for. A week runs Monday to Sunday; for last week's range, take 7 days off each with a Date Formatter.

The trigger carries no other data — it fires on a clock, not on a record. Anything the workflow needs must be fetched by the tasks after it.

Real-World Examples¶

Send a daily reminder¶

Timer Trigger  (daily at 08:00)
  └─ Email   send the team the morning brief

Send a weekly report every Friday¶

Timer Trigger  (every 1 week, Friday ticked, 16:00)
  └─ Email   this week's report, {{task_N_week_start}} to {{task_N_week_end}}

Sync a sheet every hour¶

Schedule  (hourly)
  └─ Google Sheets   get_rows
      └─ Loop        over {{task_44001.JSON.rows}}, action: array
          └─ Webhook Out   push each row onward

Check in with clients monthly¶

Schedule  (monthly)
  └─ Google Sheets       get_rows — the account list
      └─ Loop            over the rows
          └─ Email       send the check-in

Testing Your Schedule¶

Test Run Feature¶

You can test your scheduled workflow without waiting for the scheduled time:

1. Open your workflow
2. Click the "Run Test" button in the Schedule trigger task
3. The workflow will execute immediately with the current date/time values
4. Check the execution history to verify it worked correctly

Checking Execution History¶

After your workflow runs (scheduled or test), you can view the execution history:

1. Go to your workflow
2. Click "Execution History"
3. View all past runs with timestamps and status
4. Click any execution to see detailed logs

Best Practices¶

✅ Do's¶

• Use appropriate intervals: Don't schedule workflows more frequently than needed
• Consider timezones: Always set the correct timezone for your use case
• Test before enabling: Use "Run Test" to verify your workflow works correctly
• Monitor execution history: Regularly check that your scheduled workflows are running successfully
• Use meaningful names: Name your workflows clearly (e.g., "Daily Sales Report - 8 AM")
• Add error handling: Include If tasks to handle failures gracefully
• Describe the schedule in the workflow name, so the interval is obvious from the workflow list

❌ Don'ts¶

• Don't over-schedule: Running workflows every minute when hourly is sufficient wastes resources
• Don't ignore failures: Set up error notifications so you know when scheduled tasks fail
• Don't forget the account timezone: Time of Day is on the Business Timezone in Settings → General
• Don't schedule overlapping workflows: If a workflow takes 10 minutes, don't schedule it every 5 minutes
• Don't hardcode dates: Use the schedule trigger's output fields instead of hardcoded values

Troubleshooting¶

Workflow Not Running at Scheduled Time¶

Possible Causes:

• Workflow is disabled
• Schedule configuration is incorrect
• Timezone setting is wrong
• System maintenance window

Solutions:

1. Check the workflow toggle is ON (enabled)
2. Verify your schedule configuration matches your intention
3. Check the account's Business Timezone in Settings → General
4. Review execution history for error messages

Workflow Running at Wrong Time¶

Cause: Timezone misconfiguration

Solution: set the account's Business Timezone in Settings → General — Time of Day is read on it (America/Chicago when none is set)

Workflow Runs Multiple Times¶

Cause: several Timer Triggers in the same workflow — each one starts it on its own schedule.

Solution: keep one Timer Trigger per schedule you want.

Advanced Patterns¶

Conditional Scheduling¶

You can add logic after a Schedule trigger to run different workflows based on the date:

1. Schedule Trigger - Daily at 9:00 AM
2. Code Task - Check if it's the first day of the month
3. If Task - Is first day?
   - Yes: Run monthly processing
   - No: Run daily processing

Sequential Scheduled Workflows¶

If you need workflows to run in sequence:

1. Schedule Trigger - Daily at 8:00 AM
2. [Your workflow logic]
3. Delay Task - Wait 30 minutes
4. Webhook Out - Trigger another workflow's webhook

Error Recovery¶

Add error handling to scheduled workflows:

1. Schedule Trigger - Hourly
2. Try your main logic
3. If Task - Check for errors
   - Has errors: Send alert email
   - No errors: Continue normally

Frequently Asked Questions¶

Can I have multiple Schedule triggers in one workflow?¶

No, each workflow should have only one trigger (Schedule, Webhook, Email, etc.). If you need multiple schedules, create separate workflows.

What happens if a scheduled workflow is still running when the next schedule hits?¶

The system queues the next execution and will run it after the current one completes. However, if you have many overlapping executions, consider increasing your schedule interval.

Can I schedule a workflow to run at different times on different days?¶

One trigger runs at one time of day. Set Unit to Weeks and tick the Day(s) of week to choose the days; for a different time on some days, use a second workflow with those days ticked.

How do I schedule a workflow for business days only (Monday-Friday)?¶

Set Unit to Weeks, Frequency to 1, and tick Monday to Friday under Day(s) of week.

Can I schedule a workflow to run every X days (not weekly)?¶

Yes — set Frequency to X and Unit to Days.

Which timezone does it run on?¶

Time of Day runs on the account's Business Timezone (for example "Africa/Johannesburg"), daylight saving included. Only the date_created output is UTC.

Can I temporarily disable a scheduled workflow?¶

Yes, toggle the workflow OFF at the top of the workflow editor. The schedule trigger will stop running until you enable it again.

How far in advance can I see upcoming scheduled runs?¶

Currently, the system doesn't show future scheduled runs. However, you can calculate them based on your schedule configuration.

Can I schedule a workflow to run at the end of each month?¶

There is no last-day option. Set Unit to Months, then guard the run with an If Statement that checks tomorrow's date is the first of the next month, using a Date Formatter.

Next Steps:

• Webhook In Trigger - Trigger workflows from external systems
• Website Form - Trigger from website forms
• Inbound Email - Trigger from incoming emails