Creating & Managing Automation 2.0 Workflows

Automation 2.0 helps you create, review, activate, and manage donor engagement workflows in Keela. You can build a workflow from scratch or use can describe what you want to automate and Mission Assistant can help turn your instructions into a visible workflow draft that you can review and adjust before anything goes live.

Automation 2.0 workflows remain drafts until you complete the required setup, you can select Review & Activate to activate the workflow at any time.

Before you begin

Before creating a workflow, it helps to know:

What action should start the workflow?
Who should be allowed into the workflow?
What should happen after someone enters?
Whether the workflow should include delays, filters, or split paths?
Whether the workflow should send an email, add a tag, or complete another action?
Whether contacts should be allowed to enter only once or every time they qualify?

If you are not sure how to structure the workflow, you can simply start with a simple written description of your desired outcome and Mission Assistant can help generate a draft based on your goal.

Create a workflow

You can create a workflow in two ways:

Generate from a prompt (written instructions)
Build from scratch

Option 1: Create a workflow from written instructions

Use written instructions when you know what you want the workflow to accomplish, but do not want to manually build every step.

For example, you might write:

“Create a workflow that when someone makes their first donation, send them a welcome email after 2 days.”

Mission Assistant will help turn your instructions into a draft workflow with supported steps, such as a trigger, filter, delay, and action.

After the draft is created, review each step carefully. You may still need to complete required setup, such as selecting an email or confirming filter criteria. You will also need to configure workflow settings manually.

Option 2: Create a workflow from scratch

Use Start from scratch when you already know the workflow structure you want to build manually.

When creating from scratch, you can add and configure the workflow steps yourself. Depending on the workflow, this may include:

A trigger
One or more actions
Filters
Delays
Split paths
Workflow settings

Even when starting from scratch, you can use the Mission Assistant chat box on the right side of Automation 2.0 window to get assistance as you build your workflow.

What is a trigger?

A trigger is the event or condition that starts a workflow. Every workflow needs a trigger. The trigger tells Keela when a contact should enter the workflow.

Examples of triggers may include:

A donation is received
A contact is added
A contact is tagged
A contact matches a scheduled condition e.g contact’s birthday date, depending on availability

For example, if you want to send a welcome email after a first donation, the trigger might be when a donation is received.

How to set up a trigger

To set up a trigger:

Create or open a draft workflow.
Select the trigger step.
Choose the event or condition that should start the workflow.
Complete any required trigger details.
- For example, you may need to choose the donation source, segment, tag, or other setup information.
Review the trigger summary to make sure it matches your intent.

If the trigger is incomplete, the workflow cannot be activated until the required details are finished.

What is an action?

An action is what the workflow does after a contact enters and meets the workflow conditions.

Actions are the outcomes or tasks the workflow performs. For example, an action might send an email, add or remove a tag, or complete another supported follow-up step.

Examples of actions may include:

Send Email
Add or remove tags
Notify users, depending on availability
Add or update contact fields, depending on availability
Add a to-do or follow-up task, depending on availability

How to set up an action

To set up an action:

Add or select an action step in the workflow.
Choose the action type.
Complete the required fields for that action.
Save the action setup.
Review the action summary on the workflow canvas.

For example, if you add a Send Email action, you may need to select the Email Marketing email that should be sent. Donor-facing email actions require setup and review before activation.

If an action needs more information, you will see an “Action required” pill on the card. The workflow cannot be activated until all required actions setup is complete.

What are filters?

Filters help decide which contacts should continue through a workflow by setting additional conditions the contacts must meet once they are in the workflow.

Use a filter when you want only certain contacts to move forward. Filters are helpful when the trigger is broad, but the workflow should only apply to a specific audience.

For example:

Only first-time donors
Only contacts with a specific tag
Only donors who have given more than a certain amount
Only contacts who match a specific engagement or giving condition

How to use filters

To use a filter:

Add or select a filter step.
Describe the criteria contacts must meet.
Review the interpreted criteria.
Save the filter.
Confirm that the filter summary is clear and accurate.

In Automation 2.0, you can use plain language to describe filter criteria. For example:

“Only include donors who are giving for the first time.”

Mission Assistant can help interpret that into workflow logic. You should always review the criteria before activating the workflow.

If filter criteria are missing or unclear, Review & Activate may block the workflow until the filter is completed.

What are delays?

A delay tells the workflow to wait before moving to the next step.

Use delays when timing matters. For example, you may want to wait two days after a donation before sending a welcome email, or wait one week before sending a follow-up message.

How to use delays

To use a delay:

Add a delay step where you want the workflow to pause.
Choose the amount of time the workflow should wait.
Save the delay.
Review the workflow sequence to make sure the timing is correct.

Delays affect when the next step happens. Make sure the delay fits the donor experience you want to create.

What are split paths?

Split paths let contacts follow different paths in a workflow based on criteria.

Use a split path when different groups of contacts should receive different follow-ups. For example, you may want major donors to follow one path and smaller donors to follow another. You can create as many split paths as needed.

Examples of split path criteria:

Donors who gave more than $500 vs. donors who gave less
Contacts with a specific tag vs. contacts without that tag
Engaged contacts vs. disengaged contacts
First-time donors vs. repeat donors vs. recurring donors
Donors who gave more than $500 vs. donors who gave from $100 and $499 vs. donors who gave under $100

How to use splits paths

To use a split path:

Add or select a split path step.
Define the criteria for each path.
Use plain language to describe who should go down each path (Note: Empty paths are valid so you can have a path that simply goes to exit the workflow)
Review the split path criteria.
Add actions, delays, or other steps to each path.
Confirm that every path has the follow-up steps you want.

For example, you might create a split path that says:

“If the donor has given more than $500, send them a personal stewardship email. If not, send the standard thank-you email.”

Review each path carefully before activation so you understand what will happen to each contact group.

Adjust workflow settings

Workflow settings control how the workflow behaves beyond the individual steps.

Settings may include:

Workflow entry rules
Email eligibility options
Excluded segments
Excluded contacts
Other workflow-level controls, depending on availability

To adjust settings:

Open the workflow.
Go to Settings.
Review the available settings.
Update the settings you want to change.
Save your changes.
Review the workflow again before activation or reactivation.

Note: Settings can affect who enters the workflow and whether certain contacts are included or excluded.

Workflow entry rules

Workflow entry rules control how often a contact can enter the workflow. Common options include:

Every time

Contacts can enter the workflow every time they qualify. Use this when the workflow should run each time a relevant event happens. For example, you may want a workflow to run every time a donation is received.

Only once

Contacts can enter the workflow only one time. Use this when the workflow should not repeat for the same contact. For example, a welcome workflow for first-time donors should usually only run once per contact.

Choosing the right entry rule

Before activating a workflow, ask:

Should this workflow happen every time the trigger occurs?
Would it be a problem if the same contact entered more than once?
Is this a one-time journey, such as a welcome series?
Is this an event-based workflow, such as donation follow-up?

Review & Activate: a built-in readiness check

Workflows never activate on their own. When you select Review & Activate, Mission assistant runs a check across your entire workflow - every trigger, filter, delay, split path, action, and setting - to confirm the workflow is complete and able to run. Think of it as a second set of eyes before anything activation.

If no issues are found in review, the workflow will be activated.

What the review looks for

The review scans for anything that would stop the workflow from running as intended, such as:

Missing or incomplete trigger setup
Actions that still need configuration, for example, a send email action without a selected Email Marketing email
Filter criteria that is missing or unclear
Split paths without defined criteria (Note: Empty paths are accepted)
Workflow settings or entry rules worth confirming before launch

What happens if something is missing

If the review identifies an issue, the workflow will not activate and Mission Assistant will tell you exactly what it found in the chat. You will see which step needs attention and what is missing, so you can go straight to the fix rather than hunting through the workflow yourself.

Results come back in two forms:

Blockers must be resolved before the workflow can activate.
Warnings will not stop activation, but are worth reviewing before you continue.

Once you resolve any blockers, click the Review & Activate button again to run the check and activate.

How to review and activate

Open the draft workflow.
Select Review & Activate.
Read through the readiness results, including any blockers or warnings.
Resolve anything flagged as a blocker.
Select Review & Activate again to re-submit for review.
If no issues are found, the workflow will be activated.

You can also review the workflow yourself at any point before activating - Review & Activate is there to catch what is easy to miss, not to replace your judgment on donor-facing content.

Edit a workflow

You can make edits to a workflow when you need to update its logic, timing, actions, or settings.

Examples of edits include:

Changing the trigger
Updating a filter
Adjusting a delay
Editing split-path criteria
Changing an action
Updating workflow settings
Adjusting entry rules
Excluding a segment or contact

How to edit a draft workflow

To edit a draft workflow:

Open the workflow.
Select the step or setting you want to change.
Make your update.
Save the change.
Review the full workflow again.
Use Review & Activate when you are ready to launch.

Draft workflows are not live, so your changes will not affect contacts until the workflow is activated.

How to edit an active workflow

To edit an active workflow, you must first pause it. When you select to edit a workflow, you will see a pop-up confirmation message to pause the workflow to enable editing:

Pausing does two things:

No new contacts can enter the workflow
Any contacts currently moving through the workflow are paused where they are.

Once the workflow is paused, you can make your edits and Review & Activate when you are ready to make the workflow active again.

Note: Contacts who were already in the workflow before you paused it will continue down the original path they entered on i.e the workflow as it was before you edited it. Your edited changes will only apply to new incoming contacts who enter the workflow after you reactivate it.

Pause or deactivate a workflow

After a workflow is live, you may need to pause or deactivate it. Pausing and deactivating a workflow do the same thing.

When you pause or deactivate a workflow:

No new contacts can enter the workflow.
Contacts who are currently moving through the workflow are paused at their current step. They are not removed from the workflow.

When you reactivate the workflow, contacts who were paused mid-workflow continue down the original path they entered on, i.e the workflow steps as it was before you paused it.

Pause or deactivate a workflow when:

You need to make edits to an active workflow
The workflow is no longer needed
The campaign, donor journey, or process has ended
You are replacing the workflow with a newer version
You do not want contacts to continue entering the workflow

Before pausing, review the workflow's activity so you understand whether any contacts are currently in progress and whether any time-sensitive follow-up is expected.

Review workflow activity after activation

After a workflow is activated, you can review workflow activity to understand what happened and confirm the workflow is behaving as expected.

The Activity area includes two views:

Per Contact
Runs

These views show you contacts entering the workflow, which steps they moved through, where they may be waiting or stopped, and whether any runs need attention. This is useful for monitoring performance, answering donor or team questions, and troubleshooting unexpected results.

Per Contact view

The Per Contact view helps you review workflow activity by individual contact. Use this view when you want to understand a specific contact’s progress through the workflow.

In the Per Contact view, you can review contact-level statuses such as:

Running: The contact is currently moving through the workflow.
Paused: The contact is paused at a delay, wait step, or another step that has not continued yet.
Completed: The contact completed the expected workflow path.
Failed: The contact encountered an issue that prevented the workflow from completing as expected.

Use the Per Contact view to review the contact’s overall workflow activity:

Which contacts entered the workflow
When contacts last entered the workflow
The contact’s current step in their last entry
Details of how the contact’s last entry performed

Runs view

The Runs view gives you a real-time tracking view of every entry into the workflow. Each row in the table is a single run: one contact's journey through the workflow in a specific instance.

Select any row to open that run and see the exact path the contact is taking, or took for older entries. Each step fills in as the contact reaches it, so you can watch a run progress in real time while it is still active, or open a completed run later to retrace the full path the contact followed and how each step turned out.

This is helpful when a contact can enter a workflow more than once, when you want to confirm which split path a contact went down, or when you want to troubleshoot a specific workflow entry.

Runs also have a Needs attention status when a run did not complete as expected i.e. reach an exit. For example, a run may need attention if an action failed or if the workflow could not continue through a required step.

If you see a run marked Needs attention, click the failed run to open more details. This can help you understand:

Which step failed or stopped
What action the workflow attempted
Where the contact was in the workflow when the issue happened
Whether the issue may be related to workflow setup, settings, filters, split paths, or action configuration

How to review workflow activity

To review activity:

Open the activated workflow.
Go to Activity.
Choose either Per Contact or Runs.
Review the list of contacts or workflow runs.
Select a contact or run to see more detail.
If a run is marked Needs attention, click the failed run to gather more information.
Review the steps completed and where the contact may have stopped.
Use the information to confirm the workflow is behaving as expected or identify what needs attention.

If something does not look right, review the workflow steps, settings, entry rules, filters, split paths, and action setup. You may need to pause the workflow to make any required changes.

Best practices for creating workflows

Start with the donor outcome you want.
Keep the first version simple.
Use filters when you want only some contacts to continue in the workflow.
Use delays to make follow-up feel timely and intentional.
Use split paths when different groups need different follow-ups.
Review donor-facing email actions carefully.
Choose workflow entry rules intentionally.
Check settings before activation.
Monitor Activity and Runs after activation to understand what happened.

Example workflow

Here is an example of a simple donor welcome workflow:

Trigger: Donation received
Filter: Donor is giving for the first time
Delay: Wait 2 days
Action: Send welcome email
Entry rule: Only once
Email settings: Include contacts with an unknown status (so that contacts who don’t yet have a subscription status will be able to receive emails)
Review & Activate: Confirm the workflow is ready
Activate: Workflow begins running for eligible contacts going forward

This workflow helps welcome new donors while making sure the emails will go out to both opted in contacts and those who have not yet expressed an email subscription preference.

Important things to know

Workflows remain drafts until you activate them.
Every workflow needs a trigger.
Actions must be fully set up before activation.
Filters and split paths should be reviewed carefully to make sure the right contacts follow the right path.
Delays affect when the next step happens.
Entry rules affect whether contacts can enter once or multiple times.
Review & Activate helps catch any missing setup before a workflow goes live.
Mission Assistant can help draft, refine and review workflows, but you stay in control of activation.