Setting Up Automation Rules
Transform hours of manual work into minutes with smart automation. Learn how to create workflows that send the right message, to the right people, at exactly the right time.
Why Automation Matters
Automation is the difference between spending hours each week sending messages manually and having everything run smoothly in the background while you focus on what matters. With Beep's automation rules, you set up a workflow once, and it runs reliably every time the conditions are met—no more forgotten reminders, missed deadlines, or inconsistent communication.
Whether you're sending emergency alerts to staff, appointment reminders to customers, or invoice notifications to accounting clients, automation ensures timely, consistent messaging without the manual effort. The best part? Most automations take less than 5 minutes to set up.
Hours Saved Monthly
Average time savings for businesses automating routine communications
Better Response Rates
Timely automated messages get significantly higher engagement
Always On
Automations work around the clock, even when you're offline
When to Automate vs. Manual Sending
✅ Automate These:
- •Recurring reminders (appointments, payments, deadlines)
- •Event-based notifications (invoice created, payment received)
- •Time-sensitive alerts (GST due dates, safety drills)
- •Onboarding sequences and drip campaigns
- •Follow-up workflows with multiple touchpoints
✋ Send Manually:
- •Highly personal, sensitive communications
- •One-off announcements or updates
- •Messages requiring specific timing judgment
- •Response to individual customer inquiries
- •Emergency situations requiring immediate human oversight
Understanding Triggers
Triggers are events or conditions that tell Beep when to send a message. Understanding trigger types is the key to building effective automations.
Date-Based Triggers
Fire automatically at specific times relative to important dates
How They Work
Date-based triggers send messages a set number of days/hours before or after a specific date in your data (due dates, birthdays, renewal dates, etc.).
Examples:
- 7 days before invoice due date → send payment reminder
- 24 hours before appointment → send confirmation
- 30 days before contract renewal → send renewal notice
- On birthday → send personalised greeting
- 7 days after purchase → request feedback
Event-Based Triggers
Fire immediately when a specific action or event occurs
How They Work
Event-based triggers respond in real-time to actions like form submissions, status changes, or data updates in connected systems.
Examples:
- New customer signup → send welcome message
- Appointment booked → send immediate confirmation
- Invoice status changes → notify relevant team
- Form submitted → acknowledge receipt
- Contact added to group → send intro message
Setting Up Your First Automation
Follow this step-by-step walkthrough to create a simple but effective automation in under 5 minutes. We'll set up an automated invoice reminder.
Navigate to Automation Dashboard
Log into Beep and click Automation in the main navigation, then click Add New Reminder.
Select Trigger Type
Choose Date-Based Trigger from the dropdown menu.
Available options:
- • Date-Based (for our invoice reminder)
- • Event-Based (for instant notifications)
- • Recurring Schedule (for regular updates)
Set Timing
Configure when the message should send relative to your trigger date.
Reference Date Field:
Select "Invoice Due Date" from dropdown
Send:
7 days before due date
Time of Day:
9:00 AM (local time)
Choose Template
Select the message template you want to send. If you haven't created one yet, refer to our Creating Message Templates guide.
Select Communication Channels
Choose which channel(s) to send through. You can select multiple for better reach.
Pro tip: Multi-channel delivery increases open rates by 40%
Set Audience
Define who receives this automation. You can send to all clients or filter by specific criteria.
Options:
- • All clients with open invoices
- • Specific client groups (e.g., "Active Clients")
- • Filtered by tags, location, or custom fields
For this example, select "All clients with open invoices"
Preview and Test
Before activating, always send a test message to yourself to verify everything looks correct.
Important:
Check merge fields populate correctly, links work, and formatting displays properly on both mobile and desktop.
Activate Automation
Once you're satisfied with the test, toggle the automation to Active. It will now run automatically based on your trigger conditions.
🎉 Congratulations! Your first automation is live. Beep will now send invoice reminders automatically 7 days before each due date.
Advanced Automation Strategies
Once you're comfortable with basic automations, these advanced techniques will take your communication to the next level.
Reminder Sequences
Create a series of escalating reminders that increase in urgency. Perfect for payment follow-ups, deadline reminders, and appointment confirmations.
Reminder 1 (Friendly):
7 days before due date
"Just a friendly heads up..."
Reminder 2 (Standard):
3 days before due date
"Quick reminder that payment is due soon..."
Reminder 3 (Urgent):
1 day before due date
"Final reminder: Payment due tomorrow..."
Reminder 4 (Overdue):
7 days after due date
"Your payment is now overdue. Please contact us..."
Drip Campaigns
Send a series of educational or onboarding messages spread over time. Great for new client orientation or educational content delivery.
Example: New Client Onboarding
Day 1: Welcome message + account setup guide
Day 3: How to use key features
Day 7: Best practices and tips
Day 14: Check-in + offer support call
Day 30: Success stories + advanced features
Conditional Logic
Create "if-then" rules that adapt messaging based on recipient data or behavior.
Example Scenarios:
IF payment not received within 24 hours
THEN escalate to phone call reminder
IF client is VIP status
THEN use premium messaging template
IF email not opened after 48 hours
THEN send SMS follow-up
Multi-Channel Fallback
Automatically try different channels if the first doesn't get a response. Ensures your message gets through.
Example Flow:
Step 1: Send email
Step 2: IF email not opened, send SMS
Step 3: IF SMS not read, send WhatsApp
This ensures 95%+ message visibility without appearing spammy
Time Zone Optimisation
Send messages at the optimal time in each recipient's local time zone for maximum engagement.
Example: Send appointment reminders at 9:00 AM local time, regardless of whether clients are in Auckland, Sydney, or Melbourne.
Pro tip: Best send times are typically 9-11am and 2-4pm weekdays. Avoid early mornings, late evenings, and weekends for non-urgent messages.
Ready to Track Your Results?
Your automations are running. Now learn how to measure their performance and optimize based on analytics data.