Automations overview

Automations run steps for you after something happens in Plandalf: a checkout is paid, a visitor leaves without paying, a renewal payment fails. Each automation is a sequence: one trigger, then the steps that run when it fires.

The built-in Plandalf app provides the triggers and the core steps, such as sending an email or a webhook. It is always on and needs no connection. Connected apps, such as Kit, Circle or Slack, add their own steps and sometimes their own triggers.

Where to find it

Open Automation in the sidebar. It has four tabs:

Marketplace: every app you can connect. Live apps have a Connect button; the Plandalf card has Build.
Templates: ready-made sequences you add to a checkout, plus recipes such as Slack notifications.
My Sequences: the sequences in your organization.
My apps: the accounts you have connected, where you can test, reconnect or remove them.

Triggers

Choose Plandalf as the trigger app to start a sequence from a Plandalf event. Most triggers have an Offer field: pick one or more checkouts to limit the sequence to them, or leave it empty for all.

Checkout Completed: a customer completes a main checkout and the invoice is paid.
Invoice Paid: any invoice is paid, including checkouts, upsells, subscription renewals and invoices you send.
Invoice Finalized: a draft invoice is finalized and ready for payment.
Invoice Voided: an invoice is voided, that is cancelled without payment.
Upsell Created: a new upsell invoice is created after checkout.
Upsell Accepted: a customer pays an upsell offered after their main checkout.
Cart Abandoned: a visitor entered their email at checkout but didn’t pay. Choose how long to wait first, from 5 minutes to 7 days (30 minutes by default). When the wait is over Plandalf checks again, and the sequence only runs if they still haven’t paid. Skip GDPR-region visitors leaves out visitors from the EU, EEA and UK.
Cart Recovery: a payment fails, for example a declined card. The trigger includes a retry_url that opens a payment page for that invoice.
Webhook Trigger: anything that sends an HTTP request to the trigger’s Webhook URL, such as a script or another tool. The request body becomes the trigger data. Keep the URL private, because anyone who has it can start the sequence.

Plandalf has no refund or subscription-cancelled trigger yet, so a sequence can’t run automatically when a buyer refunds or cancels.

Steps Plandalf can run

Send Email: sends an email you write. Fill in Recipient Email, Email Subject, Email Body (HTML or plain text) and Sender Email. The sender must use a verified sending domain.
Send Order Receipt: emails the buyer their receipt. It works after Checkout Completed, Invoice Paid and Upsell Accepted. Recipient Email is optional and defaults to the customer’s email. Send as Test adds TEST to the subject.
Send Webhook: sends a request to any URL. Set the Webhook URL, the HTTP Method (POST by default), a JSON Payload and optional Headers. The receiver has 30 seconds to answer. Use it for tools that accept webhooks, such as Zapier, Make or your own server.
Enroll in Promo: enrolls someone in a promo and starts their timer. Promo and Ref are required. Ref identifies the participant, and an email address works. Email defaults to the ref when the ref is an email. Start date is optional and defaults to now.
Delay: waits a number of Minutes before the next step. If a checkout has upsells, a delay before a receipt or invoice step lets every product land on one document.
Get Current Date & Time: returns the current time in the Timezone and Format you choose, for use in later steps.

Use data from earlier steps

Any field can include data from the trigger or an earlier step. Type it in double curly braces, for example {{trigger.customer_email}}, or pick it from the variable menu next to the field.

The variable menu fills once the trigger has sample data. On the trigger’s 3. Test tab, pick a sample record, such as your most recent checkout. Do the same for each step you want to read from.

The purchase triggers include, among others:

customer_email, customer_name, customer_first_name, customer_last_name
total_amount (for example 29.70) and currency
line_items_summary, a short list of what they bought
invoice_id, invoice_number and offer_id

Build a sequence

Create it

Go to Automation → My Sequences and create a sequence. Give it a name that says what it does, such as “Pro plan buyers to Slack”.
Choose the trigger

On 1. Setup, choose the app (Plandalf for purchase events) and the trigger event. On 2. Config, fill in its fields, such as Offer. On 3. Test, pick a sample record.
Add steps

Click Add a step. Choose the app, the action and, for a connected app, the account. Fill in the fields on 2. Config, then run the test on 3. Test.
Turn it on

New sequences are off until you turn them on. Use the On/Off switch on the sequence, or Turn on in the banner at the top.

To start from a template instead, open Automation → Templates, choose a template and pick the checkout it is for. Templates include sending a receipt, recovering an abandoned cart, recovering a failed payment, enrolling buyers in a promo, sending buyers to a CRM by webhook and recording Tolt commissions. A checkout’s Automation view lists the sequences linked to it.

Test safely

Step tests are real. Testing a step sends the email, posts the Slack message or changes the record in the connected app. Use your own email address or test records.
Test purchases skip automations by default, so a test card can’t email a customer or pay a commission. To try a sequence end to end, open its Settings, switch on Run on test purchases, buy with a test card through the checkout’s test link, then switch it off again.
Check the result. Each sequence has an Events view that shows every run, which steps ran, and each step’s output or error.

When a run fails, Plandalf emails your notification recipients, at most once every 15 minutes per sequence. Change this under Settings → Notifications → Failed automation notifications. The Slack app can post the same alerts to a channel.

Connect other apps

Connected apps add steps that act in other tools. Each guide covers the credential to get, connecting, the steps and an example:

Circle: add buyers to your community and its spaces.
Kajabi: create contacts and tag them.
Kit: tag subscribers, add them to forms and sequences, and start sequences from Kit events.
MailerLite: add subscribers to groups and update their fields.
Slack: post purchase and failure alerts to a channel.
Teachable: enrol buyers in courses.
Thinkific: enrol buyers in courses and bundles.
Tolt: record affiliate commissions in Tolt.

Not every tool needs an app. Send Webhook reaches any tool that accepts a webhook, and other systems can read and write Plandalf data with an API key.

Common errors

What you see	What to do
The sequence never runs	Check it is On and that its Offer filter includes the checkout. For a test purchase, switch on Run on test purchases in its Settings.
A field is empty in the step output	The variable didn’t resolve. Pick it from the variable menu instead of typing it, and check the trigger sample has that value.
The variable menu is empty	Pick a sample record on the trigger’s 3. Test tab first.
A step shows skipped	The step decided there was nothing to do, for example no affiliate on the sale. The run’s Events view shows the reason.
Send Email completes but nothing arrives	Open the run and check the step output. A `failed` status includes the reason, often a sender address that isn’t on a verified domain.
No Send Order Receipt in the step list	It only appears after Checkout Completed, Invoice Paid or Upsell Accepted.