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Automations

Streamline Your Workflow

Automations

help streamline repetitive tasks by automatically performing actions when certain events occur in your collections .

By defining the 'When → Then' conditions, you can reduce manual work and keep your team in sync.

What are automations?

Automations let you configure trigger events (the 'when') and
resulting actions (the 'then'). For example:

✴︎ When a new record

is added to a 'Maintenance' collection
→ Then create a task assigned to multiple maintenance staff, or send a notification

✴︎ When a workflow

stage changes to 'Approved'
→ Then generate a new record in another collection, or send an email alert

The benefits of automations:

  • Automate routine tasks like creating follow-up tasks or notifications.
  • Make sure boring administration tasks are never missed.
  • Standardise processes and reduce manual steps.
  • Keep everyone informed with automated alerts or tasks.
  • Add new automations as your organisation's needs evolve.

Setting Up an Automation

1. Access Automation Settings

  1. Open Settings:

    Click your name in the bottom-left corner of Kinabase.

  2. Select Automations:

    Under Organisation, choose Automations.

  3. Add New Automation:

    Click + Add Automation in the top-right corner.


2. Define the 'When' Condition

  1. Name & Description:

Give your automation a clear name (e.g., 'Notify Finance on New Invoices') and a brief description.

  1. Whenever...

Pick the trigger event. For instance:

  • A record is added to a specific collection
  • A record's workflow stage changes
  • A certain field meets a condition (if your workflow is enabled)


3. Set the 'Then' Action

Once you define the trigger, choose what Kinabase should do automatically:


You can add multiple steps to the same automation - e.g., first send a notification, then create a new record, then add a task.

3. Save & Activate

  • Click 'OK' to finalise your automation.
  • It takes effect immediately; any new triggers will now run the automation steps you defined.


Advanced Automation Features

Our Automations have some advanced features that help streamline your internal operations and seamlessly take care of the busy work for you.

See below for how you can get the most out of automations:

Multiple Steps & Conditions

Enable a cascade of action steps based on your conditions & logic:

+ Add Step:

Create multiple follow-up actions. For example, after adding a task, you could also send an email notification to a manager.

Filters & Conditions:

Some triggers allow you to refine when an automation gets used (e.g., only if a certain field equals 'High Priority').

Preview Automations

Test Before You Trigger:

Some workflow stages allow you to preview which automations will run. This ensures you have full clarity on what will happen next.

Use this preview feature to confirm tasks, notifications, or record changes before finalising an action.

Assign Tasks to Multiple Users

Team Collaboration:

When adding a 'Create Task' step, you can select multiple owners. All assigned users will be notified and see the task in their dashboard

.

Viewing & Editing Automations

Edit or Deactivate:

If you need to pause or change an automation, open it from the Automations list and modify or toggle it off.

View Logs:

Right-click an automation and select View Logs to see each time it's been triggered and the outcome.


Best Practices

Automations can be very useful, but can become overly complicated if you're not careful. Follow the guidance below to get the most out of them:

Start simply & evolve

Start with a minimal number of automations. Overcomplicating from the get-go can lead to confusion.

It does 'what it says on the tin'

Clear automation names help your team understand their purpose straight away.

Periodically review

Check automation logs periodically to ensure everything is running smoothly.

Combine with your workflows

Automations work great with workflows - when a record moves to a certain stage, let an automation handle the follow-up tasks.

Using Automations in Kinabase saves time and maintains consistency for your team, letting them focus on the tasks that matter most.

If you need more help or have advanced scenarios in mind, check out our other guides or contact our Support Team.

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