> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.rubica.au/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.rubica.au/workflow/workflow-triggers.md).

# Workflow Triggers

Launch workflows automatically when something happens on a household — no button-clicking required.

A **Workflow Trigger** watches every account in your org for a particular event, and starts a brand-new job from your template when the timing hits — *"14 days before the Review Date, start the Annual Review workflow"*. Nobody has to remember; nobody has to click anything.

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    E["📅 Review date is\n14 days away"] --> T["⚡ Trigger fires"] --> J["🗂️ New job created\nat Stage 1"]
```

{% hint style="info" %}
Triggers start **new** jobs. They're different from [Stage Actions](/workflow/stage-actions-and-action-types.md), which automate things *inside* a job that already exists.
{% endhint %}

**Where:** Home → Settings → Workflow Templates → open a template → **Workflow Triggers** tab → **+ Add Trigger**.

## Fields

| Field                              | What it does                                                                                                                           |
| ---------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Triggering Object** *(required)* | The record type to watch — Account, Household Account, Person Account, Entity (Business) Account, Opportunity, Lead, and a few others. |
| **Trigger Event** *(required)*     | The date or event to measure from — e.g. Next Review Date, OFA Reference Date, Record Created, Closed Won.                             |
| **Delay Days**                     | How many days before/after the event to create the job. `0` = the moment the event happens.                                            |
| **Delay Type**                     | Days Before / Days After.                                                                                                              |

Save, and it's on. The engine sweeps for due triggers **every hour**, so a newly-due trigger is picked up within the hour — not the next day.

## Narrowing down who it applies to

By default a trigger watches *every* matching account. To restrict it — only clients on a particular service, only a certain segment — add **conditions**: see [Setting Conditions on a Workflow Trigger](/workflow-automation/setting-conditions-on-a-workflow-trigger.md).

## What happens when it fires

A new job is created from the template, starting at its first stage, linked to the account that matched. From there everything follows the normal [Stages & Outcomes](/workflow/stages-and-outcomes.md) and [Stage Actions](/workflow/stage-actions-and-action-types.md) behaviour — the trigger's only job is deciding *whether and when* to create the job.

## The three ways a workflow can start

| How                  | When to use it                                                                                                           |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Manually**         | Ad-hoc processes — someone clicks **Launch Workflow** on the household ([how](/workflow-automation/launch-workflow.md)). |
| **Workflow Trigger** | Recurring, date-driven processes — reviews, renewals, anniversaries. This page.                                          |
| **From another job** | Chained processes — a **Job** stage action in one workflow kicks off another (e.g. review → advice preparation).         |

## See also

* [Service Mappings and Automation Triggers](/workflow-automation/service-mappings-and-automation-triggers.md) — starting workflows from services sold on an Opportunity
* [Admin & Troubleshooting](/workflow-automation/admin-and-troubleshooting.md) — checking the underlying automation is switched on