Automated Notes

Automated notes write a consistent note on a service when something happens, such as a status change, and can ask the person making the change a few questions first. They replace one-off status questionnaires with rules that are managed in one place.

What they do

When a rule matches, Cloudflow can:

Ask the person making the change to answer the rule's questions before it goes through.
Build the note text from your template, using the answers and details from the service.
Add the note to the service, as a service note (or a charge note for charge rules).
Optionally email a copy to the customer, assigned technicians, additional contacts or custom addresses.

The note is built and saved by Cloudflow itself, so the web app and the mobile app behave the same way. If a change fails, no note is left behind.

What can start a rule

Rules can run when a service:

changes status
has a schedule added or updated
has a technician or crew assigned or removed
has a customer added or removed
has a charge added or removed
has an invoice created or deleted
has a file added or removed

Managing rules

Open Automations. Automated note rules are listed alongside your other automations and are marked as notes. You need the automated note management permission to create or edit them. Each rule has:

Rule name and an optional description for other administrators.
Scope: limit the rule to certain statuses, service types or parent customers. Leave a scope empty to match all.
Questions: yes/no, short answer, single choice or multiple choice. Choice lists can include an "Other" option or be filled from the service's assigned technicians or additional contacts. Each question can be required.
Conditional visibility: show a question only when an earlier answer is a given value, so people only see what applies.
Note template: the text of the note, with fields from the service and answers from the questions inserted. A live example note shows how it will look.
Note type and recipients, including whether to send a copy by email.

You can turn a rule on or off at any time. Changing a rule affects future changes only.

Conditional text in notes

Use conditional blocks so a sentence only appears when it applies. Wrap the text in {{#if answers.question}} and {{/if}}. You can also compare an answer, for example {{#if answers.question equals value}} or includes for multiple choice. If a block is malformed, the editor reports an error before you can save.

What people see

When someone changes a status or makes another covered change, Cloudflow checks the rules first. If a rule has questions, a form appears. If you change rule settings while someone has the form open, they are asked to refresh and review the updated questions. Changes made automatically (for example by an integration or an automation) never wait on questions. If a rule needs an answer nobody can give, the note is skipped and the reason is recorded instead of saving a partial note.

History and troubleshooting

Open Execution history under Automations to see each note run with its status: Queued, Processing, Success, Failed or Skipped. Failed runs show the reason and can be retried with Retry note execution. If a field in your template had no value on the service, the note is not created and the history says which field was missing.

Tips

Keep questions short and make only essential ones required.
Check the example note before enabling a rule.
Use one rule per status or event rather than long templates with many conditions.
Automated notes can also be a step inside an automation workflow. See the Automations page.