Automations and Workflows (Manual-Review Safety Mode)

Automations let StretchCRM react to changes in your data — like a new lead arriving — by preparing follow‑up actions. Crucially, StretchCRM's automations run in a manual‑review safety mode: they queue and suggest actions rather than firing them autonomously, so a human always stays in the loop.

What an automation is

An automation is a saved workflow with three parts:

• A trigger — the event that starts it, such as contact created.
• A set of steps — the actions it prepares, such as create a task or queue an email draft.
• A safety mode — which, by default, is manual review.
• A status — draft or active.

For example, StretchCRM includes a starter automation called "Lead follow‑up review workflow." Its trigger is contact created, and its steps are create a task ("Review new lead") and queue an email draft ("Prepare first response"). When a new contact appears, the workflow prepares those actions for a person to review and approve.

Why manual‑review mode matters

StretchCRM is governed by default. Automations are deliberately built so they do not silently change your data or send messages on their own. Instead, in manual‑review mode they:

• Prepare the action (e.g., draft the task or email).
• Surface it for a human to review.
• Act only after a person confirms.

This gives you the speed of automation — nothing is forgotten, drafts are ready instantly — without the risk of an unattended workflow emailing the wrong person or overwriting a record. It's the same philosophy behind StretchCRM's intelligence features: help is additive and reviewed, never autonomous.

Viewing your automations

Open the Automations view to see the workflows configured for your organization, along with their trigger type, status, and safety mode. Draft automations are defined but not yet running; active automations are watching for their trigger and queuing actions for review.

A worked example

Imagine you want every new lead handled consistently:

1. You have an automation "Lead follow‑up review workflow" with trigger contact created.
2. Its steps queue a task ("Review new lead") and prepare an email draft ("Prepare first response").
3. When Miles Carter is added as a new contact, the workflow prepares those two actions.
4. A rep reviews the queued task and the draft, tweaks the message, and approves — turning a cold new record into an owned, actioned lead in seconds, with a human's judgment on the outbound message.

Tips

• Start in draft. Define and review an automation before making it active, so you understand exactly what it will prepare.
• Keep steps focused. A workflow that creates one clear task and one draft is easier to trust and review than one that fans out many actions.
• Lean on manual review. For anything customer‑facing, the review step is a feature, not a delay — it's your last chance to catch a mistake before it reaches a customer.
• Pair automations with sequences. An automation can prepare the first task, and a sequence can structure the multi‑day follow‑up that comes after.

FAQ

Will an automation email my customers without me knowing? No. In manual‑review safety mode, automations prepare drafts and queue actions for a person to approve; they do not send autonomously.

Can I make an automation fully automatic? StretchCRM's current design keeps automations in a human‑reviewed posture by default. This governed approach is intentional — it protects your data and your customer relationships.

What triggers are available? Triggers are based on record events such as a contact being created. The starter workflow uses contact created; your available triggers reflect how your organization's automations are configured.