Workflow timing and recipients

Each workflow action runs at a set amount of time after the event is scheduled, or before or after the event starts or ends. Email actions go to the people you pick in the To field: All attendees, the Organizer, the Scheduler, Guests, and up to 4 extra email addresses. SavvyCal schedules a workflow's actions when an event is confirmed, moves them when the event is rescheduled, and cancels them when the event is canceled.

When can a workflow action run?

When you add an action, When should we perform this? offers five options:

• After event scheduled
• Before start of event
• After start of event
• Before end of event
• After end of event

Then set How long after? (or How long before?) as a number of minutes, hours, or days, up to 10,000. Use 0 to run the action right at that moment, for example 0 minutes after the event is scheduled.

In the workflow editor, actions appear on a timeline under Scheduled, Start of event, and End of event, with their timing written out, such as "1 day before event starts." You can put more than one action at the same time.

Besides emails, an action can trigger a zap or send a webhook. See Triggering zaps and webhooks from workflows.

Workflows don't have a trigger for cancellations or reschedules. To act on those, use the canceled and rescheduled event triggers in Zapier.

How do I change when an action runs?

Click the pencil icon next to the action's timing. In Edit action timing, you can change the amount and the unit (minutes, hours, or days).

You can't switch between before and after, or between the scheduled, start, and end moments, from there. To do that, add a new action with the timing you want and delete the old one.

Who can receive a workflow email?

Choose recipients in the email's To field:

You can also type up to 4 extra email addresses under Add an email address.... They get the same email the organizer would, with times in the organizer's time zone. If you choose No attendees and don't add an address, the field shows a warning: "No one is set to receive this email."

A few more details:

• Who's on the event when the email goes out. SavvyCal looks up the attendees when each email is sent, so someone added to the event after booking gets later emails, and someone removed doesn't.
• Where the organizer's copy goes. The organizer's email follows the Send notifications to... setting. See Configuring booking notifications.
• Time zones. Each recipient sees times in their own time zone. See What time zone are emails and reminders in?
• The sender. The From field controls the address the email comes from. See Sending emails from custom addresses.
• Empty emails. An email with a blank subject or body isn't sent.

To personalize the subject and body, see Inserting dynamic content in workflows.

How do workflows work on group events?

On a group event, actions set to run after the event is scheduled go only to the person who just booked and the organizer, even if To is set to All attendees. Each time someone new joins, those actions run again for that person and the organizer, so earlier attendees don't get repeat emails.

Actions timed around the start or end of the event go to everyone on the event when the action runs. Someone who joins after a reminder went out doesn't get that reminder.

When does a workflow start for a new booking?

When the event is confirmed:

• Instant bookings start right away.
• Events that need approval start when you approve them. A declined event never runs the workflow. See Require approval for new events.
• Paid events start when the payment goes through. See Collecting payments with Stripe.

Actions set to run after the event is scheduled count from that moment. For an event that needed approval, that's when you approved it, not when it was booked.

SavvyCal uses the active workflows attached to the event's link at the moment the event is confirmed.

What if a meeting is booked too close to an action's time?

If an action's time has already passed when the event is booked, SavvyCal sends it right away, as long as it's less than an hour late. An action that's an hour or more late is skipped.

For example, on a meeting booked 2 hours ahead:

• A reminder set for 1 day before the event starts would have gone out 22 hours ago, so it's skipped.
• A reminder set for 3 hours before the event starts is an hour late, so it's skipped.
• A reminder set for 2 hours before the event starts goes out right away.

On a meeting booked 30 minutes ahead, a reminder set for 1 hour before the event starts is 30 minutes late, so it goes out right away.

What happens when an event is rescheduled?

Actions timed around the start or end of the event move to the new time, and actions set to run after the event is scheduled don't run again. See What happens to workflow reminders when an event moves.

The moved actions use the workflow's current timing, so timing changes you've made since the booking apply. Actions you've added since the booking that are timed around the event are scheduled too.

While an event is Awaiting Reschedule, workflow emails that come due aren't sent. Once a new time is picked, the actions timed around the event are scheduled again for the new time.

What happens when an event is canceled or reassigned?

• Canceled. SavvyCal cancels every action that hasn't run yet. Nothing else from the workflow runs for that event.
• Reassigned. Reassigning an event cancels the original event and creates a new one. The original event's pending actions are canceled, and the link's workflows start over on the new event. That includes actions set to run after the event is scheduled, so a confirmation email from a workflow goes out again.

Do changes to a workflow affect meetings that are already booked?

Some do:

• Email content. Changes to an email's To, From, subject, or body apply to emails that haven't gone out yet. SavvyCal reads the email when it's time to send it.
• Timing. Changing an action's timing doesn't move actions already scheduled for booked events. The new timing applies to new bookings, and to booked events when they're rescheduled.
• New actions. Actions you add apply to new bookings. Booked events only get them if they're rescheduled, and then only the actions timed around the start or end of the event.
• Deleted actions. Deleting an action cancels it for every booked event.
• Pausing. Click the Active toggle at the top of the editor to pause a workflow. Actions that come due while it's paused are canceled, and they don't come back when you turn it on again. Events booked while it's paused don't get the workflow at all.
• Deleting the workflow. Every action that hasn't run yet is canceled.

What happens when I detach a workflow from a link?

New bookings on that link no longer use the workflow. Events already booked on the link keep it: their scheduled actions still run, and they still move if the event is rescheduled.

To stop actions for events that are already booked, pause or delete the workflow, or delete the action. Those changes apply to every link the workflow is attached to.

Moving a workflow to a different person or team detaches it from all of its links, with the same effect.

How do team workflows differ from personal ones?

Each workflow belongs to one person or team, set under Which person or team does this belong to? in the editor. A team's workflows can only be attached to that team's links, and your personal workflows only to your personal links.

Team owners and admins can create and edit a team's workflows, and so can organization owners and admins. Anyone who can edit a team link can attach or detach the team's workflows on it, under the link's Automation section. Members who can't edit a workflow see a lock icon next to it. See Team and organization roles.

Do workflows run on the Free plan?

No. You can create workflows on any plan, but they only run on Basic and Premium. On the Free plan, an active workflow's editor shows "Heads up! Workflows will not actually run until you upgrade to a paid account." See Plans and pricing.

If a subscription ends, actions that haven't run yet are canceled when they come due.

Can I see which workflow emails were sent?

SavvyCal doesn't keep a log of sent workflow emails that you can view. To get your own copy of each one, send it to All attendees or the Organizer, or add your address as an extra recipient.