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Automation

Automation lets the ProfitSystem do things such as send emails and SMS messages automatically when prospects are created, when new events are registered, when appointments are booked, etc. There are 20+ possible triggers, and for each trigger it can send an email, an SMS, or create a Todo. It's used to increase prospect engagement, and drive more and bigger sales from existing customers.

To use automation, a Trigger is created, and when the trigger happens then one or more Actions occur. An unlimited number of triggers can be created and each trigger can have any number of actions.

A trigger can have conditions. For example, a Trigger for 'New Event' can have a condition for 'Wedding' type events. The trigger will only occur on new weddings, and not on new proms or social events.

The Action is what happens, such as 'Send an email via Mandrill' or 'Create a todo'

For example: A trigger might be 'A new event is saved', and the action is 'Send email using the ProfitSystem after 0 days, send it to the Bride and Groom, and send email 'Welcome new event''

When a new event is entered and the Save button is pressed, the automation system will check if a trigger for 'A new event is saved' has been set up. If so, it will then process all of the actions for that trigger. In this case, there is one action. The ProfitSystem will create a CM queue entry to send the email called 'Welcome new event'' to the email addresses on file for the bride and groom.

The ProfitSystem doesn't actually send the email or SMS itself, it uses the CM program. The CM program does the work of merging and sending the message. This way, the ProfitSystem doesn't have to stop and make the user wait while it actually sends the email.

The CM program is the Communications Manager program, it should be running all the time on one and only one computer.

An unlimited number of actions can be created and each trigger can have any number of actions.

Getting started if you are using Mandrill to send emails:

  1. Log into your Mandrill account.
  2. Click Settings on the menu, and under API Keys, click New API Key.
  3. For the API Key Description, type ProfitSystem. Click Create API Key.
  4. Double-click on the Key to highlight it, then type Control-C to copy it.
  5. In the ProfitSystem go to Setup->General Setup->Stores->Internet Tab OR Housekeeping->General Setup->Stores->Internet Tab. In the Mandrill API key field, type Control-V to paste the key in. Click Save and Done.
  6. Restart the program.
  7. Set up your email templates on Mandrill, either by creating them directly or exporting them from Mailchimp into Mandrill.

Getting started if you are using the ProfitSystem to send emails:

  1. Make sure your SMTP server it set up. In the ProfitSystem go to Housekeeping->General Setup->Stores->Internet Tab. Or Setup->General Setup->Stores->Internet Tab. Make sure the SMTP details are set up under Email.
  2. Set up an HTML email or SMS letter for each automation workflow using Letters, Tags, and Mailing Labels.

Next, set up the Triggers and Actions:

  1. Go to Setup->Automation or Housekeeping->Automation Triggers/Actions.
  2. Click Add and set up the Automation Trigger. Add at least one Action for the Trigger.