Automations

Put the routine on rules, keep the nudge one click away

Most of what happens after a request comes in is the same every time. Someone picks it up, the status moves, and the client hears "got it" along with the form you always end up sending. Zendo runs those steps on its own, set once for each request type, and when a client goes quiet, the nudge is a single click instead of another email to write.

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Rules per request type

Teach each request type its routine

A change request and a monthly review don't begin the same way. One needs your account lead and a few details from the client; the other needs your project manager and nothing from the client at all. Every request type in Zendo carries its own rules, so when a new Change request arrives, it is already set to Queued and the kick-off form is on its way before anyone has opened the inbox.

See how request types work

Start every request the same way

When a new request comes in, set its status and send the client what you'd otherwise send by hand: a short welcome message and the intake form that collects the details. Your account lead opens a request that already has the details attached, instead of a one-line email that says "small tweak to what we discussed".

Tell the client who's on it

The moment someone on your team is assigned, the client can get a message saying so. It's a small courtesy, but "Priya Nair is on your request" answers the question clients otherwise ask by email on day two.

See automations

Ask for feedback at the right status

Statuses are yours to name, and a rule can watch them. When a request moves to In review, send the client a message with your two-minute feedback guide attached, so they know exactly how you'd like comments on the work.

Close the loop when it's done

When a request moves to Completed, send a handover note and a short feedback form. The client gets a proper ending instead of silence, and the answers land in Forms rather than scattered across replies.

Everything a rule can do

Everything a rule can do
When this happens	Zendo can
A new request comes in	Change the status
Someone on your team is assigned	Send the client a message, with attachments
The status changes	Send the client an intake form
The request becomes Active or Completed
The request is archived

Assignment

Give every request an owner on arrival

In plenty of service firms, Monday starts with someone reading the weekend's requests and deciding who takes what. Assignment rules make that call as each request arrives, set per request type and matched to clients. So a new Change request from Northwind Retail goes straight to Priya, who has run that account for two years, and one from Halden & Co lands with Sam.

The right person, picked by request type and client

Inside each request type, match the people on your team to the clients they look after. Because "operator assigned" is also a trigger, the assignment can set off a rule of its own, like the message that tells the client who's on it.

Watch one request set off the whole routine

A new Change request from Northwind Retail arrives at 8:40 on a Monday. The assignment rule hands it to Priya, the first rule sets it to Queued and sends the welcome note with the kick-off form, and because "operator assigned" is a trigger too, a second rule tells Dana who's on it. Every step lands in the request's thread, so anyone opening it later sees what ran and when. Before you switch rules on, the request type editor can show the same sequence as a timeline.

See Flow Preview on the requests page

When a client goes quiet

Chase with one click, not a fresh email

The quote went out on Tuesday, and on Friday it still hasn't been approved. A rule can't tell a client who's weighing it up from one who forgot, so Zendo doesn't send reminders on a timer behind your back. Instead, everything waiting on a client sits under Waiting for client on your dashboard, and the quote itself shows when it was sent, with a Remind client button that opens a message to the client, ready to send.

Your dashboard

Everything that's waiting on clients, in one list you can check over the first coffee.

The quote

See how long it has been waiting, and send the reminder from right there.

Notifications

Decide who hears about what, and where

Your project manager wants to know the minute a client replies, and she can live without an email for every invoice that goes out. Your client wants to hear when their request moves, not every time your team leaves an internal note. So Zendo sets notifications per event and per channel, with one set of defaults for your team and another for your clients.

Two sets of defaults, three channels

For every event, choose in-app, browser or email, separately for your team and for your clients, and each person can still change their own. So your project manager hears about new requests, mentions and messages wherever she is, while clients hear about what's waiting on them, like a quote to approve or a form you've shared.

A log of what went out

When a client says the email never arrived, check instead of guessing. Settings › Notifications keeps a delivery log of what was sent and a list of what's still waiting to send.

And the finer settings

Each person tunes their own

Defaults are a starting point, not a rule. The founder who wants every new message by email can turn it on, and the account lead drowning in status changes can switch them off, without touching anyone else's settings.

Client teams hear about their own changes

When a client's colleague is invited, added or removed, or the team gets a new owner, the people involved hear about it. Those events have their own group in the client defaults, so you choose how loudly they arrive.

Automated messages under your name

Messages sent by your rules post as your system bot, with the name and avatar you set once for the workspace. The client reads them in the same thread as your team's replies, under your company's name.

Announcements and banners for every client

Beyond the built-in rules

Hand the next tool its part through Zapier

Built-in rules look after what happens inside a request: the status, the message, the form. When the next step lives in another tool, such as the task list your operations team works from, a Zap picks up where the rule stops.

Set up a new task with filled details

The usual first one sends every new request to that task list, so people who never open the portal still see the work arrive, with the client and the request type already filled in. Zapier can also create clients in Zendo, and the integrations page shows what else it covers.

Your Questions Answered

Forms questions

What can trigger an automation in Zendo?

Five events, set per request type: a new request comes in, someone on your team is assigned, the request's status changes, the request becomes Active or Completed, and the request is archived. Each request type has its own rules.

What can an automation do?

Change the request's status, send the client a message (with attachments if you add them) and send the client an intake form. Who gets assigned to a new request is handled by assignment rules, which match your team to clients inside each request type.

Can Zendo remind clients automatically?

No. Zendo doesn't send reminders on a timer. Everything waiting on a client is listed under Waiting for client on your dashboard, and on a quote or invoice that's waiting, Remind client opens a message to the client, ready to send.

Can a payment trigger an automation?

No, rules react to what happens on a request, not to payments. What follows an approved quote or a purchase is set in the quote and the service, and when a purchase opens a request, that request type's rules run as usual

How do clients get notified?

In the portal, in their browser and by email. You set default notifications per event for your clients and, separately, for your team, and each person can adjust their own, so everyone hears about what concerns them.

Do clients see that a message was automated?

They see it came from your system bot rather than from a person on your team. Messages sent by your rules appear in the request thread under the bot name and avatar you set for the workspace, next to your team's replies.

Can I connect Zendo to other tools?

Yes, through Zapier: for example, send each new request to the task list your team uses, or create clients in Zendo from another app

Hand over the routine, keep the nudge

Write the rules for your busiest request type, decide who hears about what, and see how much of the week is left for the work itself.

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