Automations

Overview

The Automations area is the central place to manage every automated communication within Admissions+. It brings together communications that have been automated by your own staff, default system-generated communications, and one-off scheduled messages.

Examples of communications that surface in Automations include:

• Welcome emails when an application is submitted.
• Offer emails.
• Other built-in admissions communications.
• Any Enhanced templates that staff have configured with a trigger.

Why this was built

Previously, automated communications were managed inside individual templates, which made it hard to get a single view of "what fires when". The new Automations area gives schools one place to:

• See every automation that is live.
• Tell the difference between automations the school created and those provided by default.
• Understand the trigger and the resulting message at a glance.
• Plan more advanced communication journeys.

Where to find it

Automations is available as a new area within Communications, alongside Inbox, Templates, Campaigns, and Settings.

The three categories of automation

Automations are grouped into three categories:

Reading the Automations table

The Automations table gives you a clear overview of each automation. For every row you can see:

• Communication type — Email, SMS, or Notification.
• Trigger — what causes the communication to fire (e.g. an application form being submitted).
• Status — whether the automation is active.
• Delivery numbers — volume figures so you can see how often the automation is firing.

The visual automation journey

One of the biggest differences in this area is what happens when you actually open an automation. Instead of simply opening the underlying template, you’re shown a visual automation journey.

For example, opening the default Welcome Email automation might show:

1. Trigger: an application form is submitted.
2. Action: the Welcome Email is sent.

This visual layout makes it much easier to see, at a glance, how a piece of automation fits into the wider admissions journey.

How Automations relates to Templates

Automations and Templates work together:

• You build the content and configure the trigger in the Templates area (for Enhanced templates).
• Once saved, the resulting automation appears in the Automations area under Custom Automations.
• Default automations provided by Applicaa appear under System Automations.
• One-off communications scheduled for a future date appear under Scheduled Messages.

So Templates is where you author and configure; Automations is where you manage and monitor.

Working with automations

Reviewing what’s live

Use Automations as a regular check-in to confirm what is currently firing across your school. Look at:

• Custom Automations to see what your team has set up.
• System Automations to remind yourself which default communications are in play.
• Scheduled Messages to see what is queued to go out.

Diagnosing issues

If a parent or applicant reports they didn’t receive a communication they expected, the Automations table is a useful first stop. You can check whether the automation is active, what its trigger is, and how many recipients have been delivered to recently.

Planning ahead

Because all automations are visible in one place, it’s easier to spot gaps in your communication journey — for example, if there is no automated follow-up after a particular trigger — and to plan new templates accordingly.

Frequently asked questions

Can I edit a System Automation?

System Automations are the default communications provided by Applicaa and are designed to ensure key admissions communications go out reliably. Only the content of the template can be edited for system automations, but not the workflow/trigger event.

How do I create a new automation?

Create an Enhanced template in the Templates area, configure an Applicant Trigger, Staff Trigger, or Scheduled Send, and save it. It will then appear in the Automations area under the appropriate category.

What’s the difference between a Scheduled Message and an Enhanced template?

A Scheduled Message is configured to send at a specific date and time and appears under Scheduled Messages. An Enhanced template with an applicant or staff trigger fires whenever the trigger occurs and appears under Custom Automations.

Why open an automation if it just shows me the same template?

It doesn’t — opening an automation now shows the visual automation journey (trigger → action), giving you a clearer view of how the automation behaves rather than just the underlying content.

When will I be able to design multi-step journeys here?

The full workflow builder is still being developed. It is intended to let staff design richer, multi-step automation journeys directly inside this view and will be released progressively.

A note from us

We hope you find this guide useful as you get familiar with the new Automations area. Bringing every automated communication into a single, visual view is just the start — there’s lots more coming with the workflow builder, and we’re excited to keep evolving this feature with you.

If you have questions, feedback, or ideas for the kinds of automation journeys you’d like to build, please get in touch with your Applicaa contact. We always love hearing from the schools and colleges we work with.