Work Order Automations help streamline repetitive tasks by automatically taking action when specific conditions are met. This article explains how Automations work, how to create them, and what to expect when multiple Automations apply.
What Are Automations?
Automations are "when this happens, then do that" rules for Work Orders. You select a trigger, optionally narrow it down with filters, and choose an action.
For example, you can automatically assign every Plumbing Work Order to your on-site plumber as soon as it is created.
Automations help reduce manual work, ensure Work Orders are handled consistently, and prevent requests from being overlooked.
Before You Begin
Before creating an Automation, keep the following requirements and limitations in mind:
Automations are configured per property. You must have permission for the specific property where the Automation will be created.
Global Admins can manage Automations on any property.
Property Admins can manage Automations within their own properties.
Managers can manage Automations only if they have the 'Manage Automations' permission enabled.
The Automation tab is available on desktop only and is not accessible from the mobile app.
Automations apply only to Work Orders created after the Automation is saved. Existing Work Orders are not affected.
Create an Automation
Follow the steps below to create an Automation that automatically performs actions when qualifying Work Orders are created or updated.
Navigate to Operations → Work Orders.
Select the Automation tab.
Click Add Automation.
Select a Trigger (When).
For time-based triggers, enter a delay period and choose Minutes, Hours, or Days.
Minimum value: 1
Optionally select Office Hours Only.
(Optional) Add one or more filters.
Select an Action (Then).
If using an assignment or notification action, select the applicable user(s).
Click Submit to save the Automation.
The Automation will immediately begin applying to newly created Work Orders.
Triggers And Actions
Every Automation consists of a trigger (When) and an action (Then). The trigger determines when the Automation runs, while the action determines what happens next.
Trigger (When) | Fires When | Available Actions (Then) |
New Work Order | A Work Order is created | Set Due Date, Set Priority, Assign Users, Notify Users |
Not Seen | None of the assigned users have opened the Work Order after the configured delay | Notify Users |
Not Responded | The Work Order remains Open after the configured delay | Notify Users |
Not Completed | The Work Order has not been Completed or Canceled after the configured delay | Notify Users |
Duplicate Detected | Visitt AI detects a likely duplicate Work Order | Notify Users |
Work Order Completed | A Work Order is marked Completed | Create Follow-Up Work Order |
📌 Important Notes:
Duplicate Detected is available only on accounts with Visitt AI enabled.
Work Order Completed is available only on some accounts.
If SLAs are enabled, Set Due Date and the three time-based triggers are unavailable. See Automations and SLAs below for additional details.
Filters
Filters allow you to narrow an Automation so it applies only to specific Work Orders.
Available filters include:
Priority: Low, Medium, High, or Critical (multiple selections allowed)
Building: One or more buildings within the property
Category: One or more categories
Sub-Category: Available only when a single category is selected
📌 Note: All filters are optional. Leaving a filter blank causes the Automation to match any value for that field.
Follow-Up Work Orders
When a Work Order is marked Completed, an Automation can automatically create a follow-up Work Order.
If a template is selected, the new Work Order uses that template.
If no template is selected, the follow-up Work Order automatically copies the original Work Order's:
Description
Category
Sub-Category
Checklist Items
Building
The follow-up Work Order is created as a new record and does not inherit the original Work Order's status or history.
📌 Note: A follow-up Work Order can only be created once for each original Work Order.
Understanding How Automations Work
The sections below explain how Visitt processes Automations when multiple rules apply.
When Multiple Automations Match
If multiple Automations match the same Work Order, Visitt assigns a score to each Automation based on its level of specificity.
Each filter contributes to the score:
Priority (highest weight)
Building
Category
Sub-Category
Because Priority carries the most weight, an Automation filtered only by Priority may take precedence over another Automation filtered only by Sub-Category.
Priority, Due Date, and Assignment are evaluated independently. This means a Work Order's Priority, Due Date, and Assignee may each come from different Automations.
Existing Values Are Never Overwritten
Automations do not overwrite values that already exist on a Work Order.
If a Work Order already has:
A Priority
A Due Date
An Assignee
the Automation will skip that field and leave the existing value unchanged.
📌 Note: Notification actions never modify assignments.
Timing
Automations execute at different times depending on their action.
Set Due Date, Set Priority, and Assign Users run immediately when the Work Order is created.
Notifications and Follow-Up Work Orders are processed in the background and may experience a short delay.
Before a time-based Automation executes, Visitt rechecks the Work Order. If the Work Order has already been seen, responded to, or completed, the Automation is skipped.
Recurring Work Orders
Work Orders generated from recurring schedules are processed by Automations the same way as manually created Work Orders.
If the recurring schedule already provides:
A Due Date
A Priority
An Assignee
then Automations for those fields are skipped.
📌 Note: Time-based Automations continue to function normally.
Limits and Duplicate Automations
Keep the following limitations in mind:
Two Automations cannot have the same action and identical conditions.
Each property can contain up to 100 time-based Automations (Not Seen, Not Responded, and Not Completed).
When the limit is reached, the following message appears: "You reached the limit of 100 Automations with time."
If additional Automations are required, contact Visitt Support.
📌 Note: When a user is removed from a property, they are automatically removed from all Automations belonging to that property.
Default Automations
Every newly created property includes two default Automations.
🟢 Default Due Date
A default Due Date Automation is created automatically and may be edited or deleted.
🟢 Default Assign Users
A default assignment Automation is created automatically and assigns users to Work Orders that do not match a more specific Automation.
This Automation can be edited, but it cannot be deleted. Attempting to remove it will display: "This Automation is non-removable."
Example Automation
The example below automatically assigns all Critical Electrical Work Orders at Grand Plaza to the head electrician.
Configuration
When: New Work Order
Priority: Critical
Building: Grand Plaza
Category: Electrical
Then: Assign Users
User: John Doe (Head Electrician)
Result
As soon as a Critical Electrical Work Order is created at Grand Plaza, John Doe is automatically assigned, provided the Work Order does not already have an assigned user.
Automations and SLAs
If your account uses SLAs, configured under Global Settings → Work Orders → SLAs, SLA rules take precedence over due-date and time-based Automation workflows.
The Automations page will display the following message:
"Due date and escalation automations are disabled because the SLA feature is enabled for this account. These automations will not run, but they are preserved in case the SLA feature is disabled in the future."
When SLAs are enabled:
Due Date and time-based Automations display a Disabled label.
Disabled Automations cannot be edited and display an explanation instead of the standard edit form.
Disabled Automations cannot be deleted while SLAs remain enabled.
Existing disabled Automations are preserved and resume functioning if SLAs are later disabled.
New Due Date and time-based Automations cannot be created.
The legacy Time to Handle Work Order SLA option is replaced by SLA Rules.
For information about configuring SLA Rules, see Configure SLA Rules.
Edit an Automation
Existing Automations can be updated at any time. Changes apply only to Work Orders created after the Automation is saved.
Open the Automation tab.
Select the Automation you want to modify.
Update the trigger, filters, action, or assigned users.
Click Submit.
📌 Note: The updated settings will apply to future Work Orders only.
FAQ
Why didn't my Automation change an existing Work Order?
Automations apply only to Work Orders created after the Automation is saved. Existing Work Orders are not updated.
Why didn't my Automation assign anyone?
Automations never overwrite existing values. If the Work Order already had assigned users, the assignment action is skipped.
A higher-priority Automation may also have been applied.
Why did a Priority-only Automation win over a Sub-Category Automation?
Priority carries the highest weighting when Automations are scored, so it can take precedence over a Sub-Category-only rule.
Can I choose a Sub-Category when multiple Categories are selected?
No. Sub-Categories are available only when a single Category is selected.
Why can't I save my Automation?
This can happen if:
An Automation with identical conditions already exists.
The property has reached the limit of 100 time-based Automations.
Contact Visitt Support if you need the limit increased.
Why are some Automations grayed out?
Your account has SLAs enabled. Due Date and time-based Automations are disabled while SLA Rules are active.
Can I delete the default Assign Users Automation?
No. The default Assign Users Automation can be edited, but it cannot be deleted.
The default Due Date Automation can be deleted.
Work Order Automations help reduce manual work and ensure requests are handled consistently across your properties. If you have additional questions, our Support Team is always happy to help. 😊