Automations
Send a series of emails, text messages, handwritten cards, and more using Levitate Automations!
Levitate Automations
Levitate Users can seamlessly engage with their contacts by setting the perfect flow of calendar reminders and contact touchpoints. An Automation Flow is a series of steps that trigger events on a certain day of the automation.
An Automation Flow can be set and modified for a particular contact. Each step of an Automation Flow can include an event like sending an email, setting an action item, or even adding and removing tags.
Different Automation Types
New Leads Automation
works hand in hand with contacts coming through a Lead Parser
Detects when a Levitate contact donates for the first time, the donation will have to be received and/or dated in the past 24 hours to qualify as a new donor
New Donor Automationhttps://help.levitate.ai/article/422-new-donation-automations
Detects when a new donation is pulled into Levitate, the donation must be received and/or dated in the past fourteen days to qualify as a new donation
65th/72nd/etc. Birthday Automation
Targets by specific birth year and date for outreach around certain insurance and/or financial milestones, and can be configured through a Dashboard Card
Recognizes all birthdates in Levitate, regardless of the year being included, for personalized outreach
Recognizes insurance policy renewal dates for targeting a contact a certain number of days before that date to ensure renewal and give updates
New Policy Automation
Recognizes when a new policy has been added to a contact profile.
Client Review Automation
Recognizes financial account review dates for targeting a contact a certain number of days before that review date for reminders and preparation
Construction Date Automation
Recognizes construction key dates for targeting a contact a certain number of days around that construction date
Send a series of steps, starting with a text message
Tag Triggered Automation
Send a series of steps, kicked off by the addition of a Tag to a contact
Meeting Reminders
Send a series of reminders based on a meeting booked through Levitate
Texting Automationhttps://help.levitate.ai/article/374-event-registration-automations
Send a series of reminders and updates based on a Yes RSVP to an Event Registration survey created through Levitate
Manually Triggered Automation
Send a series of steps to contacts that have been manually chosen through the Contacts page
Starting an Automation
Directly Adding a Contact to an Automation Flow
Click the contacts tab on the main navigation menu
Check the box beside the name(s) of the contact(s) you’d like to add
Click the green Start Automations button in the Contacts menu
From there, you’ll see a popup listing Automations to choose from– when you’ve found the Automation you’d like to kick off choose Select
To check in on the Automation’s progress, you can look directly at the Contact profiles for the recipients or take a look through Automation Reporting
Using Tagging to Start an Automation Flow
Click the Contacts tab on the main navigation menu
Check the box beside the name(s) of the contact(s) you’d like to add
Click on the blue Tag button on the Contacts menu
Select the corresponding Tag
Start the Automation
More details on Automations
Looking for more information on Settings & Logic for Automations?
Timing
Each step can be set to coincide with the actual day that the automation is in progress. Automations can start immediately or a designated time period after it is initiated. Each following step is to be set a designated number of days after the automation is initiated. For certain automations, like Renewals or Turning XX, you can choose to send an email a certain number of days prior to the Key Fact date, like the renewal or birthdate.
Access
Only Admins and Super Admins on an account can create and publish Automations.
Levitate Users, Admins, and Super Admins can enable automations for a contact, and modify the automation for a specific contact once it’s in progress.
The Automation Tab
Active Automations are read and available to be started.
Inactive Automations can only be accessed and edited by Admins and Super Admins.
Sample Automations are created by Levitate, and can be duplicated by Admins and Super Admins.
What kind of steps can be sent or chosen through an Automation?
Send an email– create a new email to send or choose an existing email from the content library
Send an HTML newsletter– choose an existing HTML newsletter
Send a Text– write a text, and add attachments and/or emojis if desired
Create or Update an Opportunity — opportunities can now be created or updated through Automation step. The step in the Automation allows the user to choose the Opportunity board, the stage of the opportunity, and the dollar value for the created or updated opportunity.
Create an action item– create an action item to be assigned to either the creator of the automation, the contact owner of the recipient, or a selected user*
*This is an internal step that will only apply to Levitate users and not be shared with the recipient
Add a tag– add a selected Tag to the recipient
Delete a tag– remove a selected Tag from the recipient
Send a Card– choose an existing Handwritten Card design and add content**
**Make sure to allow enough time for the card to be sent and received, when the Automation step for the card kicks off the card will be sent and it generally takes 7-10 days for the card to be delivered via USPS
Do Nothing– just what it says, best used for segments in which one segment might need an action while another might not, as to not throw off parity with step timing
Segments & Conditional Steps
Read more about adding a Segment or creating Conditional Steps here.
Troubleshooting Automation Triggers: Tags & Dates
If your automation didn’t start when you added a date or tag to a contact, don’t worry — this is one of the most common automation questions. This guide explains how automation triggers work, why they sometimes don’t start right away, and how to fix them.
How Automations Start
Automations in Levitate can be triggered by:
- Dates (birthdays, renewals, anniversaries)
- Tags
- New contacts
- Integrations (forms, donations, CRM updates)
Each trigger behaves differently depending on how Levitate processes the data. The two biggest sources of confusion are date-based triggers and tag-based triggers, so we’ll break those down below.
Date-Based Automations (Birthdays, Renewals, etc.)
How Date Triggers Work
Date-based automations run on a daily processing schedule.
That means:
- Adding or updating a date does not trigger an automation immediately
- Levitate checks for eligible contacts overnight or at scheduled intervals.
- Contacts are added if their date falls in the automation’s time window
Example
Automation: Send email 7 days before birthday
Birthday entered: December 15
- Contact enters automation on December 8
- Email sends on schedule automatically
Why Dates Don’t Trigger Immediately
This delay is intentional:
- Prevents performance issues during bulk imports
- Keeps automation activity organized
- Ensures steps are timed correctly
What To Do If a Date Automation Didn’t Trigger
Check the following:
- Date is entered in the correct field
- Automation is enabled (published)
- Date falls within the trigger window
- Contact meets all automation conditions (additional tags, or other criteria)
- You’ve waited at least 24 hours— If it’s been more than 24–48 hours with no activity, please contact support.
Tag-Based Automations
Important: Tag Automations do not start automatically. Adding a tag to a contact does NOT start an automation automatically by default. This is expected behavior, not a bug.
Why Tag-Based Automations Require Manual Start
Tags are often used for organization and internal cleanup. Manual control:
- Prevents accidental sends
- Allows bulk tagging safely
- Gives you a chance to review before starting
- Avoids triggering hundreds of automations unintentionally
Can Tag Triggers Be Automatic?
Some accounts with specific integrations may have automatic tag triggering enabled.
If you want this enabled, contact support to see what’s available for your account.
Common Issues & Fixes
Q: I added a birthday, but nothing happened.
- Wait 24 hours
- Check if the birthday is within the automation range
- Confirm automation is active
Q: I added a tag, but the automation didn’t start.
- Start the automation manually from the contact or automation screen
- Contact support if you need automatic behavior
Q: My automation started then stopped.
Check if:
- Tag was removed
- Date changed
- Contact unsubscribed
- Conditions were modified
Q: I imported contacts, but nothing triggered.
- Date automations → Wait overnight
- Tag automations → Start manually in bulk
Best Practices
For Date Automations
- Create automation before importing
- Test with one contact first
- Use wide date windows for safety
- Wait 24–48 hours after imports
For Tag Automations
- Document which tags start automations
- Train your team on manual starts
- Use dashboards to monitor
- Use dates if automation must be automatic
Testing Any Automation
- Create test contact
- Add date or tag
- Manually start if tag-based
- Wait for date processing
- Watch the workflow
- Adjust if needed
When to Contact Support
Contact Levitate if:
- You want automatic tag triggers
- Date automations haven’t run after 48 hours
- Integrations aren’t working and triggering automation with tag
- You need help choosing the best trigger type
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can tag automations run automatically?
A: Usually no, but some integrations allow it. Please contact support.
Q: How long after adding a date should the automation start?
A: Within 24 hours.
Q: If I remove a tag, does the automation stop?
A: Not usually — you would need to manually cancel the automation for that contact.
Q: Can one contact be in multiple automations?
A: Yes! Each automation runs independently.