Automations rely on complete data to run correctly. When required information is missing, or a trigger date has already passed, an automation may run only partially - or not at all. This article explains the warnings you may see, the cases where an automation silently skips execution, how partially-run automations behave, and why an applied automation is independent of its template.
Warnings Inside the Automation Editor
Warnings appear inside the automation editor after an automation has been applied to a trip or contact. They do not surface on the trip or contact page itself - you only see them when you open the automation directly.
When one or more conditions are unmet, a yellow warning banner appears at the top of the editor listing each issue. Each warning has a bold title and a short explanation, and multiple warnings stack within the same banner.
The warning banner on a Trip Starts automation, showing four stacked warnings: a deactivate-to-edit notice, no email address on the primary contact, no client added to the trip, and no upcoming trigger date.
A Birthday automation with a Missing Birthday warning. The contact has no birthday on file, so the automation cannot determine when to fire.
Warning Types
The warnings you may encounter, and what each one means:
No email address - The primary contact on the trip, or the contact the automation is applied to, has no email address on their profile, so any email actions will not send. Open the contact's profile and add an email address.
No client on trip - No traveler has been added to the trip, and the automation needs a client associated with the trip in order to run. Add a traveler from the Travelers tab inside the trip.
No upcoming trigger date - The trigger relies on a date that hasn't been set or confirmed. Trip Starts needs an approved proposal option with a start date; Trip Ends needs an end date; Payment Due Date needs a payment due date configured. Add or confirm the relevant date to resolve it.
Missing date field (Birthday / Anniversary / Passport Expiration) - The relevant date isn't saved on the contact's profile, so TripLoft can't calculate when the trigger fires or when before/after actions should run. Open the contact's profile and add the missing date.
Note: Warnings don't block an automation from being applied. They're informational notices inside the editor, and the automation will simply skip any actions it can't complete due to missing data. |
When the Trigger Has Already Passed
If you apply an automation after its trigger date has already passed, TripLoft applies it without any warning. The automation appears in the trip or contact's automation list as applied and active, but it stays dormant and won't run - and nothing in the UI indicates this has happened.
This most commonly affects date-based triggers. For example, if you apply a Trip Starts automation to a trip whose departure was yesterday, none of its actions will run - neither the Before nor the immediately-After steps.
Note: Recurring date triggers like Birthday and Anniversary can behave differently, since the date comes around again each year. If you're applying a Birthday or Anniversary automation close to or just after the date, open it and verify it shows an upcoming trigger date before relying on it. |
Partial Execution: When Some Actions Have Already Fired
If an automation is already running and some of its actions have fired, TripLoft does not re-run the completed ones. Only the steps that are still pending continue to execute.
The same applies when a key date changes mid-run. If a trip's start date moves, any steps that haven't fired yet are realigned to the new date, while anything already sent or completed is left as-is and never repeated.
For example:
An automation has a "3 days before Trip Starts" email and an "immediately after Trip Starts" email.
The trip is set to start on May 10, so the 3-day-before email fires on May 7.
The trip start date is then moved to May 15.
The "immediately after" email now fires on May 15, and the May 7 email is not resent.
Note: The Activity Log records when an automation was applied to a trip or contact, but there is currently no per-action status view showing which individual steps have fired, which are pending, and which were skipped. See Using Activity Logs. |
Applied Automations Are Independent of the Template
Once an automation is applied to a trip or contact, it becomes its own independent copy and is no longer linked to the template it came from. This means:
Changes to the template don't affect automations that have already been applied.
Edits to an applied automation don't affect the template or any other applied instances.
To update behavior for all future applications, edit the template itself.
To adjust something for one specific trip or contact, edit that applied automation directly.
Conclusion
Most automation issues come down to missing data or timing. Check the editor for warnings after applying an automation, make sure the required dates and contact details are in place, and remember that applying an automation creates an independent copy - so template edits and applied-instance edits never affect each other.