Automations with wait (delay) and time-based scheduling
Add a "Wait" step to your automations to pause the flow and resume it after N minutes/hours/days, or until a field's date. Perfect for nurturing, onboarding journeys, follow-ups and timely billing.
The "Wait" step makes an automation PAUSE and continue later. Instead of running every action at once when the rule fires, you insert a wait in the middle of the flow: the CRM stores the remaining steps and resumes them on its own when the time is up. This is what lets nurturing, onboarding journeys, follow-ups and renewal/billing reminders happen at the right pace.
How it works
- When the rule fires, the CRM runs the actions UP TO the "Wait" step as usual.
- On reaching "Wait", it computes the resume time, saves the remaining steps and STOPS there (without holding up the record save).
- A periodic process (every scheduler run) checks the flows whose time has come and RESUMES each one from the exact point where it paused.
- If there is another "Wait" further down, the cycle repeats: the flow pauses again and reschedules the next resume.
Configure a wait
- Open Settings → Automations and edit (or create) a rule.
- Add an action and choose the type "Wait (schedule by time)".
- Choose "Wait a while" and set the amount and unit (minutes, hours or days), for example 2 days.
- Or choose "Until a field's date" and pick a date field of the record (e.g. Renewal date); the flow resumes on that date.
- Place AFTER the "Wait" the actions that should happen in the future (send email, create task, notify, set a field, advance stage, etc.). Save.
Example: Onboarding: When a customer is created → send welcome email → Wait 3 days → create task "Call the new customer" → Wait 7 days → send usage-tips email.
Example: Renewal: When the contract becomes "active" → Wait until the "Renewal date" field → notify the owner and create the renewal task.
Important details
- "Until a field's date": if the field is empty or the date has already passed, the flow resumes on the next scheduler run (it never gets stuck).
- Resume uses the MOST RECENT state of the record, so changes made during the wait are respected.
- Several "Wait" steps in the same rule form a sequence/cadence: each one reschedules the next.
- It is safe for daily use: if an automation fails on resume, it retries with progressive backoff and never breaks the record save.
- The scheduler runs periodically (by default, once a day). If you need minute-precise waits, increase the frequency of the scheduler cron.
💡 There are two similar steps: "Wait (schedule by time)" resumes the WHOLE flow (any following action) and accepts minutes/hours/days or a field date. The older "Wait (delay)" only defers simple actions by days, so prefer the new one for full journeys.