Automation Playbook - Workflows & Efficiency

Work smarter, not harder. A guide to the ready-made automations in ClientFlow: switch one on, edit its message, and it runs on its own. Reminders, follow-ups and welcome messages included.

Introduction

Stop wasting time on repetitive admin tasks. This playbook shows you which parts of your daily workflow can run without you, freeing you to focus on what matters: serving clients and growing your business.

What changes: the reminders, follow-ups and onboarding steps below stop depending on you remembering them. How much time that gives back depends entirely on your volume — there is a worksheet at the end to work out your own figure.

How Automations Work

ClientFlow does not have a workflow builder where you design your own triggers and actions. Instead it comes with eleven ready-made automations. Each one has its trigger and its action built in, and you control three things: whether it is switched on, what its message says, and a few options such as a delay.

Open Automations in the sidebar
Switch an automation on
Click Configure to edit its message and options

Each automation exists once per account. Every card shows how many times it has run and when, and you can open its history to see each run.

The Eleven Automations

Automation	When it runs	What it does
Welcome Sequence	A new client is added	Sends your welcome message, optionally with a link to an intake form
Booking Confirmation	A client books	Sends a confirmation, optionally with an intake form and a link to manage the booking
No-Show Follow-up	You mark an appointment as a no-show	Sends a "we missed you" message after a delay (60 minutes by default) and can add a note
Session Complete	An appointment is completed	Sends a thank-you message
Payment Reminder	A payment is overdue (checked daily)	Reminds the client 3, 7 and 14 days after the due date
Rebooking Nudge	A client is overdue for their next session (checked daily)	Invites them to book again, optionally with your booking link
Birthday Greeting	It is a client's birthday (checked daily)	Sends a greeting, optionally with a discount line you write
Package Expiring	A client's session package is nearly used up	Needs a session package on a client, and ClientFlow has no screen for creating packages today, so this automation has nothing to act on yet
Form Submitted	A client completes an intake form	Sends a thank-you message
Form Abandoned	A client starts an intake form and does not finish it	Nudges them after a number of days (7 by default)
Review Request	A client has completed the number of sessions you set in Session Complete	Asks for a review, with your review link

Delivery and Plans

• Channel: a message goes out on a channel that can reach the client: WhatsApp when your own WhatsApp Business number is connected (PRO and above), email otherwise. Clients who have opted out are skipped.
• Language: the default texts are in English. In Configure, add a version of the message for each language your clients speak, and each client gets theirs.
• Plans: Welcome Sequence and Booking Confirmation are available from the Free plan, Payment Reminder from Starter, and the other eight automations need PRO or above. A locked automation shows which plan it needs.

Automatic Appointment Reminders

Appointment reminders are not one of the eleven automations. You set them on each appointment:

1. Create or open an appointment
2. Tick the "Reminder" option
3. Choose how long before the appointment it goes out, from 5 minutes up to 1 day
4. Choose the channel: Auto (WhatsApp first, then email), WhatsApp only, Email only or WhatsApp + Email
5. Save the appointment

Each appointment has one reminder. On PRO and above, with your own WhatsApp Business number connected, WhatsApp reminders go out automatically. On Free and Starter, ClientFlow prepares the WhatsApp message and you send it with one tap from the send queue. There are no SMS reminders.

Automatic Payment Reminders

The Payment Reminder Automation

Switch on Payment Reminder and ClientFlow checks your overdue payments every day. Nothing is sent before a payment is due. Each stage is sent once per payment:

Stage	Timing	Default action
Stage 1	3 days after the due date	WhatsApp reminder (choose WhatsApp, email or both)
Stage 2	7 days after the due date	Email reminder (choose WhatsApp, email or both)
Stage 3	14 days after the due date	Flagged for your review (or send a WhatsApp or an email instead)

In Configure you pick the channel for each stage. The reminder states what the client still owes. ClientFlow records payments but never collects them, so these reminders carry no payment link. Overdue invoices also get their own email reminders at 3, 7, 14 and 30 days after the due date.

Client Onboarding Automation

Welcome Message

Runs when: a client is added

What it sends: one welcome message. The default text is "Welcome! We're glad to have you as a client." Replace it with your own wording.

1. Open Automations and switch on Welcome Sequence
2. Click Configure and edit the message text
3. Optionally turn on "Send intake form link" and pick which intake form to send as a follow-up
4. Add a translation for each client language you work in, then Save

ClientFlow sends one welcome message per new client. It does not run a multi-email sequence over several weeks. For clients who book online, Booking Confirmation sends a confirmation straight after they book.

Re-Engagement Automation

Rebooking Nudge

Runs when: a client has gone longer than usual without booking. ClientFlow compares the time since their last visit with their usual gap between visits; the overdue factor (2.0 by default) sets how many times the usual gap counts as overdue.

What it sends: your rebooking message, optionally with your public booking page link

Limit: a daily cap on how many nudges go out (5 by default)

Birthdays and Review Requests

Birthday Messages

Runs when: it is the birthday of a client whose record has a birth date (checked once a day)

What it sends: a birthday greeting. You can switch on "Include a birthday discount" to add a discount line that you write yourself.

Review Requests

Set "Ask for review after N sessions" in the Session Complete automation, and switch on Review Request. Once a client has completed that many sessions, ClientFlow sends one review request. Add your Google Business Profile, Trustpilot or any public profile link in the Review link field and it is added to the end of the message.

Work out your own figure

These are the five tasks the automations above take over. The hours are yours to fill in — we have deliberately left them blank, because we have not measured an average and a number invented for a marketing page would tell you nothing about your practice.

Task	Your time/week now	After automation	Difference
Appointment reminders
Payment reminders
Client onboarding
Follow-ups
Feedback collection
Total

Multiply your own weekly difference by 52, then by your own hourly rate. That figure is worth something precisely because it is yours — ClientFlow has never measured an average across its users, so it does not publish one.

Next Steps

Use automations to:

• Automate repetitive admin tasks - Focus on growth, not admin
• Follow up consistently - Automations run on schedule whether or not you remember
• Improve client experience - Timely, consistent communication
• Chase overdue payments steadily - Reminders at 3, 7 and 14 days after the due date
• Free up your own time - How much depends on your volume; the worksheet above shows your figure

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Read time: ~12 minutes | Difficulty: Advanced