Pausing Workflows on Specific Dates

Overview

The Pause Workflow feature in your CRM allows you to temporarily suspend automations during specific timeframes without deactivating them entirely. This is particularly useful for managing communications around holidays, seasonal events, or other periods when you want to halt automated messages. Contacts can still enroll in the workflow, but their progress will be paused until the specified end date and time.

Accessing the Pause Settings

To configure workflow pauses, navigate to the Global Workflow Settings. You can find this section within the Automation area of your CRM's Settings.

Configuring a Pause Period

Setting the Date and Time Range

Within the Global Workflow Settings, locate the Pause Workflow option. Click the "Start Date and Time" field to open a calendar and time selector. Define the period during which you want workflows to be inactive by selecting both a start and an end. After making your selection, click the "Confirm" button.

Important: The maximum allowed duration for a single pause period is 15 days. The start and end dates cannot be more than 15 days apart.

Selecting Workflows to Pause

Click the "Select Workflows" field to choose which automations will be affected by the pause. You can select individual workflows, multiple workflows, or choose the "All Published Workflows" option. Note that only workflows with a "Published" status will appear in the list.

Adding Multiple Pause Periods

You are not limited to a single date range. Click the "Add Date" button to create additional rows for more pause periods. The system currently supports a maximum of 15 distinct date ranges.

Setting an Annual Recurrence

For events that happen every year, such as holidays, you can set a pause to recur automatically. Each date range row has an "Annually" checkbox. When this box is checked, the selected workflows will be paused for the same dates every year without requiring manual setup.

Managing Date Ranges

You can easily manage your configured pause periods:

• To duplicate a date range, click the Clone icon next to the respective row.
• To remove a date range, click the Delete icon next to the row you wish to remove.

Understanding the Paused Status

Workflow Landing Page

When a workflow is paused, its status on the main Workflows page will be displayed as "Paused." This provides a clear, at-a-glance view of which automations are currently inactive.

Workflow Builder Settings

Within the settings of each individual workflow, you will find a section labeled "Pause Workflow." This section displays the specific dates and times when that particular workflow is scheduled to be paused. From here, you can also click a link to access the Global Workflow Settings to make changes if needed.

How Pausing Affects Contacts

It's important to understand what happens to contacts when a workflow is paused:

• Enrollment: Contacts will continue to enroll in a workflow even when it is paused.
• Progress: A contact's journey through the workflow will halt. They will pause either at the trigger point or at the next action step after enrollment.
• Wait and If/Else Actions: Contacts will proceed through any "Wait" or "If/Else" actions that are the first steps in a workflow. After completing one of these actions, they will then pause at the subsequent step.

Example: If a workflow's first action is to send an email, an enrolled contact will pause immediately and the email will not be sent until the pause period ends. If the first action is a "Wait" period, the contact will complete that wait and then pause before the next action.

Best Practices and Limitations

• Avoid creating overlapping date ranges for the same workflow. A single workflow should not be included in two or more pause periods that overlap in time.
• Plan pause periods in advance for holidays and known business closures to ensure communications remain relevant.
• Use the annual recurrence feature for predictable yearly events to save time on manual configuration.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I pause all of my workflows at once?

Yes. When selecting workflows to pause, you can choose the "All Published Workflows" option to apply the pause period to every active automation.

What is the limit on the number of pause periods I can create?

You can configure up to 15 different date ranges for pausing workflows.

Where can I see a list of all my scheduled pauses?

The Global Workflow Settings page displays all configured pause periods. You can also check the "Pause Workflow" section within the settings of any individual workflow to see the pauses that affect it.