Customise a system rule

Every organization starts with a set of system rules: first calls on new leads, overdue-demand escalations, notices when a booking is cancelled, daily money runs and RERA sweeps and more. They are locked so that they stay identical everywhere; you can only switch them on or off. To change one (call the buyer after 10 days instead of 7, tell a different role, run weekly instead of daily), make your own copy and switch the original off.

Before you start

• You need the Create permission on Workflow Rules to clone and the Edit permission on Workflow Rules to change and switch rules. In the default roles only the Administrator has them.
• You must hold every permission the rule's actions need (for example the Create permission on Tasks for a rule that raises tasks); the copy is checked against your permissions when it is made and when it is saved, and it then acts as you.

Steps

1. Open the account menu > Settings > Workflows > Rules (Rules). System rules carry a purple "system" tag and their names end in "(system)", except the four record-page buttons. Search by name, or filter by Entity or Trigger, and click the rule's name. Its page opens (Rule) with the notice "A system rule created with the organization: its schedule, conditions and actions are fixed. Switch it on or off here, or clone it to set your own cadence and options. …" and every field read-only.

2. Click Clone. In the dialog "Clone rule", replace Name of the copy (it starts as "<name> (copy)") with a name of your own, for example "Demand 10 days overdue: call the buyer", and click Clone. You see 'Cloned as "<name>" (inactive).' and the copy's page opens: an ordinary rule with the same trigger, conditions and actions, fully editable and Inactive.

3. Change the copy. Typical changes:

   • the timing: the Schedule of a scheduled rule, or the event and its Conditions (for example the number of days overdue);
   • who is told or who gets the task: the Roles, Users or User fields of a Notify users action, or Assign to of a Create task action;
   • the wording: the Title and Body of an action, the Note on each closed task of a Close open tasks action, or the message template of a Send email action;
   • the options of a Create demand run, Create payout run, Prepare revenue run or Post RERA sweeps action (for the sweeps: Sweep receipts cleared on or before, Post the sweeps at once, Skip when nothing is unswept and Notes on each sweep).

   The Entity can't change; the header shows Unsaved changes.

4. Tick Active in Basics and click Save changes. You see '"<name>" saved as version <n>.' (for a scheduled rule, '"<name>" saved as version <n>; next run <date time>.') and the badge reads Active.

5. Optionally click Test, pick a Record and click Run dry run to check that the copy matches the records you expect and that each action reads Would run.

6. Open the original system rule again (via Rules) and, if it is on, click Switch off. You see "<name> is off." so the two rules don't both act on the same records.

What happens next

• Your copy runs as you. Scheduled and event runs act as the person who last saved or switched the rule; if you later lose a permission its actions need, its runs fail until someone else saves it or switches it off and on.
• The original stays as it was. System rules are never re-created or reset, so the switched-off original stays off. Switch it back on at any time with Switch on (you see "<name> is on; it runs next <date time>." or "<name> is on; it runs on its schedule."), and switch your copy off to return to the standard behaviour.
• Its runs are separate. Run history on each rule shows its own runs; the copy's first run appears the next time its trigger fires.
• The copy can be deleted while it has never run; after that it can only be switched off.

If something goes wrong

• The clone or the save is refused with "You do not have permission to do that." or "actions[<n>]: <ACTION> needs <permission>": you lack a permission one of the rule's actions needs. Ask for it, or remove that action from the copy. See Run errored: permission revoked (trouble.workflows.run-errored-permission-revoked).
• "A workflow rule named '<name>' already exists": pick another name for the copy. See Already exists (trouble.admin.already-exists).
• Other refusals on Save changes (a condition on an unknown field, an action missing its settings): see Rule cannot be saved (trouble.workflows.rule-cannot-be-saved).
• There is no Delete on the system rule: "System rules cannot be deleted; deactivate it instead". Switch it off. See Rule cannot be deleted (trouble.workflows.rule-cannot-be-deleted).
• Clone isn't shown, and the notice on the system rule leaves out "or clone it to set your own cadence and options": your role lacks the Create permission on Workflow Rules. See No access (trouble.admin.no-access).

Related

• Rules
• Rule
• New rule
• Runs
• Build and switch on a custom rule
• Put demand, payout and revenue runs on a schedule