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TroubleshootingReviewed 2026-09-29

"This workflow cannot run right now": the record, the rule or its inputs do not qualify

A manual workflow from a record page's Workflows menu refuses to start because the record no longer meets the rule's conditions, the rule was switched off, changed or moved to another project, or a value in its small form is missing or out of range.

Messages this explains

  • “This workflow cannot run right now: the record does not meet its conditions.”
  • “This rule is not started by hand.”
  • “This rule has been switched off.”
  • “The record no longer meets the rule's conditions.”
  • “This rule belongs to another project”
  • “You do not have permission to do that.”
  • “Required.”
  • “At most <n> characters.”
  • “Must be at least <n>.”
  • “Must be at most <n>.”
  • “Must be one of: <options>.”

"This workflow cannot run right now": the record, the rule or its inputs do not qualify

You picked a rule from the Workflows menu on a record page (an opportunity, estimate, booking, demand, payment or commission) and it did not start: a small dialog explained why, the run dialog showed a red alert, or a field in its form turned red.

What you see

In the Workflows menu. A rule the record doesn't qualify for stays in the list, marked with a no-entry sign (a circle with a line through it) instead of the sparkle icon. Choosing it opens a small dialog titled with the rule's name, with the rule's description and:

  • "This workflow cannot run right now: the record does not meet its conditions."

If you lack a permission the rule needs, the same dialog says "You lack the permission it needs:" (or "permissions") followed by the permission, with or without the sentence above; see "No access" or "You do not have permission" for that part.

In the run dialog, after you press Run. The dialog titled with the rule's name shows a red alert:

  • "This rule is not started by hand." The rule is no longer a Manual rule.
  • "This rule has been switched off." Someone turned the rule's Active switch off.
  • "This rule belongs to another project" The rule's Project scope is now a project other than this record's.
  • "The record no longer meets the rule's conditions." The record changed, or the values you typed make the conditions false.
  • "You do not have permission to do that." A permission the rule's actions need was taken from your role after the menu was built; see "No access" or "You do not have permission".

Under a field of the rule's form. The field turns red and shows one of:

  • "Required." on a field marked with a red asterisk that you left empty.
  • "At most <n> characters." when the text is longer than the system accepts. A field whose hint says "up to <n> characters" stops you typing past that limit, so you meet this only on a field with no stated limit: 255 characters for a one-line field, 5,000 for a longer note.
  • "Must be at least <n>." or "Must be at most <n>." when the number is outside the range shown in the hint under the field (such as "min <n> · max <n>").
  • "Must be one of: <options>." on a list, naming the choices it accepts now. The rule's choices were changed after your page loaded.

A rule whose conditions don't match never starts, so it leaves nothing on Runs.

Why it happens

A manual rule is a button that someone in your organization built (or that came with the system) for one kind of record. It has conditions that say which records it makes sense for, so a reminder isn't emailed for a demand that is already paid and a lead isn't handed over once it is booked. The seeded manual rules that ship switched on check:

Rule Record Runs only when
Send payment reminder Demand the demand is Issued or Partially Paid
Resend cost sheet Estimate the estimate is Sent
Hand over to a Sales Executive Opportunity the opportunity is at Lead, Estimate or Approval (not Booked or Lost)

The conditions are checked twice: when the menu is built, to decide which rules are marked, and again when you press Run, this time together with the values you typed. The menu's list can be up to a minute old, so in between someone can change the record, switch the rule off, change its trigger or narrow it to another project. The second check catches that and refuses rather than acting on a record the rule was never meant for.

A rule limited to one project only appears on that project's records. Rules that are switched off, or that are not Manual rules, never appear in the menu at all.

The form checks exist because the rule's actions use the values: the Reason you give when handing over a lead goes into the notice the Sales Executive receives, so it is required (up to 500 characters). The notes on the reminder and cost sheet are optional (up to 1,000 characters).

How to fix it

  1. "This workflow cannot run right now…": open the record and check its status or stage against the table above (for your own rules, open the rule on Rules and read its Conditions). If the record has moved on, for example the demand is now Paid, the rule simply doesn't apply and there is nothing to fix. Anyone with the View permission on Workflow Rules can read a rule and use Test to see which condition fails for a given record.
  2. "The record no longer meets the rule's conditions.": close the dialog and reload the page to see the record as it is now. If the rule tests a value from its form, change that value and press Run again.
  3. "This rule has been switched off.": reload the page; the rule drops out of the menu. If it should be available, someone with the Edit permission on Workflow Rules (in the default roles only the Administrator) switches it on in the Active column of Rules.
  4. "This rule is not started by hand." or "This rule belongs to another project": the rule was changed while your page was open. Reload the page and pick from the current menu. This happens only with your organization's own rules, since the rules that come with the system can only be switched on or off. If the rule should still be a button here, ask someone with the Edit permission on Workflow Rules to set its Trigger back to Manual or its Project scope to this project (or leave it empty for all projects) in Rule.
  5. A red field in the form: correct the value as the message says (fill in the required field, shorten the text, enter a number within the range in the hint, or reload the page and pick one of the listed choices) and press Run again.
  6. "You lack the permission it needs:" in the small dialog: starting a manual rule needs the Create permission on Workflow Runs, plus the permissions its actions need. In the default roles only the Administrator has the Create permission on Workflow Runs; ask them to run the rule or to add the permission to your role.

Once a run starts, the progress dialog follows it and Open in run history takes you to the run on Runs, where you can see each action's result.

Related

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    Every time a rule ran: what started it, which record it worked on, how each action went, and the panel from which an errored run is retried.

  • RulesScreen

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  • RuleScreen

    One automation rule's page: read or change its basics, trigger, conditions and actions, test it against a record, clone or delete it, and switch a system rule on or off.

  • New ruleScreen

    Build an automation rule on a full page: which records it watches, what starts it, which records qualify, and the ordered actions it carries out.

  • Sidebar, top bar and notifications bellScreen

    The frame around every page once you are signed in: the sidebar with its groups, the top bar with the notifications bell, the light and dark switch and your account menu, and the banners that ask you to act.

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    One buyer's enquiry on one project: who they are, what they want, the current estimate, the latest activity, documents and tasks, with the pipeline actions (estimate, assign, book, mark lost, reopen) in the header.

  • Workflow rules, conditions, actions and the rule ownerConcept

    What a workflow rule is made of (one kind of record, one trigger, conditions, ordered actions, an optional chained event), how conditions and action settings are evaluated, how versions, tests and clones work, and why every rule has an owner whose permissions its runs use.

  • Workflow runs and the outboxConcept

    How a change becomes automation: the outbox event written with the change, the pick-up that hands it to the engine, one run per listening rule with a recorded result per action, the statuses each passes through, and how Errored runs are retried and Failed events requeued.

  • Triggers and event typesConcept

    The five ways a workflow rule starts (On Create, On Update, On Event, Scheduled, Manual), the catalogue of system event types the app raises, the daily due-date events for instalments and overdue demands, how recurrences are counted, and custom event types that chain rules.

  • System rules and starter templatesConcept

    The 53 automation rules, six email templates and six draft document templates every organization starts with: which ship switched on, why the customer-facing ones ship off, what is locked, and how to switch, clone or customise them.

  • "No access" or "You do not have permission": your role lacks a permissionTroubleshooting

    Every screen, button and picker is gated by a permission on a module; your role decides which you hold, so a missing one shows as a No access card, a refused action, a greyed-out button with a hover reason, or a picker that explains which permission it needs.

  • EstimateScreen

    One estimate version: its charges by group, payment plan, approvals, unit and parking hold and validity, with the lifecycle actions to send, finalize, request approval, approve or reject, extend, cancel, version and book.

  • Booking overviewScreen

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  • CommissionScreen

    One channel-partner commission: the partner, the brokerage with GST and TDS, the payouts against it, and the actions to edit, approve, cancel or delete it.