How to Create a Flow

You must be a Super Admin user or have these permissions:

• create_flows
• update_flows

Flows automate a sequence of messages to your clients, so reminders about events, payments, cases, and other records go out on schedule without manual effort. Each flow holds one or more flow messages, and each message has its own trigger, timing, status conditions, and content.

Overview

A flow is a reusable automation attached to a single record type. You build it once, assign it to records, and eCourtDate schedules the messages for you.

• What it does: Sends automated, sequenced messages tied to events, payments, cases, warrants, forms, files, or tasks.
• Why it matters: Reduces manual outreach and keeps your communications consistent across every record.
• Who uses it: Agency administrators and staff responsible for client communications.
• Expected outcome: Clients receive the right message at the right time, automatically.

Every flow has one Type, and that type controls which triggers you can pick. An event flow offers triggers such as By Event Date, By Event Status, and When Event Is Created, while a payment flow offers By Payment Due Date, By Payment Issue Date, and By Payment Status.

Every flow also has a Flow Reference, a short code that identifies the flow in upload files. eCourtDate builds it from the flow name when the flow is created, so a flow named "Court Hearing Reminders" gets the reference court-hearing-reminders. The reference appears as a badge under the flow name at the top of the flow page, and as small grey text under the flow name on each card in the Flows list. Only super admins can edit it.

Prerequisites

Before creating a flow, make sure you have:

• An active eCourtDate agency on staging or production
• Super admin access, or the Create Flows and Update Flows permissions
• At least one language enabled for your agency, chosen in General Settings
• A record type you want to automate messages for (event, payment, case, warrant, form, file, or task)

How-To Steps

Create a Flow

1. Click Admin > Messaging in the top navigation bar.

2. Click the Flows tab.

3. Enter a name in Flow Name in the Create Flow panel.
4. Select a record type in Type.
5. Click Create.

eCourtDate opens the new flow so you can add messages to it.

Add a Message to a Flow

1. Select a trigger under Create Flow Message on the flow page.
2. Click Continue to Message Setup.

Only triggers that match the flow's Type are listed, so an event flow never shows payment triggers. The message is created immediately and opens in the editor with three sections: Trigger & Timing, Status Conditions, and Message Content.

Set the Trigger and Timing

Work through the Trigger & Timing card.

1. Confirm the trigger selected under What triggers this message?.
2. Enter a number in Send.
3. Select minutes, hours, days, or weeks in Unit.
4. Select before or after in Timing.
5. Enter a time in At time to pin delivery to a set time of day.
6. Enter a number of minutes in Additional Delay (minutes) to wait after the trigger condition is met.
7. Select Delay to Business Hours to hold the message until your agency's business hours.

To send three days before an event, select By Event Date, enter 3 in Send, select days in Unit, and select before in Timing.

Send, Unit, and Timing only appear for date based triggers such as By Event Date, By Payment Due Date, By File Due Date, By Task Due Date, and By Warrant Issue Date. Status and creation triggers show Maximum Days After Event Date (or Maximum Days After Payment Date) instead, which defaults to 1 day if you leave it blank. Delay to Business Hours is hidden once you enter a value in At time.

Set Status Conditions

The Status Conditions card lists the statuses available for the flow's record type. The card tells you to "Click on statuses to enable/disable them for this message".

1. Click a status badge to enable it for this message.
2. Click an enabled badge again to turn it back off.
3. Click Clear Statuses to remove every status at once.

Leave all badges off if you do not want to limit the message by status.

Write the Message Content

Work through the Message Content card.

1. Click Import Sample to load starter content for the flow's Type.
2. Enter a subject in Subject Line under the English Message heading.
3. Enter your message in Message Body.
4. Click Copy Merge Tags to copy a tag such as [ClientName], then paste it into Message Body.
5. Select a file in Attachment to attach it to the message.
6. Click Auto Translate All Languages to translate the English message into every other language your agency has enabled.
7. Click Save.

Each enabled language gets its own Subject Line and Message Body, plus an Auto Translate button that translates only that language. If you type a tag eCourtDate does not recognize, an Unknown tags warning lists it in red under Message Body.

To remove a message, open it with Edit Message and click Trash Message.

Import a Sample Flow

Importing a sample flow is the fastest way to get started.

1. Click Admin > Messaging in the top navigation bar.
2. Click the Sample Templates tab.
3. Select a use case card on Template Starter.
4. Find the flow you want under the Flows heading.
5. Click Import on that card.

eCourtDate creates the flow with all of its messages and opens it for editing. Click Customize instead to open AI Customization, where you can describe a change, click Customize with AI, and copy the generated wording.

Set a Default Flow

1. Open the flow.
2. Select Default in the Flow Settings panel.

The checkbox saves as soon as you select it. The help text reads "Assign this flow if no flow is chosen or auto-assigned."

Turn On Simulate Mode

1. Open the flow.
2. Select Simulate Mode in the Flow Settings panel.

The panel then explains that "Any messages will be sent in Simulate Mode (no actual messages will be sent)." Clear the checkbox when you are ready to deliver messages to clients.

Review the Other Flow Settings

Setting	What it does
Flow Reference	Holds your primary system's ID for the flow. Only super admins can edit it.
Agency Phone	Chooses the agency phone number for this flow.
Agency Email	Chooses the agency email address for this flow.
Portal Link	Chooses the portal for this flow.
Geolocation Tracking	Sets disabled, optional, required, or persistent. Overrides the portal geolocation.
Type	Sets the record type, which controls the available triggers.
Enabled Locations	Assigns this flow by location (uploads only). Event flows only, and hidden once Default is on.
Virtual Event	Marks the flow as virtual. Event flows only.

Preview a Flow

1. Open the flow.
2. Click Preview in the top right corner.
3. Leave Simulate Client selected to preview with sample data, or search for a client to preview with real data.
4. Select a Language.
5. Click Preview Messages.

The Message Preview card shows each message twice, once as the Template with merge tags and once as the Rendered text, along with the character count and SMS segment count. Click Copy All to copy every preview, or Change to preview a different flow.

Update a Flow Already in Use

1. Open the flow.
2. Click Edit Message on the message you want to change.
3. Make your changes.
4. Click Save.
5. Click Tools > Sync Messages to apply the change to existing records.

After you save, eCourtDate reminds you that newly created or updated records use the latest version of the flow, and that existing records need Tools > Sync Messages. You can also sync a single record by opening it and clicking Tools > Sync Messages, or sync from the Flows list with the Sync button on the flow's card.

Click Tools > Validate Messages to queue a background check of the flow's messages and notify you when it finishes.

Assign a Flow to a Record

Events

1. Click Events in the top navigation bar.
2. Fill in the Create Event panel.
3. Select the flow in Flow.

4. Click Create.

To change the flow on several events at once, select the events, choose a flow in Flow in the Bulk Edit panel, and click Update.

Payments

1. Click Payments in the top navigation bar.
2. Fill in the Create Payment panel.
3. Select the flow in Flow.

4. Click Create.

Warrants

1. Click Cases in the top navigation bar.
2. Click the Warrants tab.
3. Click Edit on the warrant.
4. Select the flow in Flow.

The warrant saves as soon as you pick a flow. Click View Flow to open the flow in a new tab.

Saving an event or a payment queues a resync, so its messages rebuild from the assigned flow.

Assign a Flow through Uploads

You can also assign flows when you import records. Create an upload template first.

1. Click Uploads in the top navigation bar.
2. Click the Upload Templates tab.
3. Click Edit on the upload template.

Option 1: Set a default flow. Your file does not need a flow column.

1. Select a flow in Default Flow under Default Values.
2. Click Save.

Default Flow is used if the flow field is not mapped or no flow is found for a row. Select Random to assign a flow at random per row.

Option 2: Map a flow column from your file. Each row names its own flow.

1. Enter flow in the Search Fields box under Field Mapping.

2. Enter your file's column header in Flow, Payment Flow, Warrant Flow, or Form Flow.
3. Click Save.

The column value must exactly match a flow's Flow Reference or Flow Name, and the flow must not be archived or trashed. A value of random picks a flow at random. If no flow matches, eCourtDate falls back to the template's Default Flow, then to a flow marked Default. Mappings match your file's column headers exactly and are case sensitive unless you enable Map by Column Position.

What to Expect

Creating a flow takes effect right away, but nothing is sent until the flow is assigned to a record. Once a record has a flow, eCourtDate schedules each message from its trigger and timing, and the Message Stats card on the flow message shows the Scheduled, Sent, and Total counts. Records created or updated after you edit a flow pick up the new version automatically. Existing records keep their current messages until you run Tools > Sync Messages, which queues a background job rather than updating instantly.

Best Practices

• Import a sample flow from Template Starter and adjust it instead of building every message by hand.
• Turn on Simulate Mode while you test, then clear it before going live.
• Give flows descriptive names such as "Court Hearing Reminders", because the Flow Reference used by uploads is generated from the name.
• Click Preview and check the Rendered text and SMS segment count before enabling live delivery.
• Run Tools > Validate Messages after larger edits to catch problems across the flow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can one flow cover more than one record type?

A: No. A flow has a single Type, and only triggers matching that type appear under Create Flow Message. Create a separate flow for each record type.

Q: What is the difference between the Flow Name and the Flow Reference?

A: Flow Name is the label your team sees. Flow Reference is generated from the name when the flow is created and is the value upload files match on. Only super admins can edit it.

Q: Do my edits reach records that already have messages scheduled?

A: Newly created and updated records use the latest version of the flow automatically. For existing records, click Tools > Sync Messages on the flow, or on an individual record.

Q: How do I add other languages to a message?

A: The Message Content card shows a Subject Line and Message Body for every language enabled for your agency. Enter the English content first, then click Auto Translate All Languages. If no languages are enabled, the card links you to General Settings.

Q: How do I remove a message from a flow?

A: Click Edit Message on the message, then click Trash Message below the editor.

Troubleshooting

Issue: A flow message has no English content.

Symptoms: The Flows list shows "Missing English subject" in red under the message, or shows "0 Messages" for the flow.

Solution:

1. Open the flow and click Edit Message on the message.
2. Enter content in Subject Line and Message Body under English Message.
3. Click Save.

Issue: A merge tag is not recognized.

Symptoms: An Unknown tags warning appears in red under Message Body listing the tags in brackets.

Solution:

1. Click Copy Merge Tags and search the list for the tag you want.
2. Click the tag to copy it, then paste it into Message Body.
3. Delete the unrecognized tag and click Save.

Issue: The trigger you need is not listed.

Symptoms: Only some triggers appear under Create Flow Message.

Solution:

1. Check Type in the Flow Settings panel, because the trigger list is filtered by the flow's record type.
2. Change Type, or create a separate flow for the record type you need.

Issue: Uploaded records do not get the flow you expected.

Symptoms: Records imported from a file have no flow, or the wrong flow.

Solution:

1. Confirm the column value exactly matches a flow's Flow Reference or Flow Name.
2. Confirm the flow is not archived or trashed.
3. Check Default Flow under Default Values on the upload template.
4. Confirm the column header in your file matches the mapping exactly, including capitalisation.

Important: If you continue to experience issues after following these troubleshooting steps, sign in to eCourtDate and create a ticket by clicking the ticket button in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Related Articles

• How to Create an Auto Message
• How to import sample templates
• How to preview messages
• How to create upload templates
• How to Disable Messages based on Status