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Automatically assign a step to the original process requestor

Need to automatically notify the person who started a process? Here’s how to make Tallyfy remember who kicked things off and loop back to them with results - like sending payment confirmations or completed documents straight to the original requestor.

What is the use case for this automation?

Let’s say you’re running a purchase request process. Here’s the typical flow:

  1. Sarah from marketing submits a request for new software (she’s the requestor).
  2. The request bounces through approvals and finance.
  3. Your accountant uploads the payment proof.
  4. You want Sarah to automatically get that proof - without anyone having to remember who started this whole thing.

That’s the challenge, right? How do you capture Sarah’s identity at the beginning and make sure she gets notified at the end? Simple.

What are the prerequisites?

  • You’ll need an existing procedure template ready to go.
  • Get comfortable with form fields - especially the Assignee Picker field type (it’s the star of this show).
  • A basic grasp of template automations helps, but you’ll pick it up as we go.

How do I set up this automation?

  1. Capture the requestor on the kick-off form1 or in any other step

    First things first - edit your template’s kick-off form. Add an Assignee Picker form field and label it something like “Who is making this request?” or “Please pick your name”. This lets whoever’s launching the process select themselves (or someone else if they’re submitting on behalf of a colleague). Make it required if you don’t want anyone slipping through the cracks.

  2. Set up the step to be assigned

    Find the step where you want to notify the requestor - usually it’s near the end of your process. Creating a new one? Perfect. If you’re sending an email notification, set the step type to Email - Auto Send2. Trust me, you want it automated. Configure what the email says, and here’s where it gets cool - use variables like {{step_4_upload_field}} to pull in that payment proof or whatever data you collected earlier. Set the timing too (maybe 1 hour after “Upload Proof of Payment” completes).

  3. Create the automation rule

    Head to the Automations tab in your template editor. Click Add Automation. Name it something clear - “Assign final notification to requestor” works great. Here’s the magic: For the IF condition, pick that assignee picker field from Step 1 and set it to is not empty. For the THEN action, choose Assignment Action → Replace assignee(s). Select your notification step (like “Step 5: Notify Requestor via Email”). For “Replace with…”, pick that same assignee picker field again. Hit Save. Done.

How does this automation work?

Here’s what happens behind the scenes when someone launches your process:

  1. Sarah (or whoever) fills out the kick-off form and selects herself in the “Who is making this request?” field. Takes 2 seconds.
  2. The process chugs along through all its steps - approvals, processing, the works.
  3. When Tallyfy hits your automation rule, it checks: Did someone actually fill in that assignee picker field?
  4. If yes (it’s not empty), boom - the automation fires.
  5. The “Replace Assignee” action swaps whoever was originally assigned to that final email step with Sarah’s name from the picker field.
  6. Since you set the step type to “Email - Auto Send”, Tallyfy sends the email automatically at the scheduled time. No manual work needed.

The beauty? Sarah gets her payment proof (or whatever you’re sending) without anyone having to remember she started this process three days ago. The loop closes itself.

Examples > Notify the requestor when process completes

Learn how to automatically notify the original process requestor when a workflow completes by capturing their identity at launch and using automations to send completion notifications with results or confirmations.

Actions > Automate task assignments

Assignment actions automatically route tasks to the right people by adding replacing or clearing assignees based on workflow conditions and can assign to specific individuals groups or use form field selections to determine responsibility.

Examples > Dynamic member assignment from kick-off forms

This automation enables dynamic task assignment by using assignee picker fields in kick-off forms to let process launchers select specific team members for different roles which then automatically assigns tasks to the chosen people through conditional automation rules.

Automations > Examples

Complete catalog of automation examples showing practical patterns for assignment rules visibility controls deadline management approval workflows and other common business scenarios.

Footnotes

  1. Pre-process form that collects initial data before a process launches from a template ↩

  2. Step type that sends emails automatically at scheduled times without manual intervention ↩

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