Conditionals > Conditionals (IF) explained
Conditionals are the IF part of Tallyfy automations. They check whether step statuses or form…
Logic operations explained
How automation logic works
Section titled “How automation logic works”Tallyfy automations pair a condition with an action. Tallyfy checks conditions at launch, against the kick-off form, and again whenever a task is completed or reopened. If the condition is true, the action changes the process, for example by showing a step or moving a deadline. Each automation runs at most once per process (when an automation runs).
Basic “IF… THEN…” structure
Section titled “Basic “IF… THEN…” structure”Every automation follows this pattern:
IF [something is true]THEN [do this action]The condition (IF part)
Section titled “The condition (IF part)”Conditions check a step’s status, such as completed or approved, or the answer in a form field.
Examples:
- IF a user selects “Urgent” in a form field
- IF a task is approved by a manager
- IF a task is completed or reopened
- IF a form field contains (or doesn’t contain) a specific value
The action (THEN part)
Section titled “The action (THEN part)”Actions run when the conditions are true.
Examples:
- THEN show or hide steps
- THEN assign the task to a different person or team
- THEN adjust deadlines
- THEN trigger a webhook to an external system (you can add this one only through the API today)
Combining multiple conditions
Section titled “Combining multiple conditions”Tallyfy lets you combine conditions with AND or OR.
Using AND logic
Section titled “Using AND logic”AND means ALL conditions must be true.
IF [condition 1 is true] AND [condition 2 is true]THEN [do this action]Example: IF the user selects urgent priority AND the amount is over $1000 THEN show the executive approval step
Using OR logic
Section titled “Using OR logic”OR means AT LEAST ONE condition needs to be true.
IF [condition 1 is true] OR [condition 2 is true]THEN [do this action]Example: IF the client selects VIP service OR the order amount exceeds $5000 THEN show premium processing steps
Mixing AND and OR logic
Section titled “Mixing AND and OR logic”Tallyfy evaluates conditions left to right1: the exact order you add them.
How evaluation works
Section titled “How evaluation works”Given this automation:
IF [condition 1] AND [condition 2] OR [condition 3]THEN [do this action]Tallyfy processes it step by step:
- Evaluate condition 1
- AND condition 2 with the result so far
- OR condition 3 with the accumulated result
The action triggers if:
- Both condition 1 AND condition 2 are true, OR
- Condition 3 is true by itself
Tallyfy doesn’t use operator precedence like programming languages (where AND would evaluate before OR). Conditions run in the order you add them. In the example above both methods give the same answer, but they differ when OR comes first. Tallyfy reads [condition 1] OR [condition 2] AND [condition 3] as “1 or 2, and also 3”, so condition 3 must always be true. A programming language would read it as “1, or else 2 and 3”, so condition 1 alone would be enough.
Best practice for complex logic
Section titled “Best practice for complex logic”Don’t cram everything into one massive automation. Split it into several, each doing one thing.
An automation that uses only AND, or only OR, gives the same answer in any order, so evaluation order stops mattering. Smaller automations are also easier to troubleshoot.
How empty values affect conditions
Section titled “How empty values affect conditions”Tallyfy compares an empty form field like any other value:
Empty field evaluation
Section titled “Empty field evaluation”- Text fields: An empty field never matches contains and always matches does not contain
- Dropdowns: No selection matches is not for every option and never matches is
- Number fields (short text with numeric validation): An empty field matches neither is greater than nor is less than
- Checklist and file fields: An empty list never matches contains or is
Common troubleshooting scenario
Section titled “Common troubleshooting scenario”Problem: A step shows up even though conditions don’t seem true.
Likely cause: You’re using OR logic with is not conditions.
- “Field A is not ‘Option 1’” evaluates to TRUE when the field is empty
- “Field B is not ‘Option 2’” also evaluates to TRUE when empty
- With OR, if ANY condition is true, the action triggers
Fix this by:
- Making the field required so it’s never empty
- Adding an explicit “is not empty” check
- Using positive conditions (is) instead of negative ones (is not)
Related articles
Section titled “Related articles” Tallyfy’s conditional logic is the IF half of an automation. It checks kick-off and step form…
A Tallyfy automation pairs conditions with actions on a template, so running processes adapt to…
Automations > Conditional visibility
Tallyfy lets you show or hide entire workflow tasks based on form field values using automations…
Footnotes
Section titled “Footnotes”-
Processing order differs from standard programming operator precedence where AND typically evaluates before OR ↩
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