Launch via inbound email

Requirements

Before setting up email-triggered processes, ensure you have:

• A Tallyfy account with template editing permissions
• Process templates without required kickoff form fields
• Understanding of your organization’s email security policies
• Access to the email address you’ll use to send trigger emails

Email-triggered process launches

Tallyfy allows you to initiate processes automatically by sending emails to designated addresses. This feature enables streamlined process initiation without logging into the platform, making it ideal for field teams, mobile users, and scenarios requiring quick process starts.

Kickoff form limitation

Email-triggered launches will not work for templates with Required kickoff form fields. If you attempt to launch such templates via email, you’ll receive a failure notification. Use templates with optional kickoff fields only.

Configuring email triggers

To set up email-based process launching:

1. Navigate to the Templates section
2. Select the template you want to configure
3. Click Edit Template
4. Locate the Triggers section in the left sidebar
5. Select Other options

6. Choose the Via inbound email option
7. The system displays the email address specifically generated for launching this process
8. Copy this email address for future use

How the email trigger works

When the system receives an email to the designated address:

1. It verifies the sender’s email matches a member in your organization
2. It creates a new process instance from the associated template
3. It uses the email subject as the process name
4. It populates any matching kickoff fields with email content
5. It notifies task assignees about the new process

Capturing email content

You can automatically capture email content in kickoff fields by creating fields with these specific names:

Field Name	Content Captured	Field Type
email_body	The complete text of the email	Long Text Area
email_attachments	All files attached to the email	File Upload

If these specially named kickoff fields don’t exist in your template, you can create them by clicking the “CREATE IT NOW” link when configuring the email trigger.

Email address format

The standard format for process launch email addresses follows this pattern:

bot+[TemplateID]-launch@tallyfy.com

Where [TemplateID] is the unique identifier for your template. This ID is visible in the URL when editing your template (the long alphanumeric string).

Implementation examples

Simple status update process

Scenario: Field technicians need to submit quick status updates after site visits.

Implementation:

1. Create a template called “Site Visit Update” with these kickoff fields:
   • email_body (to capture the update details)
   • email_attachments (to capture photos from the site)
2. Enable email triggering for this template
3. Share the trigger email with the field team
4. When technicians complete a visit, they send an email with:
   • Subject: “Site Visit - [Client Name] - [Date]”
   • Body: Details of the work completed
   • Attachments: Photos of the completed work

Customer complaint processing

Scenario: Forward customer complaint emails to start a resolution process.

Implementation:

1. Create a “Customer Complaint” template with email capture fields
2. Enable email triggering
3. When customer service receives a complaint email, they forward it to the trigger address
4. The complaint details are preserved in the process for the resolution team

Important security considerations

When using email triggers, note these key requirements:

1. The sender’s email address must match a registered member in your organization (security measure)
2. The email subject becomes the process name, so use descriptive subjects
3. The template and organization IDs must be valid in the email address
4. Templates with required kickoff fields cannot be launched via email
5. Email addresses are template-specific and cannot be used for other templates

Task commenting via email

You can also add comments to existing tasks by responding to task notification emails:

1. Receive a task notification email from Tallyfy
2. Reply directly to that email
3. The email body content becomes your comment text in the task activity feed
4. Attachments are added to the comment
5. The email subject is not used for the comment

The email address format for task comments is:

bot+[TaskID]-comment-task@tallyfy.com

Where [TaskID] is the unique identifier for the specific task.

Best practices for email triggers

• Create a reference document for your team with all email trigger addresses
• Use clear, consistent email subject formats for better process organization
• Train users to include all relevant information in the email body
• Test the trigger with different email clients before full implementation
• Consider security implications when sharing trigger email addresses

Related articles

Launching > Triggers

Process triggers in Tallyfy enable both manual and automated workflow initiation through methods like API integration email triggers magic links scheduled launches and task completion triggers while supporting seamless data population across different trigger types.

Triggers > Launch via API

The REST API enables automated workflow initiation through external system integration by using authentication credentials template IDs and JSON requests to trigger processes with custom data fields and task assignments.

Launching > Launch another process when a task is completed

Tallyfy enables automatic process chaining by allowing new processes to launch or inject tasks when specific tasks are completed with customizable naming options and traceable parent-child relationships between connected workflows.

Launching > Launch a process from a web form

Tallyfy enables automatic population of process fields by connecting web form submissions to workflow initiation through URL parameters and matching field names.