Email triggers

Prerequisites

• Permission to edit templates.
• No required kick-off form fields in the template (optional fields are fine).
• Email must be sent from an active member’s address.

Launching processes via email

Send an email to a template’s unique address to start a process without logging into Tallyfy. Useful for mobile users or when working from external systems.

Cannot use with required kick-off fields

This email trigger method doesn’t work if the template has any kick-off form fields marked as Required. You’ll get an email saying the launch failed. Only use templates with optional (or no) kick-off fields if you want to launch them via email.

Setting up email triggers

Each template gets its own unique email address for launching.

1. Go to the Templates library.
2. Open the template you want to enable email launch for (in Edit mode).
3. Click Triggers in the left sidebar.
4. Choose Other options.
5. Find the Via inbound email option.
6. Tallyfy shows the special email address created just for launching this template. Copy this address.
7. Share this address with team members who need to launch this process via email.

Email trigger workflow

When someone sends an email to that special Tallyfy address:

1. Tallyfy checks if the sender’s email belongs to an active member in your organization.
2. If yes, Tallyfy starts a new process from the template linked to that address.
3. The email’s Subject becomes the Name of the new process instance.
4. If you added special kick-off fields (see below), the email content copies into them automatically.
5. Assignees for the first task(s) are notified to begin work.

How does the email trigger process work automatically?

This diagram shows the complete email trigger flow, including all validation checks and possible outcomes.

What to notice:

• The sender must be an active member in your organization - emails from external addresses or inactive members are automatically rejected
• Templates with required kick-off fields cannot be launched via email - you’ll receive a failure notification if you try
• Email content and attachments are only captured if you’ve specifically added email_body or email_attachments fields to your template’s kick-off form

Capturing email content

You can have Tallyfy automatically save the email body and attachments into kick-off form fields. Add kick-off fields to your template with these specific internal names:

Field Name	What it Captures	Recommended Field Type
email_body	The full text of the email body	Long Text Area
email_attachments	Any files attached to the email	File Upload

If you don’t have these fields, Tallyfy might show a link to create them when you enable the email trigger.

Email address format

The trigger email address follows this format:

bot+[TemplateID]-launch@tallyfy.com

(Where [TemplateID] is the unique ID of your template)

Example uses

• Field Updates: Technicians email status updates after site visits (Subject: Site Visit - Client X; Body: Details; Attachments: Photos).
• Forwarding Requests: Support forwards an email to the trigger address to start a complaint process.

Consider structured forms instead of email triggers

While email triggers work, we strongly encourage moving away from email-based process launching. Why? Emails are unstructured - you get whatever people decide to write, in whatever format they choose. This creates data quality issues and makes automation difficult.

Better approach: Use kick-off forms instead. With structured forms:

• You get the exact data fields you need, every time
• Data arrives in consistent formats (dates, numbers, dropdowns)
• Required fields ensure nothing critical is missed
• Validation prevents errors before the process starts
• Integration with other systems becomes seamless

Email triggers should be your fallback option, not your primary method. Transform unstructured email chaos into structured, predictable workflows.

Smart email forwarding with keywords

You can trigger Tallyfy processes from your regular email conversations by using a special keyword that your email system detects and forwards automatically.

How it works:

1. Include a unique keyword like TRIGGER-TALLYFY anywhere in your regular emails (to customers, colleagues, etc.)
2. Set up an email rule/filter in your email system (Gmail, Outlook, etc.) that:
   • Searches for emails containing your keyword
   • Automatically forwards matching emails to the Tallyfy template address
   • Optionally removes the keyword before forwarding
3. The process launches automatically when Tallyfy receives the forwarded email

Example scenario: You’re emailing a customer about their order. By including TRIGGER-TALLYFY in your email, your email system automatically forwards it to launch a “Customer Follow-up” process in Tallyfy - all without sending a separate email or leaving your inbox.

Benefits of this pattern:

• Trigger processes during normal email conversations
• No need to remember Tallyfy email addresses
• Creates documentation in both your email and Tallyfy
• Works with any email system that supports rules/filters
• Can use different keywords for different templates (e.g., TRIGGER-ONBOARDING, TRIGGER-COMPLAINT)

Setting up the email rule (Gmail example):

1. Go to Gmail Settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses
2. Create filter: “Has the words: TRIGGER-TALLYFY”
3. Action: Forward to bot+[TemplateID]-launch@tallyfy.com
4. Optional: Also apply label for tracking

Security considerations

• The sender must be an active Tallyfy member in your organization.
• Use clear email subjects (they become the process name).
• Each template has a unique trigger email.
• Cannot launch templates with required kick-off fields via email.

Adding comments via email replies

You can also add comments to existing tasks by replying to the Tallyfy task notification email.

1. Get a task notification email from Tallyfy.
2. Reply to that email.
3. Your reply becomes a comment on the task.
4. Files attached to the reply are added to the comment.

(The reply-to address for comments looks like bot+[TaskID]-comment-task@tallyfy.com)

Best practices

• Keep a list of trigger emails for your team.
• Suggest standard subject formats for easier tracking.
• Remind users to put details in the body if you’re capturing it.
• Test the trigger from different email clients your team uses.

Related articles

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Triggers > Launch via a kick-off form

Kick-off forms in Tallyfy attach to process templates to collect essential information before workflow execution begins enabling both internal teams and external stakeholders to initiate processes while providing comprehensive data collection through various field types and seamless integration with subsequent workflow steps.

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Triggers > Launch via a magic link

Magic links are special URLs that automatically perform Tallyfy actions like creating tasks launching processes or completing workflows when clicked by logged-in users enabling seamless automation across emails websites and other tools.