What workflows are
A workflow is a saved, repeatable job you build once and run over your CRM records: a fixed sequence of steps you run by hand, on a schedule, or from a table, with every run inspectable.
Before you start
- An active subscription or trial. Every workflow feature requires a paying account.
A workflow is a job you build once and Spiich runs the same way every time: a fixed sequence of steps that reads your CRM records, works on them, and writes back what it found. You run it by hand, put it on a schedule, or let a rep fire it against rows they picked in a table, and every single run stays open for you to inspect afterward.
What makes something a workflow
A workflow is three things bundled together: a trigger that decides when it starts and what records go in, a sequence of steps that runs in order, with branches and loops where you need them, and a record of every run so you can see exactly what happened. Nothing about a workflow is implicit. You draw the steps yourself on a canvas, in the order you want them to run, and Spiich follows that order every time.
Workflows compared with background agents
The two automation surfaces in Spiich solve different problems, and it helps to be clear about which one you want before you build.
| Workflow | Background agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Decides when to act | You do: manual, schedule, or from a table | The agent does, inside permissions you grant once |
| Shape of the work | A fixed sequence of steps you lay out on a canvas | A single instruction (Objective, Process, Output) the agent interprets itself |
| Best for | A repeatable process with real steps: research, then qualify, then write, then note | An ongoing job that reacts to whatever the CRM does next |
| Inspecting it | Every step of every run, in order, on the canvas | The agent's own run plan and activity log |
If what you want is "when a Deal's stage changes, do X," that is a background agent. See What background agents are. If what you want is "every morning, work through this list of accounts the same way, step by step," that is a workflow.
The Workflows list
Open Workflows from the left sidebar, or find it from the command palette. The list shows every workflow in the workspace as a row: its name, its description, whether it is Live or Draft, not live, and a short line about its recent activity. Click a row to open it.
A brand-new workspace sees "No workflows yet. Build your first automation to research, qualify, and save records," with a button to start.
Create a workflow
Click New workflow
From the Workflows list, click New workflow. The same dialog opens from the empty state.
Name it
Give it a name you would recognize in a list of twenty, for example "Daily lead generation." A Description is optional, and it is what shows up as the summary line on the list.
Create it
Click Create workflow. The workflow opens on its setup screen, where you choose a template or start from scratch. See Build a workflow.
Versions, Live and Draft
Every time you save, Spiich writes a numbered version of the workflow. That version is a snapshot: its steps, its trigger, its run settings, all frozen at that moment. Saving does not make a workflow run.
Only the version you Activate is the one that actually fires on a schedule or from a table. That distinction matters most when you edit something that is already live: saving writes a new draft version, and the previously activated version keeps running exactly as it was until you activate the new one. A toast spells this out: "Version N is saved as a draft. Activate it to make it the one that runs." Open Versions in the details panel any time to see every saved version, load an older one back into the editor, or check which one is live.
A workflow marked Live has an active version running its schedule or its table trigger. Draft, not live means the workflow exists and may have been saved, but nothing about it runs on its own; it can still be started by hand.
What this does not do
- A workflow has exactly one trigger, so its When-to-run setting cannot be Schedule and Manual at the same time. Running it from a table is a separate, additional way to start it and works alongside whichever trigger it already has.
- Turning a workflow off does not undo anything it already wrote, and a run already in progress finishes on its own.
- Deleting a workflow removes its versions, its runs and everything those runs recorded. This cannot be undone.
If something goes wrong
You saved a change but the workflow is still doing the old thing. You saved a draft version on top of a live one. Open the workflow and click Activate to make your edit the one that runs.
The panel warns that an older version is still active. More than one version was activated at some point, so more than one may still be firing on its own schedule. Open Versions in the details panel and activate the one you actually want, so it is the only one running.