This guide covers the known limitations of Automations and the practices that keep them running reliably.
Permissions
- Visibility of the Automations menu depends on your user permissions.
- If the menu item is missing, contact your system administrator to grant access.
Merge fields availability varies by trigger
- The merge field values available in an email or text message depend on the initial trigger.
- Not all custom fields are available in every automation journey.
- Plan your trigger first, then check which fields you can actually merge before composing messages. See the merge fields availability guide.
Common reasons publishing fails
Publishing errors usually come from invalid merge field values or broken references:
- A custom field referenced in a trigger or action was deleted or changed.
- A form question was altered after the automation was built, so its answer no longer resolves.
- An email template was cloned but its merge field values weren't adjusted to the new automation's context.
If publish fails or the status shows an error
- Review every trigger and action in the automation.
- Check the merge field values used in each email and text message.
- Correct or remove any reference to a field, form question, or template value that no longer exists or no longer applies.
Best practice
- Name automations clearly so they're easy to find and manage in the list.
- Keep automations as Draft while building or testing, and only Publish when ready.
- Don't rename or delete custom fields, form questions, or template values that live automations rely on — this is the leading cause of publish failures.
- One outcome (and one email) per branch when using conditional outcomes, so each path is tailored and predictable.
- Verify after publishing by checking the recipient's Insights tab to confirm automated emails were sent.
- For form receipts, ensure the form has a Transaction block before relying on transaction merge field values.