Building workflows

A group is a container on the canvas that bundles related elements into one section. On mobile, the elements inside a group show up together inside a single bordered box, so staff can see at a glance that those steps belong together.

What a group is

A group holds one or more elements as steps inside it. Use groups when a few elements belong together as one logical step, for example three checks that all relate to "opening the kitchen", or two photos and a signature that all confirm "delivery accepted".

A group can only hold elements (text, number, photo, checklist, and so on). You cannot put another group inside a group, and you cannot put Pilla nodes inside a group. Pilla briefings, decisions, and actions attach to individual elements as left or right satellites, so they live alongside an element rather than inside a group.

Add a group to the canvas

You add a group from the left toolbar.

1. Open the workflow template you want to edit.
2. On the left toolbar, find the Group button. It's the top icon, shown as a dashed square. Hover it and the tooltip reads "Group".
3. Tap it. An empty group appears on the canvas, attached to the bottom of your current flow.

You can also add a group from the plus menu below any existing node. Tap the round plus button, choose Open or Gated, then tap the dashed-square Group icon in the picker that opens.

Fill an empty group

When a group has no steps yet, it shows an Add first step button in the middle.

1. Tap Add first step.
2. Hover over a category in the picker that opens: Guidance, Inputs, Choices, or Media. Its steps appear in a row below it.
3. Tap the element you want. It drops in as the group's first step.

Add more steps to a group

Once a group has at least one step, an Add another step button sits across the bottom of the group, just inside the dashed border. It stays there however many steps the group holds, so you never have to drag elements in from the left toolbar.

1. Tap Add another step at the bottom of the group.
2. Pick the element you want from the same category picker: Guidance, Inputs, Choices, Media.
3. The element drops in at the bottom of the group, and the group grows to fit it.

You can also drag an element straight from the left toolbar onto a group to drop it inside. To take a step back out, drag it off the group onto the main canvas.

What you can put inside

A group can only hold elements. The category picker offers:

• Input elements: Text, Number, Stepper count, Date & time, Current date & time, Current user, Current location, plus the media inputs: Photo, File, Signature, Voice note, Sketch pad, Annotated photo.
• Choice elements: Checklist, Choice, Rating scale, Cascading select, User choice.
• Guidance elements: Written guidance, Photo guidance, and Video guidance.

You cannot put another group, or a Pilla briefing, decision, or action, inside a group. Pilla nodes sit as satellites on the right or left side of a specific element instead.

The group header

Every group has a faint header strip across the top:

• "Group" label on the left, which also acts as the drag handle, so you can move the whole group by grabbing this strip.
• Preview button (play icon), which opens the test preview for just this group, so you can see how it'll look to staff on mobile without running the whole workflow. Hidden in the public playground.
• Duplicate button (copy icon), which makes a copy of the whole group and its steps.
• Delete button (red trash icon), which only appears once the group is empty. A group with steps inside it has no trash icon.

How groups render on mobile

On the mobile preview and on staff phones, a group becomes a single bordered box. Staff see the group's steps stacked one under another inside that box, so it reads as one section rather than a run of separate cards.

If a group is gated (its steps stay hidden until the previous step is complete) it shows a small downward-right arrow in a gutter to the left of the box. Inside a group, an individual step that's gated on an earlier step in the same group shows the same arrow next to it, with a slight indent.

Delete a group

You can only delete a group once it's empty. The red trash icon in the group header appears just for empty groups; a group that still holds steps has no trash icon, so it can't be removed by accident.

To remove a group that has steps:

1. Empty it first. Drag each step out of the group onto the main canvas to keep it, or delete the steps you don't want.
2. Once the group is empty, the red trash icon appears in its header.
3. Tap the trash icon. The empty group is removed straight away.

Tips

• Use groups for sections of a workflow that belong together logically, for example opening checks, mid-shift checks, closing checks. Staff find a long flat list of 20 elements much harder to scan than three groups of 6-7 elements.
• A group never disappears on its own. If you drag the last step out, the group stays as an empty box until you delete it, so an unfinished workflow won't lose a section by accident.
• The Preview this group button is the fastest way to sense-check a group's flow without running the full workflow.
• To keep a step but remove its group, drag the step out onto the main canvas first, then delete the now-empty group.

Input elements are the steps where staff provide a value. They type, tap, draw, photograph, stamp, or record something, and Pilla saves the answer to the workflow run. They range from a basic text box to a freehand sketch pad.

What input elements are

An input element captures something from the person doing the workflow run. The value goes into the workflow run, where it shows up in the run history, exports, and any reports.

You set up each input element when you build the workflow template on the canvas (web only). Staff then fill it in on the mobile app when they run the workflow.

All input elements at a glance

These are the input elements you can add from the canvas element picker. They split across two flyouts: the everyday ones in Inputs, and the media ones in Media.

Where to find them on the canvas

On the canvas left toolbar, and in the plus menu below any step, the element picker has four categories: Guidance, Inputs, Choices, and Media. The input elements live in two of them.

The Inputs flyout holds Text, Number, Stepper count, Date & time, Current date & time, Current user, and Current location. The Media flyout holds Photo, File, Signature, Voice note, Sketch pad, and Annotated photo, with a small divider before the Media button. So if you're looking for Photo or Signature, open Media rather than Inputs.

Common configuration

Every input element shows the same two fields at the top of its config card on the canvas:

• Input name (text, required) -- the label that appears in run history, exports, and reports.
• Instructions (textarea, required) -- the help text staff see above the input on their phone. The card labels this field for the specific element, for example "Instructions for staff taking a photo". Use it to tell them what "good" looks like, what to include, or any rules.

There's also a Mandatory toggle at the top right of the name field. Turn it on and staff can't complete the workflow run without filling in this step. On the mobile app, a mandatory step shows a small asterisk after its title.

On Pro and Expert, input elements can also reveal extra steps based on a Pilla decision. Tick Add conditional follow-up steps near the bottom of the card and a field labelled Instructions for Pilla to make a yes/no decision appears. Fill it in and Pilla judges the staff member's answer to decide which follow-up steps appear. See Decision connector for the setup guide.

Per-element configuration

Most input elements need nothing beyond the name, instructions, and mandatory toggle. A few have extra fields.

Stepper count -- four extra fields:

• Start at (number, optional) -- the initial value shown to staff. Defaults to 0.
• Step (number, optional) -- how much each tap changes the value. Defaults to 1.
• Min (number, optional) -- lower bound. Leave blank for no minimum.
• Max (number, optional) -- upper bound. Leave blank for no maximum.

If you set a min above the current start value, Pilla bumps the start up to match. Same for max: if you set it below the start, the start drops.

Current location -- one optional setting. Tick Check user's location and an Expected location address box appears. Type the place staff should be when they stamp their location. On mobile, if the worker is more than 50 metres from that place when they tap to capture, Pilla blocks the stamp and tells them to move closer. Leave the box unticked and the element just records wherever the worker is, with no distance check.

Current date & time, Current user -- no extra fields. Each shows staff a single button to tap. The date and time, or the worker's name, is stamped in when they tap it.

Photo, file, signature, voice note, sketch pad, annotated photo -- no extra fields. The input itself opens on mobile when staff reach the step.

Date & time -- no extra fields. Mobile shows a combined date and time picker.

Text, number -- no extra fields beyond name, instructions, and mandatory.

What staff see on mobile

Each input element appears as a card on the work run, with your instructions above the input. What staff tap depends on the element.

Typing and tapping inputs. Text and Number open the keyboard (Number switches to a numeric pad). Date & time opens a date and time picker. Stepper count shows +/− buttons around the current value.

One-tap stamps. Current date & time shows a Stamp current time button; Current user shows a Stamp my name button. Once tapped, the stamped value replaces the button, with a Clear option to redo it. Current location shows a Get Location button. Tapping it asks for location permission the first time, shows Getting Location... while it works, then displays the captured spot with a Clear option.

Media inputs. Photo and Annotated photo open the camera; Annotated photo then lets staff draw arrows and labels on the shot. File opens a file picker. Signature shows a Tap to sign button that opens a blank pad. Sketch pad shows a Tap to sketch button that opens a blank drawing canvas. Voice note shows a Record voice note button, with playback controls once recorded. Photo and File accept up to five attachments per step, with a counter showing how many are added. Annotated photo, Signature, and Sketch pad each capture a single item per step.

Tips

• Use the Instructions field to remove ambiguity. "Take a photo of the area" is much weaker than "Take a wide-angle photo showing the whole prep bench, with the floor visible at the bottom of the frame".
• Reach for a stepper count when staff need to count something small (1–20 trays, 0–10 customers). It's faster than typing and means fewer mis-taps.
• A sketch pad beats a text description when staff need to show where something is, such as a hazard, a damaged area, or a layout.
• An annotated photo is the strongest evidence you can capture. Use it for damage reports, before-and-after checks, and incidents.
• Current date & time, Current user, Current location, and Signature all create solid audit trails. Use them anywhere you need proof of when, where, or who.
• Set an Expected location on a Current location element to prove staff were actually on site. The 50-metre check stops them stamping from anywhere else.

Choice elements are the steps where staff pick from a set of options you've defined. There are five of them: a checklist of items to tick off, a choice picker, a user choice picker for selecting team members, a rating scale, and a cascading select.

What choice elements are

A choice element shows staff a list (or scale) of pre-defined options. Staff pick one, several, or work through them. The picked option (or options) go into the workflow run, where they show up in the run history, exports, and any reports.

You set up the options when you build the workflow template on the canvas (web only). Staff can't add new ones at the moment they fill it in; they pick from what you've defined. The one exception is the User choice element: there you don't type the options, because they're filled in automatically from the team members on that workflow run.

All choice elements at a glance

These are the five elements in the Choices flyout of the canvas element picker.

Where to find them on the canvas

On the canvas left toolbar, and in the plus menu below any step, the element picker has four categories: Guidance, Inputs, Choices, and Media. Open Choices to find all five choice elements.

The picker offers one Choice starter and one User choice starter. There's no separate "single" and "multi" item to choose between. You add the starter, then tick Allow multiple selections on the card if you want staff to be able to pick more than one.

Common configuration

Every choice element shows the same two fields at the top of its config card on the canvas:

• Input name (text, required) -- the label that appears in run history, exports, and reports.
• The instructions field (textarea, required) -- the help text staff see above the picker on their phone. Its label is worded to match the element you're building, so it starts Instructions for staff and ends with the task, for example Instructions for staff carrying out the checklist, Instructions for staff picking from the options, Instructions for staff picking a rating, Instructions for staff picking a hierarchical option, or Instructions for staff picking from the team.

There's also a Mandatory toggle at the top right of the name field. Turn it on and staff can't complete the workflow without picking something. On the mobile app, a mandatory step shows a small asterisk after its title.

On Pro and Expert, choice elements can also reveal extra steps based on a Pilla decision. Tick Add conditional follow-up steps near the bottom of the card and a field labelled Instructions for Pilla to make a yes/no decision appears. Fill it in and Pilla judges the staff member's answer to decide which follow-up steps appear. See Decision connector for the setup guide.

Checklist

A checklist gives staff a list of items to tick off one at a time. You add the items when you build the template.

1. Go to the Checklist items field on the card.
2. Type an item in the Add item box and press Enter, or tap the plus icon to the right.
3. Edit any item by typing over it, or remove it with the red X beside it.

On mobile, staff see each item as a row with a square box to tick. They tap each one to mark it done, and a tick appears in the box. Once a checklist item is ticked it locks, so staff can't accidentally un-tick a completed item.

Choice

A choice element shows staff the options you type, as a list of tappable rows. By default they pick one; tick Allow multiple selections and they can pick several.

1. Go to the Options field on the card.
2. Type an option in the Add option box and press Enter, or tap the plus icon.
3. Edit any option by typing over it, or remove it with the red X.
4. To let staff pick more than one, tick Allow multiple selections above the options.

On mobile, each option is a row with a round tick to its left. Whether you allow one or multiple selections, staff tap the rows they want. With single-select, tapping a new option moves the tick to it.

User choice

A user choice element lets staff pick people from the team on that workflow run. You don't type any options; Pilla fills the list with the team members automatically. Like the Choice element, tick Allow multiple selections to let staff pick more than one.

There are no options to type. The only setup is the name, instructions, the mandatory toggle, and the Allow multiple selections tick.

On mobile, staff tap the picker and a sheet opens listing the team members, each with their photo and name. With a single selection the picker shows the chosen person's name, headed Select user (or Selected user once complete). With multiple selections allowed, the picker is headed Select users, each row has a round tick, and a Done button closes it. Once the step is complete, tapping it reopens the picker read-only. If two or more people were picked, the step shows {N} people instead of listing every name.

Rating scale

A rating scale gives staff a row of numbered buttons to tap. You set the lowest and highest numbers.

• Start (number, required) -- the lowest value on the scale.
• End (number, required) -- the highest value on the scale.

Start and end must both be whole numbers between 1 and 10, and end must be greater than start. Pilla auto-generates a button for every whole number in the range, so a 1 to 5 scale gives staff buttons for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. On mobile, scales with more than five buttons wrap onto two rows so each button stays easy to tap.

Cascading select

A cascading select is two linked lists, where the second list depends on the first. You build the tree in the Parent → child options field.

1. Type a top-level option in the Add parent option box and press Enter, or tap the plus icon.
2. Under each parent, add its child options in the Add child box for that parent.
3. Remove any parent or child with the red X beside it.

On mobile, staff pick a parent first. Once they tap a parent, the list collapses to that choice and the child options for it appear underneath, each marked with a small corner arrow so the hierarchy reads at a glance. Tapping the chosen parent again clears the whole selection so they can start over.

Use cascading selects when one choice naturally drives the next, such as region then site, department then station, or category then sub-category.

Tips

• A checklist is the right shape when staff need to confirm they did several separate things. A Choice with Allow multiple selections is the right shape when they pick a subset from a known list of answers.
• Reach for User choice whenever the answer is "which person", such as who witnessed a delivery, who was present at a briefing, or who signed off. You don't have to maintain a name list; it always reflects the team on the workflow run.
• For a rating scale, 1 to 5 is fastest on mobile (the buttons fit on one row). 1 to 10 gives you finer-grained data but wraps onto two rows and takes longer to fill in.
• A rating scale only shows numbers, with no wording under the buttons. If staff need to know what each number means, spell it out in the Instructions for staff picking a rating field, for example "1 = unusable, 5 = perfect", so everyone grades the same way.
• Cascading selects keep long lists manageable. If you have 50 sites across 5 regions, splitting them into region then site means staff only see 5 options first, then 10 or so.
• Keep choice option lists short on mobile. More than about 8 options and staff start scrolling, so consider splitting into a cascading select or using a different element type.

Guidance elements give staff context inside a workflow: written notes, a reference photo, or a short video walkthrough. They don't capture a response. Staff read or watch them, then move on to the next step.

What guidance elements are

A guidance element is a read-only step. Staff see it, learn from it, scroll past it. There's no answer to capture, so nothing about the staff member's response is saved to the workflow run; the guidance content you set on the canvas is simply shown to them.

Use them to set context before a tricky step, show staff what "good" looks like, or embed training material directly inside the workflow they're filling in.

All guidance elements at a glance

There are three guidance elements: one written, two that carry media.

Finding guidance elements on the canvas

Guidance elements are added from the same step picker as every other element. On the left toolbar, the element types are grouped into four buttons: Guidance (the lightbulb), Inputs, Choices, and Media. Hover over Guidance to see all three guidance types together: Written guidance, Photo guidance, and Video guidance.

Setting up each guidance element

Guidance elements don't have an input name or a Mandatory toggle, because there's no answer to label or require. The content of the guidance is the whole point, so each type has a single content field, marked with a * because it can't be left empty.

• Written guidance -- a text editor labelled Written guidance * with the placeholder Add guidance for staff.... Type your note, apply formatting, and add links. It saves automatically.
• Photo guidance -- a field labelled Photo guidance * with an Upload photo button. Click it and pick an image file. Once it's added, the button is replaced by a row showing the file name with a red X on the right. Click the X to remove the image and start again.
• Video guidance -- a field labelled Video guidance * with an Upload video button. Click it and pick a video file. As with photos, the button becomes a file-name row with a red X to remove and re-upload.

How guidance appears to staff

Guidance elements show up in line with the rest of the workflow on both the mobile work run and the web workflow-run view. They sit full-width among the other steps, but unlike an input or choice element they have no coloured edge and no "completed" line, because there's nothing to fill in.

On mobile, written guidance shows as formatted text. Photo guidance shows the reference image; tap it to open it full-screen. Video guidance shows a thumbnail with a play button; tap it to play the video. So while written guidance is purely read-only, photo and video guidance are tappable to view them larger.

On web, a manager or admin opening a workflow run sees the same three: written guidance as formatted text, the reference photo (click to enlarge), and the video playing inline in the run card.

If you put guidance just before an input or choice element, staff see the guidance first, then the input below it. That's the most common pattern: explain, then ask.

Use cases

• Pre-task safety instructions -- a written guidance block at the start of a workflow that lists the PPE staff need, or the hazards to watch for.
• Reference photo -- a photo guidance element showing what a finished prep bench should look like, just before the "take a photo of your bench" step.
• Training video -- a short video guidance element before a process step staff don't do often, like a deep clean or an equipment changeover.
• Context for the next question -- a written guidance block that explains why the next Rating scale or Choice element matters.

Tips

• Keep written guidance short. Staff on a phone won't scroll through paragraphs. Aim for a couple of sentences, or a short bulleted list.
• Use photo guidance to anchor expectations. "Clean to this standard" with a photo is far stronger than "clean thoroughly".
• Keep video guidance under 60 seconds wherever you can. Long videos kill momentum during a workday.
• Pair guidance with the input that comes next. A photo guidance showing "what good looks like", followed by a Photo input asking staff to capture their version, is one of the strongest patterns in Pilla.
• Guidance elements never record a response, so there's no way to tell from the workflow run whether someone read them. If you need staff to confirm they've read something, add a Checklist or Choice element straight after the guidance and make it mandatory.

An Open connector is the link between two steps that lets both steps show up at the same time on mobile. Staff can complete them in any order, which is the right pick whenever the order really does not matter.

What an Open connector is for

When you wire two steps together with an Open connector, both steps appear together in the workflow run on the mobile app. Staff can tap whichever one they want first. There is no gating, no waiting, no hidden step.

The tooltip on the Open button reads: Worker sees both steps at once — any order.

This is the default behaviour of the canvas. Most templates will use Open connectors for most of their steps, since most steps do not depend on the order they are done in.

Good fits include:

• Side-by-side checks that can be done in any order, like wiping down the counter and restocking napkins
• A set of photos where it does not matter which one is taken first
• A group of questions where staff can answer them as they go
• Anything where forcing an order would just slow people down

How to pick an Open connector

You pick the connector type when you add a step below an existing step.

1. Click the round + button below the step you want to connect from
2. The connector picker opens with two options: Open and Gated
3. Click Open (the first option, shown with a down-arrow icon)
4. A second row opens showing the element types you can add, plus a Group option
5. Pick the element type for the new step

The new step is added below, and the line between the two steps shows no extra indicator; a plain connector is an Open connector.

How to tell an Open connector on the canvas

An Open connector is the visual default. The line between two steps is just a line, with no padlock on it. If you see a clean edge, the connector is Open.

A Gated connector shows a small padlock at the midpoint of the line. Hover over it and you see Gated — next step stays hidden until this one is completed. If there is no padlock, the connector is Open.

Tips

• Default to Open whenever you can. Forcing an order only helps if the order genuinely matters
• The first step after the trigger is always Open, because there is nothing before it to gate on, so the canvas skips the Open and Gated choice entirely and takes you straight to picking the element type for that first step
• If you find yourself reaching for Gated a lot, consider whether the steps could be grouped instead, with a single group acting as the "must finish this section" boundary
• An Open connector is reversible at any time. Click the line to select it, then click the red Delete connection button to remove it without losing the steps on either side
• The connector picker no longer has a separate Decision option. If you want Pilla to judge an answer and branch the workflow, turn on a Pilla decision on the element itself rather than on the connector

A Gated connector is the link between two steps that keeps the second step hidden on mobile until the first step is done. It is the right pick whenever order matters, like making sure a photo is taken before a temperature reading is recorded. You build it on the canvas; staff feel its effect in the mobile app.

What a Gated connector is for

When you wire two steps together with a Gated connector, the second step does not appear in the work run on the mobile app until the first step has been completed. Staff finish step 1, the next step pops in, then they can carry on.

The tooltip on the Gated button in the connector picker reads: Next step stays hidden until this one is completed.

Good fits include:

• Enforcing a real-world order, like "take a photo of the cleaned surface before recording the temperature"
• Gating a sensitive step so the worker can not skip past prep work, like signing off only after the inspection is filled in
• Building a step-by-step procedure where each step builds on the last
• Cutting visual clutter on mobile, so staff only see the next thing they need to do

How to pick a Gated connector on the canvas

You pick the connector type when you add a step below an existing step. The Gated option only appears when you are adding below an existing element step, not directly below the trigger.

1. Click the round + button below the step you want to connect from
2. The connector picker opens with two options: Open (down-arrow icon) and Gated (lock icon)
3. Click Gated
4. A second picker opens showing the element types you can add
5. Pick the element type for the new step

The new step is added below, and the line between the two steps shows a small padlock at the midpoint.

How to tell a Gated connector on the canvas

A Gated connector shows a padlock icon in a small circle at the midpoint of the line between two steps. Hover over the padlock and a tooltip reads: Gated — next step stays hidden until this one is completed.

When you click the line itself, the padlock is replaced with a small toolbar. The + button (tooltip Insert step here) drops a new step into the middle of the line, and the red bin button (tooltip Delete connection) removes the connector. Clicking elsewhere on the canvas returns the padlock to view.

How a gated step looks to staff on mobile

Staff never see the words "Open" or "Gated". They just see the steps appear in order. A step behind a Gated connector stays hidden in the work run until the step before it is marked complete.

Once a gated step becomes visible, it shows a small ↳ arrow in the left margin to signal that it depends on an earlier step. If a whole group of steps sits behind one gate, the arrow appears at the group's top and the group is indented. Chained gates work the same way: if step A gates step B and step B gates step C, then C only appears once both A and B are complete.

Tips

• Use Gated only where order genuinely matters. Over-using it makes mobile feel slow and rigid
• The padlock on the canvas is your at-a-glance signal that a step is gated. If you scan a template and only see plain lines, you can be confident nothing is hidden behind another step
• A gate is on the connector, not on the step itself. The same step can be Open in one template and Gated in another
• If you change your mind, click the line, delete the connection with the red bin button, then re-add the step with an Open connector. The step itself stays put
• The ↳ arrow staff see on mobile is the live result of your Gated connector. If staff report a step appearing out of order, check the connector on the canvas first

A manual trigger is the simplest kind. The workflow template never fires on its own. Staff start a workflow run themselves from the mobile app whenever it is needed.

When to use a manual trigger

Manual triggers are for anything that does not fit a fixed schedule. The decision to run sits with the person on the floor, not the calendar.

Good fits include:

• One-off tasks like deep cleans or stocktakes that happen when needed
• Ad-hoc audits a manager runs when they spot a problem
• Incident-led workflows like "spill clean-up" or "complaint received"
• Onboarding checklists started the day a new starter arrives
• Anything seasonal or occasional that you do not want clogging the date scroller

If the answer to "when should this run?" is "whenever someone decides", you want a manual trigger.

Set up a manual trigger on the canvas

You choose the trigger from the Trigger step at the top of every workflow template.

1. Open the workflow template on the canvas
2. Click the current trigger setting in the Trigger step
3. Pick Run manually from the list

That is the whole setup. A manual trigger has no start date, time, or repeat settings. The Should take less than setting remains visible. Enter Days or Hours if you want to set when an unfinished run becomes overdue. Both are optional. If you leave them empty, the run is due by the end of the day.

To save, click the Save button in the top bar. There is one live version of every template, so saving puts your changes live straight away. The template is now available for staff to fire from the mobile app. If you want to back out without keeping your edits, click Close and discard next to the Save button instead.

The scheduled choices are Run once, Run hourly, Run daily, Run weekly, Run monthly, and Run yearly. Expert accounts also see Run from external trigger as a disabled option marked Beta. Starter and Pro accounts do not see that option.

How staff fire a manual trigger from mobile

Staff run a manual template from the mobile menu. They do not need to know the template was set up as manual, they just see it in the list of templates they can start.

The steps are:

1. Tap the Menu button on the floating action bar at the bottom of the screen
2. Tap Run a workflow template in the menu that slides up
3. Pick the template from the list
4. Pick which team or teams should run it. Every team the template is assigned to is ticked by default, so you can untick the ones you do not want. When more than one team is listed, a Select all / Deselect all button appears in the top-right corner of the header
5. Tap the Run for N teams button at the bottom (it reads Run for 1 team when only one team is selected)

A new workflow run is created for each team picked. When you run it for a single team, the app takes you straight into the new run so you can start working through it. When you run it for more than one team, the app returns you to the main work list, where the new runs show under today's date. Pull down to refresh if you do not see them straight away.

If a member of staff has no templates available, they see a message saying "No workflow templates available to run." with the line "Templates with a manual or external trigger will appear here." underneath. That means no template in your account has a manual or external trigger set up yet, or none of those templates is assigned to a team the person belongs to.

What manual triggers do not do

Manual triggers never appear on the date scroller because there is no schedule to plot. The workflow only exists once a member of staff fires it.

A few other things to keep in mind:

• A manual template only shows up on mobile for staff in a team that has been assigned to the template
• A manual template must be saved before it appears on mobile. A template you have started but never saved will not show up in the run list
• Anyone in an assigned team can fire the template, not just managers
• Each fire creates one workflow run per team picked, so running for three teams creates three runs

Tips

• Manual is the safest trigger to start with while you are testing a new template, because nothing fires without someone choosing to fire it
• If you find staff forgetting to run a manual template, switch the trigger to a schedule so it appears on the date scroller automatically
• Manual templates are great for "as needed" responses, but if you find yourself running the same one every Monday morning, that is a sign it should be a scheduled trigger instead
• The mobile menu only lists templates a member of staff is allowed to run, so an empty list usually means the template's team assignment needs updating
• If your team cannot find Run a workflow template in the mobile menu at all, an admin may have turned off the setting "Should everyone see 'Run a workflow template' on mobile?" in account settings. Turn it back on to show the option again
• Saving a template puts the change live immediately, so edit and save a manual template only when you are happy for staff to start using the new version

A scheduled trigger tells Pilla when to start a workflow. You can set it to run once or repeat, and choose how long your team has to finish each run. Set this up on the canvas, where you arrange your workflow steps in the web app.

Choose a scheduled trigger

Managers and Admins can change the trigger on workflow templates they can access. Staff cannot change a workflow's shared schedule.

Open the trigger picker on the canvas to choose one of these scheduled options:

The picker also includes Run manually. On Expert, it includes Run from external trigger as a disabled option marked Beta. Starter and Pro accounts do not see that option. An existing Expert template that already uses an external trigger remains editable.

When billing pauses scheduled runs

Scheduled workflows need an active trial or subscription to start new runs. If your trial ends without a paid plan, or your subscription is no longer active, new runs stop starting. Your saved workflow templates and existing runs are kept. Ask an Admin to choose a plan in the web app so your team can continue.

Using all the workflows included in your plan does not cause this pause. Once your subscription is active, scheduled workflows can start new runs again.

Set up a one-time run

Choose Run once for a workflow that should run on one date. Save the template after changing its trigger.

1. Open the workflow template on the canvas in the web app
2. Click the trigger's current setting and choose Run once
3. Fill in the trigger's schedule fields:
   • Starts (required): choose the date and time for the workflow to start
   • Should take less than (optional): enter how long your team has to finish, using Days and Hours. An unfinished run is overdue after this time
4. Click Save in the canvas
5. Fix any highlighted issues and click Save again if Pilla asks you to

The saved template schedules one run for each assigned team or person. Use a future date when setting up work that has not happened yet.

Set up a repeating schedule

Choose a repeating trigger to create runs hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or yearly. All repeat controls are in the trigger picker.

1. Open the workflow template on the canvas in the web app
2. Click the trigger's current setting and choose Run hourly, Run daily, Run weekly, Run monthly or Run yearly
3. Fill in the repeat controls beneath the trigger choices, then choose when to Stop repeating
4. Close the popup and fill in the trigger's schedule fields:
   • Starts (required): choose when the repeating schedule begins
   • Should take less than (optional): enter how long your team has to finish each run, using Days and Hours. An unfinished run is overdue after this time
5. Open the trigger picker again and check Next occurrences
6. Click Save in the canvas
7. Fix any highlighted issues and click Save again if Pilla asks you to

If the start date is in the past, repeating options are disabled and the trigger can only run once. Change Starts to today or a future date before selecting a repeating option.

Changing the controls does not save the template. Save applies the new schedule. For the effect of editing an existing workflow, see Saving a workflow template.

Move a repeating schedule to a later start date

When you move the Starts date later on an existing repeating workflow, some future runs may already exist before the new date. Click Save and Pilla checks for these runs. If it finds any, a confirmation asks What should happen to the existing runs?

• Keep: saves the new schedule and leaves the listed runs on their current dates, times, teams and content. It keeps only the runs that already exist, so Pilla does not add runs for any missing dates before the new start date
• Delete: saves the new schedule and removes listed runs without activity. Runs with activity are protected and stay available. If every listed run is protected, Delete is unavailable
• Cancel: closes the confirmation without saving your changes

Runs due today or in the past are not included. Pilla checks the local date for each run to decide which runs count as today. Whichever save option you choose, new runs follow the updated schedule from the new Starts date.

Set the repeat pattern

After choosing a repeating trigger in the web app, fill in the controls shown beneath the trigger choices.

Run hourly

• Every (required): enter the number of hours between runs, from 1 to 23
• From (required): choose the first run time each day. This also changes the time in Starts
• Until (optional): choose the latest time a run can start each day

For example, every 2 hours from 09:00 until 17:00 schedules runs at 09:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00 each day. Check Next occurrences to confirm the times. The times must be within the same day. Choose an Until time later than From.

Run daily

• Every (required): enter the number of days between runs. Use 1 for every day
• Weekdays only (Mon-Fri) (optional): tick this to skip Saturdays and Sundays

Run weekly

• Every (required): enter the number of weeks between repeats. Use 1 for every week or 2 for every other week
• Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun: choose at least one day for the workflow to run

Pilla initially selects the weekday of your start date. If you clear every day, the preview shows No days selected - no occurrences.

Run monthly

• Every (required): enter the number of months between runs
• On day: choose this for a fixed date each month, then enter a number from 1 to 31
• On the: choose this for a particular day of the month, then choose from the two lists, such as Last and Friday

The position choices are 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and Last. The day choices are the seven weekdays, plus Day, Weekday and Weekend Day. For example, Last and Day chooses the last calendar day of each month.

A fixed date that a month does not contain is skipped. On day 31 therefore skips months without a 31st.

Run yearly

• Every (required): enter the number of years between runs. The workflow repeats on the start date and time you chose

Choose when to stop repeating

Stop repeating controls the whole series of runs. Should take less than, outside the popup, sets the deadline for an individual run.

Check when your workflow will run

Next occurrences shows the next seven scheduled runs, or fewer if the schedule ends sooner. The list updates when you change the start date, time, repeat pattern or when to stop. For hourly schedules, it also shows each run's time.

Check the preview before clicking Save. For example, a weekly Friday check should show Fridays, and an hourly check should show the hours you intended. The preview shows your chosen dates. New runs still need an active trial or subscription to start.

Tips

• Use On the, Last, Day for a monthly check that must happen on the last day of every month
• Use Stop repeating, On when you know the last date the workflow is needed
• Set Should take less than to the time available to finish each run, rather than the gap between runs

An external trigger starts a workflow when something happens in a connected service, such as Slack or Google Calendar. External triggers are currently in Beta, which means the feature is still being tested. You cannot add one to a new or existing workflow template yet.

Current availability

External triggers are visible only on the Expert plan. People using Expert see:

• An External triggers column on the Workflow templates screen, marked Beta
• A disabled Run from external trigger option in the trigger list, marked Beta

The disabled option shows what is coming, but you cannot select it. Starter and Pro accounts do not see the external option or the External triggers column.

Existing external-trigger templates

If you are a Manager or Admin on Expert, your account may already have a workflow template that uses an external trigger. These templates stay in the External triggers column and remain editable.

1. Open Workflow templates in the web app.
2. Find the template in the External triggers column.
3. Click the template to open it on the canvas, where you arrange workflow steps.
4. Review the service and trigger details in the Trigger step.
5. Click Save after making any changes to the template.

The connected service must stay connected for the external trigger to work. If the service is disconnected, reconnect it from Manage my integrations before relying on the workflow.

What an external trigger does

An external trigger connects one event in another service to one workflow template. When that event happens, Pilla creates a new workflow run from the saved template. A workflow run is the copy that your team fills in.

For example, an external trigger could start a follow-up workflow when someone reacts to a Slack message. Each matching reaction would create a new run for each team assigned to that template.

You can use manual triggers and scheduled triggers while external triggers remain unavailable for new setups.

The mobile preview is a mini iPhone frame on the canvas that shows you how a workflow will look on your staff's phones. It updates live as you build the template, so you can spot wording or layout problems before you save.

What it is

The preview is a small iPhone-shaped thumbnail anchored to the right edge of the canvas, halfway down the screen. It mirrors the current state of the workflow you're building. Every time you add or edit a step, the preview redraws itself.

What you see inside the frame is the same view your staff will see in the live mobile app. Before you've added any steps, the frame shows the message "Add a workflow step to see how it looks on a worker's phone."

How to expand it to full size

1. Click the mini iPhone frame on the right of the canvas.
2. The frame animates outwards to fill the screen.
3. The rest of the canvas dims behind it.

In the expanded view, you can type into text fields, tick checklist items, pick choice options, and try out the workflow as if you were a member of staff filling it in.

How to close the expanded view

You have two ways out:

• Click the X button in the top-right corner of the screen (a round button on a white background)
• Click anywhere on the dimmed background around the iPhone frame

The frame shrinks back down to its mini size on the canvas. There is no keyboard shortcut for closing it.

Filling in mock answers

The expanded preview is fully interactive. Anything you type into a step or tick on a checklist is a mock answer. Mock answers are kept while you flip between the mini and expanded views, so you can shrink the preview, tweak the canvas, and open it again without losing what you typed.

Mock answers are not saved anywhere. They're just for your own testing. They don't show up in workflow runs, and they don't follow the template when you save it. They also reset if you close the canvas and reopen it later.

What the preview does not do

The preview is a visual check, not a full simulation. A few things behave differently:

• Pilla steps (briefings, decisions, and actions) don't appear in the preview at all. They only happen when the workflow runs for real, so the preview leaves them out rather than showing an empty card. To try a Pilla step before you save, use the test drawer on the canvas instead
• The trigger doesn't appear in the preview. It's what starts the workflow, not a step your team fills in, so the preview only shows the steps staff will actually complete
• Any step that isn't joined to the rest of the workflow with a line is skipped. If you've dropped a step onto the canvas but haven't connected it yet, it won't show up in the preview
• Groups don't show their own name or box label, but the steps inside them still appear, wrapped together in a single card so they look the way staff will see them

Background scroll while expanded

Once the preview is expanded, the page behind it is locked in place. You can't scroll the canvas while the fullscreen view is up. Closing the preview unlocks it again.

Tips

• Use the preview every few minutes as you build. It's the quickest way to catch confusing wording, missing instructions, or a step that's in the wrong order.
• If the preview shows fewer steps than you've added, check that every step is connected with a line. Steps that aren't joined to anything are hidden from the preview.
• Pilla steps never appear in the preview. That's expected, not a bug. To check a Pilla step before you save, click the play icon in that step's header on the canvas to open the test drawer and try it with sample data.
• The preview shows the steps in top-to-bottom canvas order. If they appear in the wrong order, move the step cards up or down on the canvas until they line up the way you want.
• Try the preview both on your laptop and on a real phone after you save. The preview is accurate, but seeing the workflow on the actual hardware in the field is always a useful final check.

A workflow template has one live version: whatever a Manager or Admin last saved is what the team runs. There is no separate draft-then-publish step. This page explains how shared workflow saving works, how personal automations differ, and what happens to runs that are already underway.

One Save button, every save goes live

Managers and Admins have a single Save button in the small panel of controls in the top-right, just across from the Name / Tag / Assign to header bar. Clicking it writes the shared template live straight away. There is no separate "publish" step and no draft that sits hidden from your team.

A small amber dot appears on the Save button whenever you have changes you haven't saved yet. While a save is in progress the button shows Saving… with a spinner.

When you save:

• The template becomes the live version that your staff run on their phones.
• Future workflow runs are updated from the saved template, so new runs use your latest changes. If you move a repeating schedule to a later start date, Pilla may first ask whether to keep or delete runs that already exist before that date.
• A green Saved confirmation appears briefly.

Save before you walk away from the screen; there is more on the safety nets further down this page.

Staff see a different Save my automations button. Their canvas keeps the shared workflow read-only and saves only their own Pilla nodes. It does not change the template's name, schedule, audience, steps, groups, or shared connections. Scheduled runs from tomorrow onward pick up the updated personal layer; today's runs stay unchanged.

Saving is explicit, there's no auto-save

The canvas does not save on its own. Your changes are only kept when you click Save, so get into the habit of clicking it before you leave the screen. Closing the tab without saving loses your latest changes.

To the left of Save is the Close and discard button. Clicking it returns you to the Workflow templates view. If you have changes you haven't saved, an Unsaved changes popup appears first with three buttons:

• Keep editing -- closes the popup and leaves you on the canvas
• Discard & close -- leaves the canvas without saving your latest changes
• Save & close -- saves your template first, then closes the canvas

The same popup appears if you try to navigate away using the sidebar while you have unsaved changes. As long as you pick Save & close (or click Save beforehand), nothing is lost.

Why a save won't go through

A save only goes through when the template is complete. If something is missing, clicking Save shows a "Fix the highlighted issues before saving" message, highlights the problem steps with a red border on the canvas, and lists what's wrong underneath the Save button.

The list uses short summaries, grouped so ten unnamed steps show as one line rather than ten. Common entries are:

• Name your template -- the template Name field is empty
• Choose a tag -- no Tag is selected
• Pick a team or a person -- nothing is ticked in the Assign to field, in either the Teams or the People tab
• Set a valid schedule -- a scheduled trigger is missing a valid date or time
• A count of unconnected steps -- a step has been dropped onto the canvas but not joined to the workflow with a line, so Pilla can't tell where it fits
• A count of incomplete steps -- a step is missing its name, instructions, content, or list items
• A count of missing Pilla prompts -- a Pilla step has no instructions
• A count of decisions that need Yes/No -- a Pilla decision isn't wired to both branches
• A count of Pilla rules with no steps wired -- a Pilla rule on a step has no Yes/No steps connected
• A count of empty groups -- a group has no steps inside it

Fix the red-bordered steps and clear the listed items, then click Save again.

What staff see when a shared workflow is saved

The canvas is web only. Staff can open its read-only shared layer to manage their own Pilla automations, but they cannot change the workflow itself. Shared changes still reach them through their workflow runs.

On web. The Workflow templates view always shows your one live version. There is no version history to scroll through and no older copies to switch between; what you see on the canvas is what runs.

On mobile. Your staff open the Pilla app and see their work runs. The next run that fires from the template uses your latest saved version. They don't see drafts, version numbers, or anything about the canvas, just the steps you've set up, ready to complete.

What happens to workflow runs already underway

When you save changes to a scheduled template, Pilla protects work that is already in motion and updates runs that are still in the future.

• Runs that are already in progress, and today's runs, stay exactly as they were. Your staff can finish them with no surprises mid-task.
• Future runs after today without activity are normally updated from your latest saved template, so they pick up your changes.

This means you can save freely without pulling the rug out from under someone halfway through a checklist. The "today is off-limits" rule is built in, so a run someone is part-way through never changes underneath them.

When a later start date leaves a gap

If you move the Starts date later on an existing repeating workflow, Pilla checks whether future runs already exist before the new date. When it finds any, Save or Save & close opens What should happen to the existing runs? and shows how many runs are affected.

• Keep saves the template and leaves those existing runs on their current dates, times, teams and content. It does not create extra runs on missing dates in the gap
• Delete saves the template and removes affected runs without activity. Any runs with activity are protected and stay available. If every affected run is protected, Delete is unavailable
• Cancel closes the confirmation and leaves the template changes unsaved

Runs due today or in the past stay unchanged. Pilla checks the local date for each run to decide which runs count as today. After the save, Pilla creates new runs from the new Starts date onwards.

The unsaved-canvas safety net

Brand-new templates that you've never saved keep an extra backup in your browser. If you close the canvas accidentally, or the browser crashes, the work isn't lost.

The next time you start a new canvas, a banner appears near the top with two buttons:

• Resume -- brings your unsaved work back into the canvas
• Discard -- starts with a blank canvas and throws the backup away

The backup is cleared automatically once you've successfully saved the template.

Tips

• If a save won't go through and you can't tell why, read the list under the Save button and scan the canvas for any red-bordered steps. Each one names what's missing.
• There's no auto-save. Click Save regularly as you build, and always before you close the tab, so you don't lose your latest changes.
• Templates built before the current canvas open in the same editable canvas as any other template. The first time you open one, Pilla lays its steps out for you automatically as a top-to-bottom chain. You can pan, zoom, edit any step, and click Save to make your changes live, just like a template you built from scratch.
• There is no version history. The canvas keeps one live version per template, so save when you're confident the workflow is ready for your team.

A workflow template can run for teams, individual people, or both. Each person you choose gets their own private workflow run that other staff can't see.

When to assign to people

Assign to people when the work is about one person rather than a team. Good fits include:

• Monthly one-to-one check-ins between a manager and a team member
• Performance reviews
• Probation or onboarding checklists for a new starter
• Personal development tasks someone works through at their own pace

If everyone on a team should do the work together, assign the template to that team. You can also add private runs for individual people from the same template. See the Canvas overview help page for the team side.

Combine teams and people

A workflow template can run for teams and individual people at the same time. The Assign to picker in the canvas header bar has two tabs, Teams and People. Your choices in each tab are independent, so adding or removing someone on the People tab does not change the Teams tab, and changing teams does not change your people choices.

How to assign a workflow to people

You assign people from the canvas in the web app, using the same header bar field where you'd normally pick teams.

1. Open the workflow template on the canvas.
2. Click the Assign to field in the header bar across the top-left of the canvas. When nothing is picked yet it reads Select teams or people.
3. Click the People tab at the top of the picker.
4. Tick each person the workflow should run for. Use the Search people... box to find someone quickly; the list shows up to 10 people at a time and scrolls for the rest. Any teams already chosen on the Teams tab stay selected.
5. Click Save in the top-right of the canvas.

A note at the bottom of the picker reminds you: "The workflow will be created separately for each of these people." Once saved, the Assign to field shows the person's name, or a count like 3 people when you've picked more than one.

What each person gets

Every person you tick gets their own separate workflow run each time the template starts, alongside any runs created for selected teams. So a weekly check-in assigned to three people creates three private runs every week, one per person, as well as any team runs. Any trigger works: scheduled, one-time, or manual. Each person completes their run on the mobile app or web app the same way as any other run.

Who can see a private run

A person-assigned workflow is private. The people who can see someone's runs are:

• The person themselves
• The manager who assigned the workflow to them
• Admins

Other staff and other managers cannot see it. The assignment also creates no chat channel, and it never appears in team pickers or team lists anywhere in Pilla, so the rest of the account won't even know it exists.

Who can assign to people

Managers and admins can assign workflows to people; staff cannot. What you see in the People tab depends on your role:

• Managers see only people who share a team with them
• Admins see everyone in the account

If someone you expect is missing from your list and you're a manager, you're probably not in a team with them. Ask an admin to assign the workflow, or add yourself to a shared team first.

Select all on the People tab

The Select all row at the top of the People tab ticks everyone currently in your list in one click (it reads Deselect all when everyone is already ticked). Unlike Select all on the Teams tab, it does not keep the workflow in sync going forward: people who join the account later are not added automatically. If you want a new joiner included, open the template and tick them yourself.

Where private runs show up

On the web app, a person's runs appear in the Workflow runs view like any other run, with the person's name shown where the team name normally appears. On the mobile app, the run appears on the person's own work list on the scheduled date, and they complete it exactly like any other run. Remember the privacy rule: only the person, the manager who assigned it, and admins see these rows at all.

Tips

• The team filter on the Workflow runs view only lists real teams, so filtering by team hides person-assigned runs. Clear the team filter to see them again.
• Assigning a template to yourself works too. It's a simple way to run a private recurring checklist for your own tasks.
• One template can cover many people. Assign your one-to-one template to everyone you manage and you'll get a separate private run per person each time it fires, rather than needing a template per person.
• Changing one tab only changes that part of the audience. Untick a team or person if you want to remove them. If you also move a repeating schedule to a later start date, choosing Keep during the save can preserve existing runs for people or teams you removed. New runs from the new start date use the people and teams that are currently selected.
• The playground doesn't have a People tab; its picker is teams only. Sign in to the web app to assign a workflow to people.