Automations

Standing instructions that run on a schedule or when something arrives. Any change they propose waits for a person.

An automation is a job you describe once and Mercora runs for you, such as “Every weekday at 7:00, list the invoices that went overdue yesterday.” It reads on its own, but every change it proposes waits in the Inbox for a person to approve.

Available when the Automations module is turned on for your workspace. Ask your workspace admin.

Create an automation

1. Describe the job

   Click Automations in the sidebar, then New automation. Describe what it should do, for example “When a freight invoice arrives, check it against the rate sheet and propose the deduction”, and click Draft. Or click Start empty.

2. Check the trigger and steps

   Under When it runs, check the trigger. Each step reads as a sentence: click one to edit it, reorder with Move up and Move down, or click Add a step.

3. Set what it can use

   For each data area, choose No access, Read or Propose changes. A draft never gets Propose changes by itself: it’s shown as “Suggested” for you to accept.

4. Test, save and switch on

   Click Test (see below), then Save, then switch it on.

You can also draft one from a Copilot answer with Make this an automation.

Triggers

Trigger	Starts a run when
On a schedule	A set time comes round: every weekday, day, week or month
When a document finishes processing	A document of the chosen types is processed (by default, once it’s matched to a trade)
Only when someone runs it	Someone clicks Run now or asks the Copilot to run it
When another system calls	Your system calls the Mercora API. See the API reference.
When an email arrives	An email matching your filters reaches the workspace’s email inbox
When a Teams channel gets a post	A post arrives in a channel an admin set to Automations
When a WhatsApp group gets a message	A message arrives in a group an admin set to Automations

Document and message triggers only count what arrives after the automation is switched on. A message goes to one place only: once an email, channel or group feeds an automation, it no longer goes to Deal Capture. Only an admin can save an email trigger, and emails from registered freight carriers always stay with Freight Rates. Teams channels and WhatsApp groups are set up under Settings → Integrations (Microsoft 365, WhatsApp).

Steps

• AI · work something out does the job in its brief, reading what the automation may use. With Can stop and ask on, it may pause to ask the owner.
• Find a record, Update a record (always asks first) and Report a finding (ends the run with an Inbox card) work on Mercora records.
• App actions use connected apps, such as posting to a channel. Reading runs on its own; anything else asks first. Each action starts off until an admin switches it on in Integrations.
• Ask someone to approve or Ask someone a question waits for a person.
• If, Wait for and Tell someone control the flow: carry on only when a value matches, wait for a time, document or callback, or leave someone a note.

Test before you switch on

Test runs the steps on real data, as you. Pick a recent document (such as Veltana’s B/L RCLLCH2607841), API call or message to try it on. Reads are real, but any change is only shown as the card the approver would see, and the result ends with “Nothing was sent or saved”. If you switch on without testing the current steps, Mercora asks first.

Runs and results

The Runs tab shows what the automation did. A failed run leads with the step that failed and why. On a finished run, Continue in Copilot, Rerun or Save as PDF. Editing a live automation saves a new version (see Versions in the ⋯ menu); runs under way keep theirs.

Results land in the Inbox under Needs you: findings, failures, proposed changes and questions. A run that found nothing files nothing.

Approve what an automation proposes

Each proposed change is one Inbox item showing the change, the record, why, and the evidence. For example: move the due date on invoice KSS-INV-26-0288 to match the payment terms of contract VCS-P-2026-0688.

• Approve makes exactly that change (Approve and send or Approve and run for anything leaving Mercora).
• Edit lets you change the values, then Save and approve.
• Reject changes nothing.

Only the owner or a workspace admin can decide. A request nobody decides ends on the date shown on its card, and nothing changes.

Approve from your phone

If you switched on WhatsApp under Settings → Notifications and linked your number, waiting approvals and questions also reach your WhatsApp, each with a number. Reply with:

Reply	Does
4	Approves request 4
4n reason	Rejects request 4, with a reason
all	Approves every waiting approval you can decide by number
4a, 4b	Picks a choice on question 4
4 your answer	Answers question 4 in words

A reply counts exactly like a click in the Inbox. See WhatsApp.

Ownership and permissions

A run acts as the automation’s Owner: it reads only what the owner’s role can, within the automation’s areas. Under More settings → Who can see it, keep it Private to the owner and admins (the default) or share it with Everyone in the workspace.

Automations — management lets a role create, edit and run automations; Automations — results lets it act on their results in the Inbox. See Roles and permissions.

From the ⋯ menu, Switch off stops new runs and Archive removes the automation from the list; its runs and decisions stay. Each workspace has a daily limit on automation runs; runs, tests and API calls beyond it are refused until the next day.

Next steps

• The Inbox: where findings, approvals and questions wait for you.
• Copilot: draft an automation from a chat.