Operations · Feature
Follow-up that runs on key dates
Date-triggered playbooks with calculations, checklists, and multi-channel actions — plus AI builders for single routines and full workflows.
How Routines work
Anchor to dates
You know what should happen after a listing appointment or under contract — but it depends on memory, sticky notes, or copying last year’s spreadsheet. When closing moves, nobody updates the task list.
Define actions
Pick a key date on a contact, listing, transaction, property, or project. SAM’s Routine schedules calculations (activities) before or after that date — each with assignees, optional checklists, and automated actions (email, SMS, WhatsApp, call list, and more). When the key date changes, key-date activities move with it. Group many routines into workflows for full processes like contract-to-close. Let SAM Build It or Create Routine Workflow uses AI to draft the structure; you review and activate.
Run consistently
Your “New listing launch” workflow includes multiple routines: seller update email on go-live, marketing checklist on the calendar row, sphere call list entry, and a 7-day showing follow-up — all keyed off the listing live date. When the date slips, every key-date activity moves.
Calculations, not just reminders
Each activity has timing anchors, business-day logic, checklists, and actions — not a single generic task.
Dates that move with the deal
Inspection, closing, and listing live dates reschedule the plan automatically — no spreadsheet surgery.
AI-built playbooks
Describe a routine or entire workflow in plain English; SAM drafts activities, messages, and coordination.
Listing goes live
Your “New listing launch” workflow includes multiple routines: seller update email on go-live, marketing checklist on the calendar row, sphere call list entry, and a 7-day showing follow-up — all keyed off the listing live date. When the date slips, every key-date activity moves.
Why SAM Routines beat generic drip and task lists
Typical CRM / drip
- Day 1, Day 3, Day 7 sequences detached from real deal dates
- Closing moves — tasks stay on the wrong day until someone notices
- Email-only automations with no call lists, checklists, or field updates
- One-size templates that don't know listing vs transaction vs contact
- Building multi-step playbooks means copying routines by hand
SAM Routines
- Anchored to real key dates — closing, listing live, inspection, birthday
- When the date moves, key-date activities recalculate automatically
- One activity can email, text, call list, update fields, webhooks, and more
- Entity-aware: contacts, listings, transactions, properties, projects
- Workflows group many routines into one business process with AI setup
Routine activities (calculations)
In SAM, each scheduled step in a Routine is called a calculation (shown as a Routine Activity). Calculations become calendar rows with assignees, optional checklists, and automated actions. Think of the Routine as the playbook and each calculation as a timed step in that playbook.
Date & time fields on each activity
Every calculation answers: when does this happen, who owns it, and what else fires at that moment. These controls are what make SAM timelines feel like a transaction coordinator — not a generic reminder app.
Every activity picks one anchor — then applies before/after offsets
Relative to key date
Offsets from the Routine's key date field — e.g. listing live date, closing date, photography date.
Example: 3 days before closing — send buyer update email
Standard for listings and transactions; moves when the milestone moves.
Start of routine
Offsets from when the Routine run started — not from the CRM date on the record.
Example: 2 days after kickoff — internal team huddle task
Great for nurture that should follow *when you started*, even if key dates shift.
Month / day
Same calendar month and day each cycle — pairs with annual Routines.
Example: Every March 15 — license renewal reminder
Birthdays, anniversaries, and fixed annual touchpoints without rebuilding each year.
Key timing & scheduling fields
Offset amount & unit
Number + unit: minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, or business days.
Same-day SMS through multi-year nurture on one template.
Before / after
Direction relative to the anchor date (start-of-routine always runs after).
Model pre-close prep and post-close follow-up on one key date.
DateOnly vs DateTime
Date-only fields use your Daily Processing Time or all-day; DateTime fields can keep the real appointment clock time.
Closing day stays an all-day event; showing appointments keep their actual time.
Daily processing time
Batch when work hits the calendar — Activity Time, a saved slot (e.g. 9:00 AM queue), or all-day.
Team sees tasks when they actually work the queue, not at midnight.
Business days & weekends
Business-day units skip weekends/holidays; optional landing on next or previous business day.
Compliance and client texts don't fire on Sunday because the math landed on a weekend.
Duration
Calendar block length in minutes.
Realistic time for calls vs deep work on shared team calendars.
Title merge fields
Entity-aware merge fields in the activity title.
One template reads “Inspection for {{Property.streetAddress}}” everywhere.
Skip past due (routine)
At routine level — don't create activities whose start is already in the past when the run begins.
Late data entry doesn't flood the calendar with irrelevant overdue noise.
Conditions (routine)
Optional AND/OR rules before a Routine auto-starts — status, tags, party roles, property fields.
Same closing date triggers different playbooks for luxury vs standard deals.
Checklist types on activities
Attach checklist library items to any calculation. The checklist runs on the same calendar row as the task — human accountability plus automation in one beat.
- Static
Checklist only
Simple checkbox the assignee marks complete.
Clear ownership without building a separate task list.
- Static + automation
Checklist w/ field updates
Checking the box can update CRM fields — stage, tags, dates — via linked field rules.
Mini-automations without adding another Routine action.
- Merge
Field validation
Validates a merge field is filled; optional date offset vs a reference field.
Don't mark done until required data exists — fewer TC fire drills.
- File
File validation
Requires files with specific tags before completion.
Disclosures and inspection docs collected before you advance the file.
- URL
Open URL
Opens a merge-field URL — vendor portal, MLS sheet, etc.
One tap to the right system from the checklist popup.
- Party
Party member validation
Ensures a party role exists or meets criteria on the record.
Deal structure correctness before you mark launch steps complete.
- Connection
Connection validation
Validates connection types between contacts (e.g. spouse, attorney).
Relationship graph completeness for household and referral workflows.
Action types on activities
Actions run from the calculation — client messages, internal alerts, CRM updates, and integrations. Toggle **selected for automatic processing** to stage new automations safely.
Send message
Email or SMS from templates; optional AI objective to draft copy.
Personalized outreach at scale — you review templates once, not every send.
AI: AI can draft message body from your objective before the template sends.
Send conditional message
Branch on a field value — different template per status or milestone.
One activity replaces dozens of “if status X send A else B” duplicates.
AI: Each branch can use AI-drafted objectives per path.
Add to call list
Queue a phone task with call list type and optional AI talking-point objective.
Structured prospecting and follow-up without exporting CSVs.
AI: AI assist on call objective text for faster prep.
Update field
Set dropdowns, tags, notes, dates (with offsets), pipeline stages, and custom statuses.
Close the loop — automation advances the record when the step fires.
Run webhook
POST to Zapier, custom APIs, or internal tools with merge-field parameters.
Extend SAM without waiting for a native integration.
Send notification
In-app alerts to selected team members — simple or objective-driven.
Ops desk visibility separate from client-facing email.
AI: Advanced mode uses objectives for richer internal alert copy.
Send Slack
Post to Slack channels or users when milestones hit.
Team chat awareness without everyone living in the inbox.
Stop routines
Stop other routines on the same entity when this action runs.
Mutually exclusive pipelines — close won stops active nurture.
Send to Handwrytten
Trigger handwritten cards from templates when integration is enabled.
High-touch offline mail on the same timeline as digital steps.
Routine vs workflow — what's the difference?
Routine
Workflow
Routine = one playbook on one key date
- A single template tied to a key date field (e.g. dates.closingDate)
- Contains multiple calculations (activities) with timing, checklists, and actions
- Auto-starts when the key date is set or changes (if active + conditions pass)
- Best for: listing launch, inspection reminder, birthday nurture, one phase of a deal
Routine view in the editor — browse by entity type across your whole library
Workflow = a business process made of many routines
- A named process — e.g. “Contract-to-close” or “First-time buyer journey”
- Groups multiple routines that share tags and workflow assignment
- Workflow view clusters routines under process headers for end-to-end visibility
- Best for: multi-phase operations spanning many dates and record types
Workflow view — click a header to filter all routines in that process
You might have twelve routines inside one workflow — each on its own key date — all visible together when you manage the process. Routines do the scheduling; workflows do the organization.
AI that builds routines and workflows
Describe the outcome in plain English. SAM proposes structure, activities, messaging, and timing — you review, edit, and publish. Nothing goes live until you save and activate.
- One routine
Let SAM Build It
From Routine Setup (sparkle icon), describe objectives for the current entity and key date. AI returns calculations, templates, and actions aligned to your record type.
Turn a paragraph into a multi-step routine in minutes instead of an afternoon in the editor.
Typical manual build: 45–90 min → AI draft + your review: ~10 min
- Entire multi-routine process
Create Routine Workflow
From Create New Routine → Routine Workflow, describe the full business process. AI plans workflow name, routines per phase, key dates, and objectives — then creates multiple coordinated routines with tags.
Listing-to-close or buyer journey pipelines without authoring each routine from scratch.
Typical manual playbook: days → AI scaffold + refinement: hours
- Per-step refinement
AI inside actions & messages
Send Message, Conditional Message, Call List, and Notification actions accept AI objectives to draft copy. Checklist-linked field updates still run on your rules.
Consistent voice at volume — human review on templates, not every fire drill.
Draft client SMS/email in seconds per touchpoint
FAQ
Related
Features
- Calendar — Activities, recurrence, resources, and routine-linked dates — so your calendar reflects deals and contacts, not just meetings.
- Checklists — Entity checklists from a shared library — attached to listings, transactions, and projects so nothing gets skipped.
- Templates — Reusable email, SMS, WhatsApp, and letter templates with stats and analysis — wired into Inbox, Routines, and Outbox.
Integrations
Try Routines in SAM
Start a free trial or book a walkthrough with our team.