Why Automations Matter

Manual processes break down when you're busy. Automations let FlexotiumPOS handle repetitive operational tasks on your behalf — sending notifications, creating purchase orders, updating records — so your team can focus on customers.

Creating Your First Automation

Navigate to AI → Automations → New Automation.

Step 1: Choose a Trigger

A trigger is the event that starts the automation. Common triggers include:

Low Stock — fires when a product's quantity drops to or below the reorder point
New Invoice — fires when an invoice is created or uploaded
Sale Completed — fires after every successful transaction
Shift Closed — fires when a cashier ends their shift
Scheduled — fires at a specific time (e.g. daily at 9am)
AI Risk Detected — fires when the forecasting engine flags a new risk

Step 2: Set Conditions (Optional)

Conditions narrow when the automation runs. For a Low Stock trigger, you might add:

Product category = Beverages — only trigger for that category
Quantity < reorder_point AND supplier_lead_time > 3 — only when delivery will take more than 3 days

Conditions use a simple builder interface — no code required. Add as many as needed with AND/OR logic.

Step 3: Choose an Action

Actions are what the automation does when it fires:

Create Purchase Order — draft PO with the suggested reorder quantity
Send Notification — email or in-app alert to a role or specific user
Add to Review Queue — puts an item in the manager's review queue with a note
Update Record — e.g. mark a product as "on order"
Trigger Webhook — send a JSON payload to an external system

You can chain multiple actions in a single automation.

Step 4: Test the Automation

Before saving, click Test Run. The system simulates the trigger with a recent matching event and shows you what actions would have fired and why. Fix any issues flagged in the test output.

Step 5: Activate

Click Save & Activate. The automation is now live.

Example automation: Trigger = Low Stock → Condition = category is "Fresh Produce" → Actions = Create Draft PO + Notify Manager. This ensures fresh produce reorders are always reviewed by a human before being sent to the supplier.

Viewing Run History

Go to AI → Automations and click any automation name. The Run History tab shows every time it fired: the timestamp, trigger event, conditions evaluated, actions taken, and whether each succeeded or failed.

Pausing and Deleting

Pause — stops the automation temporarily without deleting it. Use this during supplier holidays or stock-taking periods.
Delete — permanently removes the automation. Historical run records are retained for audit purposes.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Avoid overlapping automations with conflicting actions. If two automations both create POs for the same product under similar conditions, you'll end up with duplicate orders. Use the Conflict Checker (shown when saving) to detect overlaps before activating.

Next Steps

In the next lesson, you'll connect external services — Stripe for payments, WhatsApp for notifications, and your AI provider API key.