Add a workflow rule to a board

This page shows you how to add your first workflow rule to a board. A workflow rule watches the board for one event and then runs a small action when that event happens. For example, "when an idea reaches 25 votes, move it to the roadmap and email the admins". Each rule belongs to one board only, so different boards can use different rules.

Before you start

• SimpleBoards Pro is active and your license is in the Active state. See Activate your Pro license.
• The board you want to automate already exists.
• The board already has the statuses you want the rule to use. New boards have the default statuses ready out of the box.

Step by step

1. In your WordPress admin, go to SimpleBoards > Boards.
2. Click the title of the board you want to automate.
3. At the top of the board edit screen, click the Workflow Automations tab.
4. You will see a section titled Workflow Automation. If no rules exist yet, a grey box says No workflow rules yet. Add a rule to enable automation for this board.
5. Click the Add Rule button below the box. A new card called Rule #1 appears.
6. Open the Trigger dropdown at the top of the card. Pick one of the four options:
   • Move idea to roadmap when vote threshold is reached. Promotes an idea to the roadmap once it reaches a vote count you set.
   • When status changes, notify and/or assign category. Runs when an item moves from one status to another. Can also tag the item with a category.
   • When deadline is overdue, notify and/or set status. Runs when a roadmap item's due date has passed by the number of days you set.
   • When progress reaches 100%, set roadmap status. Runs when an item's checklist is fully ticked off.
7. The card shows different fields depending on the trigger you pick. Fill them in. The next pages in this section show what to enter for each rule type.
8. (Optional) Tick Notify admins by email if you want the rule to send the workflow email. The email subject and body live in SimpleBoards > Settings > Notifications. See Edit the emails sent by workflow rules.
9. Click the Update button at the bottom of the page.

What changed

The board now has one active rule. From this point on, when the trigger event happens on this board, the rule runs in the background. You do not need to click anything to make it run. You can add more rules to the same board by clicking Add Rule again. There is no limit on how many rules a board can have.

A small red trash icon at the top right of each rule card lets you remove the rule. The rule is removed when you click Update.

Two rules with the exact same settings cannot be saved on the same board. If you save two identical rules, only one is kept. The page shows a warning when this happens.

See also

• Move an idea to the roadmap when votes reach a threshold
• React when a status changes
• React when a checklist's progress hits 100 percent
• React when a deadline is overdue
• How workflow rules run

Last updated

2026-05-23 · SimpleBoards Pro 1.0.1