Dubsado Flows: what happened to workflows (and how to build your first one)
If you've logged into Dubsado 3.0, gone looking for your workflows and felt your stomach drop, hey lovely, you're in exactly the right place.
First of all, relax. Your workflows aren't gone. They've just had a name change. In Dubsado 3.0, they're now called Flows, and the thinking behind them hasn't changed at all, I promise. If you understood workflows, you'll be fine with Flows.
In this post I'll walk you through anything that seems different, how a Flow works (it's simpler than it looks), and how to confidently build your very first one for new enquiries.
It's the Flow I'd set up first in any account, and it means every enquiry gets a warm reply, even when you're fast asleep.
Where did my Dubsado workflows go?
In Dubsado 3.0, workflows are called Flows. That's honestly the biggest change. They still do the same job: they send the right thing to your client at the right moment, so you're not trying to keep every client's next step in your head.
If other things look a bit different on screen too, that's normal. Some buttons have moved and some names have changed. My free cheat sheet (more on that at the end) puts the old names next to the new ones, so you're not clicking about for ages.
How a Flow works: actions and triggers
Every Flow is made of two simple pieces.
• Actions are what happens: an email going out, a form, a contract, a to-do for you.
• Triggers are when it happens: after they enquire, book, sign or pay, or after a set amount of time.
So every step in a Flow is just an action plus a trigger. "Send my welcome email" (the action) "once the contract is signed" (the trigger). That's it. Once you see it like that, the whole thing stops feeling like a maths exam.
Your safety net: add a to-do
Here's the bit I want every Dubsado user to know. Dubsado doesn't use conditional logic. It can't look at a project and think "oh, she's already booked a call, I'll skip the follow-up". It simply does the next step when it's told to.
That doesn't mean you're stuck doing all the nudging yourself. You can build reminders into your Flows for forms, invoices and payments, plus appointment reminders before a call. The one gap (and honestly, I have no idea why) is the scheduler. There's no automatic reminder to nudge someone who hasn't booked their appointment yet.
That's where my to-do comes in. Your Flow adds a to-do for you, and the next step only goes out once you tick it off. That little pause is your moment to check: have they booked their call yet? Have they already replied? If they have, you don't need the follow-up, and you can sort that there and then. If they haven't, tick it off and let the Flow carry on.
It's one extra click, and it means you never send a cheery "just checking in!" to someone who booked their call yesterday. Mortifying for everyone.
So, here's how I actually use a Flow. When a new client books me, their welcome goes out straight away. I'm not leaving someone hanging just because I'm not immediately available or tucked up in bed with a hot chocolate, that would be rude. So anything they need to know straight away goes out on its own.
But anything that asks them for information? That waits for me. I collect a lot from my clients, and I like it all to have a nice tidy home from day one. I'm not about to be scrambling around my PC trying to find somebody's info. So the next step in my Flow is a to-do, which gives me a bit of breathing space to pop in and trigger the automation that sets up their Google Drive.
Then I tick it off, and off goes their onboarding questionnaire and everything else. They get a warm hello the second they book, and I'm not running round like a headless chicken making folders after their answers have already landed.
Build your first Flow: new enquiries
Start small. Not your whole client journey in one go, just one Flow for new enquiries. It's the one that makes the biggest difference, because that first reply is often the moment someone decides whether to book you.
Before you start: get two things ready. First, your instant reply email. A good one says thank you, tells them what happens next and when they’ll hear from you, and gives them something useful to read while they wait. Second, your discovery call scheduler, with the email that goes out with it. Once those exist, your Flow just has to send them.
Now build it in three steps.
1. The trigger: someone fills in your enquiry form. This is what starts the whole Flow.
2. Your warm instant reply goes out. Straight away, so they hear from you while they're still excited.
3. A to-do for you, then your scheduler link once you tick it off. Your to-do is your moment to read their enquiry and check they’re a good fit, something like “Review incoming enquiry: invite them to schedule a consultation call if they qualify”. Once you tick it off, your scheduler goes out so they can book a discovery call.
Then test it. Send yourself an enquiry from a different email address and watch it all land. Fix anything that feels clunky before a real client sees it.
That's it. Three steps, and every enquiry gets answered, even the ones that come in last thing at night while you're curled up on the sofa in your pyjamas.
Signs your Dubsado needs a Flow
How many of these do you recognise?
You copy and paste the same welcome email every single time
Your phone is full of reminders to send questionnaires
You're checking your phone in the middle of the night and replying to enquiries because you're scared they'll go cold
There's a sticky note on your desk that says "chase that bloody deposit"
If you nodded at even one, there's a Flow waiting to happen.
What to build next
Once your enquiry Flow has been running for a week or two and you trust it, add one more. My next suggestion is a welcome email with next steps that goes out the moment the contract is signed, so new clients hear from you and know exactly what to expect from you. Then after that, a questionnaire that goes out at the right time. One Flow at a time, and you'll soon have a system that remembers everything for you. Even better, you'll know how to use it because you're the one that built it.
If you'd like someone to walk you through the rest of Dubsado 3.0 this simply, my course Get comfortable with Dubsado 3.0 is five short daily lessons with videos, covering projects, forms, the everyday tools and less chasing. It's £29.
Quick Q&A
Are Dubsado workflows gone? Absolutely not! In Dubsado 3.0 they're called Flows. Same idea, new name.
What's the difference between a workflow and a Flow? Mostly the name. A Flow is still a set of actions (what happens) and triggers (when it happens).
Does Dubsado use conditional logic? Nope, it does each step when it's told to, whether that's by you or an automation in Dubsado built by you. You can still build in reminders for forms, invoices, payments and appointments, but there's no automatic reminder to book an appointment through the scheduler. So add a to-do wherever you need to check something important before the next step goes out.
What's the first Flow I should build? I'm glad you asked. One for new enquiries: the trigger, your instant reply, then a to-do before a friendly follow-up.
Your workflows aren't gone, lovely. They've just had a glow-up and a new name. Build that one little enquiry Flow this week and let it do some magic for you.
Fancy a freebie?
Can't find anything else in Dubsado 3.0?
Flows aren't the only thing that's moved. My free Dubsado 2.0 to 3.0 Translation Cheat Sheet puts the old names next to the new ones and shows you where everything lives now, so you can stop clicking about and get on with your day.
If you’ve explored Dubsado 3.0 and you’re still not quite sure where everything has gone, we can look at your account together and take it one step at a time.
Did you find my take on Dubsado 3.0 Flows useful? Why not pin it so other people can see too?
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