Summary
Workflow Mode lets you turn any Automation into a trackable Sequence, giving you visibility into every step of the Automation
You can track analytics (Open Rate / Click Rate / Reply Rate) and Outcomes through Profiles, Data Explorer or in Pages (Dashboards)
Unlike the legacy Sequences builder in the "Workflows" Global Tool, Sequence Templates are now built directly inside the Automations flow builder in the App Center. This unlocks powerful capabilities like branching logic, conditional Wait Until steps, AI-generated email content, and Human-in-the-Loop approvals, all within a single visualized process
Who is this article for?
Planhat Users who are building Custom Automations for their organization (e.g. Tech/Ops)
Series
This article is part of our extensive series on Automations. The most relevant articles are:
Article contents
Introduction
"Create Sequence" (also called "Workflow Mode") lets you run email Automations as trackable Sequences - giving you full visibility into where each customer is in their journey, directly from the Company Profile and Data Explorer.
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This is the next generation of email Sequences in Planhat. Instead of building Sequences in a separate tool with rigid filter logic, you build them inside the Custom Automations flow builder: unlocking branching, conditional waits, AI-generated content, and much more.
Legacy method:
Create Sequence Workflow Templates in the "Workflows" Global Tool (in the System Admin menu)
When a Workflow Template is applied to an End User or Company, it creates a Workflow record
New method (introduced in 2026):
Create Custom Automations in the App Center, and enable "Workflow Mode" via the "Create Sequence" toggle switch, which effectively makes the Automation a new kind of Sequence Template
When the Automation runs, it creates a new kind of Workflow record - it is still a record on the Workflow model, but it looks different from the legacy Workflow record you may be familiar with
For further details of this change, see later in this article - here.
What is Workflow Mode?
When you enable Workflow Mode on an Automation, Planhat treats that Automation as a Sequence Workflow Template (specifically an Automation Sequence Template - this isn't exactly the same as a Sequence Template you may previously have built in the "Workflows" Global Tool). An example is shown in the screenshot in the Introduction.
When the Automation runs, as well as being able to view the Automation logs as usual, a Workflow record is also created for the run. The screenshot below shows an example of this type of Sequence Workflow record.
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You can see:
Which step a customer is currently on
What outcome has been recorded
Whether a Sequence is active, completed, or was exited early
Any click, open and reply rate on emails that were part of that Sequence
This makes it easy to manage large-scale, automated outreach across portfolios of hundreds or thousands of accounts (Companies) without losing visibility.
How to enable Workflow Mode
To turn a Custom Automation into a Sequence Template:
Open the Automation in the App Center.
On the trigger step, toggle on Workflow Mode (also referred to as Sequence Mode / "Create Sequence") - as shown in the screenshot below.
Give the Sequence Template a name - this is what will appear in Profiles and Data Explorer.
Once enabled, Planhat will start tracking every record that enters the Automation as a Sequence participant. A Workflow record will be created for that Automation run.
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Workflow Outcomes
As a part of Workflow Mode, Outcomes can be configured throughout the Automation. Outcomes are set automatically at the created Workflow Sequence level as a customer passes through a step. They are used for reporting - for example, tracking how many End Users opened a specific email or completed a specific action.
Outcomes can be set on any Automation step, or on the Exit Criteria. Read more about Exit Criteria in Automations here.
Only one Outcome can be active at a time per record.
Use "Overwrite existing" to control which Outcome takes priority if multiple branches are active.
At the final step, you can choose to archive the Sequence so it no longer appears in the UI once complete.
When setting an Outcome related to the exit criteria, it can either be:
Custom: you can configure the exit criteria to any condition on records used in the Automation. E.g. Set outcome "Successful implementation" if a Company changes Phase from "Implementation" to "Adoption" during an onboarding Sequence.
Email Replied: you can configure which emails in the Sequence should get a specific outcome when replied to. Common for traditional email Sequences, as well as outbound.
Outcomes can also be set on steps throughout the Automation, with the ability to overwrite any Outcome that has been set previously, and to archive the Sequence Workflow.
Analytics
Once Workflow Mode (Sequence Mode) is enabled, you can track progress in different places in the app:
Profiles - see which Sequence a customer is in and what step they're on
Data Explorer (example screenshot below) - filter and report across your full portfolio by Sequence status and outcome
In Pages - in Data Tables, Grouped Lists, and Widgets used in Dashboards
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Appendix: change from legacy Sequences to Automation Sequences
Workflows are a way to automate a series of actions. There are two main types of Workflows:
Projects - designed for project management and task steps
Sequences - designed for automatically sending a series of emails
You initially create Workflow Templates defining timings, dependencies and conditions etc., and then when you apply a Template to a record (e.g. an End User), it creates a Workflow record, with dates etc. filled in and emails sent as applicable.
Previously, the way to create Sequence Workflow Templates was via the "Workflows" Global Tool (in the System Admin menu), as shown in the example screenshot below. You can read about this legacy method here.
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The corresponding Sequence Workflow records (created when the Template was applied to an End User or Company) was of a similar design:
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Now, the recommended way to automatically send emails is by using Automations. By activating Workflow Mode (Sequence Mode) on the trigger of a Custom Automation, that Automation also becomes a Sequence Template - but this is not exactly the same as the legacy Sequence Templates you may be familiar with. Rather, it is an Automation (example screenshot below).
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The Sequence Workflow records created from running this Sequence Automation similarly show the Automation flowchart design, rather than the old step-list display.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What's the recommended way to create new Sequence Templates?
Q: If I activate Workflow Mode (Sequence Mode) on an Automation to make it into a Sequence Template, will it show in the "Workflows" Global Tool?
A: No - Sequence Automations are a different type of Sequence Template, so you can find them in the App Center, not the "Workflows" Global Tool
Q: Can I click a button to convert my legacy Sequence Templates into the current Automation Sequence Templates?
A: No, but we recommend that you recreate your old Sequence Templates using the new Automations method - you can take the opportunity to review and improve your Sequences, such as adding AI steps
Q: Can I continue using legacy Sequence Templates that I have already created?
A: Yes - existing Sequence Templates (in the "Workflows" Global Tool) have not been removed or deactivated with the introduction of Sequence Automations
Q: When a Sequence Automation runs, is a Workflow record still created?
Yes, a Workflow record is still created, as before (although it will look different from legacy Workflow records). In addition, you can view the Automation run within the Automation logs