Waits
A wait lets days pass before the next step. It is what turns an instant reaction into a follow-up.
Set up a wait
- Click Add a step › Add wait. Edit wait opens.
- Enter the Days: a whole number between 1 and 30.
- Click Done. On the canvas the step reads “Wait 1 day” or “Wait N days”.
You can add several waits to the same workflow, at the main level or inside a branch. For example: notify at 3 days and again at 7.
When it continues
Days are counted from the moment the run reaches the wait. Cord checks waits once a day, so the next step does not run at the exact hour: it runs in the first check after the days have passed. In practice it can take up to one day longer than the wait says.
Example: a quote is sent on Monday afternoon and the workflow waits 3 days. The 3 days are up on Thursday afternoon, and the next step runs in the following check, between Thursday afternoon and Friday.
Meanwhile the run shows as Waiting in the Runs tab, with the date it resumes (“Resumes …”).
If you need something right away, do not use a wait: put the action directly after the trigger. Actions without a wait run as soon as the event happens.
Wait plus condition: the follow-up pattern
A wait is almost always followed by a condition that asks whether something is still the same. That is what the current status is for: it is read when the condition is evaluated, not when the event happened.
| You want | Trigger | Wait | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Call if the quote was not opened | A quote is sent | 3 days | Current quote status is Sent |
| Nudge if approved but not paid | A quote is approved | 5 days | Current quote status is Approved |
| Escalate an overdue invoice | An invoice becomes overdue | 7 days | Current invoice status is Open |
If you used Status at the event instead of current status, the condition would always answer with the status from days ago, and the follow-up would happen even if the client had already responded. More in Conditions.
What happens if something changes during the wait
| If while waiting you… | Then |
|---|---|
| Publish changes to the workflow | The run continues with the version it started with. Changes apply to new runs. |
| Pause the workflow | If it is still paused when the wait ends, the run is canceled with “The workflow was paused or deleted before this run finished.” If you resume it before, the run continues normally. |
| Delete the workflow | It is deleted along with its history, including waiting runs. |
| Downgrade and the workflow falls outside the limit | If it is still outside the limit when the wait ends, the run is canceled with “Your current plan does not include this active workflow.” |
| The quote or invoice changes | Nothing is interrupted. The following condition reads the new status if it uses the current status. |
Cancel a waiting run
In Runs, open the waiting run and click Cancel. It becomes Canceled and no more steps run. Only Queued or Waiting runs can be canceled.