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A manual automation has no trigger event — it never starts on its own. Instead, you build the steps and run it whenever you need to, choosing who to run it for. This gives you full control, which makes it perfect for one-off campaigns.

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Setting It Up

  1. Choose Run manually on demand as your trigger.
  2. Select the email category the automation’s emails will be sent under.
That’s it — there’s no list or schedule to set, because you pick who to run it for each time.

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How It Behaves

  • A manual automation can’t be enabled or disabled — it simply exists, ready to run.
  • It won’t fire on any schedule or list change. Nothing happens until you start it.
  • You run it with Run now, choosing either everyone on a Planning Center list or specific people you search for and select. See Running an Automation Manually for the full walkthrough.
Manual runs respect the automation’s Allow Repeat setting, so it’s safe to run even if some people have already been through the flow.

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Manual Trigger vs. Run Now

It’s worth knowing the difference between two similar-sounding things:
  • The manual trigger is a type of automation that only ever runs on demand.
  • Run now is an action available on any automation, letting you start it immediately regardless of its trigger.
So you can run a list-based or scheduled automation manually whenever you like — but a manual automation is one whose only way to start is Run now.