Tips for reliable workflows

Start small, then grow

• One job per workflow. Welcome new leads and Chase unpaid invoices should be two agents, not one big one. Smaller workflows are easier to test and to fix.
• Build the happy path first. Get trigger → one step working end to end, then add branches and extras.
• Watch the first few real runs in History before you stop checking.

Test safely

• Test messages with your own phone number and a test sheet first; tests are real.
• Capture the trigger sample from the real form, so field names match.
• After changing a form, re-capture the sample and re-check mappings.

Make it readable

• Give agents a clear name and job: future you will thank you.
• Name connections by purpose (Sales WhatsApp, Accounts Gmail).
• Leave a sticky note on anything non-obvious: where data comes from, who owns it, why a condition exists.

Guard against bad data

• Add conditions like phone → Exists or email → Not empty before steps that need them.
• Store phone numbers with the country code (91…). Use a formatter step to clean them if your form doesn’t.
• Use Number operators for amounts, and Date/time operators for dates.

Keep costs predictable

• Every step is a task. Put conditions early, so runs that don’t qualify stop before the expensive steps.
• Use Schedules that fetch many items at once instead of one run per item, where it makes sense.
• Check Settings → Plan and usage → Where your tasks went once a week.

Keep access tidy

• One API key per integration, with an expiry, and Read only unless it must write.
• Review MCP connections now and then and revoke assistants you no longer use.
• Before someone leaves, replace their app connections with ones owned by someone staying.

Let AI do the boring bits

Describe the workflow to Appy or Claude, let it build the Draft, then review each step yourself before going Live. It’s the fastest way to build, and you stay in control.