What is an automation?

Some billing work is the same every month. Same list, same steps, over and over. An automation is a job that runs itself, on a schedule, so you stop doing it by hand.

Automations live on the Batch jobs page, under the Scheduled tab. A schedule is really just three things: what it runs, who it runs for, and when.

The columns say it all. The type is what the job does. The cadence is when it fires. Targets is who it works on. Next run is the date it goes off. And status tells you whether it is live.

Creating one is a short form: what to run, a name, how often, which day and hour, and who gets an optional summary email. Once saved it works out its own next run.

From the list you can open a schedule, run it now without waiting, pause it, which holds it without deleting it, or resume it, which puts it back on schedule.

Jobs that cost money carry two extra guardrails. A monthly budget cap, which is a ceiling on spend, and a standing consent, which is your say so on file. If a run would pass the cap, only the part that fits runs, and then the job pauses itself. Starting it again asks for your consent one more time.

And a hard line: a scheduled job can look things up, but it can never submit a claim. See How do I re-check everyone’s insurance every month?.