Choose a trigger
There are twelve triggers, which sounds like a lot until you notice they answer four different questions: did the data change, is it time, did the accounting system say something, or did a person decide something.
- A walkthrough video, then why this choice matters more than the others
- Which trigger suits which job
- All twelve, grouped the way the picker groups them
- Schedules run on UTC, and three other things worth knowing
01 · Video
Feature walkthrough
02 · Why
Why do we have this?
Getting this right matters more than any other choice you make. A trigger that is too broad runs on everything; one that is too narrow never runs at all.
03 · Use cases
Record Created, or Record Created or Updated.
Field Changed. Cheaper than reacting to every edit.
On Match Status Changed. This is the join between workflows and your comparisons: when an invoice goes from Not matched to Exception, you can act on it. See How matching works.
On a Schedule, then a Pull step. See Pull records from your ERP.
On Approval Resolved.
04 · How
Pick one
- In the builder, click the
WHENbox. - Pick one of the four categories.
- Pick a trigger from the list underneath.
- Choose the Table it watches, if that trigger has one.
- Add conditions if you need them — see Narrow a trigger with conditions.
To change your mind later, open the trigger and press Change.
All twelve
When Data Changes — trigger when data is created, updated, or deleted.
| Trigger | Runs when |
|---|---|
| Record Created or Updated | A record is added or edited |
| Record Created | A record is added |
| Record Updated | A record is edited |
| Record Deleted | A record is deleted |
| Field Changed | One particular field changes |
| On Match Status Changed | A record's match status moves — you can set from and to |
| On Flag Changed | A flag is added, changed or removed |
Scheduled Time — run automatically on a schedule.
| Trigger | Runs when |
|---|---|
| On a Schedule | At a cron time, or every N seconds |
When an ERP Sends a Webhook — react to a verified webhook from a connected integration.
| Trigger | Runs when |
|---|---|
| On ERP Webhook | Your accounting system tells Merchaint something changed |
When Approval / Review Resolves
| Trigger | Runs when |
|---|---|
| On Approval Resolved | An approval is approved or rejected |
| On Review Completed | Someone marks a review done in My Tasks |
| Chat Trigger | A chat message starts the workflow |
05 · Expected result
The WHEN box fills in with the trigger and what it is watching — Record Created or Updated, then Watching Help Docs Invoices underneath. Only then does ADD FIRST STEP appear.
06 · Troubleshooting and notes
The shortest interval is 30 seconds
That is the floor for On a Schedule when you set it as an interval rather than a cron time.
On Match Status Changed takes a from and a to
Both default to Any status. The list includes the built-in ones — Not matched, Matched, Review, Conflict, Disregarded — plus whatever outcomes your own status rules produce, such as Matched to PO or Exception. See How matching works.
Records brought in by a backfill do not fire this trigger
If you want a status-change workflow to cover old records, you have to run it over them deliberately — see Apply it to records you already have.
Do not start a Pull with a record trigger on the table it writes into
Every row it pulls counts as a change, which starts it again. Use a schedule. Pull records from your ERP goes into this.
07 · FAQ
Common questions
No, one each. If you want the same steps on two different events, build two workflows, or duplicate one and change its trigger.
Record Updated fires on any edit. Field Changed fires only when the field you named changes. Use Field Changed when you are watching one thing — it saves a lot of pointless runs.
Merchaint collapses rapid re-edits of the same record, so you generally get one run.
It starts a workflow from a chat message. It is grouped with the approval triggers, which is odd, and these articles do not document it further.