Client progress triggers let your flow watch for your client to take an action — submit a form, sign the contract, or pay an invoice — and fire the next action the moment it happens. Use them to build a step-by-step experience that moves at your client's pace instead of on a fixed timeline.

Every flow action has a trigger that tells it when to run. Client progress triggers watch for a specific client action rather than a date or a delay. They're the bridge between "the flow is running" and "the client did something."

There are five client progress triggers in total, grouped in the trigger dropdown under two categories: Form/Contract and Primary Invoice. Like all flow triggers, you'll set these up inside the action's trigger panel.

Each action in your flow has its own trigger settings. Here's where to find them and what to expect before you get into the individual triggers below.

For a deeper look at how Relative and Fixed triggers differ and when to use each, see trigger timing: relative vs. fixed dates.

The three Form/Contract triggers watch for client actions on forms and contracts already attached to the project. Each section below covers one trigger.

The after a form is completed trigger fires when a client submits a specific form that the flow already sent them.

This trigger works with sub-agreements, questionnaires, and proposals. For questionnaires, the client must submit the form — saving a draft does not count.

Setting it up:

Uploaded PDF forms are excluded from the Form to watch list. If the only forms in your flow are uploaded PDFs, the dropdown is disabled and shows the tooltip Upload PDFs cannot be watched.

When to use it: Gate the next step on the client completing a form. This is the recommended way to build a sequential client experience where each step unlocks only after the previous one is done.

The after a form is not completed trigger fires a set amount of time after a form was last sent, if the client still hasn't submitted it. Use it to send reminders or take action on stale leads.

Like the completion trigger, it uses a Form to watch dropdown — select the same form you want to monitor for inaction.

The timer is relative to the most recent time that form was sent. If you or the flow resends the form, the timer resets. If multiple actions are watching "after a form is not completed" for the same form, resending shifts all of their timing.

If the client completes the form before the deadline, the action is skipped and will appear greyed out when you view the flow inside the project.

When to use it: Send an automatic follow-up after a set number of days, or archive a lead that never responded.

Say your flow sends a proposal. You add two actions that both watch that proposal:

As long as the resend uses the same form template, the flow reuses the existing proposal on the project rather than creating a duplicate. If the client accepts in time, the resend action is skipped automatically.

The after the contract is signed by the client trigger fires when the client signs the project's contract.

There is no Form to watch dropdown for this trigger — it targets the one contract on the project automatically.

A few things to keep in mind:

When to use it: Hold paid-client onboarding steps — a welcome email, a new flow starting, a questionnaire sending — until the contract is signed.

The two Primary Invoice triggers watch for payment activity on the project's primary invoice. These triggers fire based on payments made through a connected payment processor (Dubsado Payments, Square, or PayPal) or manually logged payments.

The after the primary invoice is paid in full trigger fires when the entire balance of the primary invoice is cleared.

There is no extra input to configure — it targets the primary invoice automatically. This trigger is not compatible with recurring invoices.

When to use it: Require full payment before continuing a flow (for example, before starting a separate paid-client flow), or send a thank-you email and receipt immediately after the balance is paid.

The after a primary invoice installment is paid trigger fires when a specific installment on a payment plan attached to the primary invoice is paid. This lets you respond to individual payments rather than waiting for the full balance.

Because this trigger watches a specific installment, the flow template must have a payment plan attached before you configure it.

Setting it up:

For a full walkthrough of setting up payment plans on flows, see flows with payment plans.

When to use it: Trigger actions off specific payments — for example, send a welcome email after the deposit installment is paid, or unlock the next phase of a project after the mid-project installment clears.

A few things to check. First, the form must be added as an action earlier in the flow — the Form to watch dropdown only shows forms that the flow itself sent. Second, the client must fully submit the form, not save it as a draft. Third, this trigger doesn't watch uploaded PDFs, lead captures, or contracts. If you're waiting on a contract, use after the contract is signed by the client instead.

Yes, you can trigger an action when a lead capture form is submitted, but not with a form completion trigger. If a lead capture form has a default flow configured, or if the lead capture form uses a flow element, the selected flow itself starts when the lead capture is submitted -- so use after this flow starts or after all previous actions are completed to sequence anything that comes right after.

No — it fires on the client's signature only. Your counter-signature doesn't affect the timing. It also doesn't apply to sub-agreements; use after a form is completed and select the sub-agreement from the Form to watch list for those.

You likely set a payment plan on both the proposal and the flow. Remove the payment plan from the proposal's settings and keep it on the flow only. Even identical plans in both places cause a conflict.

No — after the primary invoice is paid in full is not compatible with recurring invoices. It watches the balance of the project's primary invoice only.