Vyan Product — Automate · Module C.08 Library C.8 · Codex Ch. 13 · The workflow engine

Workflows small enough to trust.

General workflow products grow until nobody can say what they'll do. Automate is a tiny, totally-validated interpreter: trigger, condition, action, twelve steps at most — by design. Small surface, predictable behavior, operator trust. Included free in every SKU. Never sold alone.

Included free in every SKU · No setup fees · No contract · Your data, readable forever

01 The definition Plain answer · quotable

What is service business automation?

Service business automation handles the follow-ups, reminders, and deposit requests a busy operator forgets — automatically. Vyan Automate runs small, legible workflows: trigger, condition, action, twelve steps at most, every run traced in plain language. The system works while you work; you stay in control of every flow.

02 Say it in a sentence Natural language → validated flow

You speak. The Builder compiles. You review.

Describe the workflow the way you'd tell a new hire. The Builder converts it into a validated flow — typed steps, checked against the schema, capped at twelve. Nothing goes live until you've read the rendered flow and approved it.

Vertical recipe packs ship ready-made: tattoo studios, roofing crews, barbershops, solar teams. Start from one, or from a sentence.

Automate — Recipe · Sleeve consult prep7 of 12 steps · validated
You said "When someone books a sleeve consult, send the prep form, require a $200 deposit, remind them 48 and 4 hours before."
Triggerbooking.created · service = sleeve consult
ActionSend template prep_form
ActionRequest deposit · $200 fixed
WaitUntil T−48h before appointment
ActionSend template reminder_48h
WaitUntil T−4h before appointment
ActionSend template reminder_4h
Fig. 01One sentence, compiled to a reviewable flowCodex Ch. 13
03 The trace A product surface, not a debug log
Automate — Run · Sleeve consult prepM. Webb · Thu 2:30 PM
2:31 PMSent prep_form → delivered
2:31 PMRequested deposit $200 → paid 2:47 PM
Waited until T−48h
Tue 2:30Sent reminder_48h → delivered
Thu 10:30Skipped reminder_4h: quiet hours → rescheduled 10:45 AM, sent
Thu 2:30Run complete · consult attended · deposit credited
Fig. 02Every run writes a trace a human can readCodex Ch. 13

Trust what you can read.

Every run writes a human-readable account of what happened and why — sent, waited, skipped, and the reason. When an automation touches your customers, you should never have to wonder what it did.

04 The flows that are the product Trigger → condition → action
F.1 The 12-step cap, by design Trigger → condition → action, never more than twelve steps. The cap is not a limitation we apologize for — it is the reason you can hold an entire automation in your head and predict what it will do.
F.2 Vertical recipe packs Proven flows per trade, installed in one tap: deposit-and-remind for studios, storm-response follow-up for roofers, rebook nudges for barbers. Edit them like anything else; they're recipes, not black boxes.
F.3 Sentence to system "When someone books a sleeve consult, send the prep form, require a $200 deposit, remind them 48 and 4 hours before." The Builder converts the sentence to a validated flow you review before it goes live — always.
F.4 The readable trace "Sent prep_instructions → Waited 24h → Skipped reminder: quiet hours, rescheduled 9:00 AM." Operators trust what they can read. The trace is the product's receipt.
F.5 The comms gate, no bypass Every automated message passes the same consent and compliance gate as a message you type yourself. There is no bypass — not a setting, not a flag. An automation cannot spend your sender reputation behind your back.
05 The engine's place Never sold alone · Library C.8

An engine without organs is nothing to sell. Automate ships inside every SKU and makes each one compound.

Library C.8 · The workflow engine

Automate is the connective tissue of the module system, not a product you shop for. Three active automations come free in every SKU; Pro+ removes the ceiling. It listens to the whole event bloodstream — a booking, a payment, a review, a missed call — and answers with the small, legible flows you approved.

Law Three, executed: the system works while you work. Follow-ups draft themselves. The review asks itself. Under ten admin minutes a day.

06 The data sheet Price · events · canon
$0
Included in every SKU
3 active
Free tier · unlimited in Pro+
12 steps
Complexity cap · by design
0
Bypasses of the comms gate
Steps
send_templatecreate_taskmove_stagerequest_depositwaitbranchnotify_member
Emits
automation.executedautomation.skippedautomation.activated
Consumes
any registered event — the full bloodstream
07 Questions Plain answers · binding
Q.1Do I need to know how to build workflows?

No. Describe the workflow the way you'd tell a new hire — the Builder compiles it into a validated flow with typed steps. Nothing goes live until you've read the rendered flow and approved it. Vertical recipe packs ship ready-made if you'd rather start from one.

Q.2Can an automation message customers without consent?

No. Every automated message passes the same consent and compliance gate as a message you type yourself. There is no bypass — not a setting, not a flag. An automation cannot spend your sender reputation behind your back.

Q.3Why is there a 12-step cap?

By design. Trigger, condition, action, never more than twelve steps — small enough to hold an entire automation in your head and predict what it will do. General workflow products grow until nobody can say what they'll do; Automate refuses to.

Q.4What does workflow automation cost for a service business?

Nothing on its own. Automate is included free in every Vyan SKU — three active automations on the free tier, unlimited in Pro and above. It is never sold alone: the engine ships inside the modules it connects.

Tell the system what should happen. Once.

Answer five questions and Vyan Builder compiles your workspace — your vertical's recipe pack pre-installed, your first three automations free and waiting for review.

The follow-up you keep meaning to send is seven steps and one approval away from sending itself.

Doctrine · Law Three