Workflow Action: Wait

Good workflow timing can be the difference between a follow-up that lands at the right moment and one that feels out of place. The Wait action in Captivation Hub lets you hold a contact at any point in a workflow until exactly the right moment — whether that's a fixed number of hours, a specific calendar date, an upcoming appointment, or a custom condition you define. This guide covers all seven Wait options, how to configure each one, and when to reach for them.

What Is the Wait Action?

The Wait action gives you control over timing inside an automation. Instead of running the next step immediately, Wait holds a contact in the workflow until the condition you choose is met.

The Wait action can hold a contact for:

• A specified amount of time, such as 1 day, 1 hour, or 5 minutes
• A specific date and time, such as December 4 at 9:00 AM — either a fixed date or a value pulled from a contact field
• A recurring schedule, such as every Tuesday or the 1st of each month
• An upcoming appointment, service booking, or invoice due date
• A reply from the contact on SMS, Email, or another supported channel
• A contact action, such as clicking a trigger link or opening an email
• Custom conditions, such as matching a tag, field value, or engagement behavior

If Workflow AI Builder is enabled on your account, you can also update Wait actions using plain-language instructions — including time delays, window settings, reply conditions, and timeout branches.

Wait Action Types at a Glance

How to Add the Wait Action to a Workflow

A well-configured Wait action helps contacts pause and resume exactly when intended. Naming the step clearly, selecting the right wait type, configuring fallback behavior, and testing before publishing all help prevent timing issues.

1. Go to Automation.
2. Click on Workflows.
3. Click + Create Workflow in the top-right corner.
4. Select + Start from scratch.

5. Set up the trigger for the workflow. For example, use Contact created as the trigger.
6. Click the + icon to add a new workflow step.
7. From the actions menu, scroll down or search for Wait.
8. Select the Wait action.
9. Name the action with a clear, descriptive label — for example, Wait - 1 Day After Sign-Up. This makes the Wait step easy to identify when reviewing the workflow later.
10. Select what the contact should wait for. The Wait action opens a selection screen with seven options:
    • A set period of time — Example: 2 days, 6 hours, or 30 minutes
    • A specific date and time — Example: December 4 at 9:00 AM
    • A recurring schedule — Example: Every Tuesday or the 15th of each month
    • An upcoming appointment or booking — Example: 1 hour before a scheduled appointment
    • The contact to reply — Wait for a reply on SMS, Email, or another supported channel
    • The contact to take an action — Example: Clicks a link or opens an email
    • Specific conditions to be met — Build a custom segment using any of your fields
11. Configure the option you selected (see steps below).
12. Publish and save the workflow.

Tip: When the Wait action is placed directly after a Send action (SMS, Email, or WhatsApp), The contact to reply moves to the top of the list for easy access.

Tip: When your workflow trigger is appointment-based, An upcoming appointment or booking displays an info banner referencing the trigger appointment.

Step 1 — Configure a Set Period of Time

Fixed delays work best for simple pauses where every contact should wait the same amount of time before the next step runs.

1. Select A set period of time.
2. Enter the Time period, such as 1, 5, or 30.
3. Select the Unit: seconds, minutes, hours, or days.
4. Use the three-dot menu next to Time period or Unit to switch between:
   • Standard: A fixed value you enter manually.
   • Dynamic: A custom variable resolved at runtime from a contact field.
5. To limit when contacts can resume, toggle on Advance Window and configure:
   • Resume On: Choose which days contacts are allowed to continue.
   • Resume between hours: Set a time window for resuming.
   • Additional filter: Apply extra date or time conditions if needed.
6. Save the Wait step.

Step 2 — Configure a Specific Date and Time

Specific date waits work best for reminders, renewals, anniversaries, contract dates, or any step that should trigger around a known date.

1. Select A specific date and time.
2. Choose the exact Date and time the contact should wait for. The picker follows your account's date format preference.
3. Use the three-dot menu to switch between:
   • Standard: A fixed date you choose.
   • Dynamic: A custom variable that reads the date from a contact field at runtime.
4. Under When should the Contact proceed?, choose:
   • On this date and time
   • Before this date
   • After this date
5. If choosing Before or After, enter the duration for when the contact should proceed.
6. Under If this date has already passed, choose:
   • Continue to next action
   • Go to specific step
   • Exit Contact from automation
   • Skip all outbound communication actions till next wait or event start date action
7. Save the Wait step.

Step 3 — Configure a Recurring Schedule

Recurring schedules work best for repeated touchpoints that should happen on the same day each week, month, or year — without building a separate workflow for each cycle.

1. Select A recurring schedule.
2. Choose a Frequency: Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly.
3. For Weekly: select one or more days under On these days, then choose a time.

4. For Monthly, choose either:

   • A specific day of the month, such as Day 1 or Day 15.
   • The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or Last weekday of selected months.

   Then select the month or months the schedule should run in and choose a time. You can stack multiple ordinals if needed, such as 1st and 3rd Tuesday.

5. For Yearly: choose the month and day under On this date every year, then choose a time.
6. Under When should the Contact proceed?, choose:
   • On this date and time
   • Before this date
   • After this date
7. Review the Next 5 scheduled recurrences preview at the bottom of the screen to confirm the schedule looks right.
8. Save the Wait step.

Step 4 — Configure an Upcoming Appointment or Booking

Appointment and booking waits work best for reminders, follow-ups, due-date workflows, and customer communication that should happen relative to a scheduled event.

1. Select An upcoming appointment or booking.
2. Choose the Type:
   • Appointment / Calendar Event: Waits relative to a scheduled appointment or calendar event linked to the contact.
   • Service Booking: Waits relative to a service booking. This option is hidden if Service Booking is disabled for your account.
   • Invoice Due Date: Waits relative to the due date on the contact's invoice — useful for pre-due reminders or post-due follow-ups.
3. Under When should the Contact proceed?, choose:
   • At the scheduled time
   • Before
   • After
4. If choosing Before or After, enter the duration in months, days, hours, and minutes.
5. Under If this date has already passed, choose:
   • Continue to next action
   • Go to specific step
   • Exit Contact from automation
   • Skip all outbound communication actions till next wait or event start date action
6. Save the Wait step.

Step 5 — Configure the Contact to Reply

Reply-based waits work best when the next workflow step should depend on whether a contact responds to a message you sent earlier in the automation.

1. Select The contact to reply.
2. Choose the Reply To channel, such as SMS or Email. A Send Email or Send SMS step must appear earlier in the workflow before this Wait step.
3. Toggle Timeout on if the contact should move forward after a set duration even without a reply.
4. Configure the timeout duration when Timeout is enabled.
5. Save the Wait step.

Step 6 — Configure the Contact to Take an Action

Action-based waits work best when the workflow should react to engagement, such as a trigger link click or an email open, click, or bounce.

1. Select The contact to take an action.
2. Choose the action:
   • Clicks a trigger link
   • Email event — such as open, click, bounce, or another supported email event
3. Select the specific trigger link or email step.
4. Toggle Timeout on to move the contact forward after a set duration if the action is never taken.
5. Configure the timeout duration when Timeout is enabled.
6. Save the Wait step.

Step 7 — Configure Specific Conditions to be Met

Condition-based waits work best when contacts should only continue after matching specific rules, qualification criteria, engagement behavior, or field values.

1. Select Specific conditions to be met.
2. Use Add Condition to create individual rules.
3. Use Add Segment to create grouped logic blocks.
4. Join conditions using AND/OR logic.
5. Add as many segments and conditions as needed. The contact moves forward as soon as any one segment evaluates as true.
6. Toggle Timeout on to release the contact after a set duration if no segment is satisfied.
7. Configure the timeout duration when Timeout is enabled.
8. Save the Wait step.

Real-World Examples

These examples show how fixed delays, recurring schedules, and timed follow-ups can support common automation goals. Use them as a starting point when choosing the right Wait option for your workflow.

Example 1: Welcome Email After a New Purchase

Scenario: A new customer just made a purchase and you want to send a personalized welcome email shortly after.

• Trigger: The automation starts when a new contact is added.
• Wait: Add a 1-hour delay before sending the email.
• Action: Send a personalized welcome email.

Result: The delay gives the new customer a moment to explore your brand before the first message arrives.

Example 2: Thank You Email After a Course Sign-Up

Scenario: A lead signs up for your newsletter or course.

• Trigger: The automation begins when a new signup is recorded.
• Wait: Hold for 2 minutes before sending the first email.
• Action: Send a "Thank You for Signing Up" email with a link to the course or resource.

Result: The brief delay ensures your email doesn't arrive while the contact is still in the middle of signing up.

Example 3: Abandoned Cart Recovery

Scenario: A customer adds items to their cart but doesn't complete the purchase.

• Trigger: A cart is abandoned for 20 minutes.
• Wait: Pause for 10 minutes to give the customer time to reconsider.
• Action: Send a gentle reminder email with a discount offer.

Result: The strategically timed follow-up increases the likelihood of conversion.

Example 4: Monthly Membership Renewal Reminder

Scenario: A membership site wants to remind active members on the 1st of every month.

• Trigger: A contact is added to the Active Members tag.
• Wait: Use A recurring schedule set to Monthly Day 1 of the month at 9:00 AM.
• Action: Send a monthly summary email and SMS reminder.

Result: Members receive a consistent, predictable touchpoint on the same day every month — no separate workflows needed for each cycle.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between Segments and Conditions in a Wait action?

Conditions are individual rules, such as Contact's Job Title is CEO or Contact is in the High-Value tag. Segments are groups of conditions that are evaluated together. For example, you might want the workflow to continue if a contact is a CEO (Segment 1) OR if they opened a specific email AND have a particular tag (Segment 2). Each segment uses AND logic internally, and segments are compared using OR logic — so the contact moves forward when any one segment is true.

What happens if a contact reaches an appointment-based wait and the date has already passed?

The contact's behavior depends on the If this date has already passed setting you configured:

• Continue to next action: Skips the wait and continues to the next step.
• Go to specific step: Jumps to a step you choose in the workflow.
• Exit Contact from automation: Removes the contact from the workflow entirely.
• Skip all outbound communication actions till next wait or event start date action: Bypasses Email, SMS, Call, and Voicemail actions until the next wait or event start date.

How does the Wait action handle conflicting conditions across multiple Segments?

All segments are evaluated independently — no segment takes priority. The workflow moves forward as soon as any one segment becomes true. For example:

• Segment 1: Tag = VIP
• Segment 2: Tag does not equal VIP AND Email Opened = True

If the contact matches either segment, the wait ends. Since segments use an OR relationship, the first one that evaluates as true is all that's needed.

When should I use Standard vs. Dynamic for a date or duration?

Use Standard when the same fixed value should apply to every contact — for example, wait exactly 3 days after signing up. Use Dynamic when the timing should vary per contact based on data in their record — for example, wait until the date stored in a custom "Renewal Date" field. Dynamic values are read from the contact record at the moment the wait step is reached.

What are the three Appointment Type options and when do I use each one?

Appointment / Calendar Event waits relative to a calendar appointment linked to the contact. Service Booking waits relative to a service booking — this option is hidden if Service Booking is disabled for your account. Invoice Due Date waits relative to the due date on the contact's invoice, which is useful for pre-due payment reminders or post-due follow-ups.

Why does the order of wait options sometimes change?

The Wait action surfaces the most relevant option first based on context. When placed directly after a Send action (SMS, Email, or WhatsApp), The contact to reply moves to the top of the list for easy access. All seven options are always available regardless of the order shown.

Can I edit a Wait action using AI?

Yes — if Workflow AI Builder is enabled on your account, you can update Wait actions through a conversational interface. This includes changes to time delays, window settings, reply conditions, and timeout branches, as well as converting between wait types without manually reconfiguring the step.