You can specify the timing for each step in an automated sequence. This tells Kartra when to send a communication or execute the action associated with the step.

Timing for sequence steps is set in two parts:

  1. Delay: How long after the previous step should the step be executed?
  2. Day & Time: After the delay, what day (or date) and time should the step be executed?

General timing rules

  • Delay configuration lets you add a wait time before executing a step. The delay period begins when someone arrives on the step where the delay is set.
    • 1 day is equal to 24 hours.
  • Date and time configuration defines a specific period in which the step will be executed. The date and time conditions are checked after the delay is completed.

Example of the timing flow:

  1. An email step is created with a delay of 1 day and date and time window of Monday between 12pm and 3pm.
  2. A contact is subscribed to the sequence and arrives on the email step on Saturday at ~4pm.
  3. After the delay of one day, it is now Sunday at ~4pm. The delay is complete.
  4. The system checks the date and time conditions to see if the email can be sent. The window is not open, so it cannot.
  5. The system waits for the first available date and time window: the next day on Monday at ~12pm. The window is open, so the email is sent.
  6. The email step is complete and the contact is moved to the next one.

Delay options

Select one of three options to set a delay period on a step. People who arrive on the step will wait for the duration of the delay and then progress to the Date & Time window.

  • Right after previous step
    • There is no delay. The timing depends only on the Date & Time settings.
  • Wait a number of days/hours
    • The delay is complete after the number of days and/or hours specified.
    • 1 day is equal to 24 hours, beginning as soon as a lead arrives on a step.
  • Execute on a specific date
    • The delay is complete at the date and time specified.

Important: If you pause a sequence while any contacts are currently in the delay period on a step, all timing delays are reset. Resuming the sequence restarts the flow, and all waiting periods start again.

Pro tip

An alternative method of adding delays to a sequence is with a Wait step. Wait steps create an isolated stopping point in the sequence that is separated from any other action. They can be especially useful when adding long delays in between steps.

Date & Time options

Set to all days and any time of day to trigger the step for anyone who arrives on it at any time.

  • Allowed days
    • Check one or more days of the week
  • Allowed time
    • At any time of the day OR within a time window (i.e., between 8:00 am and 12:00 pm)

When the date and time conditions are met, contacts on the step are then checked to see if they meet any other configured criteria (for example, recipient conditions for an email).

If they do, the action is executed. If they do not, they are moved to the next step.

Take note

You may experience a slight delay in your sequence when large numbers of leads go through the steps of your sequence at the same time, even when steps are set to be executed without any delay or special conditions. This is a normal reflection of the time it can take the Kartra server to process a large number of requests – even “immediate” actions add up when the line gets long enough! 

If you are subscribing an exceptionally large group of contacts to a sequence at the same time:

  • Expect to experience some delay in processing
  • Check any Date & Time windows to make sure they are big enough to allow for extended processing time