Automation Memory: How to Control Repeated Data Processing

Every time you receive a new order, the automation reacts to changes and passes the data further. For example, it can send a notification or create a task when the order moves to the Paid status.

However, an order may move to Paid, then revert to a previous stage due to a refund, and later return to Paid again.

To manage such scenarios in Albato, you can use three settings together: Schedule, Incoming data filter, and the new feature Automation Memory.

Schedule

Schedule defines how often and at what time Albato requests data from an app. By default, if a trigger works via API, requests are sent every five minutes.

The schedule determines how often the system checks whether the order has changed.

Important: frequent updates are not always necessary.

For example, if the automation is used for reports or analytics, the schedule can be configured to fetch data once a day.

You can learn more about data migration mode and scheduling in this article.

Incoming data filter

Next, you can configure the Incoming data filter.

It checks whether the incoming data meets specific conditions.

For example, only orders with the Paid status, or an amount greater than a specified value, or a filled required field will be processed. You can learn more about Incoming data filter in this article.

The filter removes irrelevant data, but it does not account for repeated changes to the same order. To manage such cases, use Automation Memory.

Automation Memory

Automation Memory defines how repeated changes to the same data are handled and when they are passed further. This setting is available in the Incoming data filter configuration.

Important: Automation memory is not yet available in all apps. We’re expanding the list of supported services. If you need it for a specific service, contact support. We’ll clarify the details and try to add it to the list sooner.

Here you can define the automation's behavior when an order changes multiple times. Let's look again at the payment example.

Scenario 1. Send on every change (by default)

An order moves to Paid, then returns to a previous stage due to a payment error, and later becomes Paid again.

With the On every change (by default) option enabled, order data will be sent further on every update. As a result, the same order may be processed multiple times.

When to use:

• monitoring team activity in task trackers and receiving notifications about any changes;
• collecting a complete history of changes for analytics.

Scenario 2. Send only once

Now let's look at the same example with the One time option enabled.

An order may move to Paid, return due to a payment adjustment, and later become Paid again. Despite this, the data will be sent only once, on the first payment. All subsequent changes will be ignored, as the system remembers that the order has already been processed.

When to use:

• creating a task for a manager;
• sending a welcome email to a customer;
• registering a new order.

Scenario 3. Send only when selected fields change

In the third option, the When selected fields change setting is used.

For example, an order moves to Paid status. Later, the customer updates the order, adds a product or makes an additional payment. The manager updates the total amount and moves the order to Paid again.

In this case, the automation will send the data again because the selected field (the amount) has changed.

The data will be sent:

• The first time the order reaches Paid.
• Again only if the order returns to Paid and the selected field has changed.

If the status changes but the amount remains the same, the automation will not process the order again.

When to use:

• when the order amount or payment stage changes;
• when a lead moves to a new stage in the pipeline;
• when a document status changes during an approval process.

Summary

These settings work together and help you build clear automation logic without unnecessary actions or duplicate scenarios:

• Schedule defines how often Albato requests data from the app;
• Incoming data filter selects the relevant records;
• Automation Memory controls how repeated data changes are processed.

If you have any questions, contact our support team via the online chat on the website.