Using Smart Tags in Automations
Vaasu Guduguntla
Last Update hace 5 días
Smart tags let you personalize automations with real data from your business, your clients, and your projects. Instead of sending the same static message every time, smart tags pull in the right details automatically.
What smart tags look like
Smart tags use double curly braces and follow the pattern {{group.field}}.
For example:
- {{client.1.first_name}} inserts the first client's first name
- {{project.name}} inserts the project name
- {{business.phone}} inserts your business phone number
- {{user.phone}} inserts your personal phone number from Profile Settings
The group tells TalleFlow where to look. The number (for client tags) tells it which contact. The field tells it what to pull in.
How client smart tags work in automations
Projects can have multiple contacts, and you control their order. In automations tied to projects, smart tags use indexed client tags to target a specific contact by position:
- {{client.1.first_name}} pulls the first contact's first name
- {{client.2.email}} pulls the second contact's email
- This works up to 20 contacts
The smart tag picker in automations shows the indexed form (client.1.*) because it is the most precise. Generic tags like {{client.first_name}} (without a number) still resolve, but they auto-fill from client 1 and are hidden in the picker for project-scoped contexts.
Use the indexed form in automations. It matches what the picker shows and avoids confusion when projects have multiple contacts.
Where smart tags can be used in automations
Smart tags work in supported action fields where dynamic content makes sense:
- Send Email: subject line and body content
- Create Task: task title and description
- Send Document: email subject and body when sharing
- Webhook: payload values
What smart tags can pull in
Depending on the automation, you can insert information from:
- Client / Contact: name, email, phone, address, company, social links (using client.1.*, client.2.*, etc.)
- Project: name, dates, times, location, address
- Business: name, email, phone, website, address
- Business Owner (your profile): name, email, phone, address
- Invoice / Payments: totals, dates, payment amounts
- Selected Packages: package names, add-ons, totals
- Integrations: SmugMug galleries, Snappic events, Photo Booth events
- System: current date
Good examples of smart tags in automations
Example 1: Personalized follow-up email
Subject: Thanks, {{client.1.first_name}}!
Body: Hi {{client.1.first_name}}, thanks for booking {{project.name}}. If you have any questions, you can reach me at {{user.phone}}.
This sends a personal follow-up using the client's name, the project name, and your direct phone number from Profile Settings.
Example 2: Task with context
Task title: Follow up with {{client.1.full_name}} re: {{project.name}}
This creates a task your team can read and act on without opening the project first.
Example 3: Multi-contact project
Subject: {{client.1.first_name}} & {{client.2.first_name}}, your {{project.name}} details
When a project has two contacts (like a couple booking a wedding), indexed tags let you address both by name.
What happens when a field is empty
If a smart tag references a field that has no value, the tag resolves to blank. It will not show the raw tag text (like {{client.1.phone}}), and it will not fall back to a different group's value.
For example, if {{user.phone}} is empty because you haven't added a phone number to your Profile Settings, the space where the phone number would appear will simply be blank. It will not use {{business.phone}} instead.
Tips
- Use the smart tag picker. Don't type tags manually. The picker shows you exactly which tags are available in your current context and inserts the correct syntax.
- Test before going live. Preview your automation or send a test email to make sure tags resolve the way you expect.
- Be intentional. A few well-placed smart tags go further than stuffing every field with variables. The goal is clarity, not complexity.
- Check the source. If a tag shows up blank, check that the source field (Profile Settings, Business Settings, the contact record, or the project) actually has a value filled in.
Full smart tag list
For a complete table of every available smart tag, what it inserts, and where the data comes from, see the Smart Tag Reference.