How to create and manage automation rules using event triggers and actions

Automation & No-Code

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A practical guide to building, testing, and maintaining automation rules driven by event triggers and corresponding actions in a no-code environment.

Who is this for?

Product managers, operations teams, citizen developers, and anyone building no-code automations.

Before you start

Basic understanding of workflows and data fields; access to an automation platform; sample data for testing.

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Zapier

Kit

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Zapier

Best for: IT, operations, and product teams seeking scalable AI-driven automations across thousands of apps.

Free Plan AvailableFrom $19.99 / month

How to in Zapier

Open Zapier and Create a New Zap: In the top navigation, click Make a Zap. This opens the Zap editor where you’ll define a trigger and subsequent actions.
Select Trigger App: Tables: In Trigger, search for Tables and select it. Choose the event you want to start the zap with, such as New Record, Updated Record, or Trigger Button Clicked.
Choose Trigger Event: Pick a trigger that fits your workflow: e.g., New Record to start on creation, Updated Record to respond to changes, or Button Clicked to manually start a flow.
Configure Trigger: Select Table: From the Tables trigger, choose the specific table you want to monitor. This binds the trigger to that data source.
Test Trigger: Click Test Trigger to pull sample data from the selected table. Confirm you can see current and new data as expected.
Add Action: Create Record: Add an action step, choose Tables (or the target app), and select Create Record. Map fields from the trigger step to the destination table fields.
Add Action: Increment Value: If you need sequential IDs or counters, add Increment Value and specify the numeric field and amount to increase.
Add Action: Update Records: Configure Update Records to push latest data from apps back into the table. Map the record ID and fields to update.
Add Action: Continue Zap Button Clicked: Use this to pause the zap until you click a button in the table to continue the process on demand.
Add Action: Duplicate Table: Clone a template table if you need a fresh workspace for a recurring process. This copies fields and settings for consistency.
Add Action: Delete Records: Clean up records you no longer need. Configure to delete specific records after a workflow completes.
Add Filter (Optional): Insert a Filter step to run actions only when specific conditions are met (e.g., status changes, certain field values).
Test End-to-End: Run a full test from trigger to final action. Verify data mapping and conditional logic behave as intended.
Enable Zap: Turn on the Zap. Monitor task history to confirm runs are executing as configured and adjust if needed.

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Alternatives

Kit

Best for: Creators, authors, and marketers who want to grow their email lists, engage subscribers, and monetize newsletters.

Free Plan Available$33 / month

How to in Kit

Open Automate > Rules: In the top navigation, click Automate. Then click Rules to access the automation rules list.
Click + New Rule: On the Rules page, press the + New Rule button in the top-right corner to start a new automation rule.
Set trigger: Tag added: Choose the Tag added trigger to start the rule when a tag is added to a subscriber.
Select 'Course buyers' tag: From your tag list, select the 'Course buyers' tag to define the trigger.
Add another trigger (optional): Click the + under the trigger to add more triggers if you want the rule to fire on multiple events.
Set action: Unsubscribe from a sequence: Add an action and select Unsubscribe from a sequence to remove the subscriber from a specific sequence.
Select 'Course pitch' sequence: Choose the 'Course pitch' sequence to unsubscribe the subscriber from it when triggered.
Add another action (optional): Click + under the action to add more actions, such as tagging or setting a field.
Save Rule: Click the Save Rule button. The rule is saved and enabled automatically.
Confirm activation: Verify the rule appears as Enabled on the main Rules page and will run when its triggers occur.
View trigger history: Open the rule from the Rules page, then scroll to the bottom of its settings to see the latest 50 triggers with dates and subscribers.
Disable the rule: On the Rules page, select the rule and click the Disable option near the Automation Rule heading to stop it from running.
Re-enable the rule: To resume, click Enable near the Automation Rule heading.
Delete the rule: Open the rule and click Delete Rule. Note: Deleting removes the rule and its trigger history.
Edit for tweaks or testing: If needed, reopen the rule to adjust triggers or actions, or test by simulating a subscriber event.

Tool details

Quick Comparison

Tool	Free Plan?	Min Price
Zapier	Yes	From $19.99 / month
Kit	Yes	$33 / month

Which tool should you choose?

Zapier

Zapier Tables provides native triggers and actions that wire data changes to automated workﬂows with minimal setup. Its visual editor makes chaining events fast, easy to test, and tune with filters, perfect for repeatable rules without coding. This combo delivers speed and reliability for event-driven automation.

Kit

Kit's visual automation builder makes it easy to create and manage rule-based workflows. This task provides a precise, UI-driven sequence to define triggers and actions, save and enable rules, monitor trigger history, and safely disable or delete rules—without writing code, ensuring repeatable, automated email workflows.