> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cfo.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Schedule a recurring report with a Trigger > Have Ari do the same job on a schedule, such as a Monday cash summary: create a Trigger, write instructions that work unattended, get the result by email or Slack, change or pause it, and check whether it ran. Use a Trigger when you want Ari to do the same job on a schedule without being asked. For example, Ari can write a cash summary every Monday, or check last month's spending after each close. A Trigger is a saved instruction with a schedule. Each time it runs, Ari works through it in a new chat of its own, and you read the result when it suits you. For how unattended runs work, see [Skills, Triggers, and Guides](/concepts/automation.md). **Ask Ari** Tell Ari what to do, when, and where to send the result: > Every Monday at 8am Pacific, summarize the prior week's cash activity and flag expenses that differ from our recent pattern. Email me the summary. Ari asks about anything it is missing, saves the Trigger, and tells you its name and schedule. A new Trigger is on, and it first runs at the next scheduled time. You can also set one up by messaging Ari in Slack; see [Talk to Ari from Slack](/guides/use-ari-in-slack.md). **By hand** **1. Open the Triggers page** Open the account menu, your name or picture at the bottom of the sidebar, and choose **Manage triggers**. **2. Start a new Trigger** Select **Write manually**. To work it out with Ari in a chat instead, select **Build with Ari**. **3. Name it and write the instructions** Enter a **Name**, such as Weekday cash brief. In **Instructions**, describe what Ari should check, update, or prepare each time. See [Write instructions that work unattended](#write-instructions-that-work-unattended). **4. Set the schedule** Under **Schedule**, choose how often it runs in **Repeat**, such as **Weekly**, then the days and the time. You pick times in your own time zone, and cfo.ai saves them in UTC. **5. Save** Select **Create trigger**. The Trigger appears in the list, and its details show when it runs next under **Next scheduled**. ## Write instructions that work unattended Nobody is in a Trigger's chat while it runs, so Ari cannot ask you anything. When something is unclear, it makes a reasonable assumption, keeps going, and says what it assumed in its result. Write instructions that need no follow-up: * Name what to read: the Page, table, or Variable, and the Scenario if it is not Main. A run has no Page open. * Name the period, such as "the last closed month" or "the prior week". * Say what to return and how to judge it, such as "flag any expense line more than 10% over Forecast". * Say where to send it: "email me" or "send it to my Slack direct messages". Without that, the result stays in the run's chat. * Set any MCP server tool the job needs to **Allow**. A tool on **Ask first** does not run in a Trigger; see [What a run cannot do on its own](/concepts/automation.md#what-a-run-cannot-do-on-its-own). > Compare Actuals with Forecast for Operating Expense in the last closed month on the Monthly P\&L Page. Flag any line more than 10% over Forecast, and send the summary to my Slack direct messages. If you want a report on every run, say so. A run sends a warning only when something has changed since the last run, so the same warning does not arrive week after week; see [The record each run keeps](/concepts/automation.md#the-record-each-run-keeps). ## Choose where the result goes Every run's result is saved in its own chat, listed in the Trigger's **History**. A copy goes somewhere else only when the instructions name the channel: | The instructions say | What happens | | - | - | | Email me | Ari emails your sign-in address. Headings, lists, tables, and links in the message show in the email. | | Send it to my Slack direct messages | Ari sends you a Slack direct message, once Slack is connected. See [Talk to Ari from Slack](/guides/use-ari-in-slack.md). | | Email someone else | Nothing is sent. The run leaves an email preview in its chat, and the email goes only when you open the chat and select **Send**. See [Email preview card](/reference/chat.md#email-preview-card). | A Trigger can message only you, and it cannot post to a Slack channel. To share a result with others, have the Trigger update a Page and [share the Page](/guides/share-a-page.md). A Trigger can also export a Page as a spreadsheet. The file is saved in the run's chat, and the email or Slack message can carry a download link that works for a limited time. See [Limits](/reference/limits.md#skills-triggers-and-guides). ## Change, pause, or delete a Trigger Ask Ari, for example "Pause my weekly cash Trigger", "Move it to Tuesdays at 9am", or "Delete the old variance Trigger". Or open the account menu, choose **Manage triggers**, and select the Trigger: * To change its name, instructions, or schedule, select **Edit trigger** (the pencil), make the change, and select **Save changes**. * To pause it, select **Edit trigger**, turn off the switch so it reads **Disabled**, and select **Save changes**. Turn the switch back on to resume. A paused Trigger reads **Paused** in the list. * To run it once right away, select **Run now**. This works on a paused Trigger too and leaves the schedule as it is. * To delete it, select **Delete trigger** (the trash can) and confirm. A run that already started still finishes. You see and manage only your own Triggers. Your teammates' Triggers do not appear on your Triggers page, and you do not appear on theirs. ## Check whether a Trigger ran Open the account menu and choose **Manage triggers**. Each Trigger in the list shows what happened last, such as **Finished**, **Did not complete**, or **Skipped: Ari was still busy**. Select a Trigger to see **Next scheduled** and its **History**: every run, newest first, with its status. A run that did not complete shows its own one-sentence reason. Select a run to read its chat. For what each status means, see [The cfo.ai interface](/reference/interface.md#triggers-page). You can also ask Ari: > Did my Monday cash Trigger run last week, and did it finish? Ari tells a run that only started apart from a run that finished its task. A Trigger does one run at a time. When a run is still going at the next scheduled time, that scheduled run is skipped, and the Trigger's details read **The last scheduled attempt was skipped**. ## Reply to a run that needs you A run never waits for an answer. When it has a question, such as which bank account to use, it works on an assumption and leaves the question in its chat. The run then reads **Needs response** in **History**. Open the run and answer there; Ari picks up from your reply. From your first reply, the chat is listed with your other chats. Your reply does not change the result the run recorded. ## If something goes wrong > **The Trigger runs an hour early or late** > > Schedules are saved in UTC, so a run set for a local time moves by an hour when daylight saving time starts or ends. Edit the Trigger's time after the change. > **No email or Slack message arrived** > > Check that the instructions name the channel. Then open the run from **History**: Ari's activity in the chat shows whether the email service or Slack accepted the message. For Slack, check that Slack is connected and that your Slack email matches your cfo.ai email; see [Talk to Ari from Slack](/guides/use-ari-in-slack.md). > **Run now says the Trigger already has a run** > > The message reads **This trigger already has a queued or active run. Open its latest conversation.** Open that run from **History**, or wait for it to finish. ## Related * [Skills, Triggers, and Guides](/concepts/automation.md) * [Save a workflow as a Skill](/guides/save-a-skill.md) * [Talk to Ari from Slack](/guides/use-ari-in-slack.md) * [Plans, AI usage, and connection slots](/concepts/plans-and-usage.md) This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.