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Start a workflow at fixed times (schedule)

5 steps± 4 minVideoVerified 22 Oct 2026
  1. Step 1 · Open your development environment and create a workflow
  2. Step 2 · Replace the trigger with a schedule
  3. Step 3 · Write when it starts
  4. Step 4 · Leave a line every morning
  5. Step 5 · Save and test by hand

Not everything starts with a call. A start of the day at eight, a check every quarter of an hour, an overview every Monday: for that you replace the trigger with a Schedule. You write the moment as cron, choose the time zone and test the workflow by hand.

Watch the whole guide as a video5 steps in one film
Step 1 / 5

Open your development environment and create a workflow

A new workflow starts with an Event trigger: it starts on an API call or a test. You replace it in a moment.

  1. Click Development
Open your development environment and create a workflow · Click Development
  1. Click Open ↗
Open your development environment and create a workflow · Click Open ↗
  1. Click Add to General
Open your development environment and create a workflow · Click Add to General
  1. Click New workflow
Open your development environment and create a workflow · Click New workflow
  1. In Workflow name, type Start of the day at eight
Open your development environment and create a workflow · In Workflow name, type Start of the day at eight
Step 2 / 5

Replace the trigger with a schedule

Take Schedule (cron) from the library and delete the Event trigger: click it and choose Delete. A workflow has one starting point.

  1. Click Add node
Replace the trigger with a schedule · Click Add node
  1. Click Schedule (cron)
Replace the trigger with a schedule · Click Schedule (cron)
  1. Click the Event trigger
Replace the trigger with a schedule · Click the Event trigger
  1. Click Delete
Replace the trigger with a schedule · Click Delete
Step 3 / 5

Write when it starts

A cron schedule has five parts: minute, hour, day, month, weekday. 0 8 * * 1-5 means: at 8:00 on working days. The time zone decides which eight o'clock — summer and winter time work out by themselves. Active off means it does not start by itself; running it by hand always works.

  1. Click the schedule
Write when it starts · Click the schedule
  1. In When · cron, type 0 8 * * 1-5
  2. In Time zone, type Europe/Amsterdam
Write when it starts · In When · cron, type 0 8 * * 1-5; In Time zone, type Europe/Amsterdam
Step 4 / 5

Leave a line every morning

Add a Table step that adds one row to Day start, with the moment the schedule fired ({{schedule.firedAt}}). Connect the schedule to the step.

  1. Click Table
Leave a line every morning · Click Table
  1. In Table, choose Day start · 0
  2. In What does this step do? Look up rows Get one row (by id) Add one row Add rows fr, choose Add one row
  3. In moment * text, type {{schedule.firedAt}}
Leave a line every morning · In Table, choose Day start · 0; In What does this step do? Look up rows Get one row (by id) Add one row Add rows fr, choose Add one row; In moment * text, type {{schedule.firedAt}}
  1. Click the schedule's dot
Leave a line every morning · Click the schedule's dot
  1. Click the step's dot
Leave a line every morning · Click the step's dot
Step 5 / 5

Save and test by hand

Saving makes the schedule active: from now on Flow starts the workflow itself, even when nobody is signed in and even when the environment runs on several servers — it fires exactly once. Run tests it right now.

  1. Click Save
Save and test by hand · Click Save
  1. Click Run
Save and test by hand · Click Run
Save and test by hand · ‘Started by hand (schedule 0 8 * * 1-5)’ and then the new row in Day start.

This guide was carried out step by step on 22 Oct 2026 by an automated test on Flow (version 3e563176).