Stage automations in Dapple let you trigger actions automatically whenever a submission enters a particular stage. Email notification automations are the most common type — they send an email to one or more addresses the moment a submission moves into a stage, with no manual work required. Set them up once per stage, and they run every time. You can notify internal team members, external reviewers, or any address — recipients don't need to be Dapple users.
Automations are only available on the Growth Plan and above.
What is a stage automation?
A stage automation is a rule attached to a specific stage in your project workflow. When a submission enters that stage, Dapple runs the action you've defined. Email notification is currently the most-used automation type, alongside assigning submissions to a user, updating a score, and adding a tag.
Automation type | What it does |
Send Email Notification | Sends an email to one or more addresses when a submission enters the stage. |
Assign to User | Automatically assigns the submission to a specific Dapple user. |
Update Score | Sets or modifies the submission's overall score. |
Add Tag | Applies a tag to the submission automatically. |
How do I add an email notification automation to a stage?
Open the stage settings for the relevant stage, navigate to Automations, and add a new automation.
Open your project and go to Settings → Stages.
Select the stage you want to configure.
Click Automations in the left-hand Stage settings menu.
Click Add Automation.
Select Send Email Notification from the action type list.
Under Recipients, choose Specific email addresses from the dropdown.
Enter one or more email addresses in the Recipient Emails field, separated by commas.
Optionally, select an email template from the Email Template dropdown, or leave it set to Use default email template.
Click Save Action.
The automation appears in your Automations list and is enabled by default. Use the toggle to turn it on or off at any time without deleting it.
Who can I send email notifications to?
You can send notifications to any email address — recipients do not need to be users in Dapple. This makes it easy to loop in external reviewers, finance contacts, or any stakeholder who needs to know when submissions reach a particular stage.
Recipient type | Supported? | How to add |
Dapple team member | Yes | Enter their email address in the Recipient Emails field. |
External contact (non-Dapple user) | Yes | Enter any valid email address — no account required. |
Multiple recipients | Yes | Separate multiple addresses with commas. |
Submission creator (the applicant) | Yes | Choose Submission creator from the Recipients dropdown instead of specific addresses. |
When should I use stage email notifications?
Email notification automations are most useful whenever a stage transition signals that someone needs to act — or simply needs to know. Common use cases:
New submission alert. Set an automation on your first stage so you're notified the moment a submission arrives, rather than checking manually.
Handover to a review panel. When you move a batch of submissions into a review stage, the automation notifies panel members automatically — their work can begin without a separate email chain from you.
Notifying an external team. If a later stage requires action from a finance, legal, or production team who don't work in Dapple day-to-day, the notification reaches them directly in their inbox.
Confirming progress to a manager or funder. Add a reporting address to later stages so the relevant stakeholder is kept informed without any manual updates.
Can I have more than one automation on the same stage?
Yes. A stage can have multiple automations, including multiple email notification automations pointing to different recipient lists. Each automation runs independently when a submission enters the stage. Use the toggle on each automation to enable or disable individual rules without removing them.
What does the notification email look like?
By default, Dapple sends a standard notification email with the submission details. If you've set up custom email templates in your organisation settings, you can select one from the Email Template dropdown when configuring the automation. To add a new template, go to organisation template settings (linked from the automation configuration screen).
Best practices for stage email automations
IMPORTANT - Dapple already sends a default submission received message to the creator so do not create another one here. For more information on configuring this, see here.
Match the automation to the action the email triggers. Only send a notification when the recipient genuinely needs to do something or know something — notification fatigue is real.
Use the toggle, not delete. If you temporarily don't need a notification to fire, disable it with the toggle. Deleting and recreating automations is unnecessary extra work.
Test with a dummy submission. After setting up a new automation, move a test submission into the stage to confirm the email reaches the right inbox and uses the right template.
Group review panel recipients together. Rather than creating separate automations per reviewer, add all their addresses in a single automation — one automation is easier to manage than five.
Check your template settings before go-live. If you're using a custom template, verify it contains the right merge fields and branding before your submission window opens.