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This guide walks through every field and setting you need to configure to build a working Sequence — from naming it to activating it.

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Plan Availability

Creating sequences requires the Essential or Advanced plan. See Sequences for plan limits.

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Before You Start

Make sure you have the following before beginning:
  • Approved WhatsApp templates — Each Sequence step sends a template message. Templates must be approved by Meta before you can add them to a step. If your templates are still pending, wait for approval before creating the Sequence.
  • Contact segments or tags defined — Sequences filter entry using subscription conditions based on contact tags, attributes, or segments. If you haven’t tagged your contacts yet, set that up first so the Sequence targets the right people.
  • Owner or Admin role in Gallabox (or a role with sequence management permissions) — these permissions are required to create and activate Sequences.
Always configure a subscription condition. Without one, every contact create or update event will trigger the Sequence — including contacts you didn’t intend to enroll. This can send messages to thousands of unintended contacts within minutes of activation.

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Steps

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Step 1: Open the Sequence Builder

  1. In the Gallabox left navigation, click Broadcasts.
  2. Click Sequences.
  3. Click Create Sequence in the top-right corner.
The Sequence builder opens with three tabs: Trigger, Messages, and Settings.

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Step 2: Name the Sequence

  1. In the Sequence Name field at the top, enter an internal label for this Sequence.
This name is only visible to your team — it does not appear to contacts. Use something descriptive: e.g., Trial User Onboarding — 5 Days or Demo Follow-Up.

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Step 3: Configure the Trigger

The trigger defines when a contact enters the Sequence.
  1. Under the Trigger tab, select one of:
    • On Create — fires when a new contact is created in Gallabox
    • On Update — fires when any field, tag, or attribute on an existing contact changes
    • Both — fires on either create or update
  2. Click Add Subscription Condition and define the filter a contact must match to enter the Sequence.
    • Example: Tag is Trial User
    • Example: Contact Stage changed to Demo Requested
Multiple conditions can be added and combined with AND/OR logic.

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Step 4: Add Sequence Steps

  1. Click the Messages tab.
  2. Click Add Step.
  3. In the step panel that opens:
    • Select an approved template from the dropdown.
    • Set the delay before this step sends:
      • Immediately — sends right after the previous step completes
      • Wait — enter a number and choose minutes, hours, or days
  4. Repeat — click Add Step for each subsequent message in the journey.
The Sequence supports a maximum of 10 steps.

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Step 5: (Optional) Add Step-Level Conditions

Step conditions filter contacts before a step sends. If a contact doesn’t match the condition, that step is skipped for them — they are not removed from the Sequence.
  1. On any step, click Add Condition.
  2. Define the filter — e.g., Tag is Enterprise.
Use step conditions to personalize: send one message to high-value contacts and a different one (or none) to others.

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Step 6: (Optional) Add Step-Level Time Preference

Time preferences restrict when a step’s message is delivered, regardless of when the delay expires.
  1. On any step, click Time Preference.
  2. Select the allowed days of the week and a time window (e.g., Mon–Fri, 9:00 AM–6:00 PM).
If a delay expires outside the allowed window, the message waits until the next window opens.
Do not enable both a Time Preference and Retry on the same step. Combining them causes retried messages to queue until the next delivery window, which can create unexpected delays. Use one or the other per step.

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Step 7: Configure Sequence Settings

  1. Click the Settings tab.
Configure the following options: Global Time Preference Sets a default delivery window for all steps. Steps that have their own time preference override this. If a step has no time preference, the global setting applies. Run only once
  • Default: on
  • When on, each contact can enter this Sequence only once. Even if the trigger fires again for that contact later, they are not re-enrolled.
  • Turn off for transactional Sequences where each trigger event is independent — e.g., a post-purchase follow-up that should fire for every order, not just the first.
Send message only if previous message was sent
  • Default: off
  • When off, the next step is scheduled once the previous message is sent. When on (or when retry is enabled), the Sequence waits for WhatsApp to confirm the previous message was delivered before scheduling the next step — if delivery fails, the contact stops progressing through the Sequence.
  • Turn on when step 2 references content from step 1 — sending step 2 without step 1 arriving would be confusing.

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Step 8: (Optional) Add Start/Stop Goal Conditions

Goal conditions define what counts as success or failure for each contact in this Sequence.
  1. Still in Settings, scroll to Goal Tracking.
  2. Click Add Success Condition — define the outcome that means a contact achieved the goal (e.g., Tag changed to Demo Booked). When met, the contact exits the Sequence as successful and no further steps are sent.
  3. Click Add Failure Condition — define the outcome that means a contact churned or opted out (e.g., Tag changed to Unsubscribed). When met, the contact exits as failed.
  4. Set the Cooling Period (1–7 days, default 1) — the number of days a contact must wait before they can re-enter this Sequence after exiting via a goal condition. Goal tracking is off by default; the cooling period applies only when you enable it.
The cooling period prevents a contact from immediately looping back into a Sequence they just completed or exited.

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Step 9: Activate the Sequence

  1. Review all tabs — Trigger, Messages, Settings — before activating.
  2. Click Activate.
Once active, the Sequence begins enrolling contacts as soon as the trigger condition is met. Contacts already in your system who matched the condition before activation are not retroactively enrolled — only future trigger events enroll contacts.

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How to Confirm It’s Working

After activating:
  • Go to Broadcasts → Sequences and confirm the Sequence shows status Active.
  • Trigger the condition manually on a test contact (e.g., add the tag you set as the subscription condition) and verify the contact appears in the Sequence’s Logs view.
  • In Logs, confirm the contact’s status shows Enrolled and the first step is queued or sent.

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Common Setup Errors

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FAQs

Sequences are trigger-based — they only enroll contacts when the trigger event fires after activation. Contacts who already matched the subscription condition before you activated the Sequence are not retroactively enrolled. To enroll existing contacts, manually update them to fire the trigger (e.g., re-apply the tag), or use a Broadcast for a one-time send to your existing list.
No. Sequences support a maximum of 10 steps. If your journey requires more touchpoints, split it into two Sequences and chain them — use a success condition on the first to trigger entry into the second.
Contacts already enrolled continue with the version of the Sequence they entered. Edits apply only to contacts who enroll after the change is saved. Make structural changes (adding/removing steps, changing delays) during low-traffic periods to reduce the number of contacts on the old version.
Check the step’s delivery status in Logs. With this setting on, the Sequence waits for WhatsApp to confirm the previous message was delivered to the recipient’s device before scheduling the next step — it does not gate on the recipient reading it. If the step shows “Delivered” in Logs, the Sequence correctly continues.
Yes — toggle the Sequence to Inactive from the Sequences list. Contacts currently enrolled are paused mid-journey. When you reactivate, they resume from where they left off. Deactivating and re-activating resets the Sequence entirely for new enrollments.

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Next Steps