Overview
The iVendNext Trigger Node listens to your iVendNext tenant and starts a workflow the instant a chosen event occurs — no polling, no delay. It is always the first node in event-driven automation. Where the Action Node waits to be told what to do, the Trigger Node acts the moment something happens in iVendNext.
How It Works
When you add a Trigger Node to a workflow and activate it, the node registers a private notification inside your iVendNext tenant. This notification tells iVendNext to deliver the relevant document to the workflow whenever the specified event occurs on the specified DocType.
From that point on, every matching event fires the workflow immediately. Deactivate the workflow and — if Auto Delete is enabled — the notification is removed cleanly from iVendNext.
Settings
| Setting | Meaning |
|---|---|
| DocType | The Document Type to watch. Loaded live from your tenant, including custom DocTypes. |
| Trigger Name | A unique label for this listener inside iVendNext (e.g. New Sale → Slack). Each trigger on the same DocType must have a distinct name. |
| Event | The event or events to react to. You can select multiple. |
| Auto Delete | If on, the listener is removed from iVendNext when the workflow is deactivated. Recommended for production workflows. |
| Respond Immediately (Additional Options) | Acknowledges iVendNext the instant the event arrives, rather than waiting for the workflow to finish. Recommended for all production triggers — without it, iVendNext holds the connection open while the workflow runs. |
The Seven Events
| Event | Fires when… | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| After Insert | A new document is created | Post-sale notifications; new customer onboarding; new-item alerts |
| After Save | A document is saved (new or existing) | React to any change on a document, regardless of what changed |
| On Update | An existing document is changed | Detect modifications to records that already existed |
| On Submit | A document is submitted / confirmed | Trigger post-confirmation flows: carrier notification, invoice processing, CRM update |
| On Cancel | A submitted document is cancelled | Compensating actions: notify carrier, reverse a communication, flag for review |
| Value Changed | A watched field's value changes | Detect a price change, a status transition, or any specific field shift |
| On Change / On Trash / Custom Method | Additional lifecycle moments | Document deletion and custom methods for advanced scenarios |
What the Trigger Delivers
When the event fires, the Trigger Node outputs the full document as data. Every field on that document is available to subsequent nodes using n8n expressions — for example ={{ $json.customer }}, ={{ $json.grand_total }}, or ={{ $json.name }}.
If the automation only needs data from the triggering document, no further Action Node is required. If more data is needed — for example, fetching the full customer record when a Sales Order triggers — the Action Node picks up from there.
Action vs. Trigger — Which to Use
| Use the Trigger Node when… | Use the Action Node when… |
|---|---|
| You want iVendNext to start the automation | The workflow needs to read or write iVendNext data |
| The starting point is an event: a sale, an order, a stock change | The workflow runs on a schedule, a button press, or another app's signal |
| You need a real-time reaction | An AI agent needs to look up data |
Most complete automations use both: a Trigger Node to start the chain, and one or more Action Nodes to enrich, transform, and write data. The standard pattern is: Trigger → Get more detail → Do something.
Quick Start — New Sale to Slack
This walkthrough builds a complete, useful automation in five steps: when a new Sales Order is created in iVendNext, post its details to a Slack channel.
Add the Trigger. New workflow → add iVendNext Trigger. Select your iVendNext API credential. Set DocType = Sales Order, Event = After Insert, Trigger Name = New Sale → Slack.
Enrich the data. Add an iVendNext Action Node. Set Operation = Get, DocType = Customer, Document Name = ={{ $json.customer }}. This fetches the full customer record alongside the order.
Post to Slack. Add a Slack node. Compose a message: "New order {{ $json.name }} — {{ $json.grand_total }} from {{ $json.customer }}."
Activate. Toggle the workflow to Active.
Test. Create a Sales Order in iVendNext. Within seconds the Slack message appears.
This pattern — Trigger → Get → Notify — is the foundation of most retail event-driven automations. Replace the Slack node with an email node, an HTTP Request to a carrier, or an AI Agent, and the same structure handles a wide range of scenarios.
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