### [Entry Automation Addon](https://wpforms.com/docs/entry-automation-addon/)

**Published:** June 24, 2025
**Author:** David Ozokoye

**Excerpt:** Learn how to automate form entry management in WPForms

**Content:**

Entry Automation Addon is an Elite Feature

 Unlock Entry Automation Addon and other powerful features to grow your business.

 [ Get WPForms Elite ](https://wpforms.com/pricing/) 

Would you like to automate entry management for your WordPress forms? Our Entry Automation addon lets you create tasks like exporting or deleting form entries for a specific form. These tasks can then be automated to run based on the schedule you specify.

This tutorial will show you how to install and use the Entry Automation addon with WPForms.

- [Creating a New Automation Task](#creating-a-new-automation-task)
- [Adding Multiple Automations](#adding-multiple-automations)
- [Managing Entry Automation](#managing-entry-automation)

**Requirements:**

- You will need an [Elite license level](https://wpforms.com/pricing/) or higher to access the Entry Automation addon
- Ensure that you’ve installed WPForms version 1.9.6.1 or higher to meet the [minimum required version](https://wpforms.com/docs/why-you-should-always-use-the-latest-version-of-wpforms/#version-requirements) for the Entry Automation addon

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Once the core WPForms plugin is in place and your [license is verified](https://wpforms.com/docs/verify-wpforms-license/), you’ll be able to [quickly install and activate the Entry Automation addon](https://wpforms.com/docs/install-activate-wpforms-addons/).

## Creating a New Automation Task

To start, [create a new form](https://wpforms.com/docs/creating-first-form/) or edit an existing one to access the form builder. Once you’re in the form builder, go ahead and add the fields you’d like to include in the form. You can use [WPForms AI](https://wpforms.com/docs/generating-forms-with-wpforms-ai/) to quickly speed up the form creation process.

After adding the fields to your form, navigate to **Settings » Entry Automation** and click the **Add New Task** button to create a new automation task.

![Add new task](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/add-new-task.png)In the overlay that appears, go ahead and name your task and then click **OK** to proceed.

![Enter task nickname](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/enter-nickname.png)You’ll be presented with two options: [Export Entries](#export-entries) and [Delete Entries](#delete-entries).

![Entry automation options](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/entry-automation-overview.png)We’ll cover how each of these options works in detail.

### Exporting Form Entries

To automate entry exporting, go ahead and select the **Export Entries** option.

![Select the Export Entries option](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/export-entries-option.png)Once you’ve selected it, additional options will appear. First, specify the name of the exported file in the **File Name** field. By default, it is set to the Form Name and Date Timestamp.

![Update file name](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/enter-file-name.png)You can either enter a name manually or use smart tags to populate the name field. Clicking on the **Smart Tag** icon will display a dropdown containing supported Tags you can use for the file name.

![Click Smart tag icon](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/click-smart-tag-icon.png)After that, choose the format you’d like to export the file as from the **File Format** dropdown.

![](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/file-format.png)Available options include: CSV, XLSL, JSON, and PDF formats.

Next, you’ll need to specify the channel you’d like to export the entries to. By default, it is set to **Email**, but you can change it by clicking the **Export To** dropdown.

![Export To dropdown options](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/export-to-dropdown.png)Below, we’ve covered the available options

#### Email

Selecting **Email** will display the Email Address field, where you’ll need to specify the email address(es) you’d like to send the exported entry.

![Export to email option](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/export-to-email.png)By default, it is set to the **Site Administrator Email** smart tag. You can add multiple email addresses. Just be sure to separate each email with a comma.

![Export to multiple email addresses](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/enter-email-address.png)#### FTP Server

If you’d like, you can export the form entries to an FTP server. To do so, select **FTP Server** from the **Export To** dropdown.

![Select FTP server option](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/ftp-server.png)After that, you’ll need to fill out details about your FTP server like the Host name, Port number, FTP username and password.

![FTP server credentials](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/ftp-server-details.png)See WPBeginner’s tutorial to learn more about [how FTPs work and how to retrieve your FTP details](https://www.wpbeginner.com/glossary/ftp/).

Next, specify the folder you’d like the exported files to be stored in the **Path** field. The path is usually included when accessing your FTP server credentials.

![Enter file path](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/ftp-path.png)If you’d like to confirm your FTP connection, click the **Test Connection** button.

![Test connection](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/test-connection.png)You’ll see a Connection Established pop up if everything is properly connected.

![Connection successful](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/connection-established.png)If there’s an issue with your connection, you’ll be alerted with a Connection Failed alert.

![Connection failed alert](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/ftp-connection-failed.png)**Note:** We recommend contacting your hosting provider if your FTP connection isn’t working properly.

#### Dropbox

With our Dropbox integration, you can automate exporting form entries to your Dropbox account.

![Select Dropbox option](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/select-dropbox.png)After choosing the Dropbox option, you’ll be prompted to [install and activate the Dropbox addon](https://wpforms.com/features/dropbox-addon/ "Dropbox Addon") if you don’t have it installed on your site already. Go ahead and click the **Yes, Install and Activate** button in the pop-up that appears.

![Install Dropbox addon](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/install-dropbox-popup.png)Once the installation completes, click **Yes, save and refresh** to continue.

![Save and refresh](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/save-and-refresh.png)Next, click the **Add New Connection** button to connect your Dropbox account.

![Add new Dropbox connection](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/aadd-new-dropbox-connection.png)After that, choose your account from the **Dropbox Account** dropdown.

![Select dropbox account](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/select-dropbox-account.png)See our tutorial for details on [how to set up and use the Dropbox addon in WPForms](https://wpforms.com/docs/dropbox-addon/).

The **Dropbox Folder Name** field will default to your form’s name. But you can update it to match the folder name you intend to use.

![Dropbox folder name](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/dropbox-folder-name.png)#### Google Drive

Similar to the Dropbox integration, you can export form entries to Google Drive by selecting the **Google Drive** option.

![Export to Google Drive](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/export-to-google-drive.png)You’ll see a pop-up to install and activate the addon if it’s not already installed on your site.

![Install Google Drive addon](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/install-google-drive-addon.png)After the installation completes, click the **Continue with Google** button to connect your account.

![Continue with Google](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/continue-with-google.png)Then select the Google Account you’d like to connect with WPForms and follow the prompts to complete the setup. Please see our tutorial for details on [how to connect and use the Google Drive addon](https://wpforms.com/docs/google-drive-addon/ "Google Drive Addon").

After connecting your Google account, click the **Add New Connection** button.

![Add new connection](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/add-new-connection.png)Then choose your Google account from the **Google Account** dropdown.

![Google account dropdown](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/select-google-account.png)Once you’ve selected your account, you’ll be able to specify the folder where the entries should be saved from the Google Drive Folder section.

![Choose Google drive folder option](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/choose-drive-folder.png)If you select the **Create New** option, enter your preferred folder name in the **Google Drive Folder Name** field. By default, it is set to the form name. But you can update it to match the folder name you intend to use.

![Folder name](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/folder-name.png)However, choosing the **Select Existing** option will display a button to select an existing folder from your Google Drive account.

![Select existing folder](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/select-existing.png)#### Handling Existing Files

If you choose either FTP Server, Dropbox, or Google Drive as your entry storage, you’ll need to specify how existing files are handled after each recurrence of the entry automation task. This option is available under the **If File Already Exist** dropdown.

![Handle existing file](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/handling-existing-files.png)Below, we’ve highlighted the available options:

- **Increment File Name:** This option will create a new export file in the same directory and append a number to the filename.
- **Overwrite File:** This option will replace the existing export file with the most recent one each time the task runs.
- **Add Entries to File:** Selecting this option will append the new entries to the existing export file. It is only available for the CSV and XLSX file formats.

**Note:** If you choose the **Add Entries to File** option, we do not recommend updating the [Entry Information](#entry-information) section after the first export. This is because the columns have already been created in the CSV or XLSX file when the task ran initially. If you change your form fields later, the new fields won’t be added to the existing export file.

We recommend using the **Increment File Name** option as it allows you to retain your old export file and generates a new file with the updated fields.

#### Entry Information

In the Entry Information section, you’ll be able to configure additional settings for the entries export. For instance, you can select the fields you’d like to include in the entry export file from the **Form Fields** checkbox list.

![Form fields](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/entry-information.png)Under Additional Information, you can include more details like the Entry ID, Entry Date, Payment Status, etc.

![Additional information](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/additional-information.png)In the Filter section, you’ll be able to include fields that match specific criteria.

![Configure filters](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/filter-option.png)For example, setting it to include **Any Field** that **contains** the term **giveaway** will only export entries where there’s a mention of the term ‘giveaway’ in any of the fields.

See our tutorial to learn more about [exporting form entries](https://wpforms.com/docs/how-to-export-form-entries-to-csv-in-wpforms/) in WPForms.

Under **Status**, choose the status for the entries you’d like to include in your export.

![Entry status dropdown](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/status-dropdown.png)In the **Export** dropdown, you’ll need to choose how you’d like to handle the entries export.

![Export entries dropdown options](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/export-dropdown.png)Choose the **All Entries** export if you’d like to export all entries each time the task runs. Selecting the **New Entries Since Last Export** option will filter out all entries that were previously exported the last time the task ran.

#### Schedule

The schedule section is where you’ll define how often tasks should run on your site. First, click the **Start Date** dropdown and choose a date from the datepicker.

![Choose start date](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/enter-start-date.png)You can optionally choose when to stop running the task by selecting a date from the **End Date** field.

![Set end date](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/end-date.png)In the Frequency section, you’ll need to choose when and how often the task should run. Available options include:

- Days of the Week
- Days of the Month
- First Day of the Month
- Last Day of the Month

![Task frequency](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/frequency-options.png)If you select **Days of the Week**, you’ll need to choose the specific day(s) you’d like the task to run.

![Days of the week option](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/days-of-the-week.png)Selecting the **Days of the Month** option will display a day picker where you’ll need to choose specific day(s) in the month to run your task.

![Days of the month option](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/days-of-the-month.png)After choosing the frequency, select the time you’d like the task to run from the **Time** dropdown.

![Select time](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/time-dropdown.png)**Note:** The Entry Automation addon uses WP-Cron to schedule tasks, which is different from how the system scheduler works. This means tasks will only run when there’s a page load on your site. Please see [WordPress’ official documentation](https://developer.wordpress.org/plugins/cron/hooking-wp-cron-into-the-system-task-scheduler/) if you’d like to modify how tasks run on your site.

Once you’re done configuring your automation task, be sure to save your form to complete the process. After that, you’ll see an **ACTIVE** status next to the task name.

![Active status](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/active-status-new.png)You can clone an existing task by clicking the **Copy** icon. This will copy all the configurations from the task you cloned.

![Clone task](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/clone-task.png)To delete a task, click the **Trash** icon.

![Delete trash icon](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/delete-trash-icon.png)You won’t be able to restore the task after deleting it from your site.

In the overlay that appears, click **OK** to confirm your action.

![Confirm delete button](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/confirm-delete-new.png)## Adding Multiple Automations

You can create unlimited automations to perform multiple entry management tasks on the form. As an example, we’ll create an additional task to delete form entries from the WordPress dashboard after they’ve been exported.

### Deleting Form Entries

To start, navigate to **Settings » Entry Automation** from the form builder. You’ll see all the tasks you’ve created for that specific form. Go ahead and click the **Add New Task** button.

![Add another task](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/add-another-task.png)In the overlay that appears, enter your task’s name, and click **OK**.

![Additional task nickname](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/delete-entries-popup.png)Next, select the **Delete Entries** option. Additional options will appear afterwards.

![Delete entries automation](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/delete-entries.png)You can use the Filter section to specify the entries you’d like to delete based on the conditions you set.

![Choose filters](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/apply-filters.png)After that, use the **Status** dropdown options to select the entries you’d like to delete based on their status(es).

![Status for entries to delete](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/status-delete-entriesd.png)In the Schedule section, the **Run After Previous Task** option is enabled by default.

![Run after previous task](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/run-after-previous-task.png)This is the default schedule for all additional tasks you create, and it ensures multiple tasks run sequentially.

You can manually specify a schedule by disabling the **Run After Previous Task** option. Disabling it will display the Schedule form, where you’ll need to specify how the tasks should run.

![Disable run after previous task option](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/disable-run-after-prev-task.png)**Note:** Unless you specifically need to set custom schedules, we recommend setting additional tasks to run after the previous tasks to avoid conflicts.

If you have multiple tasks, you can reorder them by holding the 2-vertical line icon and dragging the task to your desired location.

![reorder tasks](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/move-tasks.png)Keep in mind that any task you move above will run before the task that was previously above it.

## Managing Entry Automation

WPForms provides a dashboard to keep track of all automation tasks you’ve created on your site. To access this page, go to **WPForms » Tools** and select the **Entry Automation** tab.

![Entry automation tab](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/entry-automation-tab-1.png)Here, you’ll see a table with details about the forms you’ve enabled Entry Automation on. You’ll also see all the automation tasks you’ve created below each form.

![Entry automation overview](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/entry-automation-dashboard-1.png)The **Last Run** column shows the last time each task was triggered.

![Last run column](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/last-run.png)You can manage task status from this dashboard. If you’d like to deactivate tasks for a specific form, click the **Checkbox** next to the form.

![Select all tasks](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/select-all-tasks.png)Then click the **Bulk Actions** dropdown and select the action you’d like to perform.

![Bulk actions dropdown](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/bulk-actions-dropdown-1.png)After that, click the **Apply** button to proceed.

![Apply bulk action](https://wpforms.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/apply-bulk-action.png)That’s it! You’ve now learned how to install and use the Entry Automation addon in WPForms.

Next, would you like to learn how to build other automations in WPForms? Be sure to check our tutorial on using the [Make addon](https://wpforms.com/docs/make-addon/) for more details.

**Categories:** Premium (Elite) Addons

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