How do I set up custom actions in my HOA community management software?

Every HOA board and management team handles repeat requests: report a pool issue, update vehicle information, request a financial statement, or flag a bylaw question. Chatref’s online HOA management software turns your chat widget into a task-completion tool by attaching a custom action to a conversation.

When a resident starts a chat, the AI agent can pull up the right action, collect details through structured fields, and send the information to your property management system in real time. This same feature is what sets apart the best HOA software - it doesn’t just answer questions, it actually completes work inside the chat.

1. Open your Chatref workspace and go to Settings > Custom Actions.
2. Click New Action, give it a clear title (e.g., “Submit Maintenance Request”), and add a short description that your AI agent will use to decide when to offer it.
3. Add input fields the chat will collect. For a maintenance request you might include:
   • Unit/address
   • Issue type (dropdown)
   • Description (text)
   • Photo upload (optional)
4. Set the trigger. Define where the collected info should go. The simplest path is a webhook URL that posts to your HOA management platform or middleware like Zapier. Paste the endpoint, and Chatref will POST the field values in JSON each time the action completes.
5. Save and test the action directly from your workspace preview.

Because all actions live inside workspaces, you can build a clean set for each community or team without mixing up workflows.

Your custom action is only useful when the AI agent knows when to apply it. In the same workspace, head to your agent settings and link the action:

• Under Agent > Custom Actions, toggle on the action you just created.
• Chatref’s AI agent will now listen for intents that match your action’s title and description. When a resident says “The pool gate won’t close,” the agent automatically offers the maintenance request action, collects the fields, and sends the data.
• You can assign multiple actions to a single agent, and the agent will choose the most relevant based on the conversation context.

The AI agent stays grounded in your own HOA docs - no hallucinations - so it knows to offer the right action only when the situation fits.

Once actions start firing, keep your team aligned with conversation tags and workspaces.

• Every conversation where an action completed gets an automatic tag like action:maintenance_request. You can also create manual tags for follow-up, priority, or board review.
• Use the conversation inbox filtered by tags to see all open maintenance requests, pending account updates, or other action types at a glance.
• If a human handoff is needed, a team member can jump into the same thread with full context and pick up where the AI left off.

This setup gives you a complete audit trail inside Chatref’s online HOA management software so nothing falls through the cracks.

What custom actions can I create in my HOA software?
Almost any task that follows a standard data-collection flow. Common examples: maintenance requests, amenity reservations, architectural change submissions, owner contact updates, document requests, and payment authorization forms. You define the input fields and where the data should go - your own HOA platform, a spreadsheet, or a team notification.

How do I automate workflows with custom actions?
Automation happens through the trigger you set. When a resident completes the action fields in chat, the collected data is sent automatically to your chosen endpoint. You can connect that endpoint to your property management system, a ticketing tool, or a Zapier workflow that updates multiple systems at once. No one needs to manually re-enter the information.

Can I integrate custom actions with third-party tools?
Yes. Chatref custom actions support webhooks, so any application that accepts an HTTP POST can receive the data. This covers most HOA management platforms, spreadsheet tools (via webhook-to-sheet connectors), and team messengers. For tools without a native webhook, Zapier or Make can bridge the gap.

How do I troubleshoot issues with custom actions?
Start by checking the action delivery logs inside your Chatref workspace. They show every attempt and any HTTP error code. Next, use conversation tags to isolate conversations that involved the action and review the exact fields collected. If the data isn’t arriving correctly, verify the webhook URL and field mapping. A test run from the preview tool often reveals the issue immediately.