Documentation

Overview

Workbase is an automation tool that transforms raw data into actionable workflows in end systems. Workbase specializes in record-based, analytics-based automations. This makes it suited for use cases that rely on the data warehouse or large tables in a system of record like a CRM.

Key Concepts

Workbases

Each account has one or more workbases. A workbase serves as a standalone workspace or project. Connections, automations, and analytics are not shared across workbases in an account.

Connections

Connections are integrations with 3rd party systems. Connections can be both data sources and end systems. Data sources provide the data for analysis; end systems are where actions are triggered.

Data Sources
Workbase primarily connects to data warehouses like Snowflake, BigQuery, and Redshift. We also support specific SaaS tools like Salesforce and Hubspot that are treated like a data warehouse.

End Systems
Workbase maintains native integrations to trigger actions in a variety of GTM tools. Actions range from sending a message to creating a new record to bulk updating data. Please see the Automations section for specific examples.

Data Model

Workbase ingests data without requiring any field mapping, just like a BI tool.

Each object pulled in from a data source is called a data import and is treated like a table. Most functionalities in Workbase revolve around these tables. For example, the Accounts object in Salesforce will simply be the Accounts table in Workbase.

Relationships Between Data Imports (Optional)
For user convenience, the admin can define relationships between data imports that persist across an entire workbase. The supported relationships are nest (parent-child), enrich (left join) or lookup (right join). For example, Opportunities typically nest under Accounts, Organizations typically enrich Accounts, and Transactions are a many-to-one lookup to Accounts.

Workbooks

Workbooks are the fundamental unit of work in Workbase.

A workbook is a series of analytics and automations applied to each record in a data import. It is a way to organize all your automations around use cases. Workbooks are a combination of automations and analytics.

For a given data import, Workbase regularly loops through each record in data table. It evaluates the analytics and then runs the automations. Analytics are variables, formulas, and aggregations that the user can define, expressed in a spreadsheet-like syntax. Automations are triggers and actions to be taken in end systems.
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Getting Started

Create a Workbase

  1. Click on 'Add Workbase'
  2. Fill in the 'Add New Workspace' form and click 'Add'. Everything is optional besides the workbase name. A typical workbase name could be 'Acme Team'

Add a Connection

  1. Click on 'Add Connection' on the Home page or click on the Connections icon in the side bar and click the plus sign
  2. Select the data source to connect to
  3. Follow the corresponding instructions. For OAuth-based sources, please follow the resulting OAuth flow. For credentials-based sources, please follow the credentials wizard flow. For instructions on specific connections, please find below. Once completed, you may need to refresh the Workbase app to see the new connection show up

Add a Table

  1. Click on 'Add Table' on the Home page or click on the Connections icon in the side bar and click Connection you would like to pull data from
  2. Select the object you would like to import

Now, you will follow the on-screen data import wizard

  1. Choose the specific table you would like to import and click 'Next'
  2. Confirm the Path and Label for the data import. Labels are a human-readable title for the data import. Paths are used to refer to the data import in formulas. Paths are similar to the API name in Salesforce. Click 'Next' when done
  3. You should be taken to the specific page for the data import just created. If not, navigate to that page
  4. Under 'Data Object Settings', confirm the Sync Schedule
  5. Under 'Data Modeling', confirm the sync type you would like. Please see the Connections setting for details
  6. Click 'Save' at the bottom
  7. Go back to the 'Overview' page for the connection. Find the 'Run Sync Job' button under 'Settings', and select the data import just added to run the first sync job!

Connections

General Info

Workbase stores a copy of the data synced from your connections. The sync frequency is set in the app. Currently, daily, weekly, and custom hourly intervals are supported. Data syncs are managed on an object basis. We currently do not have a limit on row or field count for each sync.
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However, performance is most optimized when the row limit is within 100,000 for each object. This is subject to change as we continue to invest in scalable infrastructure.
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Workbase keeps track of records that have already been synced and only syncs new records or data fields. We currently only support UI-based deletion of records.

Data Modeling

For user convenience, the admin can define relationships between data imports that persist across an entire workbase. The supported relationships are nest (parent-child), enrich (left join) or lookup (right join). For example, Opportunities typically nest under Accounts, Organizations typically enrich Accounts, and Transactions are a many-to-one lookup to Accounts.

Relationships between data imports are defined through foreign keys. The foreign keys from both data imports need to match exactly for the system to connect them.
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Create Main Object
This sets the data import as a simple, standalone table.

Enrich Main Object
This creates a left join relationship. For example, enriching Accounts with firmographic data.

Create Nested Object
This creates a parent-child relationship. The child data import can access any field from the parent data import. For example, nesting Users under Accounts.

Note: lookup (right join) relationships can be achieved through Formulas, similar to conditional aggregation formulas in Excel (COUNTIF, SUMIF).

BigQuery

  1. Find project ID. You need to grant Workbase access to your BigQuery cluster so we can read tables from your data. Input the project ID into the form
  2. (Optional) Create and configure a service account for Workbase. Workbse needs permission as a BigQuery User.
  3. (Optional) If you use a service perimeter to control access to BigQuery, you must set up a GCP bucket to allow Workbase to read your data
  4. Download your service account key and locate the client email and private key (within the quotes)
  5. Input the client email and private key into the Workbase form and click 'Save'
  6. Refresh the page. If the connection was successful, you will see all of the tables available to Workbase

Please email [email protected] for any issues - we're here to support!

Redshift

  1. Find project ID. You need to grant Workbase access to your BigQuery cluster so we can read tables from your data. Input the project ID into the form
  2. (Optional) Create and configure a service account for Workbase. Workbse needs permission as a BigQuery User.
  3. (Optional) If you use a service perimeter to control access to BigQuery, you must set up a GCP bucket to allow Workbase to read your data
  4. Download your service account key and locate the client email and private key (within the quotes)
  5. Input the client email and private key into the Workbase form and click 'Save'
  6. Refresh the page. If the connection was successful, you will see all of the tables available to Workbase

Please email [email protected] for any issues - we're here to support!

Formulas

General Info

Formulas are the key to the power of Workbase. What can they do?
- Automatically calculate something when your data changes
- Make a commonly used value easier to reference
- Calculate something an automation will use to filter who gets an alert

Formulas are really just a named calculation on a table. They can be as simple as the formula four simply outputting the number 4, or as complex as calculating an employee's total tax burden(probably without deductions, unless you somehow have that data).

Any formula you create for a given table will exist on every row of that table. That doesn't mean they'll all have a value- often if the data they use is not present, they won't be either.

Furthermore, because they exist on a row of a given table, when you write one, it'll be from the perspective of that row. So you'll have immediate access to all the other fields on that row, as well as the fields of any of its relationships.

Every formula has 5 parts:
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  1. The table it is on
  2. .Its label, which is used as a header when showing the column in a view of the table. This can include spaces.
  3. Its path, which is how you refer to the formula in other formulas or automations.
  4. The formula type- usually a number, but it can also calculate a date, some text, true or false(like a checkbox), or more.
  5. The expression, which is what calculation the formula actually does.

Steps

  1. From inside a Workbook, create a new Formula section.
  2. Select the Table you want the formula for.
  3. Give the formula a label. The "Path" of the formula can be automatically generated from this label, but feel free to edit it to something new if you like.
  4. Select what type of value you want the formula to represent. Is it a number, a Date, some text, etc.
  5. Fill out the expression calculating the value you'd like.

We know that the expression is the hard part- that's why we have extensive documentation and examples of formulas you can learn from. If you'd like a step-by-step walkthrough of one, try our walkthrough for Monthly Active Users Anomaly Detection.

Also check out our Formulas Docs to learn more about specific formula functions.

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