Automation performance reports
This guide explains how to access and read performance reports for your automation workflows and transactional emails in Sender. Use these reports to evaluate workflow effectiveness, identify underperforming steps, and monitor transactional delivery health.
Where to find this report
Automation reports are accessible from two locations. On the Automations list page, each workflow row displays summary Stats — emails sent, opens, and clicks — giving you a quick performance snapshot without opening the workflow. To see detailed data, click the edit icon to open the workflow builder, where the right-side panel displays either the Workflow report or an individual Email report depending on what you select on the canvas.
Transactional email reports live under Transactional emails → Metrics, which opens the Transactional overview page. The Logs page in the same sidebar provides individual event-level data.
Steps to access automation and transactional reports
Step 1 — Review workflow-level performance on the Automations list
Go to Automations from the main sidebar. Each workflow row shows aggregated Stats: total emails sent, opens percentage, and clicks percentage. Use the Filter dropdown to switch between All, Active, and Draft workflows. Use the Sort button or the Find workflow by name search bar to locate a specific automation. This view lets you compare performance across all workflows at a glance.
Step 2 — Open the Workflow report in the builder
Click the edit icon on any active workflow to open the workflow builder. Click an empty area of the canvas background to display the Workflow report panel on the right side. This panel shows aggregated metrics for the entire automation, including Completed automation, Subscribers in automation, and Total emails sent. Use these figures to understand overall throughput and how many contacts have finished the sequence.
Step 3 — View step-level Email reports
Click any email step on the canvas to open its Email report panel on the right side. This panel displays per-step performance: Emails sent, Open rate, Click rate, Unsubscribe rate, and Bounce rate. The Subscribers currently at this step counter shows how many contacts are waiting at that point in the workflow. Click Full report for a detailed breakdown of that step's data.
Step 4 — Access the Transactional overview page
Navigate to Transactional emails → Metrics to open the Transactional overview page. The top row of summary cards displays Total emails sent, Total delivered, Total opens, and Total clicks. Below the chart, a second row shows Unsubscribes, Hard bounces, Soft bounces, and Spam reports. Use the Event type, Domain, and Campaign filters to narrow the data. Switch between Hourly, Daily, Weekly, and Monthly frequency views, and set a custom date range using the date picker.
Step 5 — Review individual events on the Logs page
Click Logs in the transactional sidebar to open the Latest events log page. Each row shows the Event type, Recipient, Subject, Template, and Date / time. Use the Event type filter to isolate specific events such as Bounces or Spam reports. Apply the Domain and Campaign filters or the Search bar to find specific recipients or subjects. Adjust the date range to control the time window displayed.
Available metrics
Emails sent (automation list) — The total number of emails sent across all steps in the workflow. Displayed in the Stats column on the Automations list page.
Opens (automation list) — The open rate percentage for the entire workflow. Displayed in the Stats column on the Automations list page next to emails sent.
Clicks (automation list) — The click rate percentage for the entire workflow. Displayed in the Stats column on the Automations list page.
Completed automation — The number of subscribers who have finished all steps in the workflow. Displayed in the Workflow report panel when you click the canvas background.
Subscribers in automation — The number of contacts currently active inside the workflow. Displayed in the Workflow report panel.
Total emails sent (workflow) — The cumulative count of all emails sent by the automation across every step. Displayed in the Workflow report panel.
Emails sent (step-level) — The number of emails sent by a specific email step. Displayed in the Email report panel when you click an email step.
Open rate (step-level) — The percentage of recipients who opened the email at that step. Displayed in the Email report panel.
Click rate (step-level) — The percentage of recipients who clicked a link in the email at that step. Displayed in the Email report panel.
Unsubscribe rate (step-level) — The percentage of recipients who unsubscribed after receiving the email at that step. Displayed in the Email report panel.
Bounce rate (step-level) — The percentage of emails that bounced at that step. Displayed in the Email report panel.
Subscribers currently at this step — The number of contacts waiting at a specific step in the workflow. Displayed in the Email report panel for each email step.
Total emails sent (transactional) — The total number of transactional emails sent in the selected period. Displayed as a summary card on the Transactional overview page.
Total delivered (transactional) — The number of transactional emails successfully delivered. Displayed as a summary card on the Transactional overview page.
Total opens (transactional) — The number of transactional emails opened. Displayed as a summary card on the Transactional overview page.
Total clicks (transactional) — The number of link clicks in transactional emails. Displayed as a summary card on the Transactional overview page.
Hard bounces — The count of transactional emails that permanently failed delivery. Displayed in the secondary metric row on the Transactional overview page.
Soft bounces — The count of transactional emails that temporarily failed delivery. Displayed in the secondary metric row on the Transactional overview page.
Unsubscribes (transactional) — The number of recipients who unsubscribed from transactional emails. Displayed in the secondary metric row on the Transactional overview page.
Spam reports — The number of recipients who marked transactional emails as spam. Displayed in the secondary metric row on the Transactional overview page.
How to identify performance issues
Step-level drop-off — Compare the Subscribers currently at this step count across consecutive email steps. A large gap between one step and the next indicates contacts are leaving the workflow at that point, potentially due to a long delay, an unsubscribe, or a condition filtering them out.
Declining open rates across steps — If later email steps show progressively lower Open rate values compared to earlier steps, your subject lines may be losing relevance or recipients may be disengaging over time. Review subject lines and timing for steps with the steepest drops.
High bounce rate on a specific step — A step with a noticeably higher Bounce rate than other steps may indicate a list quality issue with the segment entering the automation, or a deliverability problem with that particular email. Check subscriber sources feeding into the trigger.
Rising transactional hard bounces — On the Transactional overview page, a sustained increase in Hard bounces over time signals that your recipient lists may contain invalid addresses. Switch to Daily or Weekly frequency to spot upward trends and investigate the source of new addresses.
Spam report spikes — A sudden increase in Spam reports on the Transactional overview page suggests recipients are not expecting the emails. Use the Campaign filter to isolate which template is generating reports, and review its content and sending frequency.
Low click rate with normal open rate — If a step shows a healthy Open rate but a low Click rate, the email content or call-to-action may not be compelling enough. This pattern points to a content optimization opportunity rather than a deliverability problem.
Report tips
Filter the automation list by status — Use the Filter dropdown on the Automations page to show only Active workflows. This removes draft clutter and lets you focus on workflows that are generating live data.
Use the Compare toggle for transactional trends — In the date range picker on the Transactional overview page, enable the Compare toggle to compare the current period against a previous one. This makes it easier to spot changes in delivery or engagement patterns.
Check step-level metrics sequentially — Click each email step in order from top to bottom in the workflow builder to review how performance changes across the sequence. This step-by-step review is the most reliable way to find the exact point where engagement drops.
Switch frequency views for different insights — On the Transactional overview page, use Hourly to investigate a specific day's sending pattern, Daily or Weekly for short-term trends, and Monthly for long-term performance tracking.
Use the Campaign filter to isolate templates — On both the Transactional overview and Latest events log pages, select a specific template from the Campaign dropdown to see metrics for that template only. This is essential when you have multiple transactional email types and need to evaluate each one separately.
Common issues
Automation stats show 0 emails sent → The workflow is in Draft status and has not been activated. Click Activate on the workflow to begin sending. Stats populate only after the automation starts processing subscribers.
Workflow report panel not visible → You may have an email step or trigger selected. Click an empty area of the canvas background to deselect all steps and display the Workflow report panel on the right side.
Transactional metrics show no data → No transactional emails have been sent in the selected date range. Adjust the date range using the date picker, or confirm that your transactional sending is configured under Setup instructions in the transactional sidebar.
Event type filter not narrowing results → On the Transactional overview page, the Event type filter uses checkboxes. Make sure you have unchecked the event types you want to exclude. All event types are selected by default.
Logs page shows "No data found" → The selected date range or filters may be too narrow. Expand the date range or remove filters from Event type, Domain, and Campaign to see all logged events.
FAQs
Can I see performance for a single email step in an automation?
Yes. Open the automation in the workflow builder and click any email step. The Email report panel displays Emails sent, Open rate, Click rate, Unsubscribe rate, and Bounce rate for that specific step. Click Full report for detailed data.
How do I find drop-off points in my automation?
Compare the Subscribers currently at this step count across consecutive steps. A large gap between one step and the next suggests contacts are dropping off — possibly due to a long delay, an unsubscribe, or a condition filtering them out.
Can I filter transactional metrics by a specific template?
Yes. On the Transactional overview page, use the Campaign dropdown and select the template name. The chart and summary cards update to show metrics for that template only.
How often are automation and transactional report metrics updated?
Metrics update in near real-time. Refresh the page to see the latest data. For transactional logs, individual events appear shortly after the email is sent or an event occurs.
What is the difference between the automation Workflow report and individual step reports?
The Workflow report shows aggregated metrics for the entire automation — Completed automation, Subscribers in automation, and Total emails sent. Individual step reports show per-email performance (sends, opens, clicks, bounces, unsubscribes) for each specific email in the sequence.
Can I compare transactional performance across two time periods?
Yes. Click the date range selector on the Transactional overview page and enable the Compare toggle. Set the two date ranges you want to compare and click Apply. The chart and summary cards display both periods for side-by-side analysis.
How do I filter transactional logs to show only bounces?
On the Latest events log page, click the Event type dropdown and select Bounces. The table updates to show only bounce events, with the Recipient, Subject, Template, and Date / time for each.