Pause / Delay Node: Fixed Durations, Specific Dates, and Variable-Based Delays

What it is

The Pause node suspends a running workflow instance at a specific point for a controlled period of time. When the wait is over, the workflow resumes automatically and continues to the next step — with no manual action required. Three different waiting modes are available:

• For a duration — wait a fixed number of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months.
• Pause until date — wait until a specific calendar date and time that you set in the designer.
• Pause until variable date — wait until a date stored in one of the workflow's variables (for example, a contract expiry date from a form), with an optional time offset added on top.

While paused, the workflow instance is suspended but not lost. It resumes exactly where it left off, regardless of what happens to the server in between.

Why it's useful / Key benefits

• Build in controlled waiting periods without any manual monitoring. A Pause node handles the timing automatically — you do not need to set a calendar reminder or check in manually to trigger the next step.
• Send notifications at exactly the right moment. Place a Pause node before an email node to send a follow-up reminder exactly 3 days after the original notification was sent.
• Honor business calendars and SLA windows. Use a fixed-duration pause to enforce a review period before a decision is published, or a date-based pause to ensure a contract is not acted on before its start date.
• React to your own data. With variable-based delays, the wait time is determined by a date that comes from the actual process (a hire date, a document expiry date, a deadline stored in a form). You set it up once and it adapts to every instance automatically.
• Add buffer time around a key date. The variable-date mode supports a time offset — pause until 7 days before the expiry date, or 2 weeks after the submission date.
• Workflows always resume, even across server restarts. A paused instance resumes exactly where it left off — no data is ever lost during the wait.

Before you start

• You need designer access to the relevant workflow.
• For the Pause until variable date mode, the workflow must have at least one variable that holds a date value. This typically comes from a Start node's form or a task node's output.
• Open the workflow from the Workflow Management screen and click Edit.

How to use it — step by step

1. In the visual designer, open the Logic tab in the left sidebar.

2. Drag the Pause node onto the canvas and drop it between the step that should run before the wait and the step that should run after.

3. Connect the preceding node's output handle to the Pause node's input, and connect the Pause node's output to the next step.

4. Double-click the node (or click its gear icon) to open the Pause Properties dialog.

5. Under Operations, select one of the three modes and configure it:

   Mode A — For a duration:

   • Select the radio button labelled For a duration.
   • Use the − / + buttons (or type directly) to set the number.
   • Choose the unit from the dropdown: Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, or Months.
   • The footer preview updates to show "Pause 3 days" (or whatever you set).

   Mode B — Pause until date:

   • Select Pause until date.
   • Click the date field (calendar icon) and pick the date you want the workflow to resume.
   • Click the time field (clock icon) and enter the time.
   • The workflow will resume at exactly that date and time.

   Mode C — Pause until variable date:

   • Select Pause until variable date.
   • Click the Select Date Variable dropdown. It shows variables from the workflow that appear to contain dates (variables whose name or type includes "date", "deadline", "expiry", and similar). If the variable you need is not listed, tick Show all variables to see all available variables.
   • Select the variable you want.
   • A confirmation card appears showing the selected variable as {{variable_name}}.
   • Optionally, configure a Time Offset to shift the resume time relative to the variable date:
     • Use the − / + buttons to set the offset number (or type it in).
     • Choose the unit: Hours, Days, Weeks, Months, or Years.
     • The preview updates to show, for example, {{contract_expiry}} + 7 days.
     • To remove the offset, click Clear.

6. Under Require Comments, toggle the switch if you want to prevent the pause from being manually ended early (if such an action is available) unless a comment is provided.

   Note: When this toggle is on, a Comments text area appears where you can record a standing note or instruction for reviewers.

7. Check the footer preview line — it reads "Pause [summary of your selection]" so you can confirm the setting at a glance.

8. Click Save Pause. The dialog closes.

9. Click Save (or press Ctrl+S) to save the workflow.

Options & settings explained

Operations (pause mode)

Duration units

Variable date selector

Time Offset (variable date mode only)

Require Comments toggle

Tips & best practices

• Use duration mode for fixed SLA windows. If your policy says "respond within 72 hours," a 72-hour duration pause before escalation is self-documenting and easy to update.
• Use date mode sparingly. A hardcoded date becomes outdated instantly once that date passes. Consider whether a variable-based approach would be more reusable.
• Use variable date mode when every instance has its own deadline. The workflow designer sets it up once, and the engine calculates the resume time dynamically for each instance based on that instance's actual data.
• Add a small positive offset for buffer time. If you want to send a reminder before a deadline, use a negative offset concept: for example, contract_expiry - 7 days is expressed as contract_expiry + (-7) days — however, if negative offsets are not available in the UI, build in the pause before the expiry by structuring your workflow so the Pause node is encountered 7 days before the expiry variable arrives.
• Place the Pause node just before the step it should delay. This keeps the canvas logic readable — it is clear that the node immediately following the Pause is the one being delayed.
• Document the reason in the node description. Double-click the node label on the canvas and type a meaningful name such as "Wait 3 days for review" so anyone reading the canvas understands the intent without opening the configuration.

Frequently asked questions

Q: What happens to a paused workflow if the server restarts while it is waiting? The workflow resumes exactly where it left off. Paused instances are durably stored — a server restart has no effect on the wait or the data associated with the instance.

Q: Can a paused workflow be manually resumed before the timer expires? This depends on your administrator's configuration. Some workflow designs include a manual override; check with your workflow designer or administrator. The Require Comments toggle can gate this action if it is allowed.

Q: The variable I need for "Pause until variable date" is not in the dropdown. What do I do? Tick Show all variables to see every variable available from upstream nodes. If the variable you need is still not listed, it may not yet exist at that point in the workflow — check that the step that creates it is upstream of the Pause node.

Q: Can I pause for less than one minute? Yes. Select "For a duration," enter the number of seconds you need, and choose Seconds from the unit dropdown.

Q: Does the Pause node affect all instances of the workflow or just the current one? Only the current running instance is paused. Other instances of the same workflow run independently and are not affected.

Q: If I use "Pause until variable date" and the variable contains no value (empty), what happens? The workflow will pause indefinitely at that node. Always add an upstream If/Else condition to handle the case where the date variable might be empty, redirecting to an appropriate fallback path.