Distribution Engine

1. Feature overview

Distribution Engine is a simple, rules-based way to automatically assign Leads and Opportunities to the right users. It replaces complex automation-based assignment with an easy-to-manage setup that helps you distribute records fairly, reduce manual effort, and meet response SLAs.

You can use Distribute Engine to:

• Automatically assign new records as soon as they are created or updated.
• Distribute work evenly across users using predefined methods.

When should you use Distribute Engine?

Use this feature if you want to:

• Assign incoming leads from forms, imports, APIs, or integrations automatically.
• Avoid maintaining multiple automation rules for assignment logic.

How Distribute Engine works (at a glance)

1. A record (Lead or Opportunity) enters the Distribute Engine.
2. The engine checks which assignment rules apply.
3. An eligible user is selected based on your configuration.

2. Prerequisites

• To enable Distribution Engine, contact support@leadsquared.com
• This feature is only available on NextGen.

3. Trigger Modes in Distribution Engine

Distribution Engine supports two trigger modes that control how records enter the engine for assignment.

3.1 Entity Trigger Mode (Default Behaviour)

In Entity Trigger Mode, records automatically enter the Distribute Engine based on the trigger conditions defined inside each assignment rule.

For example:

• When a Lead is created
• When a Lead is updated
• When Stage/Status changes

When the selected event occurs, the engine:

1. Evaluates the rule criteria
2. Checks for a match
3. Assigns the record if matched

3.2 Automation Trigger Mode

In Automation Trigger Mode, records enter the Distribution Engine only when explicitly sent from an Automation workflow. An automation card called Send to Distribution Engine is available in the automation.

3.2.1 How it Works

1. A record enters an automation flow.
2. The flow reaches the Send to Distribution Engine card.
3. The record is sent to the Distribute Engine for assignment.
4. The engine assigns the record.
5. The engine sends a callback to automation.
6. The automation flow continues.

3.2.2 Timeout & Default User

If the Distribution Engine does not respond within 10 minutes, the automation card assigns the record to a default user defined inside the “send to distribution engine” card configuration.

3.2.3 Supported Automation Triggers

The Send to Distribution Engine card is available only for specific automation triggers:

For Leads:

• Lead Created
• Lead Updated
• Activity Posted on Lead
• Opportunity Created
• Task Created

For Opportunities:

• Opportunity Created
• Opportunity Updated
• Activity Posted
• Task Created

4. Create a Distribution Rule

This section explains how to create and manage assignment rules.

Creating a New Assignment Rule

Navigate to Distribution Engine>Distribution Rules. Click + Create Distribution Rule.

Enter basic information about the rule:

• Rule Name — This is required, must be unique.
• Description — This is optional.
• Rule Type — The rule type determines who can see and interact with the rule. For example, a sales manager with team-specific access will only see rules created for their team when they log in to the Distribution Engine. When creating a rule, select the rule type:
  • Global — The rule applies across all teams. Any user in the account can be selected for assignment. Admins and users with global access can view and manage these rules.
  • Team-Specific — The rule applies to a single team. When you select Team-Specific, you must choose the team the rule belongs to. User selection is restricted to members of that team, and only users assigned to that team (or admins) can view the rule.

Rule creation is a 4-step guided process. You can save progress at any step.

Step 1: Rule Criteria

This step decides when the rule runs and which records qualify.

Select entity and event

1. Choose the entity: Lead or Opportunity
2. Select the entity type (if applicable)
3. Choose when the rule should run, such as:
   • Lead Entity – Lead Created, Lead Updated, Activity Created On Lead, Opportunity Created On Lead, and Task Created On Lead.
   • Opportunity Entity – Opportunity Created, Opportunity Updated, Activity Created On Opportunity, and Task Created On Opportunity.

Only records that match this entry event and conditions will enter the rule.

Define rule conditions (AND / OR logic)

Rule conditions help you narrow down exactly which records should be assigned.

Step 2: Select Users

Choose who can receive records when this rule runs.

Step 2.1: User Selection Type

You can select one of the following (they cannot be combined in a single rule):

• Manual Selection — Pick individual users. For manual selection, you can choose between static and dynamic selection (see below).
• Teams — Assign to a team. Users within the team receive records via internal Round Robin.
• Sales Groups — Assign to a sales group.

At least one user or one group is required.

User Availability Conditions

You can restrict assignments to users who meet availability criteria:

• Require User Check-In — Assign only to users who are checked in to their shift.
• Require ‘Available’ Status — Assign only when the user’s status is set to Available.

User Schedule Conditions

You can further restrict assignments based on the user’s schedule:

• Respect Workday Calendar — Assign only during the user’s scheduled work hours.
• Respect Holiday Calendar — Skip assignments on organisation holidays.
• Consider Leave Tracker — Use Leave Tracker to check user availability at the time of assignment.

Step 2.2: Static User Selection

When you choose static selection under User Selection Type, you can manually select the users that need to be in the distribution.

Step 2.3: Dynamic User Selection

Dynamic selection automatically determines which users are eligible for assignment based on criteria you define — such as user properties like department or role. Instead of selecting users manually, you set the criteria, and the engine evaluates which users qualify at the time of assignment.

Step 2.4: Advanced User Filter

When using manual selection, you can use the Advanced User Filter to narrow down the user list. This filter supports multiple criteria such as user type, team, and other user properties. It replaces the previous single-filter option.

Step 3: Distribution Method

Select one assignment method.

Step 3.1: Round Robin Distribution Method

Round Robin assigns records one by one in sequence.

Example with 3 users:

User A → User B → User C → User A → User B → User C → …

The sequence does not reset daily — the engine continues from where it last stopped to maintain a continuous cycle. If a user becomes unavailable, they are skipped. When the user becomes available again, they are added to the end of the cycle.

Step 3.2: Weighted Distribution Method

Weighted distribution lets you control how many records each user, team, or sales group should receive compared to others.

Instead of assigning records equally, you define a weight. A higher weight means that entity receives more records in each distribution cycle. Records are always assigned one at a time, and distribution follows a Round Robin pattern.

Step 3.2.1: How It Works

1. You select either:
   • Manual Users
   • Teams
   • Sales Groups.
2. You assign a weight to each selected entity.
3. The system distributes records in rotation, ensuring the total assignments in each cycle match the defined weights.

Example 1: Manual Users

You configure:

• User A = 3
• User B = 2
• User C = 1

Total weight = 6.

In every 6 assignments:

• A receives 3
• B receives 2
• C receives 1.

Distribution still follows Round Robin, not bulk allocation.

Example sequence:

A → B → C → A → B → A → (cycle complete). Then the cycle repeats.

Example 2: Teams or Sales Groups

When you select more than 1 Team or Sales Groups, Round Robin is followed at two levels:

Level 1: Between Groups (Based on Weight) 

For example:

• Sales Group East = 2
• Sales Group West = 1

Total weight = 3.

In every 3 assignments:

• 2 records go to East
• 1 goes to West.

The engine distributes between East and West using Round Robin while respecting the weight.

Example sequence:

East → West → East → (cycle complete). Then the cycle repeats.

Level 2: Inside the Group (Round Robin)

Once a record is assigned to a group:

• The system assigns it to users inside that group using Round Robin.
• Only eligible users are considered.

So the full flow looks like:

Record → Groups (Round Robin with weight) → User (Round Robin inside group)

The cycle does not reset daily. If a user is unavailable, they are skipped and rejoin the rotation when eligible again.

Step 3.2.2: Weightage Type for Users

When using the Weighted distribution method on Users, you can choose how to assign weightage:

• User-Level Weightage — Assign a specific weight to each individual user. Use this when you want control over distribution ratios.
• Category-Based Weightage — Instead of setting weightage per user, select a dropdown-type custom user field (for example, a field called “Performance Grade” with values A, B, and C) and assign a weight to each value. All users who share the same field value automatically receive the same weightage. This is useful when you have a large number of users and want to control distribution by group characteristics rather than individually.

For example, if “Performance Grade” has values A, B, and C with weights of 50, 30, and 20 respectively, all users with grade A share the 50 weight equally among themselves, all users with grade B share 30, and so on.

Step 4: Fallback

If no eligible user is available, assign the lead to a default user.

After completing all steps, you can:

• Save as Draft — Keeps the rule inactive.
• Publish — Makes the rule live and adds it to the priority order.

5. Managing Distribution Rules

Rule list includes:

• Order (priority)
• Rule name
• Action (entity)
• Status (Draft, Active, Inactive, Error)
• Created on
• Created by

You can:

• Click any rule to open its details
• Search rules by name or creator
• Filter rules by status, creator, or distribution method

5.1 Reordering Rules

Rule order decides which rule gets applied first when a record enters the Distribute Engine.

When a Lead or Opportunity evaluated:

1. The engine checks the first active rule in the list.
2. If the record matches the rule’s entry criteria, the assignment is made.
3. Once a record is assigned, no further rules are evaluated.
4. If the record does not match, the engine moves to the next rule in the order.

Why rule order matters

If multiple rules can apply to the same record, only the highest‑priority rule will run.

Example:

• Rule 1: Assign All Website Leads to Team A
• Rule 2: Assign High‑Score Website Leads to Team B

If Rule 1 is above Rule 2, all website leads (including high‑score ones) will be assigned to Team A.

To ensure high‑score leads go to Team B, place Rule 2 above Rule 1.

6. Permissions

Distribution Engine access and permissions are managed through Permission Templates. Admins can control the following for each user or role:

• Access type — Global (see all rules) or Team-Specific (see only rules for the user’s assigned team).
• Feature visibility — Whether the user can access Reports, Logs, and Distribution Settings.
• Rule permissions — View, Create, Edit, and Delete. If View is restricted, all other permissions are restricted.
• Modify Permissions — Edit permissions can be further configured by section: Rule Entry Criteria, User Selection, Distribution Method, Fallback and SLA, and Publisher Rules.

This allows admins to extend Distribution Engine access beyond administrators. For example, a sales manager can be given team-specific access with permission to edit user selection and weightage, without being able to modify rule criteria or create new rules.

For more information regarding permissions, see Permission Templates.

7. Viewing Assignments and Performance

Navigate to Distribution Engine>Home. The Home page gives you a quick distribution overview. Click the filter icon to filter the data by a date-range.

• Records Created: Total number of records that entered the Distribute Engine during the selected time period.
• Records Assigned: Number of records successfully assigned to users by the Distribute Engine.
• Assignment Success Rate: Percentage of created records that were successfully assigned to a user.
• Records Unassigned: Number of records that could not be assigned due to no matching rule or no eligible user.
• Rule Match Overview: Shows how many records matched each assignment rule.
• Assignment Method Split: Displays how records were distributed across different assignment methods.

8. Logs and Reports

The Reports & Logs section helps you understand how records are being assigned and identify issues such as missed assignments.

You can use these reports to:

• View assignment history for each record
• See when and why fallback assignment was used
• Troubleshoot rule execution issues

All reports can be filtered by date range, sales group, assigned user, and entity type to quickly narrow down the data you need.

9. Assignment Settings

The Assignment Settings section defines the global controls used by the Distribution Engine. Navigate to Distribution Engine>Settings.

The Settings page has two tabs:

9.1 Assignment Quotas

Admins can map user fields to control how many records a user can receive on an hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly basis. If no limit is configured, the user is treated as having unlimited capacity.

9.2 Additional Settings

This tab lets you enable or disable the availability and schedule features that the Distribution Engine uses when evaluating user eligibility. Each setting has a toggle and a link to its configuration page:

• Enable User Check-in Status for Distribution — Use the user’s Check-in status to determine availability at the time of assignment.
• Consider Workday Templates for Distribution — Use the Workday Template assigned to the user to determine availability at the time of assignment.
• Consider Holiday Calendar for Distribution — Use the Holiday Calendar assigned to the user to determine availability at the time of assignment.
• Consider Leave Tracker for Distribution — Use Leave Tracker to determine user availability at the time of assignment.

When a setting is enabled here, the corresponding condition becomes available in the Select Users step of each distribution rule (see Section 4, Step 2).

FAQs

1. What happens if no user is available?

The record is assigned to the fallback user configured in the rule or settings.

2. Can I temporarily stop assignments to a user?

Yes. Mark the user unavailable, apply leave, or remove them from the rule.

3. Can I edit an active rule?

Yes. Changes take effect once you save and activate the rule again.

4. What is the difference between global and team-specific rules?

Global rules allow assignment to any user in the account and are visible to all users with Distribution Engine access. Team-specific rules restrict user selection and rule visibility to a single team.

5. Who can create or edit rules?

This depends on the permissions set in the user’s Permission Template. Admins have full access by default. Other users can be granted view, create, edit, or delete permissions as needed.

6. Can a sales manager create rules?

Yes, if their Permission Template grants create permission. With team-specific access, the sales manager can only create rules for their own team and select users from that team.

Any Questions?

We’d love to answer your questions or hear your own unique use cases. Feel free to share your experiences in the comments section below.