# Add delays, conditions and branches to a sequence

Source: https://help.meisa.io/articles/sequence-delays-and-conditions

Use a **Wait** step to space emails out, and a **Check a condition** step to send people down a **Yes** or **No** path based on what they did or what you know about them. **Action** steps let you tag people, set a field or call your app along the way.

## Add a wait

1. Open the sequence from **Sequences**.
2. Click the plus where you want the pause and choose **Wait**.
3. Enter a number in **Wait for** and pick the **Unit**: **Minutes**, **Hours**, **Days** or **Weeks**.

The next step runs after the wait. If the sequence has **Sending hours** set in **Settings**, an email that comes due outside those hours waits for the window to open.

![A sequence with wait and condition steps](https://cdn.kamaan.io/kamaan/sites/6ae9f671d5ea373710b2366f/images/meisa-sequence-editor-63d470f4.webp)
## Add a condition (branch)

1. Click the plus where you want the branch and choose **Check a condition**.
2. Under **Check whether the person**, pick one of:
   - **Opened an email in this sequence**: Yes means they opened at least one email from this sequence so far.
   - **Clicked a link in this sequence**: Yes means they clicked a link in at least one email from this sequence so far.
   - **Has a tag**: enter the **Tag**, for example `customer`.
   - **A contact field has a value**: enter the **Field** (for example `plan`), pick how to compare under **Is** (equals, does not equal, contains, or is set), and enter the **Value**.
3. Under **Where people go**, set **If yes** and **If no**. Each one either continues with the next step or jumps to a later step you pick.
4. Add at least one step after the check. Without one, people would wait there.

Example: after the welcome email and a 2-day wait, check **A contact field has a value** with `onboarding_completed` equals `true`. If yes, jump to the "what's next" email. If no, continue with a "need a hand with setup?" email.

### Good to know

- Open and click checks need tracking. If open or click tracking is off for the sequence, the check always answers **No**. Turn tracking on in **Sequence settings**.
- Apple Mail and some security scanners can trigger opens automatically, so branch on clicks or on your own data (tags and fields) when the decision matters.
- A check uses one rule. If an older step shows more than one, Meisa only uses the first and offers to remove the rest.
- Options marked **(not supported yet)** are not used by Meisa. Pick a supported check instead.

## Add an action

1. Click the plus and choose **Action**.
2. Under **What should happen**, pick one:
   - **Add a tag** or **Remove a tag**
   - **Set a contact field**: enter the **Field** and the **New value**
   - **Call a web address**: Meisa sends the person's email and name as JSON to the URL you enter
   - **Add to another sequence** or **Remove from another sequence**

Actions are handy for marking progress, for example add the tag `onboarded` at the end of an onboarding sequence so an automation or segment can pick it up.

## Publish your changes

If the sequence is already on, click **Publish changes** in the bar at the bottom for your edits to take effect. People already in the sequence continue from where they are.

## Troubleshooting

- **Everyone goes down the No path on an open check**: tracking may be off for this sequence, or the person has not opened yet at the moment of the check. Add a longer wait before the check.
- **A field check never matches**: the field name must match the key your app sends in `custom_fields` exactly, and the value must match too (for example `true` versus `True`).
- **People are stuck after a check**: add a step after the check so both paths have somewhere to go.

## Related articles

- [Create an onboarding email sequence](/articles/create-an-email-sequence)
- [Enroll contacts in a sequence](/articles/enroll-contacts-in-a-sequence)
- [Use custom fields and tags](/articles/custom-fields-and-tags)
- [Send events and contacts from your app](/articles/send-events-from-your-app)