Automate Slack Notifications for Task Updates Using Knack Flows

Keep your team in the loop—without sending another manual message

Keeping teams aligned is a constant challenge for project managers and operations leads. Tasks get assigned, completed, and sometimes… forgotten. The work gets done, but the communication gap slows everything down.

What if your project management system could handle those updates for you—without the manual follow-up?

With Knack Flows integrated into Slack, you can build automations that notify employees when tasks are assigned to them and alert the team when those tasks are completed. No extra steps. 

No chasing down updates.

You can imagine just the time savings on this—it’s crazy. You don’t have to message people whenever they’re assigned something.

Let’s walk you through how to set up a fully automated task notification system using Knack Flows, so Slack updates are triggered the moment work is assigned—or completed.

Step 1: Add Slack IDs to Your Knack Employee Records

To send personalized Slack messages through Knack, you need one simple addition to your data model: each employee’s Slack ID.

You can add a field in your Employees table to store their Slack ID. This lets Knack match a task’s assignee to their Slack account and send a message directly to them.

Inside the system, we created a field in the Employees table that has a Slack ID. That’s how the automation knows exactly who to message.

Once the Slack ID is in place, you’re ready to automate private messages.

Step 2: Send Slack DMs When Tasks Are Assigned

Next, set up a Knack Flow that sends a private message to the assigned employee as soon as a task is created.

The workflow includes:

1. Trigger: A new task is created in your Tasks table
   
2. Find Record: The flow searches the Employees table for the Slack ID linked to the task’s assignee
   
3. Slack Action: A private message is sent using that Slack ID
   

You can personalize the message and grab fields like the task name and instructions. It makes it feel less like a system and more like a real update.

Here’s a sample message

Hey [First Name], you’ve been assigned a new task – [Task Title].  

Please make sure to get on it ASAP to keep your workflows going quickly.  

Here are the instructions: [Task Instructions]

Once submitted, the flow kicks in automatically.

Check it out. When you submit a task, Slack instantly sent the message: ‘Hey—you’ve been assigned a new task. Create new brand kit.

Watch It in Action

Want to see how it all comes together?
 

Here’s a step-by-step video showing the full setup inside Knack Flows, how Slack is connected, and what the notifications look like in real time.

You’ll see how to configure each trigger, filter, and message—so you can copy the workflow and adapt it to your own system.

Step 3: Post to a Channel When Tasks Are Completed

You can also keep your team informed by posting to a Slack channel every time a task is marked complete. This is a great way to give visibility into progress—especially in collaborative or fast-moving projects.

This flow includes:

1. Trigger: A task is updated
   
2. Condition: Only continue if the status is “Completed”
   
3. Find Record: Look up the employee who completed the task
   
4. Slack Action: Send a message to a public Slack channel (e.g. #tasks-completed)
   

We added a filter so the flow only runs when the task status equals ‘Completed.’ Then we send a message to the team channel to let everyone know.

Here’s the kind of message you might use:

Hey team, the task ‘[Task Title]’ has been completed by [First Name].  

Thanks for all your hard work.

The moment you updated the task to completed, the flow ran, and the message was posted in Slack. Perfect formatting, right to the right channel.

Go Further with In-App Interactions

The power of this system doesn’t end with backend automation. You can create intuitive front-end experiences in Knack’s live app that give employees direct control over their tasks—while still triggering the same Slack workflows behind the scenes.

For example:

• Add a task dashboard where users can see what’s been assigned to them
  
• Use action buttons (like “Mark as Completed”) that update the task’s status with one click
  
• Capture additional data, like hours worked or notes, during task submission
  

These interfaces allow team members to engage with their workload without needing admin access or backend training—and without leaving Knack. Once they take an action (like completing a task), the connected flow takes over and sends the appropriate Slack notification automatically.

If you want to acknowledge that you completed a task, you can just click a button—and it sends the Slack message automatically. So simple and easy.

This approach also reduces tool switching and ensures consistency across updates. Everyone stays in the flow of work—and communication happens in real time, where the rest of the team already is.

Why This Workflow Works

Too often, productivity tools create more work than they save—especially when communication lives in one platform and task data in another. By combining Knack and Slack through automated flows, you bridge that gap.

Here’s why this specific workflow stands out:

• Timely: Notifications are instant. No delay, no manual reminders.
  
• Targeted: Messages go to the right person or channel, every time.
  
• Scalable: Whether you have five users or fifty, it works the same way—no extra load on the team.
  
• Customizable: You can tailor messages with dynamic fields like task name, assignee, project, due date, or instructions.
  

And because it all runs inside Knack, it’s easy to expand or tweak as your process evolves.

We did everything from creating tasks to completing them in the backend and in the live app. Notifying people with Knack, if that’s where they live, is going to be a lot better than doing it in any other way.

These kinds of workflows don’t just improve visibility—they create a smoother, more accountable system for everyone involved.

Ready to Build It?

You don’t need to be a developer to implement this. If you can point and click, you can automate notifications that save hours each week.

Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

• A Knack app that includes tasks and users/employees
  
• Slack integration connected via Knack Flows
  
• Slack IDs stored in each employee record
  
• Two flows:
  
  • One triggered by new task creation (sends a private DM)
    
  • One triggered by task updates (sends a channel message when marked complete)
    

Each flow takes just a few steps to configure:

• Define your trigger (e.g. record created or updated)
  
• Add conditions (e.g. status equals “Completed”)
  
• Lookup the related employee to grab their Slack ID
  
• Format your Slack message using dynamic fields
  

Once you’ve tested it, you can scale it: add due date reminders, overdue alerts, reassignment notices, or even task summaries.

Start Simple. Scale Naturally.

This task notification workflow is just the beginning. Once you’ve connected Knack and Slack through Flows, you’ll start spotting more ways to streamline internal communication.

Here are a few ideas to build on:

• Post milestone updates in Slack as projects progress
  
• Alert managers when high-priority tasks are assigned
  
• Send reminders for upcoming due dates
  
• Trigger automated status check-ins.

You’re no longer limited by copy-pasting or toggling between tools. Knack becomes your workflow engine, and Slack your real-time communication layerAnd the best part? You’re not locked into a rigid system—you’re creating one that fits the way your team works best.

Try the setup. Watch the video. And let your workflows do the talking.

Start building for free today!