Copy an item and its subitems to another board

Copy an item and its subitems to another board

TL;DR: When an item's Status changes, copy it (with all its subitems) to another board — the original stays put. Useful for stage-based handoffs like Leads → Customers or Orders → Fulfillment.

What this does

Recipe: "When status changes to something, copy item with its subitems to this board and map values where both column name and type match."
When an item's Status changes to a label you specify (e.g. Won or Ready for Fulfillment):
  • A new copy of the item is created on the target board
  • All subitems are copied along with it
  • Most column values transfer (Status, Date, Text, Numbers, People, etc.)
  • The original item stays where it is — this is a copy, not a move
Read-only columns (Mirror, Formula, Last-updated) cannot be copied or mapped.

When to use it

Best fit for workflows that progress through clear stages across boards:
  • CRM: Leads → Deals → Customers
  • Sales: Opportunities → Won deals
  • Operations: Orders → Fulfillment
  • Service: Tickets → Resolved cases

Before you start

  • A Status column on the source board (the trigger)
  • A target board where the copy will land
  • An understanding of how item columns and subitem columns map (see "How the mapping works" below)

Set it up

    Open Automate → Create on your source board.
    Search copy item subitems and click Use Template on the recipe.
    Configure the underlined fields:
Field
What to select
status
The Status column on the source board that triggers the automation
something
The Status label that triggers the copy (e.g. "Won", "Ready for Fulfillment")
this board
The target board where the copy will land
item
Click to open the mapping page. Connect each source column to its destination column on the target board.
You must select the target board before you can open the mapping page. The mapping page can only show destination columns once it knows which board to look at.
    Click Create automation.

How the mapping works

This is the part that confuses people most. Item columns and subitem columns are mapped differently.

Item (parent) columns: mapped manually

  • You map them on the mapping page
  • Column names do not need to match between source and target
  • You're in full control of which source column goes to which destination column
  • Example: source Name → target Name, source Status → target Status 2, source Date → target Date 2

Subitem columns: mapped automatically by name

Subitem column names must match exactly between the source and target boards. This is case-sensitive and includes spaces. "Due Date" ≠ "due date" ≠ "DueDate".
The automation auto-pairs subitem columns by name. There's no manual mapping step for subitems.

Common workflows

CRM: Leads → Customers

When a Lead's Status changes to Won, the item and its subitems (e.g. Discovery call, Demo, Follow-up) copy to the Customers board. Sales keeps working in Leads, Account Management picks up in Customers, no manual rebuilding.

Operations: Orders → Fulfillment

When an Order's Status changes to Ready for Fulfillment, the order and its subitems (e.g. Packing, Shipping, Delivery) copy to the Fulfillment board. The Orders team tracks orders, the Fulfillment team works on shipping, both teams stay in sync.

Test that it works

    Pick an item on the source board with at least one subitem.
    Change its Status to the trigger label.
    Open the target board and confirm the item appeared with all its subitems and the right column values.

Common gotchas

  • This is a copy, not a move. The original item stays on the source board. If you want to remove it, do that separately.
  • Subitem column names must match exactly between source and target boards (case-sensitive, including spaces).
  • Read-only columns can't be copied. Mirror, Formula, and Last-updated columns won't transfer.
  • Item columns are mapped manually, subitem columns are auto-mapped by name. They work differently — don't expect both to behave the same.
  • Repeated Status triggers create duplicate copies. Pick a Status label that only fires once per item lifecycle, or you'll get multiple copies on the target board.

Next up

Related

  •  Create subitems from a template⁠  (when you want a template-based set of subitems instead of copying from another item)
  •  Sync parent values to subitems on creation⁠  (when you only need one column copied, not the full item)
  •  Main Use Cases⁠ 

Still stuck?

Email  hello@fantasymedia.io  and we'll help you set up the right copy + mapping for your workflow.