How to Set Up an Automatic Reminder Email

Overview

This tutorial will show users how to automate a reminder email in the SMS. With Automation, sending of emails at a specific time is now possible. Email automation allows users to define a set of conditions that once met, the system will send a predefined email to a specific set of recipients. In this tutorial, we will show how you can select your recipients, set the conditions and set the frequency of your email

NOTE: This is a paid add-on feature. For Performance and Compliance Plus Packages, this feature is included in your subscription. For those in the Entry Pack, please contact the Support team if you would like to have this feature added to your subscription.

IMPORTANT: An Email Template must be created prior to setting up an automated email. See related tutorial: How to Create or Edit Email Templates

Step Tutorial

1. From the Dashboard, click Administration then Automation. Click the New button.

2. Fill in the following fields in the Details section:

Title - Enter a title for your automated SMS.
Active - Set the automation to active to make it available for use.
Description - Enter a description for your automation. You may use this section to note the conditions to be used and when the SMS will be sent.
Action - Select the SMS feature you want to automate from the action drop-down menu. Select Email to automate emails.

Category - This field will appear after selecting an action. Select a category to which the SMS automation is related to (This is used to filter the available templates to automate - based on the e-mail template's type):

List below is just a reference of the pre-created templates in your system - ready for use (keep in mind that Category will sort the available e-mail template on the Automation tab by properly tagging the Email type from the Templates tab)

Category	Email Template
Activity	• At-Risk of Non-Completion - LMS Inactivity • At-Risk of Non-Completion - LMS Inactivity (Trainer) • At-Risk of Non-Completion - LMS Inactivity (Company)
Appeals	• Appeal Received Notification • Appeal Investigation Overdue • Appeal Received Confirmation • Appeal Closure Overdue
Complaints	• Complaint Closure Overdue • Complaint Received Confirmation • Complaint Received Notification • Complaint Investigation Overdue
Continuous Improvement	• User - Feedback Received Confirmation • Continuous Improvement Feedback Received Notification
Enrolment	• Enrolment Application Received • Application Rejected • Completed • Enrolled • Course Commenced • Withdrawn • Cancelled • Invalid USI - 1 Day After Enrolment • Invalid USI - 1 Week After Enrolment • Invalid USI - 2 Weeks After Enrolment • Invalid USI - 1 Month After Enrolment • Invalid USI - 2 Months After Enrolment • Invalid USI - On Completion • Certificate Currency Expiry (Student) • Successful Enrolment • LLN Assessment Received • LLND Assessment - Further Support Required • LLN Assessment Reminder - Action Required • Digital Skills Assessment Received • Enrolment Cancelled • VSL CAN Notice • VSL Fee Notice • Where LLND Not Required - Student • Prior Education Review Required - Staff • Where LLND Not Required - Staff
Event	• First Class/Event Reminder Template • Group First Event Reminder • Group Event Reminder - Student • Event Reminder - Student • Group Event Reminder - Trainer • Event Reminder - Trainer • Group Event Reminder - Employer • Event Reminder - Employer
Industry Engagement	• Industry Engagement Expiring in 2 Weeks • Industry Engagement Expiring in 6 Weeks • Industry Engagement Expired (On Expiry Date)
Invoice	• Enrolment Application Received • Application Rejected • Completed • Enrolled • Course Commenced • Withdrawn • Invoice (Payment) • Cancelled • Invalid USI - 1 Day After Enrolment • Invalid USI - 1 Week After Enrolment • Invalid USI - 2 Weeks After Enrolment • Invalid USI - 1 Month After Enrolment • Invalid USI - 2 Months After Enrolment • Invalid USI - On Completion • Certificate Currency Expiry (Student) • LLN Entry Requirements Met • Certificate Currency Expiry (Company) • Invalid USI - 1 Month After Enrolment • Invalid USI - 2 Months After Enrolment • Invalid USI - On Completion • Certificate Currency Expiry (Student) • LLN Entry Requirements Met • Certificate Currency Expiry (Company) • Successful Enrolment • LLN Assessment Received • LLND Assessment - Further Support Required • LLN Assessment Reminder - Action Required • Invoice Due Today - Immediate Payment Required • Invoice Reminder - 3 Days Overdue • Invoice Reminder - 1 Week Overdue • Digital Skills Assessment Received • Invoice Due Reminder - 2 Days Before Due Date • Enrolment Cancelled • Employer - Invoice Due Reminder - 2 Days Before Due Date • Employer - Invoice Due Today - Immediate Payment Required • Employer - Invoice Reminder - 1 Week Overdue • Employer - Invoice Reminder - 3 Days Overdue • Company PO - Invoice Due Reminder - 2 Days Before Due Date • Company PO - Invoice Reminder - 1 Week Overdue • Company PO - Invoice Reminder - 3 Days Overdue • Company Credit - Invoice Due Reminder - 2 Days Before Due Date • Company Credit - Invoice Due Today - Immediate Payment Required • Company Credit - Invoice Reminder - 1 Week Overdue • Company Credit - Invoice Reminder - 3 Days Overdue • VSL CAN Notice • VSL Fee Notice • Where LLND Not Required - Student • Prior Education Review Required - Staff • Where LLND Not Required - Staff
QMS - Performance Evidence	• Action Required Evidence Expiring Soon • Urgent Action Required Evidence Expiring Soon • Critical Compliance Risk Evidence Expiring Soon • Action Required Evidence Expired • Urgent Action Required Evidence Expired • Critical Compliance Risk Evidence Expired • Action Required Performance Evidence Becomes Awaiting Review • Urgent Action Required Perlormance Evidence Becomes Awaiting Review • Critical Compliance Risk Performance Evidence Becomes Awaiting Review
QMS - Performance Indicator	• Action Required Evidence Status Changed to Evidence Gap • Urgent Action Required Evidence Stotus Changed to Evidence Gap • Critical Compliance Risk Evidence Status Changed to Evidence Gap
RMS - Control	-
RMS - Risk	• Risk Review Due in 6 weeks • Expired Risk Review
Student	-
Trainer Matrix	• Trainer - Evidence Expiring in 2 Weeks • Trainer Credentials - Evidence Expiring in 2 Weeks • Trainer - Evidence Expiring in 6 Weeks • Trainer - Evidence Expired (On Expiry Date) • Trainer Credentials - Evidence Expiring in 6 Weeks • Trainer Credentials - Evidence Expired (On Expiry Date) • Trainer Credentials - New Evidence Submitted
Unit	• Unit Currency Expiry (Student) • Unit Currency Expiry (Company) • Seven Days Before End Date • Unit End Reminder - One Day Before End Date • Unit End Reminder - On the End Date (non-student) • Unit Incomplete by End Date (Student)

NOTE: Additional sections will appear once a category is set.

Recipient Type - Select who you want to email in the Recipient Type field. This could be Student, Org Unit, Company, Trainer, Individual Staff Member, or Student (Company related)
FAQ: If the automation recipient is set to 'Company' and 'All Companies' is enabled, will the automation be sent to every company?

A: No. Even when All Companies is enabled, the automation is sent only to the company associated with the enrolment. It is not sent to unrelated companies.
Email Template - Choose the template that you prepared for this automation.
By Default emails will be sent from: (emailaddress) – You can overwrite the username of the email that will appear as the sender of the automated report. This is optional.

3. In the Automate When section, click + button. This will set when the automation runs.

Field - Select a field from the dropdown list that will best suit your requirement.
Period - Select a period from the list. This could be Days, Weeks, Months, or Minutes.

NOTE: Additional fields will appear once a period is set. Fill in these fields based on your preference.

Input a Number based on period selected.
Select When the automation will run. Either Before or After the field and period that were previously selected.

You can add another Date Trigger by clicking the + button again.

Percentage Trigger Settings and Behaviour

Percentage Triggers

Percentage-based triggers allow an Automation to run when a percentage value reaches a configured threshold.

The following Percentage Triggers are available:

Percentage Trigger	What it monitors
Enrolment – Enrolment % Complete	The percentage of the enrolment that has been completed.
Enrolment – Duration % Complete	The percentage of the enrolment duration that has elapsed.
Enrolment – Unit Duration % Complete	The percentage of the unit duration that has elapsed.
Enrolment – Unit % Complete	The percentage of the unit that has been completed.
Enrolment – Attendance %	The attendance percentage for the enrolment.

The following operators can be used:

Equals – Triggers when the percentage equals the specified value.
Is Greater Than – Triggers when the percentage is greater than the specified value.
Is Less Than – Triggers when the percentage is less than the specified value.
Is Between – Triggers when the percentage falls within the specified range.

Fields displayed based on the selected operator

Equals / Is Greater Than / Is Less Than

Value – Enter the percentage value to use as the trigger threshold.
Cooldown Days – Specify how many days must pass before the same enrolment can trigger the Automation again.

Is Between

Min – Enter the minimum percentage for the range.
Max – Enter the maximum percentage for the range.
Cooldown Days – Specify how many days must pass before the same enrolment can trigger the Automation again.

Cooldown Days

Specify the number of days that must pass before the same enrolment can trigger the Percentage-based Automation again.

Once the Automation is triggered, it will not trigger again for the same enrolment while the cooldown period is active, even if the percentage continues to meet the configured criteria.

Example: If Cooldown Days is set to 4 days, the Automation will not send another notification for the same enrolment until the 4-day cooldown period has passed.

Important Note on Using Multiple Date Triggers in Automations

When configuring an automation with more than one date trigger, it is important to understand that all configured date conditions must be true on the same day for the automation to apply. Multiple date triggers do not cause the automation to run multiple times; instead, they further narrow down which records are eligible.

The system checks the automation conditions daily. On each check, it evaluates whether every date trigger resolves to the current date. If even one condition is not met, the automation will not run.

Example to illustrate the logic

Consider the following Automation designed to send a payment reminder email after 3 weeks from the course start date and 5 days before the course end date.:

Course Start Date: 1 January
Course End Date: 28 January

Date Trigger 1:

3 weeks after Start Date
Resolves to 22 January (true only on this date)

Date Trigger 2:

5 days before End Date
Resolves to 23 January (true only on this date)

Because these two triggers resolve to different dates, there is no single day on which both conditions are true. As a result, the automation will not run.

On 22 January: Trigger 1 is true, Trigger 2 is false → automation does not run
On 23 January: Trigger 2 is true, Trigger 1 is false → automation does not run
On all other days: both triggers are false → automation does not run

This behaviour is expected and is by design.

When using two date triggers is appropriate

Using two date triggers is only effective when they are intentionally designed to align on the same day. For example, an RTO may wish to send a compliance reminder only when:

a certain amount of time has passed since a start date, and
the item is approaching its end date.

If both triggers are configured so they resolve to the same calendar date (for example, a midpoint of an activity), the automation will run once at that precise and meaningful point in time.

Final clarification

While the examples above reference start and end dates for simplicity, this logic is not limited to enrolment or course-related dates. The same behaviour applies to any date fields supported by the automation feature across the system.

Careful planning of date offsets is essential when using multiple date triggers to ensure the automation behaves as intended.

Percentage Trigger Enrolment Date Check

When an Automation includes a Percentage Trigger, the system will only consider enrolments with an Enrolment End Date that is less than one month in the past from the current date onwards.

Example: If the Automation runs on 20 February 2026, the system will consider enrolments with an Enrolment End Date of 20 January 2026 onwards.

This means an enrolment may meet the configured Percentage Trigger criteria but will not trigger the Automation if its Enrolment End Date falls outside this date range.

4. In the Conditions section, click the + button. A Condition Trigger validates a set of requirements in the SMS for the automation to run. If the requirements are not met, the automation will not run.

Field - There are several fields for you to choose from, select one that is suited for your condition.
Operator - An operator is used to determine the relationship of the field and its value. The list will vary depending on the field selected.

Value - This field will appear once a field is selected. And the format will depend on the field selected. You may add more than one value for some.

NOTE: When you add another Condition Trigger, you may choose AND if you want BOTH conditions to be met for the automation to run. Otherwise, use OR if you want at least ONE of the conditions to be met for the automation to run.

5. Once done setting up these sections of your automation, click the Save button.

NOTE: Date-based automations are triggered once per day, at 10pm.

Automations are scheduled to send:

Email - 10pm AEST / 12pm UTC
SMS (Short Messaging) - 10pm AEST / 12pm UTC
Task - 10pm AEST / 12pm UTC
Reports - Every 30 minutes (user defines what time they want the report to be run)
Has Minutes - Every 5 minutes

Automations that include minutes (already outlined on the help guide) will be triggered more frequently than once a day at 10pm as the notification might be time-sensitive e.g. 30mins before the event. Hence, the system will check every 5 mins to see if there are time-based automations to trigger.

And that’s how to setup an automatic reminder email in the SMS!

Congratulations on completing this tutorial. We hope this has been helpful to you and your organisation. For any questions or concerns regarding this function, please reach out to the contact support via email.