Keeping up with approaching due dates is certainly a job that you can leave up to automations. Using monday automations, you can create a due date reminder by scheduling an automation based on a date or timeline column.

You can set up due date reminders from your board automations page or directly from the date or timeline column menu. Here is how to set these useful reminders up in your workflow.

Alerts from the Board Automations page 

You can find a wide range of automation templates under the Dates tab of the board Automations page.

The When parameter above can be configured to:

Alerts with Custom Automations

You can also create automated reminders with custom automations. This method is particularly useful if you're using a timeline column and would like to set a reminder or alert for the start date of the timeline. This can only be done with custom automations.

Alerts from the column menu

You can also add an alert directly from a date or timeline column. You will be presented with two different selections depending on whether your date column is set-up as a deadline.

Date column is not set up as a deadline:

To set up reminders directly from the column, click on the three dots on the column. From the drop down menu, click on Settings and then on  Add/ edit date reminders. 

This will open up the following automation template: "When date arrives, notify someone." The specified column will automatically be filled - you'll just need to choose when you'd like the notification to run and who you'd like to notify.

Date column is set up as a deadline mode:

If you have already linked your date or timeline column together with a status column in Deadline Mode, there will be a different set up process. Open up your column menu, where you'll see the Set Due Date Reminders option. 

This will open up the following automation template: "When date arrives and status is something, notify someone". Again, the column that you've selected will be pre-filled, as will the status column to which it is linked. You'll need to define the when field, as well as who you would like to be notified.

How to configure the notify field

If you want to send a customized message in the notify field, you can add tags included in the Supported Fields section to auto populate fields from board items.

Column Support for notify field

Some column types are currently not supported in the "notify" field of the automation     

Show me which columns

Use Cases

Need some inspiration? Let's dive into some use cases 😀 

Every day, if {due date} has passed and only if {status} is {something}, {notify} {someone}

This example uses a template. This template cannot be built with the custom automation builder.

Use case: A sales team needs to send client follow-up emails "x" days after a call. If the client email status isn't marked as done by the due date then a reminder will be sent to the Sales lead until the status is updated. 

We will use the following automation template: 

Remember! This template checks every day at midnight to see if any item's status has changed. If the date has passed, and the status still has not changed, the automation will trigger.

When {Birthday Date} arrives, {notify} {someone} and push {Birthday Date} by {12 months}

Use case: The employee experience team needs to keep track of all employees birthdays to send a message and gift on their special day. To streamline this process they need to set up recurring reminders for birthdays.

The date column for each item will be set to the next upcoming birthday date, either this year if birthday is in a later month, or for next year if the birthday has already passed. 

We will use the following automation template: 

Now the automation will be ready to trigger again the following year on that same date.