Set up automatic course reminders

5Mins reminds learners about courses that are due soon. You choose which reminders go out and when, and you can add your own reminders with your own wording. You'll find these settings in Automations > Workflows > Course reminders.

🎬 Watch this as a short narrated video

Steps shown in this video

1. Course reminders live in Automations, in the admin menu
2. Open the Workflows tab
3. Learners whose course has a due date get reminders by email and push, plus Slack or Teams if connected, at 10:00 their time
4. This switch turns every course reminder on or off in one go
5. System reminders go out 7 days and 1 day before the due date. You can pause them, but not edit them
6. To add your own, click Add Reminder under Your reminders
7. Choose how many days before the due date to send it, from 1 to 90
8. Give it a subject
9. Then write a message telling learners what to do
10. Click Save Reminder to add it. You can have up to 10 of your own

📬 What learners receive

• Reminders go to learners whose course has a due date and who haven't completed it yet.
• They're sent by email and push notifications. If your organisation has the Slack or Microsoft Teams integration connected, learners get them there too.
• Reminders are sent at 10:00 in each learner's own timezone.

🔔 System reminders

By default, 5Mins sends two System reminders: 7 days and 1 day before the due date.

1. Go to Automations in the admin menu.
2. Open the Workflows tab.
3. Under Course reminders, find System reminders.
4. Use the switch on a reminder to pause it or turn it back on.

You can't edit or delete system reminders, only pause them.

✍️ Add your own reminder

1. On the Workflows tab, under Your reminders, click Add Reminder.
2. Next to Send ... days before due date, choose how many days before the due date to send it. Pick any whole number from 1 to 90.
3. Enter a Subject (up to 200 characters).
4. Enter a Message telling learners what they need to do (up to 1,000 characters).
5. Click Save Reminder.

Each reminder appears as a line such as "Send email 3 days before due date". Use the icons on a row to edit or delete it, and the switch to pause it.

Good to know:

• You can have up to 10 custom reminders.
• Each reminder needs its own day. If a reminder is already set for that number of days, including a system reminder, you'll see "Another reminder is already scheduled for ... before due date."

⏸️ Turn all course reminders off

Use the Course reminders switch at the top of the card to turn every reminder on or off in one go. While it's off, no system or custom reminders are sent, and you can't change individual reminders until you turn it back on.

📅 Weekly overdue email

Separately from these reminders, learners who have overdue courses and have used 5Mins in the last 60 days get a weekly email on Tuesday, at 10:00 in their own timezone. It lists their overdue courses, most overdue first. If Slack or Microsoft Teams is connected, they get a message there too. This email runs automatically and doesn't have a setting on the Workflows tab.

❓ FAQ

Can I send reminders after the due date?Custom reminders are sent before the due date only. Overdue learners get the weekly overdue email described above. To chase specific people now, see Sending Targeted Reminders to Learners.

Do learners who have finished the course get reminders?No. Reminders only go to learners who haven't completed the course.

What about reminders to managers?Managers can get a recurring summary of their team's overdue and due-soon courses. Turn on Team Progress Email on the same Workflows tab (see Email Notifications).

Do courses without a due date get reminders?No. Reminders are counted back from the due date, so a course needs one.