Task alerts send emails to relevant people when something happens with a task. You also get notifications within Synergist itself for these alerts. Alerts appear in your notification centre, so people are informed whether or not they check their email.
You can send an alert the moment a task is created, when it's completed, or at a specific time before it's due. There are three types of alert you can set up on any task, and you control them all from a single form.
How to set up task alerts
Open a task record to see the alert options. They sit on the main task form, alongside the task name, dates and assignment fields.
Immediate alert
An immediate alert sends an email as soon as the task is saved and created. This tells relevant people that a task has been assigned to them.
Once you set an immediate alert, any comments or history changes on the task automatically trigger emails too. You don't need to set this separately.
To set an immediate alert:
- Tick the Immediate alert checkbox on the task form.
- Save the task.
The email will include the task name, description, links to related records (job, phase, client), and any notes attached to the task.
Completion alert
A completion alert sends an email when the task is marked as complete. This confirms the task is finished to everyone who needs to know.
To set a completion alert:
- Tick the Alert on completion checkbox on the task form.
- Save the task.
When you (or someone else) marks the task as complete by ticking the Complete checkbox, the email is sent automatically.
Scheduled alert (reminder)
A scheduled alert sends an email at a specific time relative to the task's start or due date. Use this to remind people a few hours or days before a deadline, or to give them advance notice before something starts.
To set a scheduled alert:
- Set a Start date and time or Due date and time on the task form. (New tasks default to starting at 09:00 am today and due at 10:00 am today.)
- Open the Reminder dropdown and choose when the alert should trigger, relative to either the start or due date. For example, "30 minutes before due date" or "1 day before start date".
- Save the task.
The email will arrive at the time you specified, containing the task details and relevant links.
Who receives alert emails
Alerts go to anyone tagged as an owner on the task, plus any internal contacts added to it.
Important: The person who completes the task (or creates it, in the case of an immediate alert) does not receive their own email. If you mark your own task as complete, you won't get the completion email, but your manager or team will. This stops your inbox filling up with alerts about your own actions.
All other relevant people will receive the email, even if they're also responsible for the task.
Tips
- Use immediate alerts when a task needs urgent action, so people find out straight away rather than during their next check-in.
- Set reminder timing to match your team's working patterns. If people check email in the morning, a reminder the night before might get missed.
- Comments and history emails come automatically with an immediate alert. If you want people notified of updates as work progresses, set the immediate alert and let the system handle the rest.
- Different tasks can have different alert combinations. A client deadline might have an immediate alert plus a reminder. A routine admin task might just need a completion alert.