Send automatic Course Date/Time Change emails to Delegates

Steps to send an automated email to my Delegates when the date or time is changed on a Course

1 Create your Email Template
2 Create your Workflow
3 Test and enable your Workflow

Related Help Guide Pages

Learn how to send an automated email to my Delegates when the date or time is changed on a Course

Workflows aren’t just a tool for streamlining communication—they’re essential for ensuring your Delegates stay informed and prepared. One of the most valuable uses of Workflows is setting up automated emails when there’s a change to a Course Date or Time.

Schedule changes, even when minor, can cause confusion, missed sessions, or planning conflicts if not communicated promptly. By automating these updates, you ensure that Delegates are notified instantly, giving them the time they need to adjust calendars, rearrange commitments, or simply arrive at the right time with confidence.

This Workflow allows you to maintain a smooth training experience while reducing the risk of no-shows, late arrivals, and last-minute inquiries. It also takes the burden off your administrative team by removing the need for manual follow-ups.

Automating Date & Time change emails keeps everyone aligned, builds trust with your Delegates, and ensures a more professional and seamless Course delivery from start to finish.

Follow this page to learn the steps for sending an automated email to notify Delegates when the Date and Time has changed on a Course

Create your Email Template

The first step is to create an Email Template, using merge fields and HTML branding. Email Templates allow you to create consistent communications to send via the Platform

Top Tip
accessplanit Platforms come with many pre-built Email Templates to save you time! These pre-built templates include a ‘Delegate - Date Has Changed’ Email Template, which you can use or copy from.

Navigate to Profile and then Administration in the top right corner of your Platform
From the Administration Menu, navigate to ‘Email Templates’ under the Communications section
This will take you to the Email Templates DataGrid
Click the ‘Add Email Template’ button
This will open the Email Template Form
Give your Email Template a ‘Name’
We recommend labeling your Email Template with the name of the anticipated content of the email, followed by a description of the email.
Select which Module your Email Template relates to. This email will contain information about your Delegates. You should select ‘Delegate’
Leave the ‘Email Type’ selected as ‘Normal’ as this is a transactional email, not a marketing email
Leave the ‘Creation Mode’ as ‘Free Text’, as you will be defining the content of your email directly in the Email Template rather than first building Text Templates
Add in a ‘Subject’ for your email
We recommend including the name of the Course within the subject to catch the recipient’s attention in their inbox. You can do this by adding the merge field @@CourseOrAliasName into the Subject text box
Add in the ‘Body’ of your email
If you copied the content from an existing Email Template, you can paste this content here!
If you need to apply branding to your email, please see our dedicated guide: Add company branding to Email Template
Use the ‘Field' drop-down option in the text editor to include merge fields such as the Delegates Full Name and Course information within your Email Template
Merge Fields may vary depending on which module is selected.
Example Merge Fields that may be useful in your Date Change Email Template:
@@CandidateForename, or
@@CourseOrAliasName
@@StartDate
@@EndDate
To test your Email Template, click the ‘Preview and Test’ button at the bottom of the window
Select a Preview Object by clicking the ‘Select’ button
This will open a pop-up window where you can select which Delegate you would like to test your Email Template with
Select your Preview object and press the ‘OK’ button in the bottom right corner of the pop-up box
You will now see a preview of your Email Template, populated with the information of your selected Delegate
If an area is blank where a Merge Field is placed, this could mean that there is no information stored for this Delegate under the Field the Merge Field is related to
To check that the Email displays correctly when it is sent, send a sample of the Email to yourself by providing your email address and clicking the ‘Send Email’ button
Once you are happy with your Email Template content, press the 'Save & Close' button

Create your Workflow

Workflows are used to automate communications. This is the step where you will define the circumstances needed for your Course date change email to be sent, when it will be sent, and who it will be sent to!

Navigate to Profile and then Administration in the top right corner of your Platform
Click on the ‘Workflows’ menu option
This will open the Workflows DataGrid
Click the ‘Add Workflows’ button
This will open the Workflow Details page
From the new Workflow form, enter a ‘Title’ for your Workflow
We recommend labeling your Workflow with the name of the anticipated recipient, followed by a description of the email, such as “Delegate - Course Date has Changed Email”
Select the same Module that you used for your Email Template (for this Workflow, you need the ‘Delegate’ module)
Leave the Trigger Event set as ‘Saved’. This Workflow should be generated when Delegate information is first ‘saved', not when it is ‘deleted’
Provide a useful Description so that your team know what this Workflow is for
Leave your Workflow inactive for now
It will be set to active once you have finished setting everything up!
Click the ‘Save’ button in the top right
After you have saved your Workflow with those details, you will be able to access the management menu on the left to add further information
From the Workflow Management menu, click to open the ‘Settings’ page for this Workflow
This will open the Workflow Settings page

Optional - The ‘Required Role’ option is where you can set that only Training Administrators or only Super Administrators are able to view and edit this Workflow. If this option is left blank, it means both Super Admins and Training Admins can view and edit this Workflow
Add Rules to your Workflow to decide which Delegate will have the Date has changed email triggered
Here are some common rules used for automated Date has Changed Emails. You can include any combination of these, as required:
Type - Is In - Delegate - This rule means that the Workflow will trigger if the User is a Delegate, this wouldn't trigger for a Trainer for example
Course Start Date - Has Changed - This rule means the Date has changed from being one Date to another
Course Start Date - Was not Empty - This rule means that the Date field wasn't empty before an a new Date was added, this prevents the Workflow from triggering when a new Course is added with a Date as this would be a ‘change’
Course Status - Is In - Fully Booked, In Progress & Available - This means that the Course status must be in one of these statuses before the Workflow will trigger
If you think that you may require Advanced Rules for your Workflow, please see our dedicated section within our Workflows Overview page
Leave the ‘Matching Rules’ checkbox checked
It is very unlikely that you will need to make any changes to any of the other settings available on the Settings page, to read more about these options, please see our guide Workflows Overview
Once you have added all of your rules, click the 'Save' button at the top right of the page
From the Workflow Management menu, select the ‘Actions’ option
This will open the Workflow Actions DataGrid
Select the ‘Add Workflow Action’ button
This will open the ‘Details’ section for your Workflow Action
Enter an ‘Action Label’ for your Email Action
We recommend labeling your Workflow Email Actions with the details of the email and when it will be sent, such as 'Delegate - Date or Time Change'
Select the Action Name ‘Send an Email’
Press the ‘Save’ button in the top right to access the additional settings
Once you have saved, the parameter options for your automated email will become available
The first setting is ‘Action Date’, which is where you define when the email will be sent
For this Workflow action, it is recommended to set this action date 5 minutes after the current date and time.
Please see our dedicated section within our Workflow with Email Actions page for more information on Action dates

Check the ‘Send on Action Date Only’ if you do not want an email to be sent to Training Administrators when a Course is updated after the Action date
Use the ‘From Address’ options to enter the sender email address for this email
This reduces the risk of your emails being mistaken for spam or phishing attempts, plus, it simplifies your communication – as the recipient of your email will know who to reach out to and where their replies to your emails should go.

Please make sure that you use a real email address as your ‘From Address’, otherwise the emails will likely end up being caught by spam filters.

Use the ‘To Address’ options to select who you would like to receive this email
Select the Email Template that you created earlier from the 'Email Template’ drop-down box
If you would like to include any attachments to this email, click the ‘Add File’ button on the Attachment options, and select your file
Click the 'Save' button to save your Workflow Email Action
Once you have added your Workflow Action, your Workflow is ready to be tested!

Test and enable your Workflow

Once you have created your Email Template and Workflow it is time to test, testing is a good way to ensure the email sends when you expect and the content of the email displays correctly in your email inbox.

Test your Workflow Content - Single Email Test

This testing approach is best used for Workflows where you want to view/test the content of the email only, if you would like to test that your rules are set up correctly (and that your Workflow will send when expected), please jump ahead to the “Test your Delegate Workflow - Become the Recipient” below.

Open the ‘Administration’ menu option at the top right of your platform
Click on the 'Workflows' menu option to open the Workflows DataGrid
Search for your Workflows by applying filters and/or searching the Workflows DataGrid
Right-click on the Workflow and select ‘Actions’ from the context menu
This will open the Workflow Actions DataGrid
From the Workflow Actions DataGrid, right-click on your Workflow Email Action and select the ‘Edit’ option
Click on the ‘Preview & Test’ button at the top right of the Workflow Email Action edit page
Select a Delegate from the ‘Preview Object’
This will show you a preview of the email and how it will display in the ‘Content’ section
Enter your Email Address into the 'Send sample to' option
Click the ‘Send Email’ to send a copy of this Email Template for this Delegate to your Email Address
If you notice any changes are needed to your Email Template, open the ‘Email Templates’ DataGrid from the ‘Administration’ menu option, edit your Email Template and save. You can then run through these testing steps again.
Once you are happy with the content of your Email Template and Workflow, you can set your Workflow to Active!
If you would prefer to test your Workflow rules before enabling your Workflow, please move directly to Test your Workflow Rules - Become the Recipient.
Open the ‘Administration’ menu option at the top right of your platform
Click on the ‘Workflows’ menu option to open the Workflows DataGrid
Search for your Workflow within the DataGrid, right-click on it to view the context menu options and select the 'Edit' option
Scroll down to the ‘Active’ checkbox and check this box
Click the ‘Save’ button at the top of the page to save your Workflow as active!

Test your Workflow Rules - Become the Recipient

This testing approach is best used for Workflows where you are not 100% confident in the rules of your Workflow, and you would like to ensure that you will not send out your date has changed emails at the wrong time, about the wrong Courses. With this approach, you will start using your Workflow, but all of the Emails will be sent to your email address temporarily.

Open the ‘Administration’ menu option at the top right of your platform
Click on the ‘Workflows' menu option to open the Workflows DataGrid
Search for your Workflows by applying filters and/or searching the Workflows DataGrid
Right-click the Workflow and select 'Actions from the context menu
From the Workflow Actions DataGrid, right-click on your Workflow Email Action and select the ‘Edit’ option
Scroll to the ‘To Address’ option and change the setting from ‘Field’ to ‘Constant’
If there are any existing recipients listed in the ‘To Address’ bar, remove these, and type in the email address(es) that you would like to receive your date has changed emails to. Press Enter after you have typed in each email address
Click the ‘Save’ button at the top of your page to save these changes
Repeat steps 4-6 if you have any additional Workflow Email Actions for this Workflow
Once you have set all of your Workflow Actions to send to an Administrator’s Email Address you can set your Workflow to Active!
Open the ‘Administration’ menu option at the top right of your platform
Click on the ‘Workflows’ menu option to open the Workflows DataGrid
Search for your Workflows by applying filters and/or searching the Workflows DataGrid
Right-click the Workflow and select the 'Edit' option from the context menu
Scroll down to the ‘Active’ checkbox and check this box
Click the ‘Save’ button at the top of the page to save your Workflow as active!
After a period of time, when you are confident that your Date or Time change emails are sending for the right Courses at the right time, you can then update the Workflow Actions 'To Address' to the correct recipient(s) and Save.

Knowledge Base

💡Knowledge Base Home | 🚀What's New | 📅Upcoming Training Events