Creating Reminder Rules

Last updated: June 30, 2026

What is a Reminder Rule?

An Approval Reminder Rule tells the engine which documents to chase, how long to wait before sending the first reminder, how often to repeat, and what message to send. You can have as many rules as you need — one per DocType, or multiple rules for the same DocType targeting different workflow states.

Creating a Rule

Go to Approval Reminder Manager > Approval Reminder Rule > New.

Rule Fields

Identity

Field	Description
Rule Name	A unique name for this rule. Used as the identifier in logs and API responses.
Enabled	Toggle on/off without deleting the rule. Disabled rules are ignored by the scheduler.
Company	Optional. Restricts the rule to documents belonging to a specific ERPNext company. Leave blank to apply to all companies.

Targeting

Field	Description
Reference DocType	Required. The DocType to monitor (e.g., Purchase Order, Leave Application, Expense Claim).
Workflow State	Optional. If set, only documents currently in this exact workflow state are matched. Leave blank to match any pending state.
Pending Days	Required. Minimum number of days a document must have been pending before the first reminder is sent. Default: 2.

Reminder Behaviour

Field	Description
Reminder Frequency	How often to repeat the reminder after the first send: Daily, Every 2 Days, Every 3 Days, or Weekly.
Max Reminders	Cap on the total number of reminders sent per document under this rule. Set to 0 to use the Global Max Reminders from Settings.
Reminder Template	Optional Frappe Email Template for the reminder message. If blank, falls back to the Default Reminder Template in Settings, then to a built-in default.
Notification Channels	Child table — add rows for Email, System, or both. If the table is left empty, the engine defaults to sending both Email and System notifications.

Escalation

Field	Description
Enable Escalation	Toggle to reveal the Escalation Steps child table.
Escalation Steps	Add one or more escalation steps (see the Escalation article for details).

Example Rules

Chase Purchase Orders Pending More Than 2 Days

Reference DocType: Purchase Order
Workflow State: Pending Approval (or leave blank for any pending state)
Pending Days: 2
Reminder Frequency: Daily
Max Reminders: 5

Weekly Nudge for Long-Running Leave Applications

Reference DocType: Leave Application
Pending Days: 3
Reminder Frequency: Weekly
Max Reminders: 3

Was this article helpful?