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Birthday Reminder

How the birthday reminder works when a client’s birthday is approaching, birthday calculation logic, and configuration options.

5 min

Beginner

Overview

The birthday reminder is triggered a certain number of days before a client’s birthday. It uses the date of birth from the client profile to detect upcoming birthdays. It appears as a pink card in the Follow-up tab on the Home page.

Tip

This rule runs on a schedule — the system checks all your clients’ birth dates during the daily scan. It does not trigger instantly when a birth date is added or edited.

Why Does It Matter?

Remembering a client’s birthday in a therapeutic relationship can strengthen feelings of trust and connection. A gentle acknowledgment in the session can make the client feel seen and valued.

In a busy practice, tracking dozens of clients’ birthdays can be challenging. This reminder automatically detects upcoming birthdays and notifies you in advance.

How It Works

During the daily scan, the system checks each client’s date of birth and detects upcoming ones.

Active clients are scanned

Active clients with a recorded date of birth are listed.

Days until birthday is calculated

Today’s date is determined based on your timezone, and the number of days until each client’s next birthday is calculated.

Day threshold is checked

If the days remaining is equal to or less than the configured threshold (default: 7 days), the client becomes a candidate.

Reminder is created

If conditions are met and no birthday reminder for the same client has been completed in the last 30 days, a reminder card appears in the Follow-up tab.

Tip

No reminder is created for clients without a date of birth. You need to fill in the date of birth field in the client profile.

Dynamic Display

The reminder card shows different messages based on how many days remain until the birthday:

Birthday is today

"Today is ’s birthday!"

Birthday is tomorrow

"’s birthday is tomorrow!"

2+ days remaining

"Birthday is approaching for !"

Prerequisites

For a birthday reminder to be created for a client:

The client must be in active status (archived clients are excluded).

The date of birth must be entered in the client profile.

Tip

Clients without a date of birth will not receive reminders, and no error message is shown. If you’re not receiving reminders for a client, check their profile for the date of birth.

Birthday Calculation

The system calculates the birthday as follows:

The month and day are extracted from the client’s date of birth.

A birthday date is constructed for the current year.

If this year’s birthday has passed, next year’s birthday is used.

The difference (in days) between today and the birthday is calculated.

Leap year (February 29)

For clients born on February 29: in non-leap years, the birthday is treated as February 28. In leap years, it triggers on February 29.

Tip

Today’s date is determined based on your timezone. If you work across different timezones, the system uses your profile timezone.

Recurring Behavior

The birthday reminder is protected by a yearly cap — it can trigger at most once per 30 days for the same client:

Client’s birthday is approaching (7 days away) → reminder is created.

You complete the reminder → 30-day cooldown begins.

Next year’s birthday approaches → new reminder is created.

Tip

In practice, you receive one reminder per client per year. The 30-day protection prevents duplicate reminders within the same birthday period.

Quick Actions on the Reminder Card

The reminder appears as a notification in the Follow-up tab; from the card, you can do the following with a single tap:

Acknowledged

Completes the reminder. Does not navigate to any page.

Configuration

You can adjust this rule to fit your clinical approach.

Tools → Smart Reminders

Go to the rules page from the top menu.

Click the rule's gear icon

Click the gear icon next to the rule you want to edit.

Set how many days before

Choose how many days before the birthday the reminder appears.

Edit the reminder text

Write the text shown on the card in your own words.

Settings

What each setting does and its default value are summarized below.

Days Before

How many days before the birthday the reminder should be created. You can set a value between 1 and 30 days.

Default: 7 days

Reminder Text

Edit the text displayed on the reminder card (max 120 characters).

Default reminder text

When the reminder triggers you see the default text below, which you can edit however you like.

"The client birthday is approaching. Consider acknowledging it gently in the next session."

Tip

Increasing the day count gives you more advance notice. For example, setting it to 14 means you’ll be reminded two weeks before the birthday.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is this reminder triggered?

It is triggered during the scheduled daily scan. It does not fire instantly when a client profile is edited — birth dates are checked at the next daily scan.

What happens if a client’s date of birth is not entered?

No reminder is created. The system only evaluates clients with a recorded date of birth. No error message is shown for missing dates.

What happens for clients born on February 29?

In non-leap years, the birthday is treated as February 28. In leap years, it triggers on February 29.

Does the reminder still show after the birthday has passed?

Yes, it remains visible until you complete it. If the birthday is today, the card shows "Birthday is today!".

Can I receive two reminders for the same client in one year?

No. The 30-day protection prevents duplicate reminders for the same client. In practice, you receive one per client per year.

Do archived clients get reminders?

No. Only active clients are evaluated.

Can I pause this rule for a specific client?

Yes. Use the ⋯ menu on the reminder card and select "Pause for this client".

Does timezone affect the birthday calculation?

Yes. Today’s date is determined based on your timezone. If you’re in a different country or traveling, the system uses the timezone from your profile.

If I change the day threshold, are existing reminders affected?

No. The threshold change takes effect from the next daily scan. Existing reminders are not affected.

If I change the reminder text, do existing reminders update?

No. Text changes only affect newly created reminders.

Can I completely disable this rule?

Yes. On the Tools → Smart Reminders page, use the toggle next to the rule to enable or disable it.