Setup: Birthday Assistant
Why This Matters
The Birthday Assistant automates birthday recognition so you never miss an opportunity to strengthen client relationships. Whether you want automated emails sent on your behalf or reminder tasks to reach out personally, this one-time setup takes just minutes and runs automatically forever.
Once configured, the Birthday Assistant works in the background every day, checking for upcoming birthdays and taking the actions you've specified. You maintain the personal touch that builds loyalty without the administrative burden of tracking dates manually.
Before You Begin
Verify birthday information: The Birthday Assistant only works with contacts who have birthday dates entered. Check a few Contact Cards to confirm birthdays are populated. If many birthdays are missing, plan a data cleanup or import before configuring the assistant.
Decide your approach: Will you track everyone's birthday or just specific groups? Will you send automated emails or create reminder tasks? Having a clear strategy saves time during setup.
Create your email template (if sending automated emails): Navigate to your Email Template Library and create a message for birthdays. Title it something recognizable like "Happy Birthday" or "Birthday Greeting." Write it in a warm, personal tone and save it before proceeding.
Set up your tag (if tracking select contacts only): If you want to track birthdays for specific groups (like clients but not vendors), create a tag such as "Birthday," "VIP Client," or "Send Birthday Wishes" and apply it to the appropriate contacts before configuring the assistant.
Watch & Learn
🎥 Video: The Birthday Assistant
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Navigate to the Birthday Assistant
Go to Automation in your main navigation menu. Click Birthday Assistant.
The Birthday Assistant settings page opens, showing configuration options for who should be included, timing, and actions. This is the control center where you configure all Birthday Assistant behavior. All settings are on one page for easy management.
Time: 1 minute
2. Choose Who Should Be Included
In the "Who should be included?" section, select one of three options. Choose "Nobody. Disable birthday assistant" if you want to keep your setup paused without deleting your settings (useful if you're not ready to activate it yet). Select "Run birthday assistant for all contacts" to track every contact who has a birthday entered in your database. Choose "Run birthday assistant ONLY for contacts with this Tag" to limit tracking to contacts with a specific tag, then select your tag from the dropdown list.
The tag-based option gives you precise control. For example, create a "Current Clients" tag and apply it only to active customers. The Birthday Assistant will monitor only those tagged contacts, ignoring vendors, prospects, or inactive accounts. This decision determines the scope of your birthday tracking.
Time: 2 minutes
3. Set the Timing
Under "What should the Birthday Assistant do?", select when you want it to take action from the timing dropdown. Choose "14 days before" if you want time to mail physical cards or plan special gifts. Select "7 days before" to give yourself a week's notice for personal planning. Pick "3 days before" for a shorter heads-up. Choose "1 day before" for a next-day reminder. Select "On their birthday" for actions that should happen the same day.
Match your timing to your chosen action. If you're sending automated emails, "on their birthday" ensures messages arrive on the special day. If you're creating to-do reminders for personal outreach or mailing cards, choose 7 to 14 days before to give yourself adequate time. The timing you choose applies to all contacts processed by this configuration.
Time: 1 minute
4. Choose What Actions Should Happen
Below the timing dropdown, select one or more actions. Check "Add a 'Birthday Reminder' To-Do" to create a task on your to-do list reminding you to call, text, or send a gift personally. Check "Send Email Template" to automatically send your pre-written birthday email, then select the template from the dropdown list. Check "Apply Workflow (only applies to primary contact)" to trigger an automation sequence that can perform multiple actions like sending email, creating tasks, applying tags, and adding contacts to boards.
You can combine multiple actions for layered recognition. For example, check both "Send Email Template" and "Add a Birthday Reminder To-Do" so everyone receives an automated email but you also get a personal reminder for VIP clients you want to call. Before selecting "Send Email Template," make sure you've created and saved your birthday email template.
Time: 3-5 minutes
5. Save Your Configuration
Click the Save button at the bottom of the page.
Your Birthday Assistant settings are now active and will run automatically in the background every day. A confirmation message appears indicating your settings were saved successfully. The Birthday Assistant immediately begins monitoring based on your configuration. You don't need to activate it separately or run it manually.
Time: 1 minute
6. Test Your Configuration (Optional but Recommended)
Create a test contact with tomorrow's date as their birthday. Enter a first name like "Test" and use your own email address. Set the birthday to tomorrow's date and apply any required tags if you're using tag-based filtering. Wait until tomorrow and verify the expected action occurs (you receive the email or see the to-do reminder).
Testing before full deployment ensures your email template displays correctly, your timing works as expected, and your tag filters are configured properly. Once verified, delete the test contact. This step catches configuration issues before they affect real clients.
Time: 5 minutes
Questions and Answers
Q: I don't see any email templates in the dropdown when I select "Send Email Template." What should I do?
A: You need to create an email template first. Navigate to your Email Template Library, create a new template with your birthday message, and save it. Return to the Birthday Assistant and you'll see it listed in the dropdown. The system only shows saved email templates.
Q: Will The Birthday Assistant send an email to someone who isn't opted in?
A: No. The Birthday Assistant respects opt-in status and will not send to contacts who are not opted in for email.
Q: I set up birthday reminders but don't see to-dos appearing on my list. Why not?
A: Check your timing setting. If you selected "14 days before," reminders will appear only for birthdays that are exactly two weeks away. If no birthdays fall in that window today, no to-dos will be created. You can test by creating a sample contact with a birthday that matches your timing window (for example, if using "1 day before," set the birthday to tomorrow).
Q: How do I pause the Birthday Assistant?
A: Return to Automation → Birthday Assistant and select "Nobody. Disable birthday assistant." When you're ready to resume, simply select your preferred options again and click Save. This is useful during busy seasons or while you update your approach.
Q: Can I see which contacts have birthdays coming up before the Birthday Assistant processes them?
A: Yes. Use the Birthday & Anniversary Report to view all special events for a specific month. You can also create an Advanced Search or Saved Search to find contacts with birthdays in a specific date range. This helps you preview who will receive recognition and verify your data before automation runs.
Q: What happens if I change my settings after the Birthday Assistant is already running?
A: Changes take effect immediately for all upcoming birthdays. Any tasks or emails that have already been created or sent are not affected—the new settings apply only to birthdays the system processes after you save the changes. You can safely adjust your configuration at any time.
Q: If I use tag-based filtering, what happens when I add or remove tags from contacts?
A: The Birthday Assistant checks tag status in real-time when it processes each birthday. If you add a tag to a contact before their birthday window, they'll be included. If you remove a tag before their birthday window, they'll be excluded. Tag changes immediately affect who gets processed.
Q: Can the Birthday Assistant handle multiple configurations for different timing or groups?
A: No. You can only have one Birthday Assistant configuration active at a time.
Q: Will the Birthday Assistant create duplicate to-dos or send duplicate emails if I save the settings multiple times?
A: No. The Birthday Assistant processes each contact's birthday once per occurrence. Saving your settings multiple times doesn't create duplicates. The system tracks which birthdays have been processed and won't repeat actions unless a full year passes and the birthday occurs again.
Guide Type: One-Time Setup Task
Estimated Time: 10-15 minutes
Next Guides: Birthday Assistant Overview, How to Create Email Templates, How to Manage Contact Tags
Video Transcript
You never want to forget your client’s birthday.
Maybe you want to send them an email or a greeting card, or you might want to call them.
Whatever the case, you certainly don’t want to forget their special day. The Birthday Assistant can help.
You have two choices in tracking your Contact’s birthday. You can track everyone’s birthday or just a select group.
If you want to track a select group, first create a Flag called Birthday, like this.
Then tell the Birthday Assistant only to look for contacts with that Flag. You can actually use any Flag, I just like to use a special Birthday Flag.
Here is where you tell you the system when you want the Birthday Assistant to run. And Here is where you tell the system what to do.
You can have the Birthday Assistant set a reminder for you, a to-do in case you want to send out a greeting card or make that special call.
Or you can have the Birthday Assistant automatically send an email, This would be an email that you’ve already set up in your Email Template library.
Once you have everything set just the way you like it, click save and you’re done.
Your Birthday Assistant is now on the job.
Now for all my Clients that have a Birthday Flag on their account, they will get a Happy Birthday email from me on their birthday, all done automatically by the Birthday Assistant.