The A date on a contact arrives trigger fires a workflow each time a date or datetime attribute on a People record reaches — or passes — the moment you configure. Use it to send renewal reminders, trial expiration notices, birthday messages, or any other time-sensitive communication tied to a date stored on a contact.
This trigger is available on the Scale plan and higher. On plans below Scale the trigger option appears locked in the workflow builder with the tooltip: "Send messages from a date on a contact, like a birthday or renewal. Available on Scale and higher."
How to create a CRM date workflow
Go to Workflows and open the workflow builder to create a new workflow.
In the trigger section, select A date on a contact arrives.
Under Date attribute, click Search date attributes and choose the People attribute the workflow should fire from — for example, Contract end or Birthday. Only non-archived date and datetime attributes are listed. If your contacts have no date attribute yet, click Add one to go to your CRM attribute settings and create one first.
Set the send timing: choose how many days or weeks before the date, on the day, or how many days or weeks after the date each action should be dispatched.
Set the Send at time — the time of day the message is sent on the scheduled day.
Optionally, add a send condition: under Only send if checked, click Search checkbox attributes and pick a checkbox attribute. The action is sent only to contacts where that checkbox is enabled at the moment of the send. If no checkbox attribute exists on your People object yet, click Add one to create one.
Add one or more actions (email, SMS, and so on) and fill in the message content.
Review the Applies to field. CRM date workflows apply to your entire organisation — not to individual scheduling pages. This cannot be changed once the workflow is saved.
Click Save to activate the workflow.
The Owner of a CRM workflow is set when the workflow is first saved and cannot be changed afterwards. If the owner's plan is downgraded below Scale, the workflow's status switch is disabled and the workflow stops sending until the plan is upgraded again.
Which date attributes can I use?
The Date attribute picker shows all non-archived date and datetime attributes from your People object. Standard (system) attributes are more restricted: only Created At appears in the picker. Other standard datetime attributes such as Last Modified and Last Interaction are excluded because they change too frequently to anchor a reliable send moment.
Custom date attributes you have created are all available, as long as they are not archived. If an attribute is archived or removed after you save the workflow, the workflow is automatically switched off and must be recreated with a different attribute.
Frequently asked questions
When exactly does the send fire?
The workflow calculates the scheduled send moment from the date stored on the contact, adjusted by the offset you chose, at the Send at time. If that moment has already passed by more than ten minutes when the job is evaluated — for example because the workflow was activated late — the send is skipped for that contact and that cycle.
Can I add more than one send timing to a single workflow?
Yes. You can add multiple action timings to a single CRM date workflow — for example, "7 days before Contract end" and "1 day before Contract end". Each timing sends independently. The trigger card in the workflow list shows a summary such as "2 sends from Contract end".
What does the "Only send if checked" condition do?
The condition lets you gate each send on a checkbox attribute. When it is set, the action is dispatched only to contacts where that checkbox is enabled at the moment the send fires. If the checkbox is unchecked, the action is skipped for that contact — no message is sent and no retry is attempted.
What happens if the date attribute is archived or deleted?
If the attribute the workflow is bound to is archived or removed from your CRM, the workflow is automatically switched off. To resume sending, create a new workflow bound to a different date attribute.
The trigger is locked in my workflow builder — what do I do?
The CRM date trigger requires the Scale plan or higher. If you see the trigger locked with an upgrade tooltip, upgrade your plan to Scale to unlock it. Go to Workspace settings > Subscription to review your current plan.
Does a CRM date workflow apply to specific scheduling pages?
No. CRM date workflows apply to your entire organisation, not to individual scheduling pages. The Applies to setting is locked once the workflow is saved and cannot be changed.