IN BRIEF
The Upcoming Birthday workflow automatically identifies students with birthdays coming up in a specified number of days and sends a message to their family. This workflow can be used to send birthday greetings or promote party bookings, special offers, or events.

• Overview
• Accessing the Feature
• Step-by-Step Instructions
  • Additional Options
• Best Practice Recommendations
  • Configuration Tips
  • Operational Tips
• Troubleshooting & FAQs
• Related Articles

Interactive Demos for configuring Autopilot workflows can be found in the Education Corner, accessible from the Office Portal's "Welcome" screen.

Overview

This workflow checks student records on a recurring schedule to identify upcoming birthdays within a defined range. It automatically sends messages to families whose students meet the criteria.

• Workflow type: Schedule-driven 
• Trigger: Runs on specified day(s) and time(s) of the week 
• Purpose: Send birthday greetings or marketing messages to families based on upcoming birthdays.

Back to top

Accessing the Feature

• From the Office Portal, navigate to AUTOPILOT>WORKFLOWS>"Add a Workflow."
• Locate Upcoming Birthday in the list of workflows.
• The workflow will automatically be copied to your account and will open in the Workflow Editor.
• After configuring the workflow, Save your changes.
• When you are ready, Enable the workflow to begin using it.

NOTE: Only account administrators or staff members who have been granted “Admin Access” permissions can copy or edit Autopilot workflows.

Back to top

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Open the Upcoming Birthday workflow.
2. Review the workflow details:
   1. Trigger Type: Schedule-driven – runs on selected days each week.
   2. Communication Template Used: Future Birthday Notification.
3. Configure the following options:
   • Scheduled Event
     • For instructions on configuring the workflow schedule, see “Configuring a Scheduled Event” in How Do I Copy and Configure Autopilot Workflows? 
   • Send Communication
     • Reply To Email - As this workflow can be configured to send to Inactive families/students, this will default to the Primary Contact email if none is provided.
     • Send Email / Send To All Emails
     • Send SMS / Send To All SMS
     • Send Push Notification
     • Ages
     • Birthday in X Days - Defines how many days from the current date a student's birthday must be in order for the family to be included in the communication.
     • Enrollment Types - Active/Trial/Makeup/Waitlist/Single Day/Inactive
4. After configuring the workflow, Save your changes.
5. When you are ready, Enable the workflow to begin using it.

Back to top

Additional Options

• Communication Templates: While staff cannot select a different communication template, the email, SMS, and Push notification versions of the "Future Birthday Notification" template can be edited under SETTINGS>SETUP>GENERAL SETTINGS>COMMUNICATION TEMPLATES>"Autopilot" tab.
• Opt-In Compliance: Autopilot always respects family-level email/SMS opt-in preferences when sending messages.

Back to top

Best Practice Recommendations

Configuration Tips

• This workflow could have multiple instances running depending on your needs:
  • 60-90 days before birthday: Marketing email to promote hosting a birthday party at your facility (Email)
  • 0-1 days before birthday: "Happy birthday!" (SMS/Push notification)
• Use fun, celebratory language in your communication template and include your organization’s logo or brand colors.
• Include links to your Party Booking page or promotional offers related to birthdays.

Back to top

Operational Tips

• Create different message templates for different age ranges or program types.
• Track which families respond to birthday promotions to measure marketing effectiveness.
• Pair this workflow with the Party Follow-Up workflow to create a complete birthday engagement cycle.
• If you only require deposits when booking Parties, pair this workflow with the Upcoming Charge Due workflow to remind customers of any outstanding balances due for their party booking.

Back to top

Troubleshooting & FAQs

• Why didn’t the workflow send messages for some birthdays?
  • Verify that the workflow is enabled and scheduled correctly.
  • Confirm that the students fall within the selected age range and that the workflow runs prior to their birthday date.
  • If specific Enrollment Types are enabled, ensure that the student had an active enrollment matching that enrollment type on the date the workflow was triggered.
• Can I send birthday messages only to currently enrolled students?
  • Yes. Use the Enrollment Types filter to include only students with active enrollments matching the selected Enrollment Type(s).
• Does this workflow include inactive or past families?
  • It can, depending on your configuration. Review the Enrollment Types and Age filters to control who receives messages.

Back to top

Related Articles

• What is Autopilot?
• How Do I Copy and Configure Autopilot Workflows?
• How Do I Configure the Party Follow-Up Workflow?
• How Do I Configure the Upcoming Charge Due Workflow?

Back to top