Overview
FOG sends six different kinds of automated email -- one for new contacts, three pump-out related, and two for permit expirations -- plus a One-Time Message template you can use for ad-hoc emails. Each tab in Settings → Notifications is a separate type with its own trigger.
All automated notifications share the same set of fields. The Days field means something different on each type, so each section below explains it in plain English.
Common fields
Field | Required? | Notes |
Name | Yes | Internal label. Must be unique within your tenant. |
Subject | Yes | Email subject line. Supports template helpers. |
Body | Yes | Email body. Supports template helpers. |
Days | Yes (not on Welcome or One-Time Message) | Meaning depends on the notification type — see each section below. |
Status | Yes | Defaults to Inactive. Notifications only send when set to Active. |
Every automated notification defaults to Inactive. Nothing sends until you switch the Status to Active and save.
Notification types
1. Welcome
Sent automatically the moment a new contact is added to an establishment. Use it as the FSE owner's intro to your program -- include a link to the establishment's Online Profile, your office contact details, and any onboarding info.
Where to find it: Settings → Notifications → Welcome.
Trigger: a new contact is added to an establishment.
Recipient: the newly added contact, if Mail Subscription = Subscribed and they have an email on file.
Days field: not used -- Welcome sends immediately on contact creation.
Welcome is a single template -- there's one active Welcome notification for the whole tenant, not one per establishment type or contact role.
2. Pumpout
Sends a reminder before or after a GCD's next service date. Configure as many of these as you want -- one for "30 days before due," one for "7 days overdue," and so on.
Where to find it: Settings → Notifications → Pumpout.
Recipient: establishment contacts on the GCD's establishment, when subscribed and emailable.
Operates per-GCD: each GCD's next service date (last pump out + frequency) is what the timing is measured from.
How the Days field works:
A negative number sends before the next service date. Example:
-30sends a reminder 30 days before the GCD is due.A positive number sends after the next service date. Example:
7sends an overdue notice 7 days past due.The check runs once a day. If a GCD's
next service date + Dayslands on today, the notification fires.
If a provider is already assigned to the GCD, upcoming reminders (negative Days) are skipped automatically -- the provider is presumed to be handling it. Overdue reminders (positive Days) still fire either way.
Per-GCD on/off: on the establishment's GCD assignment you can toggle Pumpout reminders separately for upcoming and overdue. Use this to silence a single GCD without disabling the whole notification.
3. Without Pumpout
Chases establishments that have never had a pump out recorded. Useful for nudging brand-new establishments and any FSE that's gone dark since you onboarded them.
Where to find it: Settings → Notifications → Without Pumpout.
Recipient: establishment contacts (subscribed, with an email on file).
Operates at the establishment level -- doesn't track individual GCDs.
Trigger conditions (all must be true):
The establishment is open (not closed).
It has at least one GCD with a pumping frequency set.
It has zero pump outs on record.
How the Days field works:
Days is the number of days between reminder emails for the same establishment. Always positive.
First reminder fires the next time the daily job runs and the conditions above are all met.
Follow-ups send
Daysdays after the previous send. With Days = 30, an establishment that's never been pumped gets a reminder roughly every month.Reminders auto-stop the moment any pump out is recorded for that establishment.
4. FSE Permit Expiration
Reminds establishments to renew their FSE permits.
Where to find it: Settings → Notifications → FSE Permit Expiration.
Recipient: establishment contacts (subscribed, with an email on file).
Trigger: each active or expired FSE permit's expiration date is checked daily.
How the Days field works:
A negative number sends before expiration. Example:
-30sends 30 days before the permit expires.A positive number sends after expiration. Example:
14sends 14 days after the permit expires.Fires once on the matching date for each permit.
No-duplicate rule: if the establishment already has another unexpired FSE permit (in other words, they've already renewed), the reminder is skipped. So an establishment never gets a renewal nudge for an expiring permit when a current one is on file.
5. Provider Permit Expiration
Same idea as FSE Permit Expiration, but for provider (hauler) permits.
Where to find it: Settings → Notifications → Provider Permit Expiration.
Recipient: provider contacts -- not establishment contacts. The contact lives on the provider record, must be subscribed, and must have an email on file.
Trigger: each active or expired provider permit's expiration date is checked daily.
Days field works the same as FSE Permit Expiration -- negative for before, positive for after.
Provider permit reminders do not have the FSE-style "skip if already renewed" rule. If you set up several reminders for the same provider, each one fires on its scheduled day regardless of the provider's other permits.
6. One-Time Message
Reusable email templates for ad-hoc messages -- holiday hours, system outages, pre-inspection heads-ups. The One-Time Message tab is template storage. Nothing here sends on its own; you trigger sends from the Establishments or Providers table.
Where to build the template: Settings → Notifications → One-Time Message.
Days field: not used -- there's no automatic trigger.
Sending a One-Time Message
Sends are initiated from the Establishments or Providers table, depending on who you want to reach.
Open the Establishments table (to message FSE owners) or the Providers table (to message haulers).
Use search and filters to narrow the list down to the recipients you want.
Click the Actions menu, then Send Message.
Choose Send now or Send later (schedule it for a future date).
Pick the One-Time Message template you want to use.
Optionally click Preview to review the rendered email before it goes out.
Click Send.
The recipient list is whatever was in the table when you clicked Send Message -- so make sure your filters are set before you open the Actions menu. Subscribed contacts on those records receive the email.
Who actually receives a notification
For any automated notification to land in someone's inbox, two things have to be true on the contact:
Mail Subscription is set to Subscribed (the default for new contacts).
The contact has a valid email address on file.
Match the contact type to the notification: Welcome, Pumpout, Without Pumpout, and FSE Permit Expiration go to establishment contacts. Provider Permit Expiration goes to provider contacts. A subscribed establishment contact will never receive a Provider Permit Expiration email and vice versa.
Template helpers
Subject and body fields support placeholders that fill in dynamic data when the email is generated. Wrap the helper name in %{ } -- for example, %{contact_full_name}.
Available on Welcome, Pumpout, and Without Pumpout
Helper | What it inserts |
%{contact_full_name} | The recipient contact's full name |
%{establishment_name} | The establishment's name |
%{organisation_name} | Your organization's name |
%{establishment_business_address} | The establishment's business address |
%{establishment_last_pumped_on} | Date of the most recent pump out |
%{establishment_next_pump_out} | Next pump out due date |
%{establishment_compliance_status} | Current compliance status |
%{establishment_frequency} | Pumping frequency value |
%{establishment_frequency_units} | Pumping frequency unit (days, weeks, months) |
%{current_date} | Today's date |
%{gcds_information} | Summary of all GCDs at the establishment |
Additionally on FSE Permit Expiration
Helper | What it inserts |
%{permit_number} | The FSE permit number |
%{permit_effective_date} | Permit start date |
%{permit_expiration_date} | Permit expiration date |
%{permit_status} | Current permit status |
%{permit_establishment_name} | Establishment name on the permit |
Additionally on Provider Permit Expiration
Helper | What it inserts |
%{provider_permit_number} | The provider permit number |
%{permit_provider_name} | Provider name |
%{provider_permit_effective_date} | Permit start date |
%{provider_permit_expiration_date} | Permit expiration date |
%{provider_permit_status} | Current permit status |
Spelling matters. An invalid helper key blocks the save with a validation error -- and a helper that doesn't exist for that notification type (for example, a permit helper on a Pumpout) is treated the same way.
FAQ
Q: Why are my notifications not sending?
A: Check, in order: (1) the notification's Status is Active, (2) the recipient contact's Mail Subscription is Subscribed, (3) the contact has a valid email on file, (4) for Pumpout, the per-GCD upcoming/overdue toggles haven't been turned off on the establishment's GCD assignment.
Q: How is Pumpout different from Without Pumpout?
A: Pumpout is per-GCD and timed off the next service date (last pump out + frequency). Without Pumpout is per-establishment and only fires when the establishment has never been pumped at all. They cover different problems and you can run both.
Q: Can I disable notifications for a specific GCD?
A: Yes -- on the establishment's GCD assignment, separate toggles control upcoming and overdue Pumpout notifications for that device. This affects only Pumpout; Without Pumpout and the permit notifications aren't per-GCD.
Q: Welcome fired before I was ready. How do I stop it?
A: Welcome fires on contact creation. To prevent it, set the Welcome notification Status to Inactive before adding contacts, then turn it back on when you're ready.
Q: Why didn't the FSE Permit Expiration reminder send when the permit expired?
A: The most common cause is the no-duplicate rule -- the establishment had another unexpired FSE permit on file, so the reminder was suppressed. Also check the permit's status (must be active or expired) and the notification's Days value.
Q: Where do I actually click to send a One-Time Message?
A: Go to the Establishments or Providers table, filter to the records you want, click Actions → Send Message, choose Send now or Send later, pick a template, preview, and send. The template itself is built under Settings → Notifications → One-Time Message.