Notifications send the emails while tasks run them on a schedule. This article covers all three notification types, the tasks that send them, and how to schedule those tasks to run automatically.
Notifications in Yardi will automatically send emails to certain contacts that meet the criteria of your notification setup.
Two prerequisites apply to every notification:
There are three notification types:
These are the most straightforward type to set up. They work in conjunction with your workflow, so when adding your new notification ensure that the Object Type selected matches the workflow object type you want to attach it to.
From there it is as simple as picking the email template you want to send from the drop-down list. Set the Type to Contact, then select the contact role you want to email under the Role drop-down list.
You can send multiple emails, using the same or different email templates, to multiple contacts. Just complete those details on additional rows.
For some object types you have the option to send the email to the originator of the workflow. Select Originator under Type and leave the role selection blank.
Once the notification record is complete, open the individual workflow step you want the notification to send on. Under the Action tab, below the Notification heading, choose to send at the Start or Completion of the step from the Event drop down and then select the notification you setup in the Name drop down.
The notification then triggers based on the workflow step you assigned it to. No task is needed.
Critical Date notifications send emails to contacts a set number of days before, after, or on the day of a critical date.
When adding your new critical date notification ensure that the Object Type selected matches the object type for the critical date you want to be notified of.
In the top right of the screen, you will see a Critical Date heading. The dropdown underneath lists all the critical dates set up for that object type. Select your required Critical Date this notification is for.
In the grid below, under the Relation column, select Before or After and enter the number of days. If you select On, you don't need to enter days. If you want this notification to send at different intervals for the same critical date, simply enter additional rows. For example; 90, 60 and 30 days before a lease expiration.
Select the Email Template you want to send, and which contact Role you want to email.
Most clients will have a standard task setup, “Rebuild Critical Dates and Process Notifications”. Generally, this task should process and send Critical Date Notifications also, but we’ve seen mixed results so as always test your work.
If this task does not exist, or your tests resulted in it not being included, a task also needs to be set up to send this notification, which we cover further on.
This is the more complicated notification setup because it is technical in nature. You use a SQL select statement to return specific records the notification will send to. You would use this type when you want to capture a notification for conditions outside your critical date setup. For example, emailing a tenant with move out instructions, flagging an expiring bank guarantee, or notifying a contact about an upcoming milestone date for a job.
When you add the field value notification, make sure the Object Type matches the object type for the information you're searching for and the type of record you want the emails attached back to.
Under the Frequency heading, select Daily, Weekly or Monthly. For Weekly or Monthly, select the applicable option in the drop-down box.
The field value select box is where you write or insert your SQL statement. This statement needs to relate directly back to the Object Type you selected. The only value you should select is the primary key of the particular table (e.g. hmy), and the rest of your query should be the conditions of this notification. Voyager sends an email for each record that is returned.
Select the Email Template you want to send and which contact type or role you want the email sent to.
Most clients will have a standard task setup, “Rebuild Critical Dates and Process Notifications”. If this is the case, then no additional task is required unless you want to send the notification at additional times. The system triggers the notification based on the frequency options you entered.
If this task does not exist, a task also needs to be set up to send this notification, which we cover further on.
Notifications also gives you the ability to attach a Task Template which will create a To Do task or reminder on the dashboard for the user(s) belonging to the role selected.
Refer to the Email Templates & Task Templates article for details on setting up task templates.
If you already have task templates set up, this can then be attached to the Notification setup, under the Attach Tasks tab, for both Critical Date and Field Value notification types.
Select the task template under the Task drop-down, then select the role of who you want the task assigned to.
⚠️ Note: Test your notifications to ensure they work correctly, so you don't unintentionally send spam to your users.
For more detail, refer to the Workflows and Notifications User Guide, downloadable from Client Central.
Now let's dive into the tasks that run and schedule your notifications.
Basic task setup for notifications
The task setup links a specific notification task to your notification and attaches it to a task schedule for sending.
Create a Task Runner Task record. Enter a shorthand code (up to 12 characters), a name, and a description. In the Steps tab, click New to open the Task Runner Step screen. Select APPTASK from the Template dropdown, and the Name and Description auto-populate.
In the Details tab, enter the ClassName for the APPTASK: YSI.Utils.AppServices.dll#YSI.Utils.AppServices.ysiNotificationAppTask.
Complete the URL field with &NotificationName= followed by the notification record name.
Refer to the Task Schedules section below for the next steps.
Other task types
Tasks can handle more than notifications.
We covered the APPTASK ClassName and URL specifically for notifications, but others are available.
For the full list, download the TaskRunner AppTask ClassNames and URL Parameters document from Client Central.
Here are the other template types:
See the Task Runner Setup and Administration section of Voyager's help for detailed descriptions.
Task schedules allow our Tasks that have been setup to run at scheduled times.
Create a new Task Runner Task Schedule record. Select the required task from the Task dropdown, name the schedule so you can recognise it later, and add a description with any further detail you need.
In the bottom grid, under the Notifications tab, you can send an email when the task schedule succeeds or fails. Check the Failure or Success checkbox (or both), then enter one or more email addresses in the text box below each checkbox.
You are most likely a hosted client, with Yardi hosting your database instance, so you'll need to contact Yardi Systems through a support case to set the schedule. Give them the details or a screenshot of your new Task Runner Task Schedule and request your scheduled times.
Notifications and tasks turn Yardi into a system that does the heavy lifting for you, once you set them up correctly. Match your Object Types, test before you go live, and set up the tasks and schedules that Critical Date and recurring notifications rely on. Get these right and your notifications run with little ongoing maintenance.
