Notify users automatically on a specific date with Smartsheet's 'When a date is reached' trigger.

Outline: How to notify users on a specific date in Smartsheet

• Opening: A simple need, a clean solution. When you want a notification to go out on a fixed date, Smartsheet has a built-in way to automate it—no manual clicking required.

• Why the other options fall short:

• A. Create an alert action — useful in some contexts, but not inherently tied to a calendar date without extra setup.

• B. Designate a manual notification — reliable for ad-hoc alerts, but not automatic on a date.

• D. Set a calendar reminder — handy for personal reminders, not the team-wide automation Smartsheet offers.

• The right move: C. Use the trigger "When a date is reached"

• How it works in plain language

• A quick example you can relate to

• How to set it up (step-by-step)

• Pick a date field, choose the trigger, specify who gets the notice, craft the message

• Optional tweaks: time zones, repeat notices, and dependency awareness

• Best practices and quick tips

• Keep it tight, avoid over-notifying, test before going live

• Use a shared date field for consistency across sheets

• Common pitfalls to avoid

• Date field formatting, automation not enabled, incorrect recipient lists

• Short wrap-up: Why this approach makes teamwork smoother

How to notify on a specific date without the drama

Let me explain a small but mighty thing: when you want a notice to pop up exactly on a certain date, Smartsheet’s automation is your best friend. The key is to use the trigger that says “When a date is reached.” It’s like setting a calendar alarm for a team—but it lives right in your project sheet, and it knows who to tell without you having to lift a finger on the day itself.

Now, you might be wondering about the other choices. They’re not bad ideas; they just don’t hook into a date the way you need. Creating an alert action can be great when you already have a date tied to something else, but by itself it doesn’t ensure the message fires only on the specific day. A manual notification is dependable for on-demand alerts, sure, but it requires a person to click something on the date. And a calendar reminder? Super handy for personal reminders, but it sits outside your sheet’s team-wide communication stream, so it’s easy to miss if folks aren’t looking at their personal calendars all day. The date-trigger approach keeps everything in sync and automatic.

Here’s the thing: automation in Smartsheet isn’t just about convenience. It’s about reliability. When you set “When a date is reached,” your alert travels to the right people at the exact moment you designate, even if you’re busy with other milestones. No more chasing people down with last-minute emails or Slack threads. The message arrives because the sheet says so, not because someone remembered to hit send.

A scenario you’ll recognize

Imagine a product launch milestone: a critical due date for a marketing asset. You want the creative lead, the project manager, and the channel owner to get a heads-up the day before the asset goes live. You set a date field on the task row, mark the date, and build a small workflow: Trigger = When a date is reached; Condition = On or before the due date (you can tailor this); Action = Notify; Recipients = the people who need to see it; Message = a short note with the asset link and next steps. When the calendar hits the date, everyone gets the notification automatically. The project team feels the pulse of momentum, and the release date stays in sight.

Setting it up, step by step

Here’s a straightforward way to make this happen without getting tangled in settings:

• Identify a date field: Pick a specific date column in your sheet, like Due Date or Launch Date. Make sure it’s formatted as a date type, not text. This is the anchor the automation will watch.

• Create the workflow: Open Smartsheet’s automation center and choose to Create a Workflow. You want the trigger option “When a date is reached.”

• Define the date: Point the trigger to the date column you picked. You can also specify whether the alert should fire exactly on the date or a day before—this is handy for early warnings.

• Set the action: Choose Notify Someone. Add the recipients—individuals, a contact group, or even a phone number for SMS if your plan supports it.

• Craft the message: Write a concise note. Include the link to the sheet, the task, or the asset. A quick reminder of what needs to happen helps people act fast.

• Save and test: Most of us have learned to test before we go live. Try setting a test date near today and confirm the message lands in the right inboxes. If the test works, you’re good to go.

• Go live: Enable the automation. Schedule is in place, and the notifications will roll out on the target date, automatically.

A few practical tweaks you might find useful

• Time zones matter: If your team spans multiple regions, consider how the date-bound alert will appear in each person’s time zone. Some teams set notifications to trigger on the date, not a time, to avoid confusion. If you need time-specific prompts, you can layer in another trigger with a time-based condition, but for most use cases, “date reached” is enough.

• One date, many people: If you have several stakeholders, you can send the same alert to multiple recipients in one go. It keeps the message consistent and reduces the chance someone gets left out.

• Repeats and reminders: For recurring events, you can set a reminder a few days before, on the day, and even after the milestone to confirm completion. Just be mindful not to flood inboxes with too many messages.

• Link context: Don’t assume everyone knows where to find what you’re referencing. Include a direct link to the relevant sheet or row, and a brief description of what’s due.

Best practices, without the buzzwords

• Keep alerts tight: A single clear message is enough. If you’re notifying a big team, add a short bullet list in your notification that says what’s due and where to respond.

• Test early, test often: A quick test run avoids surprises. It’s worth the time to verify the date field, the recipients, and the message content.

• Use consistent date fields: If your project uses several sheets, standardize the date field you reference. A shared naming convention keeps automation predictable.

• Review permissions: If someone can’t see the sheet or the relevant rows, they won’t receive the notification. Make sure the right people have access.

Common potholes and how to sidestep them

• The date field isn’t truly a date: If the field is treated as text, Smartsheet won’t trigger correctly. Convert to a date type, or create a sheet-specific date column and map it in the workflow.

• Automation not turned on: It’s easy to save a workflow and forget to turn it on. A quick check ensures the automation fires as planned.

• Wrong recipient list: If you’re notifying a group, ensure the group is defined correctly in Smartsheet or use individual contacts. It’s better to verify recipients than to miss someone important.

• Too many alerts: Repetition can overwhelm. Keep the cadence sensible and, if needed, consolidate similar alerts into a single, well-timed message.

A few final thoughts to keep things human and effective

Automation is a powerful ally, but it’s most useful when it feels natural to your workflow. The trigger “When a date is reached” sits quietly in the background, doing the work while you focus on the bigger picture—delivering value, coordinating teams, and staying aligned with milestones. It’s not flashy, but it’s dependable.

If you’ve used calendar reminders in the past, you know the difference between a personal nudge and a team-wide push. The Smartsheet approach is that second thing—shared, timely, and directly tied to your project data. It reduces the friction of coordination. You don’t have to chase people down or rely on memory; the system does the heavy lifting and keeps everyone in the loop.

To wrap it up, the best path to notifying users on a specific date is simple: use the “When a date is reached” trigger. It’s built for date-bound messages, it scales with your team, and it keeps everyone on the same page without extra manual steps. The other options have their places for certain contexts, but the date-anchored alert is the clean, reliable choice for automatic, date-specific communication.

If you’re new to this kind of setup, give yourself permission to experiment. Tweak the date field, the recipient list, and the message until you land on a flow that feels intuitive. You’ll find that the right automation not only saves time—it also helps your team meet milestones with less drama and more momentum. And in a collaborative toolset like Smartsheet, that momentum is worth its weight in completed tasks, signed-off assets, and a smoother handoff from planning to delivery.