Reminders help your practice notify clients when a patient is due for services, treatments, or medications. When configured correctly, they support consistent patient care and help ensure follow-up services are not missed.
Navigate to: Admin > Client Communication > Reminders
What You Need to Know
Every reminder in Shepherd follows two core rules:
1. Trigger Products - What creates the reminder.
(what is invoiced or administered)
2. Auto Complete Products - What completes the reminder.
Note on Combo Vaccines - If you are administering a combo vaccine, you will need a separate reminder template for each individual vaccine.
If any of these are misconfigured, reminders may not generate or complete, and show incorrect information.
Quick Start Guide
Click + Add New
Enter a clear Title
Be descriptive. Your team and clients will see this. Include duration and species.
Example: Rabies Vaccine – 3 Year (Canine)Add all Auto Complete Products
These complete the reminder when invoiced.
Include:Booster versions
Duplicate or alternate products
If a completed service is not listed here, the reminder will not complete.
Set the Due In timeframe
Example:
12 months for annual vaccines
3 weeks for boosters
Only use quantity-based adjustments for medications (not vaccines).
Configure your Notification Schedule
Add a notification for each email you want sent (before or after due date).
Add all Trigger Products
These create the reminder when invoiced.
Important: Add all size and weight variations
If a variation is missing, the reminder will not generate.Click Save
Your reminder is now active.
Remember to create an email template for your reminder.
Reminder Deep Dive
Combo Vaccines
If you are administering a combo vaccine, you will create a unique reminder template for each individual vaccine. This is important because each vaccine may be due at a different time.
Example:
If you are administering a DAPP and lepto vaccine, and the patient has had a DAPP before, but has never had a lepto vaccine, the DAPP may be due in 1 or 3 years, but the lepto is due for a booster in 3 weeks. You will use the same trigger product on two different templates so that you can separate the different "due in" periods.
Title Your Reminder
Next, enter the Title. This is the name that will appear on the patient’s profile to identify the reminder. Remember to include a duration or species details as needed (example: Rabies Vaccine - 3 Year). This name will help your team quickly understand what the reminder refers to when reviewing patient records.
Reference Number
A unique reference number is auto-generated and assigned to every Reminder Template, and each trigger product will have its own suffix. This helps to track when specific reminders generate and to ensure they are aligned to the correct patients.
Selecting the Auto Complete Product(s)
Next, add the Auto Complete Product(s) that will satisfy and complete the reminder when invoiced. This may be a single item or multiple items.
Defining a Due Date
The Due Date determines when the patient will next be due for the related service, relative to the date of administration. You can specify a time frame using days, weeks, months, or years. For example, a 12-month due date for an annual vaccine.
There is also an option to configure the due date to automatically adjust based on quantity. For example:
If 1 Dose Heartworm Preventative has a 1-month due period
Administering a quantity of 3 will set the reminder due in 3 months
Setting your Notification Schedule
Finally, set the Notification Schedule by selecting + Add a Notification. The controls when reminder email communications are sent to the client relative to the reminder's due date. You can send messages before the due date, after the due date, or both as appropriate.
Example:
For an annual vaccine, you might schedule a reminder to be sent:
30 days before the due date
14 days after the due date
30 days after the due date
Important:
Clients will receive only one reminder email per day.
If multiple reminders, for one or more patients, are due or triggered on the same day, they will be included in a single email. This includes both overdue and current reminders.
Selecting a Trigger Product(s)
The Trigger Product is the product that will initiate the automatic creation of the reminder once it has been invoiced. You can add as many trigger products as needed.
Create an Email Template
The Reminder Email Template is the message sent to clients when a reminder is due based on the notification schedule. You can use the standard template or you may select the advanced option for a fully customizable email template.
Standard Template
The Standard Template will appear by default when you first open your reminder email template. It includes:
A subject line
Greeting
Dynamic text indicating which reminders the notification is for
Your clinic information at the bottom of the email
You can customize the body text and add a custom signature to personalize the message.
Advanced Template
The Advanced Template allows you to build your reminder email from scratch, with no pre-loaded text or variables. If you're using this option, be sure to include the {REMINDERS DUE} variable to populate the correct reminder content for clients.
Email Template Variables
Variables insert client, patient, or clinic-specific information into your email so that each reminder feels personalized. Place the variable text exactly where you want the custom data to appear.
Available variables include:
{CLIENT FIRST} - Client first name
{CLIENT LAST} - Client last name
{REMINDERS DUE} - Reminders that are overdue or due within the next 30 days
{CLINIC NAME} - Name of your clinic
{CLINIC EMAIL} - Email address of your clinic
{CLINIC PHONE} - Clinic phone number
{CLINIC ADDRESS} - Clinic address
{CLINIC LOGO} - Clinic logo
Frequently Asked Questions
Why didn’t a patient reminder generate?
If a reminder didn’t generate after invoicing, it usually means the invoiced product isn’t connected to a reminder template as an active trigger product.
What should I check?
Is the invoiced product added as a trigger product?
Is that trigger product still marked as active?
Are all variations included?
Size-specific versions
Weight-specific versions
Duplicate or alternate versions
Was the original product archived and replaced with a new one?
If the product is not added as an active trigger product, it won’t create the reminder.
How do I fix it?
Update the reminder template to include the correct trigger product(s).
If needed, manually add the reminder to the patient record.
Why didn’t a patient reminder complete after the visit?
If the reminder is still showing as due, the completed service likely isn’t set up as an auto complete product in the reminder template.
What should I check?
Is the service listed as an auto complete product?
How do I fix it?
Add all appropriate product variations to the auto complete section.
Manually complete the reminder if necessary.
Why does the vaccination history show vaccines due when the reminder list looks correct?
This happens because these two areas are controlled separately. The vaccine section is showing vaccine products that have been administered, regardless of whether a reminder is associated with them or not. Reminders only show based on reminder templates set up or reminders added manually to a patient profile.
How can I see if a reminder message was sent to a client?
You can check this in the client’s Activity Log.
Open the client profile.
Click the zig-zag arrow in the top right corner.
Review the Activity Log.
You can search for:
“Reminder Notification”
The client’s email address
Other related keywords
Each entry shows the full message and the time it was sent.
How do I deactivate a reminder template?
Click the Edit icon in the reminder's Actions column.
Turn off the Active toggle.
Click Save.
Deactivating a reminder template will stop new reminders from generating, but will not remove any existing reminders already created in patient records
How do I deactivate a specific trigger product within a reminder?
Click the Edit icon in the reminder's Actions column.
Locate the trigger product.
Turn off its Active toggle.
Click Save.
Can I rename a reminder template?
Yes. You can rename a reminder template at any time.
If you change the name, it will automatically update on all existing reminders tied to that template. The reminder logic itself will not change.