Overdue reminders
Cron schedule, when reminders fire, and customizing the email.
Email patrons when their loans are coming due or overdue.
Schedule
Reminder emails fire daily at 14:00 UTC via a cron job:
- 3 days before due — "Your loan is due in 3 days"
- 1 day before due — "Your loan is due tomorrow"
- Day of due — "Your loan is due today"
- 3 days overdue — "Your loan is overdue"
- 7 days overdue — "Please return your overdue book"
- 14 days overdue — Final reminder
Adjusting the schedule
Settings → Email Templates → Overdue. Toggle individual reminders on/off, or adjust the message.
Stopping reminders
If a patron has paid for a lost book, mark the loan as Lost (instead of Returned). This stops future reminders for that loan.
Patron preferences
Patrons can mute reminders from Portal → Notifications. The library can still see what was due/overdue, but the patron won't be auto-emailed.
Reminders for multiple loans
If a patron has 5 books due tomorrow, they get one email summarizing all 5 — not 5 separate emails.
Stopping when book is returned
The moment a return is processed, all pending reminders for that loan are cancelled.
Custom reminders
Need a custom reminder schedule? Email hello@tryshelfwise.com. We can adjust cadence or add new reminder types as custom requirements.