A reminder notification not sending almost always comes down to one of these: the item's status (Completed, Expired, Inactive, or Archived items don't send), a sequence step whose send time is already in the past, no recipient selected for that channel, a contact flagged as blacklisted, or an SMS/WhatsApp setup issue. Work through the checks below in order. To confirm whether a step actually sent, open the item's reminder queue — a double tick under "reminders sent" means it went out successfully.

Step 1 — Check the item's status

Completed, Expired, Inactive, and Archived items do not send notifications:

  • Expired — the date passed and it wasn't marked complete. Expired items stop sending. To resume reminding, duplicate the item with a new future expiry date.
  • Completed — the item was renewed, so the sequence stops.
  • Inactive — someone switched it off so the remaining sequence won't send.
  • Archived — set aside and excluded from tracking; it won't send.

If the item should be sending, confirm it's Upcoming or In Process and Active. See How reminder statuses work.

Step 2 — Check the sequence step timing

Open the reminder's sequence and look for the warning: "Reminder may not be sent because the reminder date/time is in the past."

This means that step's computed send time has already passed, so it won't fire. It's expected behavior, not a bug — common when the expiry date is near, or when a "days before" value is large relative to how soon the item expires. Only steps with a send time still in the future will send. See Why a step won't send and How notifications & sequences fit together.

Step 3 — Check recipients for that channel

Recipients are selected per channel (email / SMS / WhatsApp) using the checkboxes in the sequence's recipient panel. A contact added for email won't receive SMS unless they're also selected for SMS — and have a mobile number on file.

Remember that Default Recipients are only a one-click suggestion, not an automatic assignment — a new reminder has no recipients until you add them. Confirm:

  • The intended recipient is actually attached to this reminder.
  • They're selected for the specific channel you expected.
  • For SMS/WhatsApp, the contact has a valid mobile number with the correct country code.
  • For email, the contact has a valid email address.

Step 4 — Check whether the contact is blacklisted

If a contact's email address is on a blacklist, Remindax flags it with a clearly visible warning and won't send reminders to that contact. If you believe the address is legitimate, contact support to have it whitelisted, after which the contact will start receiving reminders again. See Contact shows a "verify email" / blacklist warning.

Step 5 — Channel-specific checks

Email

SMS

  • SMS is delivered through Twilio, and credits are calculated by destination country. You can estimate costs with the message credit calculator.
  • Check your remaining SMS balance under the My Subscription tab. Unused credits roll over to the next month.
  • If you're out of credits for that destination, the SMS won't send — top up and the next scheduled step will go out.
  • Confirm the contact's mobile number includes the correct country code.
  • Leaving the SMS template blank is not a cause of a non-send — a default text is sent in that case.

WhatsApp

  • WhatsApp uses standard approved message templates, and that approved template is what's sent in a WhatsApp reminder. Confirm WhatsApp is enabled and the contact's number is WhatsApp-capable.

Step 6 — Check the time zone

Send times are set at the reminder-sequence level (e.g. GMT +05:00). If a notification arrived at an unexpected hour — or not yet — confirm the sequence's time zone and the step's send time (1000 HRS = 10:00 AM in that zone). The notification sends at that time in the sequence's zone, which may differ from the recipient's local time.

What happens next

  • Once the item is Active and Upcoming/In Process, with a future-dated step and a correctly selected (non-blacklisted) recipient for the channel, the next scheduled step will send at its set time.
  • Confirm delivery in the item's reminder queue: a double tick under "reminders sent" indicates a successful send.

Edge cases & gotchas

  • All steps in the past: if every step's send time has passed (common on items imported close to or after their expiry), nothing will send. Duplicate with a new expiry date to set up a fresh forward-looking sequence.
  • Right channel, wrong recipient selection: the most common cause is a recipient attached to the item but not ticked for that specific channel.
  • Blacklisted contact: a clearly flagged contact won't receive anything until whitelisted via support.
  • Out of SMS credits for a country: Twilio pricing is per-country, so you can have credits but still fail to send to an expensive destination — check the balance in My Subscription.
  • Wrong company: if you can't even find the reminder, confirm you're in the correct company/workspace.

Related questions

  • Why did the email send but not the SMS? Most often the recipient isn't selected for the SMS channel, has no mobile number, or you're out of SMS credits for that country.
  • Why didn't any notification go out? Check status first (Expired/Completed/Inactive/Archived don't send), then step timing (past-dated steps don't fire), then whether the contact is blacklisted.
  • How do I confirm a reminder was actually sent? Open the item's reminder queue — a double tick under "reminders sent" means success.
  • Where do I see my SMS balance? Under the My Subscription tab; unused credits roll over monthly.
  • It sent at the wrong time — why? Send time follows the sequence's time zone, not the recipient's.
  • What does the "may not be sent" warning mean? That step's send time is already in the past; it won't fire. Expected.

Related articles

How notifications & sequences fit together · How statuses work · Reminder emails going to spam · Contact blacklist warning · Error message reference