Rules & Alerts is an intelligent notification system that enables nonprofits to advance how care is delivered in Apricot. By configuring custom business logic, Administrators can automatically generate alerts when key events occur—helping caseworkers focus on the most critical tasks and use data to prevent participant disengagement.
With Rules & Alerts, Administrators can create multiple rules with one or more conditions for one or more audiences. Conditions (or triggers) are based on record actions and/or specific field values—similar to Form Logic. Common use cases include:
A new enrollment is created
A high SAT score is received
A case note contains the phrase “self-harm”
A service plan is marked ready for supervisor sign-off
Managing Rules & Alerts is a core responsibility for Apricot Administrators. These alerts allow staff to act on important moments—like a new enrollment or an escalation—without constantly checking reports. Administrators define the scope of each rule to determine who receives alerts. Scopes can be broad (e.g., all users with access) or highly targeted (e.g., specific programs, sites, roles, or named users).
When a rule is no longer needed, it can be deactivated in Manage Rules. Deactivation removes alerting behavior while preserving the configuration for future use. Beyond simple triggers, Administrators can also design complex logic using supported field conditions and time-based operators to align with organizational workflows.
Note: Rules & Alerts are available to Apricot Pro (formerly Apricot Core) customers. However, time-based alerts are available only to Apricot Enterprise (formerly Apricot 360) customers.
Configuring Rules & Alerts
To configure Rules & Alerts:
Navigate to the Administrator tab.
Open Workflow Station.
Select Rules & Alerts.
Create a new rule or manage existing ones.
The rule builder walks you through:
Rule Details – Name, description, and associated form.
Trigger – When and under what conditions the alert should fire.
Action – Notification type, audience, and message content.
Depending on configuration, notifications will display in-product and/or be delivered via email to the assigned audience.
Time-Based Alerts (Apricot Enterprise Only)
Administrators using Apricot Enterprise can take advantage of time-based alerts, which enable notifications to be triggered by time-sensitive events rather than immediate record actions. Apricot supports three types of time-based alerts:
Day Of – e.g., birthday today
Upcoming – e.g., 3 days before a service is due
Time Passed – e.g., follow-up needed 7 days after intake
In addition, Enterprise Administrators can apply multi-form logic, allowing conditions that evaluate fields across connected forms. This supports complex scenarios such as: “If a referral is still pending five days after submission.”
Rules & Alerts represents the first step toward a smarter Apricot—one that helps caseworkers spend more time creating impact and less time managing administrative details.
Review the articles below to learn what options are available for managing Rules & Alerts.
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