How to Trigger a Workflow on a Class Start Date
Last updated: July 6, 2026
Summary
A common goal is to time an email to when a class actually begins — a welcome message a few days before the first session, or a reminder the day before. This article explains where the real class dates live and how to build a date-based workflow around them in HubSpot.
Where the real dates live
You may notice that registration data seems to reference periods and months rather than exact dates. That period/month comes from how programs are coded. The actual session dates, however, live on the Product record as a begin date (and end date), which the integration syncs from SGA. Because each branch-and-month offering of a program is its own product record, that begin date is effectively the per-session class start date. See Understanding Your Product Library for why the catalog is structured this way.
Build the workflow
Start from your program audience — see How to Build a Program-Based List.
Create a Workflow and set a date-based enrollment/trigger tied to the session begin date property.
Use HubSpot's "execute actions relative to a date" option to schedule the send — for example, 3 days before the begin date.
Add the email action and turn the workflow on.
📸 Screenshot: HubSpot workflow set to "execute actions on a date property" with a "3 days before" offset on the class begin date.
Precision: dates today, time-of-day later
Date-level timing works today. Begin dates are reliable and fully support "X days before the class starts" sends.
Time-of-day is a known enhancement. The class time currently arrives as free-form text, which isn't directly usable for hour-level scheduling. If you need precise time-of-day sends, contact SyncSmart — converting the time data into a true time value is a planned enhancement, and we'll advise on where it stands.
Setup note (for partners): Whether a send can enroll directly off the associated product's begin date, or whether that date needs to be surfaced onto the enrolling record, depends on your HubSpot configuration. If a date-based enrollment can't "see" the product's begin date, your implementation partner can surface it onto the deal or contact. Reach out and we'll help scope it.