What Are Alerts?
Alerts allow you to set custom thresholds for important financial metrics and line items — and automatically get notified when something crosses the limit you defined.
Instead of manually checking reports each month, RunSmart continuously monitors your performance and sends an email when:
A line item goes over or under budget
A margin increases or decreases beyond your set percentage
Burn rate changes
Runway drops to a specific number of months
Or any other configured threshold is crossed
Alerts help you catch issues early and stay ahead of financial changes.
Who Can Use Alerts?
Alerts are available on Premium and Pro plans only.
To create alerts:
You must have an active budget set and in place
You must be an Account Owner, Admin, or Team Member on the project
Reviewers can view alerts but cannot create or edit them.
Where to Find Alerts
Go to:
Progress Tracker → Alerts
You’ll see a table listing all alerts configured for the project.
How to Create an Alert
Click Create Alert and complete the fields below.
1. Alert Name
Give your alert a clear name so you know exactly what it’s monitoring.
Examples:
Marketing Overspend
Margin Watch
Runway Risk
Revenue Drop Alert
2. Choose What You Want to Monitor (Metric Type)
You can monitor either:
A) A Financial Statement Line Item
First choose the statement:
Profit & Loss (P&L)
Balance Sheet (BS)
Cash Flow (CF)
Then choose the specific line item (these are listed alphabetically).
Example:
Marketing (P&L)
Gross Profit (P&L)
Cash (BS)
B) A Metric or KPI
Choose from the Metrics/KPIs list (shown alphabetically), including:
Net Profit Margin
Burn Rate
Runway
And other tracked performance metrics
Special Case: Runway
If you select Runway, the alert will be measured in months, not dollars or percentages.
For example:
"Alert me if runway decreases to 5 months."
When Runway is selected:
The threshold is entered in months
Over Budget and Under Budget options are not available
3. Choose the Basis
This defines how the threshold is measured:
Percentage (%)
Currency ($) — automatically shows the currency set in the QuickBooks account for the business
Month (only for Runway)
Amount
Custom Input
4. Enter the Threshold Amount
Examples:
10 (for 10%)
5,000 (for $5,000)
5 (for 5 months of runway)
5. Choose the Direction
This determines when the alert should trigger.
Options:
Increase
Decrease
Over Budget
Under Budget
Note:
Over Budget and Under Budget do not appear when Runway is selected.
6. Assign
Users listed under Assign:
Are responsible for the alert
Receive email notifications when it triggers
You can assign multiple people to an alert.
Eligible users must be:
A project team member
An Admin
An Account Owner
7. Notify
Users listed under Notify:
Receive an email when the alert triggers
Are not responsible for managing the alert
This is useful when you want someone informed, but not accountable for managing the alert.
You can add multiple users here.
Eligible users must be:
A project team member
An Admin
An Account Owner
Only users associated with the project or account will appear in the selection list.
What Happens When an Alert Triggers?
When performance crosses your defined threshold:
Assigned and notified users receive an email
The alert remains active
RunSmart continues monitoring future months
Alerts are evaluated monthly as new financial data updates.
What the Email Looks Like
Email Body Example
Hi {{User Name}},
Your Marketing line item for Acme Inc is over budget in Dec 2025 and crossed your alert threshold of $5,000.
Here are the alert details:
Date Triggered: Dec 2025
Direction: Over Budget
Budgeted: $20,000
Actual: $27,000
Variance: +$7,000 (+35%)
Created By: Daniel Seium
RunSmart will continue monitoring all configured alerts and notify you if additional triggers occur.
[View in RunSmart button]
You are receiving this email because you set up or are linked to an alert in Projection Genie RunSmart. To update or delete alerts, log in and navigate to Progress Tracker → Alerts.Important Notes
Alerts require an active budget.
Alerts are project-specific.
Reviewers cannot create or edit alerts.
Runway alerts are measured in months.
Currency reflects your connected QuickBooks account.
Multiple users can be assigned and/or notified.
Alerts continue monitoring after the first trigger.
Why Use Alerts?
Financial issues rarely announce themselves clearly. Margins shrink gradually. Expenses creep upward. Runway shortens quietly.
Alerts make sure you don’t miss those shifts.
They allow you to:
Catch overspending early
Monitor profitability changes
Track burn rate and runway risk
Share accountability across your team
Reduce the need to constantly check dashboards and reports