Hey r/Notion ????

I'm building an employee attendance system entirely in Notion and wanted to share a challenge I ran into with database automations — and how I solved it using database button properties.

???? The Goal

Send an automatic reminder every weekday at 7:00 PM to employees who checked in but forgot to check out. My database has:

• Action (Check-in) — select property (Check-in / Pending)
• Action (Check-out) — select property (Check-out)
• Date — date property
• Remind to Check-out — button property

❌ The Problem

Notion doesn't let you mix Event-type triggers (like "Every weekday at 7 PM") with Property-type filters in the same automation. So you can't simply do:

These are different trigger types and Notion won't allow them together in one automation.

✅ The Solution: Database Button + Filtered View

Instead of trying to force everything into a single automation, I used a database button property approach:

Step 1: Create a Remind to Check-out button property

Configure the button with these actions:

• Send notification to → Page creator with message: "You haven't checked out today. Please remember to check out before leaving."

Step 2: Use a filtered view ("Office-Out")

Create a database view filtered to show only:

• Action (Check-in) = "Check-in"
• Action (Check-out) is empty
• Date = Today

This view only displays employees who are still checked in and haven't checked out yet.

Step 3: Daily workflow at 7:00 PM

Every weekday evening, the admin opens the Office-Out view and clicks the Remind to Check-out button for each employee still listed. Each employee gets a personal Notion notification reminding them to check out.

Optional enhancement: Set up a simple "Every weekday at 7 PM" automation that sends a notification to the admin saying "Time to send check-out reminders — open the Office-Out view." This way the admin never forgets.

???? Why This Works

???? Key Takeaways

• Notion database button properties can include a "Send notification to" action — this is powerful for per-row notifications.
• When you hit the trigger type conflict limitation (can't combine schedule triggers with property filters), consider using buttons + filtered views as a workaround.
• The "Office-Out" filtered view acts as your filter logic — you only see the rows that need reminders.
• We're on the Business Plan, so no limits on automations or button actions.

???? Open Question

Is there a way to auto-click a database button on a schedule in Notion? That would make this 100% automated. If anyone knows a way, I'd love to hear it!

Has anyone else built attendance systems in Notion? Would love to exchange ideas.