# Alert the AP manager when invoices sit in the Coding Queue too long

An hourly check that emails the AP manager when any invoice has waited in the Coding Queue longer than two days — a Coding-Queue Age trigger and a Send E-mail action — so uncoded documents can't quietly pile up.

Product: content-central · Versions: 7.8+ · Audience: catalog-administrator · Time: 15 minutes · Last verified: 2026-09-05

Canonical: https://help.ademero.com/content-central/workflow/alert-when-invoices-sit-in-the-coding-queue

**When you're done, an invoice that has waited in the Coding Queue for more than two days sends the AP manager an email, once a day per invoice, until someone codes it.**

```plan
scope: document-type
trigger: Coding-Queue Age › Age of Document-Type Content in the Coding Queue | Age: 2 Days · Process Interval: Every Hour · Reprocess Matching Records After: 1 Days
action: Send E-mail | Message Template: "Invoice waiting to be coded" (Email, Workflow Access)
rule: "Coding Queue item older than 2 days → email AP manager", enabled
```

The Coding Queue is where captured documents wait for a person to fill in their fields. Nothing downstream — approval, routing, notifications — happens until they're committed, which is exactly why a stalled queue is invisible until someone looks.

## Build the trigger

1. Go to **Administration** > **Catalogs & Document Types**, pick the **Catalog** and the invoice **Document Type**, click the **Workflow** tile, then **Triggers** > **New Trigger**.

2. **Type:** `Coding-Queue Age` and `Age of Document-Type Content in the Coding Queue`. **Trigger Name:** `Invoice in Coding Queue over 2 days`.

3. Set the age to `2` `Days`. (The age controls on queue-age triggers follow the same pattern as the other age types: a number, a unit, and the schedule below.)

4. **Process Interval:** `Every Hour`. **Process Start:** `On First Interval`. **Reprocess Matching Records After:** `1` `Days`.

5. Click **Save**.

> **NOTE:** This sub-type sees Coding Queue items that are already assigned to this document type. Items that arrived with no type yet aren't covered; for those, build the same trigger at the global scope under **Administration** > **Workflow** with sub-type **Age of All Content in the Coding Queue**.

## Build the action

1. Click **Actions** > **New Action**. **Type:** `Send E-mail`. **Action Name:** `Email AP manager — item waiting to be coded`.

2. Pick the template under **Message Template:** (its **To** is the AP manager; its body names the document with insert codes). **Content Attachment:** `Do Not Attach`. **Save**.

## Wire the rule

1. Click **Rules** > **New Rule**. **Rule Name:** `Coding Queue item older than 2 days → email AP manager`.

2. **Add Trigger:** `Invoice in Coding Queue over 2 days`. **Add Action:** `Email AP manager — item waiting to be coded`. **Apply**.

## Test it

1. Capture one invoice and leave it uncoded in the Coding Queue. To test without waiting two days, temporarily set the age to `5` `Minutes` and **Process Interval** to `Every 5 Minutes`, then restore.

2. After the interval, check the AP manager's inbox.

**What you should see:** one email naming the waiting document. It should not repeat within the reprocess window. Once the item is coded and committed, it stops matching.

## Variations

| Want this instead | Change this |
| --- | --- |
| Alert when the queue holds *more than N* items regardless of age | Trigger **Queue Items** › **Coding-Queue Items in this Document Type**, **Minimum Items in the Coding Queue:** |
| Same alarm for the Approval or Work queues | Trigger types **Approval Processes** › **Age of Stage** ([recipe](/content-central/workflow/escalate-an-approval-that-has-waited-too-long)) or **Work-Queue Age** › **Age of Document-Type Content in the Work Queue** |
| Alert when documents stop arriving at all | [Alert when the scanner or hot folder goes quiet](/content-central/workflow/alert-when-the-scanner-or-hot-folder-goes-quiet) |
| Whole system, not one type | Global scope: **Administration** > **Workflow**, sub-type **Age of All Content in the Coding Queue** |
| Fill in fields automatically instead of waiting for a person | **Coding Queue - Perform Field Lookup** and **Coding Queue - Update Field** actions on a **Coding-Queue Arrival** trigger |

## What's next

- [Alert when the scanner or hot folder goes quiet](https://help.ademero.com/content-central/workflow/alert-when-the-scanner-or-hot-folder-goes-quiet)
- [Hot-folder documents aren't processing](https://help.ademero.com/content-central/capture/hot-folder-documents-arent-processing)
- [Manage work queues](https://help.ademero.com/content-central/workflow/manage-work-queues)