The problem
A community building has a run of dates that matter: fire risk assessment review, fire alarm and extinguisher service, emergency lighting test, gas safety check, electrical installation check, portable appliance testing, insurance renewal and the premises license fee. That is about 12 dates a year, and when trustees change at the AGM the person who knew them often goes too.
What the AI does
The primary record stays as it is: every date is entered first in the building's log book or compliance file, with a named trustee responsible and a second trustee who checks it. This use case adds a second line of defense. Put each date in a shared Google Calendar, then build two Zapier automations that start a set time before an event starts, one at 30 days and one at 7 days, and send an email through Gmail to the chair and the building manager. The emails are a prompt to check the log book and book the contractor, not proof that a check was done.
A worked example
A community center in Leominster run by a charity with 8 volunteer trustees and a part-time caretaker has about 12 building safety and insurance dates a year.
Before
About 12 dates a year held in a log book that only the caretaker checks
After
Each date in the log book, checked by a second trustee, plus 24 reminder emails a year
What it's worth
The value here isn't monetary: it is a second line of defense behind the log book, so the monthly value is set at nil. 12 dates with 2 reminders each is 24 emails a year, about 2 tasks a month, well within Zapier's Free plan of 100 tasks a month with two-step automations.
How to set it up
- List every date first in the building's log book or compliance file, with the contractor, a named trustee responsible and a second trustee who checks the list.
- Create a shared Google Calendar with one event per date, titled clearly, for example 'Gas safety check due: caretaker books'.
- In Zapier, build one automation that starts 30 days before an event starts and emails the chair and caretaker through Gmail, and a second at 7 days.
- Test with a dummy event and confirm both emails arrive.
- At each trustees' meeting, compare the calendar with the log book and check a test reminder still arrives.
What goes wrong
- Automations can fail silently: a disconnected Google account stops the emails without warning. Check a test arrives at every trustees' meeting.
- When a contractor gives a new due date, update the log book first and the calendar second.
- Your fire risk assessor, gas engineer, electrician and insurer set the real dates and requirements; reminders don't replace their certificates.
- Hand over the Google and Zapier logins when trustees change, not just the log book.