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Scheduling and overdue rules

Better Comply calculates a due date for every assignment and applies a configurable grace period before marking it overdue. You set both values on the training itself, and they apply automatically to every assignment created for that training.

Who this is for

Administrators (Quality Admin, HR Admin, Corporate Admin). This page covers the scheduling settings that appear in the training's Settings tab during authoring.

Where to configure scheduling​

Scheduling settings live on the training, not on individual campaigns or assignment rules.

  1. Open a training in the authoring flow (create a new version or edit an existing draft).
  2. Go to the Settings step (the penultimate step before Review & submit).
  3. Adjust the scheduling fields:
    • Initial due offset - how many days after assignment the training is due.
    • Overdue grace period - how many weeks after the due date the learner still has before the assignment turns overdue.
  4. Save and submit the version for review as normal.
Screenshot pendingSettings step in the training authoring flow, showing the Initial due offset field (days) and the Overdue grace period field (weeks)

Initial due offset​

The initial due offset is the number of days from the date of assignment to the due date.

  • Default: 30 days.
  • Minimum: 1 day. Maximum: 3650 days (10 years).
  • When an assignment rule specifies its own "Days to complete" value, that rule value takes precedence for assignments created by that rule. Assignments from campaigns use the campaign's own due date instead.

Example: a training with an initial due offset of 14 days, assigned on 1 June, has a due date of 15 June.

Overdue grace period​

The grace period is the number of additional weeks after the due date during which the learner can complete the training before it appears as overdue.

  • Default: 0 weeks (no grace - overdue exactly at the due date boundary).
  • Maximum: 52 weeks (1 year).
  • The UI shows grace in weeks; Better Comply stores it internally as days (1 week = 7 days).

Example: a training with a 14-day due offset and a 1-week (7-day) grace period, assigned on 1 June:

  • Due date: 15 June
  • Turns overdue: 22 June (if not completed)

The overdue rule​

An assignment is overdue when:

now > due_date + grace_days

The boundary is exclusive: an assignment that reaches exactly the threshold at the current instant is not yet overdue. The assignment transitions to overdue the next moment after the threshold is crossed.

A completed assignment is never overdue, even if it was finished after the threshold.

One source of truth

This exact formula is used everywhere in Better Comply:

If you change the grace period on a training, the change affects all future evaluations of overdue status for that training's assignments. Past completed assignments are unaffected.

How due dates are set for each assignment type​

Assignment typeDue date source
CampaignThe due date you set on the campaign at creation.
Assignment ruleassigned_at + rule.days_to_complete (falls back to the training's initial due offset if the rule value is not set).
Recertificationassigned_at + training.initial_due_offset_days (always uses the training setting, not a rule).

Assignment statuses​

StatusMeaning
not_startedAssigned; the learner has not opened the training.
in_progressThe learner has started but not finished.
completedThe learner finished the training (and signed if required).
expiredThe assignment passed its due date without completion (used in some report views).
failedThe learner failed the quiz and has no remaining attempts (where applicable).