How to Use Jira Automation to Manage License and Certificate Renewals

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 Hello Atlassian Community!

Recently, one of our Jira users demonstrated how they used Jira automation to solve a recurring operational challenge.

They started using automation rules to schedule yearly tasks like:

• Software license renewals

• SSL certificate renewals

• Vendor contract renewals

• Domain expirations

• Compliance reviews

It’s one of those features that quietly adds massive value.

If your team still relies on Outlook reminders, personal calendars, or Excel sheets, this approach can significantly reduce risk and improve team visibility.

Why Use Jira for Renewals?

Renewals are:

• Predictable

• Time-based

• Business-critical

• Often forgotten until it’s too late

Missed renewals can result in:

• Service outages

• Security risks

• Audit findings

• Financial penalties

With Jira Cloud, you can automate the entire process.

Option 1: Automatically Create a Yearly Renewal Task

Using Jira Automation, you can schedule an issue to be created every year.

Step 1: Create a Scheduled Trigger

• Go to Project Settings -> Automation

• Choose Scheduled trigger

• Set frequency: Once per year

• Select the specific date (for example, 1st January)

Step 2: Add “Create Issue” Action

Example configuration:

• Project: IT Operations

• Issue Type: Task

• Summary: “SSL Certificate Renewal – Production”

• Due Date: {{now.plusDays(30)}}

• Assignee: Responsible owner

That’s it.

Every year, Jira automatically creates the renewal task. No manual tracking required.

Option 2: Build a Central “Renewals Tracker” Project

For better governance, create a dedicated project such as:

Renewals & Compliance Tracker

Create one issue per asset:

• Microsoft License

• Production SSL Certificate

• AWS Subscription

Add useful fields:

• Renewal Date

• Vendor

• Cost

• Owner

• Lead Time (for example, 30 days before expiry)

Then configure automation.

Monthly Scheduled Rule

JQL example:

project = "Renewals" AND "Renewal Date" <= startOfMonth(+1) AND status != Done

Actions:

• Send email reminder

• Create sub-task

• Notify Slack/Teams channel

• Transition status to “Due Soon”

Now you have proactive alerts instead of last-minute escalations.

Why This Is Better Than Calendar Reminders

Calendar Reminder:

• Personal reminder

• No tracking

• Easy to ignore

• No reporting

• No escalation

Jira Automation:

• Team visibility

• Full audit trail

• Workflow-based accountability

• Dashboards and filters

• Automated reminders and escalation

Impact Team Observed

After enabling this approach:

• No more last-minute renewal panic

• Clear ownership of responsibilities

• Better visibility for management

• Improved compliance readiness

• Reduced operational risk

Sometimes the most valuable features are the simplest ones.

If you are already using Jira, you don't need any additional tools to manage renewals effectively.

Start small. Pick three critical renewals and automate them.
You may be surprised how much operational stress this removes. 🙂