# How Batches Are Created & Sent (5-Minute Delay)

Mass Email Notifications doesn’t send everything instantly. Instead, it
organizes your recipients into a **batch** and gives you a short review
window before sending begins.

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## The Process

1.  **Trigger**: A feed is run when you submit your control form.
2.  **Batch Created**: The plugin collects all matching recipients and
    prepares the email content.
3.  **5-Minute Delay**: The batch is held in “pending” status for five
    minutes. This is your chance to review, cancel, or leave it to
    continue.
4.  **Cron Processing**: Once the window ends, the batch is handed off
    to WordPress cron. Emails are sent gradually, following your global
    throttling rules.
5.  **Completion**: When the last email is sent, the batch is marked
    complete (or cancelled if you stop it).

With the **Premium plan**, you can also schedule batches for the future.
Scheduled batches remain in “scheduled” status until their time arrives,
then process on each scheduled date just like a regular batch.

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## Why the Delay?

- Prevents accidental blasts by giving you a safety buffer.
- Lets you check the batch preview before any mail goes out.
- Works like a staging step so campaigns only send once you’re
  confident.

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## Managing Batches

From the **batch manager** (in Global Settings), you can:

- **Preview** recipients and message content.
- **Send Now** to skip the remaining delay (still respects throttling).
- **Cancel** a pending or in-progress batch.
- **Mark Complete** if you want to stop processing without sending the
  remainder.

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By default, every batch goes through this cycle. This pattern ensures
reliability, safety, and alignment with your provider’s sending rules.
