Message templates

What this does

Templates live under Settings → Communications → Message Templates. Each has a Type (SMS or Email), a Template Name, a Body, an email Subject, and an optional Trigger Event that lets an automation pick it. Templates without a trigger are Manual only: available in the inbox picker, never sent automatically.

Before you start

settings.messaging: Owner, General Manager.

Steps

1. On a new shop, Load Default Templates. You get SMS templates for Estimate Ready, Estimate Approved, Work Order Complete, Invoice Paid, Booking Confirmation, Inspection Complete, Appointment Reminder, Service Reminder, Review Request, Welcome, Declined Services Follow-Up, and Portal Invite, plus email versions of Estimate Ready, Invoice Paid, and Review Request.
2. Edit any of them: Edit Template, change the body, Save Changes. Keep SMS under 160 characters where you can.
3. Create your own with New Template. Give it a trigger if an automation should send it, or leave it Manual only.
4. Mark a template Inactive to hide it without deleting; delete it if it was a mistake.

Variables

Write them in single braces and they're replaced when the message is built: {first_name}, {last_name}, {shop_name}, {shop_phone}, {order_number}, {total}, {invoice_number}, {review_url}. A variable with no value for that customer or job renders blank, so don't build a sentence that falls apart without it.

{review_url} is the Google review link from Settings → Appearance; set it there once and every review template uses it.

Common problems

The variable printed literally. Check the spelling and the braces: {first_name}, one brace each side. Double braces don't work.

An automation sends the wrong template. Two templates share a trigger event. Give one a different trigger or make it Manual only.