The Send SMS screen lets you compose and send text messages to customers from within a job or booking. It provides a consistent layout wherever you open it from, with a template selection panel on the left and a live message preview on the right.
Any staff member with access to jobs or bookings can send SMS messages, provided your workshop has SMS credits available.
📋 Recipients
The Recipients field is prepopulated with the customer's mobile number from the record you opened the screen from.
📝 Note: If the customer does not have a mobile number saved on their record, the Recipients field will be empty and the SMS cannot be sent. Add the mobile number to the customer record first, then return to send the message.
🗂️ Category
The Category dropdown filters the templates shown in the selection panel below it. In many cases this will be pre-selected based on the screen you opened the Send SMS screen from, for example Job when sending from a job. You can change the category if needed.
💬 Selecting a Template
The template panel displays the available SMS templates for the selected category. Each card shows a preview of the template content, including any merge fields already included.
Select a template card to load it into the preview panel on the right.
Select the Blank template to write your message from scratch without a starting template.
✏️ Editing Your Message
Once you have selected a template or Blank, the right-hand panel shows an SMS preview. Select Click to edit at the top of the preview panel to open the message for editing.
You can type freely, edit the existing content, or insert merge fields anywhere in the message.
🔀 Using Merge Fields
Merge fields are placeholders that start with an @ symbol, for example @Make or @CustomerFirstName. When the SMS is sent, each placeholder is automatically replaced with the actual value from the relevant job, vehicle, or customer record.
To insert a merge field, position your cursor where you want it in the message. A dropdown of available merge fields will appear. Select the one you want and it will be inserted at the cursor position.
Merge fields can be inserted whether you started from a template or a blank message.
💡 Tip: If a merge field has no value to populate, for example the vehicle has no make recorded, that field will be blank in the sent message. Check that the relevant details are filled in on the customer and vehicle record before sending.
📖 For the full list of available merge fields, see the How to Edit or Create a Communications Template article.
📤 Sending the Message
When your message is ready, select Send. The sent message is recorded in the customer's Communication History.
📝 Note: Each SMS uses credits from your SMS balance. Messages over 160 characters may use more than one credit. To check your remaining credits, visit Addons from the left navigation menu.