In this article you will learn how notification rule configurations and notification rules work together, how to create a configuration and activate it for your studio, and how to add rules that send a template through one or more communication channels when an event occurs.
Contents
- Quick Guide
- Prerequisites
- How configurations and rules work together
- Communication channels and sending mode
- Shipping method
- Create and activate a configuration
- Add a notification rule
- Edit, deactivate or delete a rule
- Share a configuration across studios
- Contract documents from the Sales Tool
- Common pitfalls
Quick Guide
- Open Communication / Notifications / Notification rules.
- Click Create configuration, enter a Description and save.
- Open the configuration and click Add notification rule.
- Select an Event and a Shipping method, then pick a channel under Communication and a Template. Save. The rule is active straight away.
- Back in the configuration list, open the three-dot menu of the configuration and click Activate for current facility.
For the full list of events and the channels each event supports, see the Notification events reference.
Prerequisites
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- Permission: Manage automatic notifications, assigned in Resources / Employees / Roles. The permission distinguishes between viewing, creating, editing and deleting. Activating a configuration and changing its settings need the edit right, deleting a configuration needs the delete right.
- Channels: Email is available for every event that supports it. Letter, Text message and App only appear when the matching module is active for your studio.
- Templates: at least one template exists for the channel you want to use. Templates are managed under Communication / Administration / Templates.
How configurations and rules work together
Automatic notifications use two levels:
- Notification rule configuration: a named set of notification rules. You can have several configurations. Each studio has exactly one active configuration at a time, and that configuration drives all automatic notifications for the studio.
- Notification rule: defines what happens when an event occurs. It combines the Event, the Shipping method, one or more channels with one template each, and a status. A configuration holds at most one rule per event.
What this means in practice:
- A rule only sends if its configuration is the active one for the studio and the rule itself is active. A rule in a configuration that is not active for the studio never sends.
- If you run several studios, you can share one configuration with all of them or give each studio its own configuration.
- Switching the active configuration takes one action in the configuration list (Activate for current facility). The rules of the newly activated configuration take over for that studio.
- In the configuration list, the Active badge marks the configuration that is active for the studio currently selected. The studio badge next to it shows which studios the configuration is shared with.
To send a different template to a specific group of members for the same event, add a notification override to the rule. See Sending message variants with notification overrides.
Communication channels and sending mode
A rule sends through up to four channels:
- Email: email based on an email template.
- Letter: letter based on a letter template.
- Text message: SMS based on a text message template.
- App: message in the Branded App.
Not every event supports every channel. The channel dropdown only lists the channels the selected event supports. See the Notification events reference for the channels per event.
You can add further channels to a rule with add Communication channel, each with its own template. As soon as a rule has more than one channel, Select sending mode decides how they are used:
- Send communication in fallback mode: the member is contacted through the channels in descending order. If the contact details for a channel are missing or invalid, the next channel is used.
- Send communication in parallel: messages are created and sent at once for all channels with valid contact details.
Example: a rule contains App, Email and Text message in this order. In fallback mode the member gets the app message. If that is not possible, the email is sent, and if there is no valid email address either, the text message. In parallel mode the member gets the message on each of the three channels with valid contact details.
If the rule contains the Email channel, you can also activate Do not send email to non-confirmed email addresses.
Shipping method
Every notification rule has a Shipping method that decides whether the message goes out without anyone deciding on it:
- Automatic dispatch without confirmation: the software creates and sends the message as soon as the event occurs. Suitable for frequent, low-risk events such as booking confirmations and reminders.
- Confirmation before dispatch: when an employee carries out the action that triggers the event (for example, entering a cancellation), they decide what happens to the message, for example sending it, printing it or saving it for later. Suitable for sensitive events such as cancellations or contract adjustments.
For some events only one of the two shipping methods can be selected. The shipping method cannot be changed once the rule is saved. The default per event is listed in the Notification events reference.
Create and activate a configuration
- Open Communication / Notifications / Notification rules. The list shows the configurations shared with the studios you have access to.
- Click Create configuration. Enter a Description that makes the purpose clear, for example "Standard rules" or the name of the studio.
- If you run several studios, use Edit sharing settings to choose which studios may use the configuration. Save.
- Add the rules to the configuration (see the next section).
- To make the configuration drive notifications for your studio, open the three-dot menu of the configuration in the list and click Activate for current facility. Confirm with Activate. The configuration previously active for this studio is replaced.
To switch to another configuration later, repeat step 5 on that configuration.
You can rename a configuration or change its sharing at any time with Edit configuration in the three-dot menu. Delete configuration is only possible while the configuration is not active in any studio.
Add a notification rule
- In the configuration list, click the configuration you want to extend.
- Click Add notification rule.
- Select an Event. The dropdown only offers events that are available for your studio and do not have a rule in this configuration yet. Use the Notification events reference to find the right event.
- Select a Shipping method. The dropdown only shows the methods the event allows.
- Under Communication, pick a channel and select a Template next to it. The template dropdown only shows templates for that channel that are shared with the configuration's studios, are not archived and match the placeholders of the event. If no template fits, create one first under Communication / Administration / Templates.
- Optional: add further channels with add Communication channel and choose the sending mode (see Communication channels and sending mode).
- Save. The new rule is active immediately.
Edit, deactivate or delete a rule
Open the configuration and use the three-dot menu of the rule:
- Deactivate notification rule stops the rule from sending without deleting it. Activate notification rule switches it back on.
- Edit notification rule lets you change the channels, templates, sending mode and the email checkbox. The event and the shipping method are fixed. To change either, delete the rule and create it again.
- Delete notification rule removes the rule from the configuration.
Share a configuration across studios
If several studios should use the same rules, share one configuration instead of building copies:
- Open Communication / Notifications / Notification rules.
- Open the three-dot menu of the configuration and click Edit configuration.
- Use Edit sharing settings to select the studios that may use the configuration. Save.
- Switch to each studio in which the configuration should take effect (studio selection at the top of the page) and click Activate for current facility on the configuration.
A configuration can only be activated in studios it is shared with. Changes to a shared configuration apply in every studio where it is active. If studios need different rules for the same event, give each of them its own configuration.
Contract documents from the Sales Tool
Three rules also control how contract documents are sent in the last step of the Sales Tool: New member for the member's contract, New member with legal representative for the legal representative's copy and SEPA mandate for the payer's mandate.
- The button to send a document by email or letter can only be used if the matching rule uses that channel.
- If the New member rule uses Automatic dispatch without confirmation, the contract email has already been sent and the email button is not shown.
Common pitfalls
- Rule is active but nothing is sent. Check that the configuration containing the rule is the active configuration for the studio. A rule in a configuration that is not active for the studio never sends.
- An event is missing from the dropdown. The configuration already has a rule for this event (edit that rule instead), or the event is not available for your studio.
- "Activate for current facility" is missing. The configuration is already active for the selected studio, or your role lacks the edit right of Manage automatic notifications.
- A configuration cannot be deleted. It is still active in at least one studio. Activate another configuration there first.
- A channel is missing. The event does not support the channel, or the module for Letter, Text message or App is not active for your studio.
- A template is missing from the dropdown. It belongs to a different channel, is not shared with the configuration's studios, is archived or does not match the placeholders of the event.
- Wrong shipping method. The shipping method cannot be edited. Delete the rule and create it again with the other shipping method.
- Default rules that start inactive. The rules the software sets up by default for Event reminder, Class reminder, Reminder of contract ending, Automatic membership renewal notification, Self-Service Membership Upgrade, Birthday, Reminder of entry card usage, Automatic returned debit and Successful trial training are inactive. Review the linked template, then activate the rule.
- Changes to a shared configuration apply everywhere. If only one studio should change, create a separate configuration for it first.
Note: This article was created with the help of artificial intelligence and editorially reviewed.