System SMS

 

There are a couple of System SMS settings that affect all locations in your app. These settings can be found by navigating to Left-hand Navigation: Admin » System SMS.

 

SMS Number 

When a customer receives an SMS (text) from your facility, it will come from a specific phone number. Prior to July 14, 2021, these texts would come from the automated short-code number 629-90. Starting on July 14, 2021, facilities are able to choose a toll-free custom SMS number for each location in their app.

To select your custom toll-free number, navigate to Left-hand Navigation: Admin » System SMS. Under the section "SMS Number", use the number search tool to find toll-free numbers that are available. Click the number you would like, then click "Confirm" to confirm this selection.

Once you select a number, the phone number will be automatically configured in your app so you can immediately send and receive SMS in your app to this number. Once selected, the number will display on the System SMS page so that you can easily see your new phone number.

 

 

 

The system-wide SMS settings include: 

 

Setting	Description	Helpful Hint
Global sms on	The master switch for sending SMS from your app. No SMS will send if this setting is not enabled.	To prevent SMS from leaving your app before configuration is complete, keep this setting disabled until you've customized all SMS templates.
Send employee schedule publish sms	If enabled, employee users will receive an SMS when an employee schedule is published.	This setting requires that your app utilize Employee Scheduling. Visit this article to learn more.

 

 

SMS Templates 

There are several SMS templates that can be sent from Gingr either automatically or at-will by a user with the appropriate group permissions. These templates can be customized by navigating to Left-hand Navigation: Admin » System SMS. 

 

 

Templates that send automatically can be enabled or disabled by changing the template's Status setting. If an automated template is disabled, the template will not be triggered to send to customers. Templates that are sent at-will by a user do not have a Status setting, and require a user to manually send the template to a customer. 

Below you will find a field guide which contains all of the System SMS templates, their behavior, and which variables are allowed to be used on the template.

Template	Behavior	Allowed Variables
New Reservation SMS	Triggered automatically by creating a new reservation or accepting a reservation request.	{animal_name} {start_date} {action_url}
New Appointment SMS	Triggered automatically by creating a new appointment.	{start_date}
Check Out SMS	Triggered automatically by checking out a reservation.	{animal_name} {start_date} {action_url}
Reservation Reminder SMS	Triggered automatically at a set number of minutes before a reservation's start time. This is configured for each reservation type from Admin » Reservation Types and Services Configuration. See more information on setting this up below.	{animal_name} {reservation_type} {start_date} {cancel_url}
Group Class Enrollment SMS	Triggered automatically when a pet is enrolled in a group class.	{animal_name} {class_name} {first_class_start}
Check In SMS	Triggered automatically when the pet is checked in.	{animal_name} {reservation_type} {start_date}
Confirmation Request SMS	Sent at will from the Unconfirmed section of the dashboard to request confirmation from an unconfirmed reservation.	{animal_name} {start_date} {action_url}
Ready for Pick Up SMS	Sent at will by clicking the Ready For Pickup SMS button on the dashboard.	{animal_name}
Report Card SMS	Sent at will from the Report Cards page.	{animal_name} {report_card_title} {action_url}
New Wait List SMS	Triggered automatically when a reservation is added to the waitlist.	{animal_name}{start_date}
Unread Notifications SMS	Triggered automatically if an employee user has unread notifications.	{subject}, {action_url}
Password Reset SMS	Sent at will when a customer or employee clicks the Forgot Your Password link on the login page.	{action_url}

 

 

Customizing System SMS Templates

System SMS templates can be managed by Admin users to customize the verbiage to your facility. To edit a System SMS template, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Left-hand Navigation: Admin » System SMS.
2. Click the Edit icon to edit the template. 
   
   
3. Customize the template.
   
   Status: This setting determines if the automated SMS will send automatically.
   Body: Enter up to 140 characters of text, optionally including placeholder variables that will substitute animal, owner, or reservation specific information. 
   
   
4. Save your changes. 

 

SMS Template Variables

The following placeholder variables can be used in System SMS templates. On the Edit view of each template, you will find a list of each variable that can be used on that specific SMS template.

Variable	Translates As	Helpful Hint
{animal_name}	The animal's name.
{start_date}	The start date and start time of the reservation.	If the start date of the appointment is 12:00AM for a slot-based appointment, the start time will not display in this variable.
{reservation_type}	The name of the reservation type.
{action_url}	A link to perform a specific action, this action can be different per SMS Template. New Reservation SMS: a link for the customer to view their reservation details. Report Card SMS: a link for the customer to view their animal's report card. Checkout SMS: a link for customer to view reservation's receipt and report cards. Confirmation Request SMS: a link for the customer to confirm their reservation. Password Reset SMS: a link for the customer or employee to update their password. Unread Notifications SMS: a link for employee to login to Gingr.
{cancel_url}	A link that the customer can use to cancel their reservation.
{subject}	The subject of the unread notification that the employee user being emailed about.
{class_name}	The name of the group class.
{first_class_start}	The first class date and start time of the group class.
{report_card_title}	Displays the custom name of Report Cards in your app.	This is configured in Admin » Report Card Settings » Display report cards as

 

Setting up Reminder SMS

Reminder SMS allows you to remind your customers about an upcoming booking automatically by triggering an SMS message about the booking a certain number of minutes before their reservation is expected to start. 

Once you have you Reminder SMS template set up and enabled, you will want to update the settings under the Reservation Types that you would like Gingr to send this for and tell Gingr when you want these messages to send. 

Helpful Hint!: You can enable both a Reminder SMS and a Reminder Email for each reservation type if you wish! This allows you to send reminders with two different delivery methods, and at two different times if you would like. 

 

1. Navigate to Admin » Reservation Types and Services Configuration.
   
   
2. Select the applicable Booking Category
   
3. Select the Reservation Type that you would like to enable Reminder SMS for
   
   
4. Click 'Edit Settings' 
   
   
5. Select the 'Communication Options' Settings
   
   
6. Enter a number in minutes (greater than 120) prior to the start of the booking where the pet parent should receive an SMS reminder in the "SMS Reminder Minutes Before Start" field. 
   
   
7. Save!

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