Templates & Automations
DetailByte's messaging is built from two pieces:
- Templates: the wording of each email and SMS.
- Automations: the rules that decide when a template is sent.
Both are found under Settings → Notifications & Automations.
Templates
A template controls one message and can carry both an email and an SMS version, each of which can be turned on or off. Each template has:
- A name and a slug (its internal identifier).
- An email subject and email body.
- An SMS body.
- An optional drop-off version (see below).
Templates come pre-written with a polished default set: confirmation, reminders, thank-you, review request, follow-up, next-service, cancellation, and the portal/loyalty messages. Edit any of them to match your voice; a live preview shows your changes as you type.
Variables
You can drop variables into any subject or body: placeholders that are replaced with real details when the message is sent. In the editor they are grouped by where they work:
- Booking: customer, vehicle, service, date/time, price, address, ETA, gallery link, and more.
- Loyalty: points, rewards and expiry (these only work in loyalty messages).
- Brand: company name, phone, slogan (these work everywhere).
Important. A variable only fills in where its data exists. The editor greys out and warns about variables that won't work in the template you are editing: for example, loyalty variables placed in a booking email. If you use a variable in the wrong place it will show as literal text (e.g.
{points_balance}) to the customer, so stick to the group that matches the template.
Mobile vs drop-off versions
Some messages should read differently depending on whether the job is mobile (you travel to them) or drop-off (they come to you). Turn on Separate drop-off version for a template and you can edit a Mobile and a Drop-off variant side by side. DetailByte automatically sends the right one for each booking. Leave it off to send the same wording to everyone.
The drop-off address is always delivered by email only (never SMS), through the {location_block} / {location_row} variables.
Automations
An automation links a trigger (something that happens) to a template, and a timing (when to send relative to that event).
Triggers
| Trigger | Fires when… |
|---|---|
| Public booking request received | A customer submits the public booking form. |
| Booking confirmed | You confirm a booking. |
| Booking updated | A confirmed booking's details change. |
| Booking cancelled | A booking is cancelled. |
| Job started | You start a job. |
| Booking completed | You finish a job. |
Timing
Timing is relative to the trigger. For time-based reminders tied to the booking, you can schedule a message before the appointment (for example the default 24-hour and 2-hour reminders) or after completion, such as a review request a day later or a follow-up a week later.
Default automations
DetailByte ships with a sensible set already switched on, including:
- Booking request received
- Booking confirmation
- Booking update
- 24-hour and 2-hour reminders
- Booking cancelled
- Review request (after completion)
- Follow-up (after completion)
- Next-service reminder (after completion)
You can edit, disable or add automations to suit how you like to communicate.
How messages actually get sent
Automated emails and SMS are queued and sent by a scheduled background task, with automatic retries if a provider hiccups. That task runs continuously on your instance and is one of the things we look after for you, so messaging keeps working in the background without any setup on your part.
Every send is recorded, so you can always check what went out and when. See Communications & Broadcasts.