Automated messages tell your customers what's happening at each step of the service. You decide which event sends the message, through which channel and with what text. Your customer knows when the order arrives without having to call.
Where to set them up
Go to Project settings → Communication → Automated messages. You'll see the project's messages with their event, status (for example, Enabled) and channel. Your balance for SMS and WhatsApp shows at the top.
Create a message step by step
Click New message at the top right. The New automated message window opens.
Under What should trigger this message?, open the dropdown and pick the event.
Under How should this message be sent?, pick Email or SMS. The WhatsApp card is greyed out: Routal turns it on (see below).
Click Create. The message editor opens, with the event at the top and the Enabled label.
Fill in Sender, To and the content (see Edit the message).
Before using it with customers, open the ⋯ menu at the top right and choose Send test.
Go back to the list with the ← arrow next to the event name.
Manage your messages
Edit: in the list, click ⋯ at the end of the row and choose Edit.
Change the event: inside the editor, use the dropdown with the event name.
Turn off without deleting: inside the editor, ⋯ → Disable.
Delete: ⋯ → Delete, from the list or the editor.
Available events
Pickups and deliveries have their own events, so you can message the sender and the recipient differently.
Moment | Pickup | Delivery |
Stop is created | Pickup created | Delivery created |
Driver is close | Driver is close to the pickup | Driver is close to the delivery |
Completed | Pickup completed | Delivery completed |
Canceled | Pickup canceled | Delivery canceled |
Two more events: Route started, when the driver starts the route, and Customer must confirm their location, which sends a link so the customer can confirm their address.
Edit the message
At the top of the editor, for both channels:
Sender: the name your customer sees. Routal by default.
To: Default recipient (the stop's contact) by default. In the dropdown you can pick a custom field of the stop where you keep another email or phone.
Subject: the email's title.
Body: built with blocks. Hover over a block to move it up, down or remove it. + Add block adds a Title, Text or Button.
Message settings (left panel): Card and Page color, Width (S, M, L), Margins (S, M, L) and Corners (square or rounded).
Attach proof of delivery: turn on Images and/or Signature to include those parts of the driver's report.
Customer survey: invites the customer to rate the delivery. The survey itself is set up in the customer portal.
At the bottom right you can switch the preview between desktop and mobile.
SMS
Write the text and use Insert variable → Variable to add stop details.
Below it you'll see the character count and how many SMS it will take.
SMS is plain text: no logo or brand colors.
Pricing
Email: free.
SMS and WhatsApp: €0.04 per message in Spain. You're charged the rate of the country the message goes to. Click How much does a message cost to see your project's rate.
Each SMS or WhatsApp is taken from your balance. To add credit, click Add credits? Contact us or message us in the chat.
WhatsApp uses approved templates set up by Routal. To turn it on, message us through support chat.
FAQ
Can I let customers know the driver is about to arrive? Yes. Create a message with the event Driver is close to the delivery.
Can I send the same event by email and SMS? Yes. Create one message per channel with the same event.
Still have questions? Message us through support chat and we'll sort it out together.