Templates

What it is

Communication Templates is the one page where you write your reusable messages. You find it at Settings›Pipeline›Communication Templates.

Every message can contain variables — small placeholders like {{Lead.first_name}} that fill themselves in with the real customer details when the message is sent. You write the message once, and everybody on the team sends the same clean, correct wording.

The page has four tabs, and each one does a different job:

Before you start

• You need Settings access. This page is only reachable by team members whose role includes Settings. An admin turns that on at Settings›People›Team Roles.
• You need at least one phone number set up before texts can go out. Your everyday sending number is chosen at Settings›SMS Configuration. Templates use that number unless you deliberately pin one template to a different number.
• For the On My Way messages, the person tapping the button needs the Send “On my way” text to customer permission (also under Settings›People›Team Roles), and the job must have a customer phone number on it.
• For email job alerts, your email sending has to be connected under Settings›Integrations, and the field worker's notification method has to include email (set per person at Settings›People›Team Members).
• Know your service types first. Custom fields you created per service type show up as extra variables you can drop into any template, so it helps to have those in place — see Custom Fields.

Step-by-step

Write the text message your field workers get

1. Go to Settings›Pipeline›Communication Templates.
2. Stay on the SMS Templates tab.
3. Click New Template (top right).
4. Change Template Name to something you will recognise later. Joby pre-fills a starter name and a starter message for you — replace both with your own.
5. Leave From Number on Use SMS configuration default unless this particular message must always come from one specific number. The list is searchable if you do need to pick one.
6. Tick Set as default template if this is the message that should be used when you send a job to a field worker. Only one SMS template can be the default at a time — ticking a new one un-ticks the old one.
7. Write your message in the Message Template box. To add a variable, click it in the Available Variables panel on the right and it drops in wherever your cursor is.
8. Click Show Preview to see the message filled in with sample details.
9. Click Save Template.

Back on the list you will see the columns Template Name, Type, From Number and Actions. The template currently in use carries a Default badge. Use the pencil icon to edit and the bin icon to delete. Lists longer than 50 templates are paged.

Write the email version of the job alert

1. Open the Email Templates tab.
2. Click New Email Template.
3. Fill in Template Name and Email Subject. The subject can contain variables too.
4. Turn on Set as default email template if this is the one to use for job alerts.
5. Write the Email Body. This is a plain-text message — the same variables work here as in a text message.
6. Click Show Preview to check the subject and body with sample details.
7. Click Save Template.

The email list shows Template Name, Subject, Status and Actions, with a Default badge on the one in use.

Set up the “On my way” customer text

1. Open the On My Way tab.
2. You will see two message boxes: With arrival time and Without arrival time. Both are used automatically — Joby picks whichever one fits the situation, so fill in both.
3. Type the message, and use the Insert buttons underneath to add variables. Both messages offer {{Lead.first_name}}, {{Lead.last_name}}, {{Technician.name}} and {{Company.name}}. The With arrival time message additionally offers {{ETA.minutes}} and {{ETA.time}}.
4. Leave the Enabled switch on for each message you want available.
5. Click Save under each message you changed.

Build the saved replies agents use in Conversations

1. Open the Template Picker tab.
2. In the Categories card on the left, click the + button, type a category name (for example “Follow-ups”), and click Save.
3. Click the category so it is selected.
4. In the Templates card on the right, click New Template.
5. Fill in Template Name and Message Body. Click any variable under Available Variables to insert it. A Preview appears automatically as you type.
6. Click Save Template.
7. Optional: click the star next to a template to turn it into a one-click button in the Conversations message bar. Star only your two or three most-used replies.

How to check it worked

1. Preview before you save. On the SMS and Email tabs, click Show Preview. Joby fills the variables with sample details (John Smith, (555) 123-4567, 123 Main St and so on). If you still see raw {{...}} text in the preview, that variable name is wrong — delete it and click it in from the panel instead.
2. Check the Default badge. Back on the list, the template you want used for job alerts should show a Default badge next to its name. Exactly one SMS template and one email template can hold it.
3. Check a saved reply in the real place. Open Conversations, pick any conversation, click Templates in the message bar, expand your category and click the template. The finished text should appear in the message box with the customer's details already filled in. Nothing is sent until you press send.
4. Check a starred one. After starring a template, reload Conversations — it should now be its own named button in the message bar.
5. Check the On my way text. Open a job that has a customer phone number and click On my way. The confirmation window shows the exact message that will be sent. Read it, then click Cancel if you were only testing — nothing goes out until you click Send message.

Common mistakes