Comms Templates
Go to Admin → Comms to manage your templates and variables.
Templates
Each template has:
- Label — displayed in the send picker
- Key — auto-generated from the label, used in logs (e.g.
GRADING_INVITE) - Email subject and body — supports
{{TOKEN}}placeholders - SMS body — keep under 160 characters to avoid multi-part messages; the editor shows a live character count
- Active/Inactive — inactive templates never appear in the send picker and are never fired by automations
- Student Groups — restrict a template to specific student types, or leave blank to show for all groups
Duplicating a template
Open any existing template and tap the Duplicate icon next to Delete. This opens a new, unsaved template pre-filled with the original's subject, body, SMS text, and Student Group restrictions — the label gets "(Copy)" appended (or "(Copy 2)", "(Copy 3)" if you've already duplicated it before).
Nothing is created until you tap Save Template — back out without saving and nothing is left behind. The duplicate always starts Inactive, even if the original was Active, so you have a chance to review and rename it before it can go live.
Handy for building a variant of an existing template — for example, a version worded for adult members rather than parents — without retyping the whole thing.
Different messages for different student types
The trial pipeline can send a different message to different types of student — for example, adults get wording written for adults rather than for parents. Every branch comes with a set of Adults trial templates already in place, and each is restricted to the Adults student type:
| Adults template | Sent at |
|---|---|
| Trial Booking Confirmation (Adults) | Trial booked |
| Trial 24hr Reminder (Adults) | 24 hours before trial 1 |
| 1st Trial Success (Adults) | Trial 1 marked attended |
| 2nd Trial Reminder (Adults) | 24 hours before trial 2 |
| Trial Conversion Offer (Adults) | Instructor presses Send Invite, plus its follow-up reminders |
| Mandate Confirmed — Welcome (Adults) | Lead joins (off by default, like the standard one) |
They appear in the Trial Lead Only column of the Templates page, and you can edit them like any other template — reword them for your club, or use Duplicate to build your own variant.
How it's chosen. The lead's student type comes from the class they booked. If a template exists for that type at that stage, it's sent; otherwise the standard template is sent. A lead never gets both. A brand-new enquiry (before any class is chosen) always gets the standard message, so there is no Adults version of that first message.
Things worth knowing
- The conversion offer is never sent automatically — only when an instructor presses Send Invite (followed by its usual reminders). For an Adults lead it sends the Adults version.
- If you switch an Adults template to Inactive, adult leads simply aren't sent that message at that stage (they don't fall back to the standard one), so switch it off deliberately. The one exception is the conversion offer, which falls back to the standard version when the Adults one is inactive.
- The wording was written for Meridian Kung Fu; check the text (the conversion offer text message in particular) reads right for your club.
- Which template is used at which stage is set up for you and isn't editable in the app. If you'd like a different arrangement, or a variant for another student type, ask us and we'll set it up.
Token helper
Every template editor shows a row of token chips at the bottom. Click any chip to copy it to your clipboard, then paste it wherever you want it in the subject or body.
The tokens shown change depending on which type of template you are editing:
New Starter Pipeline templates (TRIAL_* and MANDATE_*)
These templates are sent to trial leads and their parents, so they have access to trial-specific data:
Lead & Trial tokens
| Token | Resolves to |
|---|---|
{{FORENAME}} | Child's first name |
{{SURNAME}} | Child's last name |
{{PARENT_NAME}} | Parent or carer's name |
{{TRIAL_DATE}} | Week 1 trial date — e.g. Saturday, 14 June 2026 |
{{TRIAL_TIME}} | Week 1 start time — e.g. 10:00 AM |
{{TRIAL_DATE_2}} | Week 2 trial date |
{{TRIAL_TIME_2}} | Week 2 start time |
{{CLASS_NAME}} | Class name — e.g. Snakes & Cranes |
{{MONTHLY_FEE}} | Monthly membership fee for their class — e.g. £33 |
{{MEMBERSHIP_JOIN_LINK}} | Personalised direct link to their membership application form |
Club & Instructor tokens
| Token | Resolves to |
|---|---|
{{SMTP_FROM_NAME}} | Club name (from App Settings) |
{{INSTRUCTOR_NAME}} | Instructor name (from Comms Config) |
{{INSTRUCTOR_PHONE}} | Instructor phone number (from App Settings) |
{{INSTRUCTOR_EMAIL}} | Instructor email (from App Settings) |
{{VENUE_ADDRESS}} | Training venue address (from App Settings) |
Standard student templates
These templates are sent to enrolled students from a student profile or bulk comms:
| Token | Resolves to |
|---|---|
{{FORENAME}} | Student's first name |
{{SURNAME}} | Student's last name |
{{FULL_NAME}} | First and last name combined |
{{GRADE}} | Current grade/sash name |
{{GROUP}} | Student type name |
{{ATT_PCT}} | Year-to-date attendance percentage |
Plus any custom variables you've defined (see below).
Variables
Variables are custom {{TOKEN}} values you define for use in standard student templates — for example, {{NEXT_GRADE_MONTH}} set to July 2026.
Update variable values before each grading or renewal season — one change here updates every template that uses the token.
To add a variable: tap + Add Variable, give it a key (e.g. NEXT_GRADE_MONTH) and a label, then set its value.
The following token names are reserved and cannot be used as custom variable keys — they are always populated from the student record:
{{FORENAME}}, {{SURNAME}}, {{FULL_NAME}}, {{GRADE}}, {{GROUP}}, {{ATT_PCT}}
Test Mode
When Comms Test Mode is on, every message sent — including automated pipeline comms — is redirected to your test email and test phone number instead of the real recipient. The subject/body also gets a [TEST] prefix so you can clearly identify test messages.
Set your test email and phone in Admin → Comms → Variables: TEST_EMAIL and TEST_PHONE.
Switch Test Mode off in Admin → Integrations → App Settings when you are ready to send to real parents and students.
On some instances, Test Mode may be locked by the environment (e.g. to prevent accidental live sends on a UAT environment). If you see "Test Mode is locked for this environment", contact your account administrator.