Chats (Basic): Create & apply templates
Chat templates are useful for communications you regularly send to clients. They are also used in pipelines as automations to send automatic notifications to clients. They keep you from having to write the same messages from scratch over and over. This way, make it so you have them handy when you need them.
Covered here:
- Creating chat templates
- Applying chat templates
- Editing chat templates
- Deleting chat templates
- Automating messages to client accounts
Creating chat templates
A chat template can be created by a firm owner, an admin or any employee with access rights to manage templates.
To create a chat template, go to Templates > Firm templates from the left menu bar, go to Chats, then click Create template.
Or access this page by adding the Send message automation while editing a pipeline, then clicking the New template button.
Below we explain the numbered sections in the Create Message Template window where you create message templates:
1. Name: Enter a name for the template—what you’ll see when you select the template.
2. From: Select the team member on whose behalf the message will be sent. This is the name the recipient will see as the sender, no matter who has moved the job to the next stage.
A team member can be selected here if:
- Тhey are assigned to the account, or
- Тhey have access rights to view all accounts
3. Subject: Enter a subject line; it will appear as the name of the communication in the recipient’s message list.
4. Add Shortcode: To individualize the message, apply shortcodes (dynamic data) to include, for example, the recipient's name, the account name or the date. Shortcodes are available for both the message title and body. Here's more on using shortcodes in TaxDome.
5. Body: Compose the message, using formatting, emojis, links and more.
6. Send reminders to clients: Toggle on if you want a reminder email to go out to the client when they don’t respond within a certain time frame or don't have their tasks completed. Learn more about reminders in chats.
7. Client tasks: Add client tasks. Tasks are displayed as a to-do list with checkboxes. Click Add task to add more to-do items. Once a task is completed, either you or the client can check it off. Here's more about managing client tasks.
8. Save & Exit, Save and Cancel: Click Save & Exit to save the template and go back to the templates list, Save to keep your changes and continue editing the template or Cancel to exit without saving.
Applying chat templates
Once you've made a chat template, use it to speed up creating any new message. Here’s how:
1. Choose the option to create a new message:
- Click New on the top left, then select Chat.
- Click New Chat in the Communication section of an account profile.
- Select one or more recipients in your Accounts list, then select Send Message in the pull-down menu.
2. Click on the Template field, then select the template from the pull-down menu.
3. Edit the existing text or compose something new, then set up the message options.
Note! Changes you make to the message don’t alter the selected template.
Editing chat templates
To make changes to a chat template, follow these steps:
1. Go to Templates > Firm templates from the left menu bar, select Chats, then click on the name of the chat template.
2. Make changes to the chat template, then click Save & Exit.
Deleting chat templates
To remove a chat template completely, go to Templates > Firm templates from the left menu bar, then open Chats. Click three dots to the far right of the name of the chat template, select Delete, then confirm by clicking Delete in the Delete Confirmation pop-up.
