External notifications are automatic messages that the system sends to a client to remind them of an important event or a change in the status of their document. In RO App, you can set up these notifications based on contact events to inform people and organizations about important dates in advance.
Note: You can set up these notifications only for clients, not for employees.
1. On the Settings > External Notifications > Contacts page, in the “For People” or “For Organizations” section, click the + Notification button. Whether you’re creating a notification for people or organizations determines the list of available events.
2. Select the event for which you want to send a notification.
The list of available events is generated automatically based on the contact form for the person or organization, respectively. All contact fields with the Date type will be available for selection as events for sending notifications.
This includes the system field Birthday, so you can easily send reminders for birthdays, anniversaries, or any other important dates.
3. Select whether to send notifications via SMS or Email (if this information is specified in the client profile).
Important: To send a notification, the “SMS” or “Agree to receive Email” checkbox must be selected in the client profile.
When selecting the “Email” delivery method, you can choose the email address from which notifications will be sent—from RO App address (gateway@roapp.email), or, if you have email integration enabled, from one of the addresses connected in the integration, provided you have access to use them. If you haven’t connected any email addresses, you can go to the connection page directly from the selection window.
4. Try sending via the contact’s last chat first — check the box so the system attempts to send the notification to the last open chat with the customer. If no such chat exists, the notification will be sent via the method selected above—SMS or email.
In Twilio WhatsApp, the chat remains open for 24 hours after the client’s last message.
On Instagram—for 7 days after the client’s last message.
Important: Use this feature only for important notifications. An excessive number of messages may result in the blocking of the phone number or account associated with the chat channel.
Notifications successfully sent to a chat appear not only in the chat itself but also in the work orders and contact activity feeds. To open this chat, click on the channel name in the activity feed.
5. Send at — specify the time to send the notification. The time will correspond to your company’s time zone.
6. Send in advance — check the box to send the notification in advance, and specify how many days before the event to send it.
8. Save the settings.
Done! Now the contact will receive a notification, which will also appear in the contact’s event feed.