Create an SMS Template

How to create a reusable SMS template with variable placeholders and character-count tracking.

SMS templates work the same way as email templates but are optimized for short text messages. They use the same {{variable}} syntax and can be sent through workflows or manual actions.

When to Use This

You want to send a quick booking reminder or confirmation via text message.
Your customers prefer SMS over email for time-sensitive notifications.
You are building a workflow that needs to send an SMS at a specific step.

Prerequisites

SMS sending requires Twilio credentials configured for your company. Contact your Resytech administrator if SMS messages are not being delivered.

Steps

1. Open the Template Editor

Navigate to Marketing > Templates in the dashboard sidebar. Click the Create Template button.

2. Choose the SMS Type

Select SMS from the two type buttons at the top of the form.

3. Fill in the Template Details

Field	Required	Description
Template Name	Yes	A descriptive internal name, e.g. "Booking Reminder SMS". Must be unique within your location.
Description	No	A short note about the template's purpose.
Category	No	Same categories as email: Booking Confirmation, Booking Reminder, Booking Cancellation, Payment Receipt, Follow-up, Marketing, or Other.

Even for SMS templates, the Subject Line field is available. While it is not displayed to the customer in the text message itself, it is used as a label in the communication log and workflow history. Enter something descriptive like "Booking Reminder" or "Confirmation".

5. Compose the SMS Message

The SMS body is a plain-text area (no rich-text formatting). A character counter appears in the top-right corner of the textarea showing current / 160 characters.

A single SMS segment is 160 characters.
If your message exceeds 160 characters, the counter shows how many segments it will use (e.g., "+1 SMS" for 161-320 characters).
Variables like {{customer.name}} count toward the character limit at their placeholder length. The actual replaced value may be longer or shorter, so leave some margin.

Example SMS body:

Hi {{customer.name}}, reminder: your {{activity.name}} booking is on {{booking.date}} at {{booking.startTime}}. See you at {{location.name}}!

Use the Available Variables panel on the right to click-to-insert variables at your cursor position.

6. Activate and Save

Check or uncheck Activate template immediately, then click Create Template.

Character Count Tips

Keep messages under 160 characters when possible to avoid multi-segment charges.
Variable values vary in length. {{customer.name}} might be "Jo" or "Christopher Alexander". Plan for the longer case.
Waiver links ({{waiver_link_booking:uuid}}) generate full URLs that can be 80+ characters. Consider using a link shortener or only including these in email templates.
Avoid special characters (curly quotes, emojis) that may force the carrier to use UCS-2 encoding, which reduces the segment limit to 70 characters.

How SMS Delivery Works

When an SMS template is sent (via workflow or manual trigger):

The system loads the customer's phone number and country code from their profile.
Phone numbers are formatted to E.164 format (e.g., +15551234567). US numbers without a country code automatically get +1 prepended.
The message is sent via Twilio using the company's configured account credentials.
A record is written to the Communication Log with the recipient, timestamp, and message reference.

Using the Template in a Workflow

When you add a Send Template or Send SMS action node in the workflow builder, you can select this template. The recipient is determined by the action configuration:

customer -- sends to the customer's phone number.
admin -- sends to the location's contact phone.
custom -- sends to a phone number you specify.