Text Message Templates

HawkSoft text messaging templates provide users with the tools to create standardized text messages that can be sent to individual recipients. Merge fields can be added for inserting client/policy information for more personalized messages.

Text messages are limited to 160 characters. Messages exceeding this limit may be cut off, or sent as separate messages. When using merge fields, the actual character count of the text message sent will vary depending on the data merged. Be sure to consider the potential character count when creating your text message templates.

HawkSoft provides two options for texting your clients: HawkSoft Texting or Texting via email-to-SMS. Once text messaging is configured for your agency, the Text Message templates are accessed from the Action menu.

This task is typically performed by an Owner/Administrator or Manager.

In order to complete this task, user permissions must be set to include:

Agency Setup > Correspondence Templates

See User Permissions for more information.

To access the text message templates

  1. Click the  Settings icon, and then select Correspondence Templates.

    The Correspondence Templates dialog opens.

  2. Select the Text Messaging side-tab.

  1. Click Add to open the Edit Text Message Template dialog.

  2. Enter a Template Name.
  3. Enter your message in the Text Message Template field.

  4. Optional: Add merge fields.

    1. Place your cursor in the Template Name field and/or the Text Message Template box where you want the merge field to appear, and then click button.

      The Select Merge Field to Insert dialog opens.

      Select a merge field from the list, and then click Insert.

    2. Repeat, to add additional merge fields.

      The client/policy data will be merged when the text message is created

  5. When the text message template is complete, click OK.

    The new template is displayed in the Template Name list.

  6. Click Close to exit the Correspondence Templates dialog.

When you've created several Text Message templates, these templates can be sorted into categories, for example, "Personal Lines" or "Commercial", to enable quick retrieval of specific templates.

Select a template from the list, and then use the following buttons as needed:

Edit – Click to open the Edit Text Message Template dialog and modify the template as needed, and then click OK.

See Adding a text message template for more information on inserting merge fields.

Rename – Click to enter a new template description.

Duplicate – Click to copy the template and enter a new description for the copy.

Remove – Click to delete the template.

With your text message template complete, your agency will be able to send consistently formatted text messages to your contacts.

Create template categories to help organize your text message templates. Once created, these categories are available for the entire agency.

Example: You may want to group together all text messages pertaining to Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, etc.

To create a new category

  1. Click the Categories button.

    The Category Setup dialog opens.

  2. Click New.

  3. Enter a Category name, and then click OK.

Assign or remove templates

Each template is listed with a check box. Select each template to be included in the selected Category.

  1. Click the Categories button.

    The Category Setup dialog opens.

  2. Select a Category from the drop-down.

  3. Check each box next to the templates to be included in the selected category.

When creating a text message using the Action menu, users can filter templates by category to quickly find the right template to use for the new letter.

HawkSoft includes the ability to import text message templates into CMS from your local files, as well as export existing templates to your local files. This enables you to use templates from other sources, as well as send your agency's templates to other HawkSoft agencies.

See Importing and Exporting Correspondence Templates for detailed steps.

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