Communication Templates are another of FieldEdge‘s most important aspects. These Templates drive your emails, SMS, and automatic voice message reminders in the day-to-day at the office. 

Without these Templates turned on, FieldEdge can not automatically send out emails for your Quotes, Invoices, or even traveling location statuses. However, with so many templates, it can be confusing which ones your company needs. Today we’ll dive into the different types and big players of Communication Templates and what they can do for your business.

Agreement Templates 

Agreement Templates are the Templates that drive your communications for all your Agreement needs. There are 7 Agreement Templates in total: 

• 1st Work Order Reminder 
• 2nd Work Order Reminder
• 3rd Work Order Reminder 
• 1st Billing Reminder 
• 2nd Billing Reminder 
• Agreement Invoice 
• Invoice Creation 

 

Let’s dive into the big two: Work Order Reminders and Billing Reminders.

Work Order Reminders (Agreements)

The Work Order Reminders Templates are templates that will notify your Customers with an Agreement when it is time for their maintenance appointment. 

However, a common misconception is that these templates will always go out to the Customer. This isn’t the case and all, depends on your Customer’s Agreement Plan inside of their Maintenance Schedule. 

If the Setting “Appointment Confirm” (Appt. Confirm) is checked, this means you need to confirm the appointment with your Customers. Having this checked will send out Work Order Reminders to your Customers if you have the Reminders activated inside of your Communication Templates. 

If Appt. Confirm is left unchecked, this means you do not need to confirm the appointment. The Agreement will automatically generate the appointment and a Work Order Reminder will not be sent out regardless if your template is active. 

Work Order Reminders will go out 14 days, 7 days, and the day before the desired appointment.

Billing Reminders 

The Billing Reminders are reminders to Customers who have expiring Agreements. 

The one condition of using these reminders is that the Customers need to be set to Bill from Office. Otherwise, the Reminder will not send. 

If you are billing from the field with your Agreements, your Technicians can just renew with the Customer while they are out on the job. 

The first Billing Reminder goes out 14 days prior, while the 2nd goes out 7 days prior to the expiration.  

Mobile Templates 

The term Mobile Templates can typically create confusion. The name suggests it’s only for Mobile, but the reality is these are the templates for both the field and the office to use to send out your Invoice and Quotes. They are the most commonly used, and arguably the most important. 

It is important to note that with Mobile Templates these are automatically activated in your database. The only way for these not go out is to remove the Reply to Address which is not recommended.

There are currently 4 different types of Mobile Templates: 

• Invoice / Quote 
• Invoice Only 
• Quote Only 
• Work Acceptance 

The Invoice / Quote Template 

This template is the most commonly used in FieldEdge. This template will allow your staff in the field or in the office to send both a Quote and an Invoice on a single email. 

Invoice or Quote Only Templates 

These templates are specifically targeted to only send out either a Quote or an Invoice. If your company wants to send both, they would need to use the Invoice / Quote Template. 

Work Acceptance 

The Work Acceptance Template is often overlooked but is a great way to provide not only transparency, but security, for your Customers and business. This template will send a copy of what was accomplished for the work performed. 

Work Orders Templates

Work Order Templates are geared more toward the Work Orders themselves, rather than the Invoices and Quotes they house. 

They pick up the slack and tend to act like a courtesy to your Customers and your business. 

There are currently 3 different Work Order Templates: 

• Day Before Work Order Reminder
• Traveling to Location 
• Feedback Request 

The Day Before Work Order Reminder 

The Day Before Work Order Reminder, as it suggests, can send an email, SMS, or call as a courtesy reminding your Customer about their upcoming appointment the day before work. 

Traveling to Location 

The Traveling to Location Template will send a courtesy reminder to your Customer when their Technician is on the way to their location.

Although many businesses disable this feature, we have personally noticed Customers tend to love knowing when their Technician is on their way to the location. This eliminates any surprises, especially for Residential Customers.

There are many other types of Communication Templates. 

If you wish to learn more about these templates, or set them up, feel free to reach out to us for a free discovery call and learn how Powerhouse can solve all your Communication Template issues!

Don’t let Quotes and Quote Conversion become a stressor for your business. Learn more in last week’s blog post – Create a Culture of Follow-Ups for FieldEdge Quotes

Reach out to us and learn how we can help your business transition into FieldEdge workflows that best perform for you. Our team at Powerhouse Consulting Group is a certified partner with FieldEdge. We will work with you to understand your workflow, audit your FieldEdge settings, and can provide hands-on training for your team.