Instructions on the setup and operation of the SMS functionality in Synergy, including the new SMS API method.

TABLE OF CONTENTS



Introduction

Synergy now features a new ‘SAM SMS’ option utilising our own SMS server. With the additional of this new option, we have also added several useful tools for sending SMS messages to your client base; such as follow-up messages, ‘vehicle ready for pickup’ type messages and booking reminders.


These new functions are only available when using the SAM SMS option. To use this feature you will need to sign-up to be given authorisation to send messages through our SMS server.


Click Here to check pricing or sign-up to our SMS Service.



Initial Setup


Email / Server Settings

As above, you must first contact us to sign-up for the SAM SMS service before it will work in your system, we will email you notification once your access has been enabled to start using the service.

To set up your Synergy program to operate the SAM SMS either click the link below to watch the online tutorial video, or follow the instructions below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyTFYFm40bw


  • Go to Company/Setup and select the ‘General’ tab
  • In the list, double click on ‘Devices’
  • Select the ‘SMS Txt Options’ tab shown below:


Here there are 3 Options in the SMS Solution(1) drop-down box

  • SAM SMS_Email – Uses email to send relay your SMS messages to our SMS server.
  • TXTStream – this is an old legacy option; and will not give access to many of the “SAM SMS” features and is billed by a third party.
  • SAM SMS_API – This is the newest and most recommended option for SAM SMS


It is HIGHLY recommended that SAM SMS_API is used
This is available from version 380 and above

To set up the SAM SMS API option:

  • Select the SAM SMS API option in the SMS solution drop down menu
  • Click ‘Get Key’ to fetch your unique SMS API key from our server
  • In the Reply To field, enter the email address you want customers replies to your SMS messages to be sent to.
  • Click Save (bottom right)

To set up the SAM SMS Email option:

  • Select the SAM SMS_Email option in the SMS solution drop down menu
  • You will need to input your email details into the ‘SMTP Server’, ‘Username’ and ‘Password’ fields.
    • If you already use Synergy for emailing you may be able to copy settings from the ‘Email Options’ tab in the same Devices setup menu. If ‘Send from Outlook’ is selected on the email settings tab, you will not need to set up SMTP details and they will be greyed out.
    • If you do not know your email settings you may need to contact your email Service Provider (e.g. Google Gmail, Spark/Xtra, Vodafone etc) most provide this information on their websites.
  • In the ‘Reply to’ field, input the email address you wish your customers SMS/Txt replies to be forwarded to (when your customer replies to a message you have sent them, the email address in this field is where the replies will be forwarded to).
  • Click ‘Save’ to finalise this section of the setup



Other settings
  • SMS Reminder Messages - No Appointment Necessary - Ticking this box will change the content of the reminder messages to state 'no appointment necessary' rather than telling your customer to call you to book an appointment
  • Automatically Send Ready for Pick TXT Template - (only available to customers on monthly support plan) - Tick this box and select the appropriate template to automatically send Ready for Pickup SMS messages when closing an invoice
  • Customise Sign-Off Name - By default Synergy will add your company name (the name the software is registered as) to the end of every SMS, telling your customer who is sending them the txt. This box allows you do define a different name. This is handy when your company name is really long, as there's a limited number of characters available per SMS message.






SMS Template Setup

To fully utilise the features of the SAM SMS service, we recommend you set up some ‘SMS Templates’. SMS Templates are pre-written txt messages that are especially useful when sending multiple txt messages in one operation. These can also be set up to utilise ‘macros’ which can be used to personalise the txt message send to the individual recipients.



To set up your SMS Templates:

  • Go to Marketing/Reports
  • Select the Marketing tab
  • Double-click the ‘TXT Template’ option at the bottom of the list

 


  • Click ‘New’ to create a new Template


Macros


When creating a new template you can use the Macro’s displayed in blue text by typing them into the body of your SMS template. For example, if you put the macro **1** into the template you create for the ‘Ready for Pickup SMS’ it will automatically put the registration number of the vehicle in the invoice you are working on into the txt message.

When using macros, please be aware some macros are only available under specific scenarios.

For example the mailname, rego, vehicle description and invoice total macros will all work if sending an SMS message from the SMS Job Centre or as the ‘Ready for Pickup SMS’ when closing an invoice as all of this information is available based on the invoice selected (assuming this invoice does have a vehicle attached to it). 

However, if you’re sending an SMS message from the ‘Edit Clients’ screen, then the only macro that will work is the ‘mailname’ macro, as it does not know which invoice or vehicle to refer to for these macros when working in the ‘edit clients’ area


Watch the SMS Template tutorial video for more information, available at the link below:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2ZX0ML1ELY



Automatic ‘Ready for Pickup’ Message Setup


Your system can be set up to automatically send a ‘ready for pickup’ SMS message when closing invoices. When you close an invoice there is a tickbox at the bottom of the ‘print’ menu, depending on your setup, this can be ticked or unticked by default, however, you can manually tick or untick this box on a case-by-case basis.

To set it up so the default action when closing an invoice is to send the ‘Ready for Pickup’ SMS message, do the following:

  • Go to Company/Setup
  • Select the ‘Accounts Receivable’ tab
  • Double click ‘Configure Module’ then select the ‘General’ tab

 

  • Tick the ‘Automatically Send Ready for Pickup TXT’ tickbox in the SMS Settings section
  • Select the template you wish to send as your ‘ready for pickup’ TXT message from the dropdown menu provided

This set-up is also demonstrated in the initial setup tutorial video mentioned in the Email/Server settings section of this document.



Sending Messages

We have two tutorial videos demonstrating how to send SMS messages from your Synergy program.

Tutorial specifically covering the SMS Job Centre:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8j_3OIlB3M


Tutorial covering all other SMS Sending functions (except Reminders, covered further below under Marketing via SMS):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTBY7XZZm9I


Or read on for further instructions.



SMS Job Centre


The SMS Job Centre is found in two locations; the ‘Saved Invoice List’ and the ‘Closed Invoice List’. The SMS Job Centre gives you a central location to send multiple SMS messages to your customers based on the invoices/jobs selected.


You will likely use the SMS Job Centre from the saved invoice list for the purposes of sending off multiple ‘Vehicle Ready for Pickup’ or ‘Booking Reminder’ messages and from the closed invoice list you may wish to use the SMS Job Centre for sending out reminders for overdue invoices or follow-up messages relating to jobs recently completed for your customers.


We recommend watching the SMS Job Centre tutorial video mentioned under the ‘Sending Messages’ heading further above, to see how to use the SMS Job Centre and for examples on how you may wish to use it.



SMS Job Centre for Saved Invoices

 


To access the SMS Job Centre for Saved Invoices

  • Open the ‘Saved Invoices’ list by clicking the ‘Saved Invoices’ icon in Accounts Receivable
  • You may wish to adjust the date range of the Saved Invoice list to ensure the jobs / saved invoices you wish to send messages for are displayed in the list, as only jobs displayed in the Saved Invoice list will carry forward into the SMS Job Centre
  • Click the ‘SMS Job Centre’ button at the bottom of the Saved Invoice list


  • This will load the SMS Job Centre for Saved Invoices:

  • The ‘TXT Template’ button at the top of the screen provides a shortcut to view, set up or create new SMS Templates
  • The Print Job Card button allows you to select multiple jobs in the list and print the Job Cards for them in one single operation
  • To select the jobs you wish to Print Job Cards for or send SMS Messages to, you can either manually tick them individually in the list, or use the ‘Select All’ / ‘Deselect All’ buttons at the bottom of the window
  • Select the TXT Template in the dropdown list that you wish to send to the selected customers
  • If you have used a template that uses the ‘Booking Date’ macro, then you can define the ‘Booking Date’ in the Booking Date field provided
    • The Booking Date defaults to tomorrow’s date, you can type directly into the field to change it or click the dropdown to choose the date from a date picker
  • Click ‘Send TXT’ to start sending the SMS messages to the selected customers
  • When the messages have finished sending you will see a confirmation message showing how many messages were sent
  • Messages will only be sent to customers who have a mobile phone number in their details and have a tick in the ‘Receive TXT’ box when viewing their details
  • When sending is complete the SMS Job Centre will close automatically.



SMS Job Centre for Closed Invoices


The SMS Job Centre for Closed Invoices is accessed from the ‘Closed Invoice’ list in Accounts Receivable (in the ‘Lists’ section on the right-hand side of Accounts Receivable).

It is operated exactly as per the Saved Invoices SMS Job Centre, however, there is no ‘Booking Date’ field provided and no option to send Job Cards:


 



Single SMS to Customer

To send an individual message to one of your customers:

  • Open the Client List by clicking the ‘Clients’ icon in Accounts Receivable
  • Find the appropriate customer in the list and open their details by either clicking their name in the list and clicking ‘Edit’ or by double-clicking their name in the list
  • When viewing the customer’s details, click the ‘Send Message’ button at the bottom of the window
  • On the ‘Send Message’ window select the TXT tab at the top



  • The Mobile number will be copied from the client’s details screen, however, this can be changed if necessary
  • Type your message into the box provided or you can click the ‘Template’ button and choose from one of your pre-written templates
    • Remember; the ‘Rego’, ‘Vehicle Description’, ‘Booking Date’ and ‘Invoice Total’ macros will not work when sending from this area, however, the ‘mailname’ macro will work.
  • Tick the ‘Store record of contact in the client notes’ box if you wish to save a record of this message against the client
  • Tick the ‘Print copy when finished’ if you wish to do so
  • Click ‘Send’ to send the message
  • A confirmation message will appear if the message-sending process is successful

This is covered in the Sending Messages tutorial video mentioned under the ‘Sending Messages’ heading.



Vehicle Ready for Pickup Message


When you close an invoice, you will see a new tickbox to ‘Send Ready for Pickup SMS’. This may or may not be ticked by default depending on your setup (see the Automatic ‘Ready for Pickup’ Message Setup’ instructions earlier in this document).

Regardless of the default setting, you can manually tick or untick this box on a case-by-case basis.

 

If this box is ticked, your specified ‘ready for pickup’ template will be sent to the customer when you ­either Print, Email or Fax the invoice, it will not be sent if you click ‘Preview’.



Marketing via SMS

The SAM SMS functionality extends to the bulk marketing functions of Synergy, found in Marketing/Reports under the ‘Marketing’ tab.


You can use the ‘Client Search Criteria’ function to find a targeted group of customers based on their location, client type, total sales or if they have purchased a specified product (or products within specified products Groups or Categories).

So, for example, you can use this feature to send an SMS Message to all customers who purchased tyres 12-18 months ago to recommend they bring their vehicle in for a routine tyre safety inspection.

To do this follow these steps:

  • Select Marketing/Reports in the left-hand ‘Navigation Menu’
  • Click the ‘Client Search Criteria’ icon in the top section of the screen


  • Select the ‘Product/Group/Category/Standard Job’ option
  • Select the ‘Client Type’ criterion below (you must choose one of these ‘additional search criteria’ even if you ignore this criteria later)
  • Select how you wish to target the search criteria, in this example, I will select ‘Category’
  • Enter your desired date range (the date the client last purchased something within the selected Category)
  • Click Accept
  • On the following screen select the ‘Client Types’ you wish to send messages to then click accept
  • Select the specific Products/Groups or Categories you want to filter, in this example I would choose my ‘Tyres’ category
  • Click Accept
  • You will now see a list showing all clients who purchased your specified products in the date range you entered


  • Select the specific clients you wish to message by ticking the box beside their details or you can use the ‘select all’ button at the bottom of the screen
  • TXT Messages can only be sent to customers who have a tick in the ‘Receive TXT’ box, this reflects the setting inside the customer’s set-up screen.
  • Click the ‘TXT’ button in the bottom right corner
  • Select the ‘Template’ you wish to send to these customers (or create a new one if appropriate, for example in this case I would create a new template along the lines of “Based on our records, your car is now due for an annual tyre safety inspection please call us on 0800 333 500 to arrange’
  • Next, you will see a list of all the clients who will be sent the message, giving you one last opportunity to confirm
  • Click ‘Send’ and the messages will start sending to all the displayed customers, if this is a large list please be aware this could take several minutes to send.
  • When the sending process completes you will be shown a confirmation of the successful messages sent

This is also covered under the Sending Messages heading of this document.


Reminders by SMS


To send Reminders (e.g. WOF/Service Reminders) by SMS, simply follow the usual routine for emailing reminder letters by email (go to Reminder Letters > select the reminder type(s) you wish to send > select Send Reminders > enter your desired Date Range > Click Accept):


Select the clients you wish to send the reminders to, or click the Select All button, then click the TXT button at the bottom of the screen:



You will then see a filtered list of all of the customers who can receive the TXT messages (for example if a customer doesn't have a valid mobile number in their setup, they won't be included in the list) - simply click Send to start sending the messages.


A report will display at the end showing all the SMS messages that have been sent.


The format and content of the Reminder SMS messages cannot be edited, as we automatically include the vehicle description, rego, reminder name, due date etc and programmatically do our best to make this all fit within the standard SMS character limit. By default the reminder SMS will mention to call to make an appointment and include your business phone number, however as outlined in the SMS Setup - Other options mentioned at the start of this article, you can tick an option to make it simply display 'no appointment necessary'.



SMS Messages – Audit Report / Log


By clicking ‘Maintenance’ and then selecting ‘View SMS Log’ you can find a list of all SMS messages sent from your system. With controls to filter the list by a specified date range, and options to print out the report.

 



You can also change the order of the report by clicking on the header of the column you wish to order by.



Final Notes


To reiterate, you can obtain a copy of the sign-up form for SAM SMS by emailing [email protected] , please ensure to mention your name and the name of your company in the email.


If you have trouble with the setup and operation of SAM SMS please check out the tutorial videos mentioned throughout this document, or call the helpdesk on 0800 333 500 – please be aware that if you are not on a Support and Maintenance Plan, charges may apply when calling the helpdesk.

Tutorial Videos:

SAM SMS Initial Setup:


Note - this video doesn't show the newer and preferred SAM SMS API set up option



SMS Template Setup:

 

 

 

SMS Job Centre:

 

 

 

Tutorial covering all other SMS Sending functions: