Skip to main content

Send service notifications by email or SMS

  • Updated

Send service requests and messages by email or SMS, and let people choose how they prefer to receive service notifications.

 

Choose who to notify

  1. Open a service, or open the Service Planner for several service dates.
  2. Tap the email icon at the top of the page to open Send message.
  3. On the Recipients tab, review the dates, people, teams and positions to include. When several dates are available, use Dates to choose them. Past dates start unselected; you can include them if needed.
  4. Under Include, choose Pending, Notified, Confirmed or Declined. Review the people listed below and clear anyone who should not receive this message.

Each person's email and mobile details appear beside their name. An orange star marks their saved communication preference. Red messages explain contact or delivery problems. Someone without a usable contact for the chosen delivery method starts unselected; selecting them again does not override an unsubscribe or make an invalid contact usable.

When someone is rostered on several selected dates, their service details are combined into one personalised message.

 

Choose email or SMS

Open the Message tab. If you have Send SMS permission, the Delivery method control offers:

  • Use each person's communication preference — use their saved preference when both email and SMS are available. If only one method is usable, UCare uses that method. Email is the default preference.
  • Email only — send by email for this message.
  • SMS only — send by SMS for this message.

Each new message starts with: Use each person's communication preference. Choosing Email only or SMS only does not change anyone's saved preference. Those choices still respect contact validity, unsubscribes and your organisation's SMS configuration.

If you do not have Send SMS permission, the delivery controls are hidden. UCare uses each person's communication preference and can still send eligible service SMS from its system sender.

Service message delivery method set to use each person's communication preference.

 

Write and send the message

  1. For email or preference-based sending, choose Email From, enter a Subject and write your message. Email From is required whenever it is displayed, even if the selected people will receive SMS. Choose one of your own email accounts.
  2. For SMS only, write in SMS message. Email From and Subject are hidden. Where available, choose the permitted sender in SMS From; this applies to this message only.
  3. For email or preference-based sending, choose a Template if needed. This changes the message layout without replacing the text you have written.
  4. To add files, use Click to upload or drop attachments here. Each file can be up to 20 MB.
  5. To schedule the message, tap Send at a later date and choose a date and time under Send on.
  6. Review the recipients, message and any warnings, then tap Send.

 

What SMS recipients receive

Every service SMS includes a link to the full message. The linked page contains the service details and any attachments, with actions to respond to service requests where applicable.

If the personalised message and its link fit within your organisation's SMS length limit, the SMS includes the full message text. If they are too long, UCare shortens the SMS text and keeps the full message at the link. A warning explains this before you send, and attachments are available through the link.

SMS message editor with attachment upload and a warning that long messages link to the full message.

Treat the full-message link as personal: anyone it is shared with can read the archived message.

 

Set a person's notification preference

Staff with permission to edit the person can open their Scheduling tab and find Notification preferences above Teams. Under notification preferences, choose Email preferred or SMS preferred.

Notification preferences showing Email preferred and explaining fallback and separate SMS opt-out.

People can also change their own preference at the end of the Schedule tab in the portal. 

This preference applies to service requests and reminders. Choosing Email preferred does not stop SMS entirely, and unsubscribing from email does not unsubscribe someone from SMS. If someone needs to stop SMS, ask an authorised staff member to update their SMS opt-out separately.

 

Service Settings

For the automatic reminder SMS sender and default email template, see Changing service settings.

 

If something is unavailable

  • A person cannot receive the message: review the red explanation beside their contact details. Check for missing or invalid Email or Mobile details, an unsubscribe or an email group exclusion. A general phone number is not a Mobile contact.
  • Email From has no account: add an email account in Email Accounts settings, or ask your administrator for help.
  • SMS only is unavailable: check the explanation shown with that option. SMS must be configured, and a permitted SMS sender must be available to you.
  • A template prevents preparation: try Default service template or ask the template administrator to check that the custom layout includes {Message Content}.
  • A send response is uncertain: check the audit before starting another message. If UCare offers Check status or Retry original message, use those controls to recover the original send.