Email templates let you save your most-used emails once and reuse them anytime. Send them manually from a project or drop them into a flow so the right message goes out automatically. Your template library lives in the Messages app under Custom templates, and the editable system emails Dubsado sends on your behalf live under Default templates.

Where your templates live

Templates live in two places under the Templates group in the Messages sub-navigation: Messages ➔ Custom templates for the ones you create, and Messages ➔ Default templates for the system emails Dubsado sends automatically. Default templates can be edited to match your voice, but they can't be deleted.

You can also reach your templates from a contact's Messages tab. The Templates group is hidden while you're working inside a project, so head to the standalone Messages app or a contact's Messages tab to manage your library.

Create a custom template

Go to Messages ➔ Custom templates to see your full library and start building a new one.

Click the + icon at the top of the templates list. This opens a blank template.
Enter a template name in the title field at the top. This name is for your reference only, and your client never sees it.
Fill in the Subject line.
Write the email in the Email content field.
Click Create to save. Create appears once you've started filling in the template, and switches to Save for any edits you make afterward. A Cancel button lets you discard changes.

The template name is internal only, and your client never sees it. Only the subject line and email content are sent.

Format your email content

The email editor gives you a full formatting toolbar: paragraph format, bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, clear formatting, font family, font size, text color, background color, alignment, ordered and unordered lists, outdent, indent, insert table, undo, and redo.

Below the toolbar, you'll find a few more tools for building out your email:

Insert image: add an image by URL or upload a file. Dragging or pasting an image directly into the editor isn't supported, so use this button whenever you want to include one.
Link: add and edit hyperlinks in your email text.
Templates: pull the content and subject line from another existing template into the one you're building. Selecting a template replaces whatever's currently in the editor.
Smart fields: insert dynamic values like your client's name, project details, and links to a form, invoice, or scheduler so the right information fills in automatically for each project.

Use smart fields to personalize a template once and let Dubsado fill in the client- and project-specific details every time you send it.

Tag and archive templates

Custom templates support tags and archiving so you can keep a growing library organized. You can add tags from the tag bar on a template and filter your templates list by tag, and you can archive any template you no longer use without deleting it outright. For the full walkthrough, see tagging and archiving templates.

Find a template

Use the Search bar at the top of the templates list to find a template by title or subject. You can also sort the list by Title or Subject, in ascending or descending order.

Duplicate or delete a template

Open any saved template to duplicate or delete it. Click Duplicate to create a copy you can customize, or click Delete to remove it. A confirmation dialog titled Delete Template appears before it's removed for good. You can also select multiple templates from the list and use Delete templates to remove several at once.

Deleting a template can't be undone. Templates you've already added to a flow are independent copies, so deleting the library version won't affect them.

Default templates

Default templates are the pre-written emails Dubsado uses for specific actions and events, like sending a form, confirming an appointment, or letting a client know an automatic payment failed. Go to Messages ➔ Default templates to see the full list.

You can edit any of them to match your voice, but you can't rename or delete them.

Not every default template works the same way. Some are a starting point you can edit each time you send, and others go out automatically. Knowing which is which tells you how much control you have over what your client sees.

Templates you edit before sending

For these, the default template is just the starting point. When you send the item, whether you do it manually or through a flow's send action, Dubsado drops this template into the email composer, and you can adjust the subject and body before it goes out. Editing the default template changes what shows up pre-filled, but you still get to review and tweak the copy on each send.

Send Invoice: fills in the email when you send an invoice.
Send Form: fills in the email when you send a form.
Send Contract: fills in the email when you send a contract for signature.
Send Portal: fills in the email when you send a client their portal access.
Send Refund: fills in the email when you send a client a refund notification.
Send Scheduler: fills in the email when you send a scheduler.
Send Scheduler Group: fills in the email when you send a scheduler group.

Recurring invoices are the exception. When an invoice recurs, the Send Invoice email goes out automatically on each cycle without a compose step, so the template is exactly what your client receives.

Templates sent automatically

These emails go out on their own when a specific event happens, with no compose step in between. Since you don't get a chance to edit them at send time, the default template is the only place to shape what your client receives. To change what goes out, edit the template.

Contract Completed: sent once a contract is fully signed.
Form Reminder: sent on a form's reminder schedule to nudge a client to complete it.
Appointment Confirmed: sent when a client books an appointment.
Appointment Rescheduled: sent when an appointment is moved.
Appointment Cancelled: sent when an appointment is cancelled.
Payment Plan Reminder: sent before/after a scheduled payment plan installment is due.
Autopay Enabled: sent when a client turns on autopay.
Autopay Failed: sent when an automatic payment fails.
Autopay Cancelled: sent when autopay is turned off.

A scheduler can carry its own confirmation, reschedule, and cancellation emails. When it does, those are used instead of the matching appointment default here.

Editing a default template

Open any default template from Messages ➔ Default templates, update the Subject line and Email content with the same editor you use for custom templates, then click Save. A few things to keep in mind:

You can't rename or delete a default template, and you can't swap one out for a different custom template in its spot. To change what goes out for an event, edit that default template directly.
The smart fields available on a default template match its purpose. An invoice-related default, for example, offers invoice and payment plan details rather than the full smart field list.
You can search and sort default templates just like custom templates, and the search covers the title, subject, and body.

FAQ

Does editing a template also change the version already added to a flow?

No. When you add a template to a flow, the flow stores its own copy of that email. Editing the template in your library afterward doesn't change emails that are already part of a flow.