An automation in iSend is a rule that ties a contact group to an event and a message: when the event happens for a contact, the message goes out on its own. There are five types, appointment, birthday, name day, anniversary and welcome, and all of them are set up from the same form in five steps. The platform checks active automations every five minutes and sends at the time you have set. Every send is recorded in the automation's reports.
The five types
| Type | When it sends | What the contact needs | Article |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appointment | From 15 minutes to 2 days before the date and time of the appointment | A date and time field in the group | Appointment reminder |
| Birthday | On the day or X days before, at the time you set, every year | Date of birth | Wishes |
| Name day | On the day of the name day, found from the first name | First name | Wishes |
| Anniversary | On the day or X days before, every year, or once on a specific date | Anniversary date, or a custom date field of yours | Wishes |
| Welcome | Immediately or X minutes after a contact joins the group | Nothing more | Below |
The "Anniversary" type also accepts a custom date field of yours with the option "once" instead of "every year". This way it covers expirations, such as insurance or a contract, with a message X days before the date in the field. For vehicle inspections, insurance policies and service there is also the separate Expirations menu, described in the appointments article.
The five steps of the form
- Type. You pick one of the five. It determines which fields the form asks for next.
- Name and group. Only you see the name, in the list. The group is which contacts are checked. A contact in two groups with the same automation receives from each one, so keep one automation per type.
- Field and timing. For appointments, the date and time field and how long before. For birthday, name day and anniversary, how many days before and at what time. For welcome, how many minutes after sign-up. The time zone is Europe/Athens.
- Message. With personalization tags, such as {FIRST_NAME_VOC}, and for appointments also {APPOINTMENT_LINK}. The limits on characters per SMS apply.
- Save. The automation starts active. From the list you pause it or activate it again whenever you want.
The welcome message
The "Welcome" type sends to every new contact in the group, whatever source it came from: a popup on your site, a QR code, a sign-up form, the API or a file import. The delay in minutes leaves time for a double confirmation or simply makes the message feel less robotic. It is the right way to deliver a sign-up coupon:
{FIRST_NAME_VOC}, welcome to Cafe Kipos! Your code for 10% off: KALOSIRTHES10. Valid until 31/10.
Be careful with file imports: if you add 500 old customers to a group with an active welcome automation, all 500 will receive the message. Pause the automation before a bulk import.
When exactly it sends
The platform checks active automations every five minutes. For wishes and anniversaries, the message goes out on the first check after the time you set, that is at most five minutes later. For appointments, the offset is measured from each contact's appointment time. For welcome, from the moment of sign-up. If the contact does not have the required value in the field, it is skipped without an error.
Each automation sends once per contact and event. If you change the message, the next sends use the new text.
What you see in the list
For each automation: status, group, last run, and three buttons:
- Run now, which runs the check immediately instead of waiting for the five minutes. Useful for testing with your own mobile number inside the group.
- Pause and activate, individually or in bulk.
- Reports, with every message the automation sent, the recipient and the delivery status, just like the platform's Reports.
The calendar shows the upcoming sends per day, so you can see what will go out tomorrow before it does.
What is not billed differently
Every automation message is a regular SMS, one credit per part, from your account balance. Wishes and appointment reminders do not get the STOP line, because they are not advertising. A welcome message with a coupon is an advertising message and is addressed to a contact who has just given consent.
Frequently asked questions
How many automations can I have?
As many as you need. A typical appointment-based business has three: a reminder one day before, a reminder two hours before, and name day wishes. An e-shop has welcome and birthday, and leaves the order messages to the plugin.
How do I test an automation before leaving it running?
Put your own mobile number in the group with the appropriate value in the field, for example an appointment in one hour or a birthday today, and click "Run now". The message arrives within seconds and appears in the automation's reports.
Can an automation send Viber?
Yes, the form accepts the SMS or Viber channel. For Viber you need an active Viber Sender ID and Viber credits, as explained in the article about Viber.