How to Create SMS and Email Templates in Front Desk | Front Desk Practice Management System

Front Desk SMS and Email templates can be created for different scenarios including appointment reminders, general correspondence, new patient information and marketing communications.

1. Creating SMS Templates

To create an SMS template, select System > Standard Messages > Standard SMS

Click Add to create a new Standard SMS template

Enter a Description for your template followed by an SMS message in the Text area. Your message can include Letter tags which will appear in red and enclosed in the following brackets << >>. Letter tags will automatically be populated with patient information from Front Desk where available. In the below example the patient’s preferred name, their next appointment time and the practitioner's name who they are seeing on the day.

A list of available Letter Tags can be found here:

Below are some SMS Template examples that you can use either directly or as the basis of your own custom templates in Front Desk. Simply copy the text between the dotted lines and paste into the Text box as seen in the step above.

General Appointment Reminder
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Hi <<Prefname>>. Your next appt with <<NextAppointmentpracName>> is
on <<Appointmenttime(dddd d mmmm "at" h:mm am/pm)>>. Reply YES
to confirm or please call 8361 2666 Smartsoft Clinic
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Inactive Patient Marketing SMS
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Hi <<Prefname>>. We’ve missed you! Book an appointment this
month and receive a gap free treatment. Call today on
1800 18 18 20 regards from Smartsoft Clinic.
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Note that Front Desk offers flexible and powerful formatting of dates and times in letter tags so that they can be view in various formats. Some examples follow;
Mon 24th June at 9.00 am
Monday 24/6/2016 at 9.00
Mon 24 June at 9 am

For information on formatting the date and time of your SMS Reminder see the following post: http://help.smartsoft.com.au/en/articles/4196521-adjusting-the-date-format-in-sms-reminders

2. Creating Email Templates

To create an Email template, select System > Standard Messages > Standard Emails and then select Add to create a new template.

Give the template a name in the Description field and type in a Subject for your email. Note that you can use letter tags in your subject.

Double click in the Message space to open up the HTML editor. When creating an HTML email, you can set the font type and add images to customise the look of your email. Don’t forget to utilise letter tags to personalise the email for each patient.

If you require any assistance with setting up your SMS and email templates please submit a support request at www.smartsoft.com.au/support

SMS Template Examples

Appointment Reminder Template

Copy and Paste between the dotted lines
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Hi <<FirstName>>.
Your next appointment is on <<NextAppointmentInPeriod>>
with <<NextAppointmentInPeriodPracName>> at Smartsoft Clinic.
If unable to attend please call 1234 5678
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Merged Preview

Hi John.
Your next appointment is on Thu 10 Apr 2014
10:00am with Dr Robert Brown at Smartsoft Clinic.
If unable to attend please call 1234 5678

Birthday Template

Copy and Paste between the dotted lines
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Happy Birthday <<FirstName>>.
Wishing you all the best from the team at Smartsoft Clinic.
Copy and Paste between the dotted lines
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Merged Preview

Happy Birthday John.
Wishing you all the best from the team at Smartsoft Clinic.

Missed Appointment Template

Copy and Paste between the dotted lines
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Hi <<FirstName>>.
You have recently missed an appointment on <<PreviousAppointment>>.
Please call 1234 5678 to reschedule or provide a cancellation reason.
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Merged Preview

Hi John.
You have recently missed an appointment on Wed 28 Aug 2013 3:00pm.
Please call 1234 5678 to reschedule or provide a cancellation reason.

Contact Template for Inactive Patients

Copy and Paste between the dotted lines
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Hi <<FirstName>>.Thanks for visiting Smartsoft on <<PreviousAppointment>>.
We've not heard from you in a while, hoping all is well. Regards,
The Smartsoft Team.
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Merged Preview

Hi John.Thanks for visiting Smartsoft on Wed 28 Aug 2013 3:00pm.
We've not heard from you in a while, hoping all is
well. Regards, The Smartsoft Team.

Christmas/Festive Season Greetings

Send SMS to All Patients

To send an SMS to all of your patients with mobile numbers, go to the Patient List under the Reports menu, and click the SMS button on the right of the screen.

Copy and Paste between the dotted lines
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Hi <<PrefName>>,
The team at [Enter your practice name and remove brackets] would like
to wish you and your family their best wishes for the festive season.
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Merged Preview

Hi John,
The team at Smartsoft Clinic would like to wish
you and your family their best wishes for the festive season.

Send SMS to Patients filtered by Practitioner

To personalise the message for each of your practitioners, go to the Patient List under the Reports menu, check "By Default practitioner", select "Practitioner", and then select a practitioner from the drop-down list. Click the SMS button, and select the correct template. Do this once for each of your practitioners, each of whom should have their own personalised SMS template.

Copy and Paste between the dotted lines
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Hi <<PrefName>>,
Wishing you the best for Xmas and the New Year.
<<PracName>>, [Enter your profession and remove brackets].
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Merged Preview

Hi Mary,
Wishing you the best for Xmas and the New Year.
Joan Smith, Podiatrist.

Send SMS to Active Patients filtered by Practitioner

To send an SMS only to those patients who have visited your practice during the year, go to the Active / Inactive Patients report under the Reports menu. Select the "Active" option, and then set the "Transaction between" date range to the current year. You can also choose to run this report "By Default Practitioner" to personalise the SMS message for each of your practitioners.

Merged Preview

Hi Mary,
Wishing you the best for Xmas and the New Year.
Joan Smith, Podiatrist.