Manual Letters & Emails — Messages

What is a message?

A message is a re-usable letter, email, or notification template. You write the wording once; the platform fills in the names and dates when it sends.

You probably want a message for things like:

  • Application approved — sent when a workflow approves a leave request.
  • Welcome email — sent when a new staff account is created.
  • Monthly report — generated and emailed on the 1st of each month.

Categories

Each message has a category — it's just a label, but it helps you keep things organised:

Category Used for
Notification In-app pop-ups, emails about activity
Letter Official PDF letters with a header / footer
Receipt Payment / submission confirmations
Memo Internal staff memos
Certificate Course completion, attendance
Task An assignment to a user (creates an inbox item)

Pick the closest match. Categories don't change what the message does — only how it's grouped in lists.

Anatomy

A message has four key parts:

  1. Subject (or letter title) — a one-line summary.
  2. Body — the message itself, with placeholders for runtime data.
  3. Variables — the bits that get filled in.
  4. Settings — who it goes to, attachments, format.

You write the body once. Variables make every send different.

Where to next

  • Write your first message — step-by-step.
  • Variables — what they are and how to use them.
  • Common mistakes.