How to Manage Email, SMS and Document Templates in Effi

Templates let your team send consistent, professional messages without writing them from scratch every time. This article shows you how to find, edit, create and use email, SMS and document templates in Effi, how to review and personalise stage emails when you move a lead, and how to review changes.

Before you start

• Who can do this: the options you see depend on your role and permissions. Customising system templates and archiving document templates are Broker Business Administrator tasks.
• System Templates vs Custom Templates: System Templates are the standard emails and SMS messages Effi sends for you, such as invitations, document requests and task notifications. Custom Templates are reusable messages your business creates for its own use.
• Feature availability: some template features, including system-template customisation and stage-change auto-send, only work when they're switched on for your business. You may still see these screens and settings when a feature isn't switched on. If you're unsure what's switched on for your business, contact Effi Support.
• What publishing does:
  • System templates: when you publish an edit, the published version is what Effi sends.
  • Templates switched off for your business stay off after you publish. Publishing doesn't switch a template back on.
  • Custom templates: publishing makes the template available to select when you send a message manually. It only sends automatically if it's set to Auto-send on a stage change.

You'll need: access to Settings in Effi, and about 10 minutes.

NEW RELEASE: POP-UP TEMPLATES

At a glance 

Templates workflow · 4 tabs, then use in a lead

Each tab has its own short path. Templates you save in System or Custom Templates are the ones you insert from a lead's Messaging tab.
 

FEATURE WALKTHROUGH

Step 1: Open Templates

1. Select your profile icon in the top-right corner, then select Settings.

1. On the Settings page, select the Templates tab.

Templates are organised into four tabs: System Templates, Custom Templates, Document Templates and Activity Log. You'll only see the tabs and actions your role allows.

Step 2: Review or edit a System Template

System Templates are the standard emails and SMS messages Effi sends for you. Each row shows the template's channel, category, override status, whether it's active and when it was last updated.

1. Select the System Templates tab (1).
2. Find the template you want and select the pencil icon at the end of its row (2).

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3. In the editor, make your changes:
   • Variables panel (1): select or drag a variable into the editor to personalise your message, for example the broker name, broker signature or legal disclaimer.
   • Template fields (2): update the template name, email subject, CC recipients and message body. Anyone added in CC receives a copy of every email sent with this template.
   • Preview (3): check how your message looks, using the Desktop and Mobile buttons.
   • Actions (4): select Send test…, Save Draft or Publish….

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4. To check the message in your own inbox, select Send test…, enter an email address (1) and select Send (2).

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5. Select Save Draft to keep your changes without publishing them, or Publish… when you're ready. Select X to close the editor.
6. In the Publish template window, enter a short note under What changed? (1), for example, Added the Credit Guide, then select Publish (2). The note is required and appears in the template's version history. Select X to close the editor.

Please note: when you publish an edit to a system template, the published version is what Effi sends. If a template is switched off for your business, it stays off after you publish; publishing doesn't switch it back on. System-template customisation only works when it's switched on for your business, even if you can see the editor. If you're unsure, contact Effi Support before making changes.

Business-specific versions

When a Broker Business Administrator customises and publishes a system template, that version applies only to their business. It doesn't change the default for other businesses on Effi. Templates you haven't customised keep using the Effi default.

The Override Status column (1) shows whether each template uses the standard version or a customised one. Use the pencil icon (2) to edit a template.

Step 3: Create a Custom Email or SMS Template

Custom Templates are reusable messages your team creates, so you don't have to write the same content again and again.

1. Select the Custom Templates tab (1), then select + New template (2)

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2. Choose the channel: Email or SMS (1).
3. Under Used for (2), choose how the template will be used:
   • Stage change auto-send: linked to a workflow stage (see step 6).
   • Document requests: used when requesting documents from a client.
   • Email composer: available to insert when writing an email in a lead.
4. Enter a Name, a Subject (for emails) and your message. To personalise it, add variables from the left-hand panel (3).

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5. To send the broker's Credit Guide with this template, turn on Attach the broker's Credit Guide automatically (1). It's attached to document requests sent with this template and to stage auto-send emails that go to the client when the lead's broker has a Credit Guide uploaded. It isn't added when you use the template in the email composer.

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6. Preview your template, then select Save Draft or Published. When you publish, enter a note under What changed? and select Publish
7. For stage change templates only, complete Stage & sending:
   • Use the Auto-send toggle (1) to choose whether the message sends automatically.
   • Choose the workflow and stage (2) that should trigger the message, for example Finance → Documents Verified.
   • Under Send to (3), choose the recipient: Consumer, Broker, Referrer or Partner.
   • Optionally, tick Send again each time the lead re-enters this stage.

Please note: publishing a custom template makes it available to select when you send a message manually. It only sends automatically if it's set to Auto-send on a stage change, and stage-change auto-send only works when it's switched on for your business, even if you can see the setting. Contact Effi Support to confirm what's switched on for your business.

Avoid duplicate messages: if a stage already has other automations, such as ActiveCampaign, review them before turning on Auto-send.

To leave without saving, select X, then Discard in the Discard changes? window.

Step 4: Manage Document Templates

Document Templates standardise the document checklists you use when requesting documents from clients.

1. Select the Document Templates tab.
   • To review or edit a template, select its name.
   • Use All Templates and Your Templates (2) to switch between every template and the ones you've created.
   • Broker Business Administrators can archive templates the team no longer needs using the icon at the end of each row (4). Turn on Show Archived (3) to see archived templates.
2. To create a template, select + New Document Template (1).

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3. To start from scratch, choose Create New (1), then enter a Template Name (2) and a Description. Select Create (3).

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4. To copy an existing checklist, choose Create From Existing (1), select the template to copy from the Document Template list (2), then enter a name and description and select Create.

Changes go live when published. Check your checklist carefully before you publish changes to a document template.

Step 5: Use a template in a lead

1. Select Leads from the left-hand menu and open the lead you want to contact.
2. Select the Messaging tab (1).
3. Select the arrow next to New (2) to see your options (Message, Email, Task/Note and Call), then select Email (3).

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4. Check the recipient details in the To and CC fields.
5. Open the Insert template list (1) and choose a saved template (2), for example Request for further information.

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6. The template fills in the subject (1) and message. Review it and replace any placeholder text (2), such as [item 1], before sending.
7. To add a file, select the attachment icon (3).
8. When everything looks right, select Send (4).

Step 6: Review and send stage emails when you move a lead

When a stage has auto-send templates, Effi shows you the emails before they go, so you can check them, personalise them or turn them off.

1. On your board, stages with auto-send templates show an automation count under the stage name, for example, 2 automations (1). Hover over it to see which emails send when a lead moves to that stage.

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2. Drag a lead into that stage. The Move to [stage] window opens:
   1. (1) lists each email that will send. Turn off the toggle next to any email you don't want to send.
   2. (2) shows the recipients. Tap a name to leave that person out.
   3. (3) select Edit to change this email for this lead only.
   4. (4) check the From, To, Cc and Subject details.
   5. (5) select Move and send to move the lead and send the emails. The footer shows how many emails will send and to how many people.

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3. When you edit an email:
   1. The email is tagged Personalised (1).
   2. Change the message in the Message box (2).
   3. Select Reset to Template (3) to undo your changes.

   4. Select Done (4) when you've finished.

      

4. Select Move and send. If the stage has a form, for example, Conditionally Approved, complete it and select Submit. You'll see Lead moved successfully (1), and the lead appears in the new stage (2).

   

Please note: changes you make in this window apply only to that lead. They don't change the saved template. To change the template for everyone, edit it in Settings > Templates.

Step 7: Review changes in the Activity Log

The Activity Log tab records changes made to your templates. For each change, you can see when it happened, which template changed, the type and action, the source, what changed and who made it.

1. Select the Activity Log tab.
2. Search by name, actor or summary (1).
3. Narrow the list with the filters and the From and To dates (2).
4. Review the results in the columns (3). If no changes have been made yet, you'll see No activity yet.

Best practices

• Review the message content and email subject before you publish.
• Check that variables and recipient details are correct.
• Send a test before using a template in a live process.
• Check existing automations to avoid sending duplicate messages.
• Use the Activity Log when you need to review changes.

Frequently asked questions

I can't see the Templates tab, or I can't edit a template. What you can see and do depends on your role and permissions. Ask your Broker Business Administrator, or contact Effi Support.

I published a change to a system template, but clients are still receiving the old message. Publishing an edit to a system template makes it the version Effi sends, but only when system-template customisation is switched on for your business. Check the template is switched on, too: a template switched off for your business stays off after you publish. Contact Effi Support to check what's switched on for your business.

My stage change template isn't sending automatically. A custom template only sends automatically if it's set to Auto-send on a stage change. Otherwise, publishing just makes it available to select when you send manually. Stage-change auto-send also needs to be switched on for your business, even though you can see the setting. Contact Effi Support to confirm.

Can I stop an auto-send email when I move a lead? Yes. In the Move to [stage] window, turn off that email's toggle, or tap a recipient's name to leave them out.

If I edit an email in the Move to [stage] window, does it change the template? No. Your changes apply only to that lead. Select Reset to template to go back to the saved version.

Why wasn't the Credit Guide attached? The lead's broker needs to have a Credit Guide uploaded, and Attach the broker's Credit Guide automatically needs to be on for the template. It also isn't attached to emails sent from the email composer.

Will customising a system template change it for other businesses? No. A customised version applies only to your business. Other businesses keep using the Effi default.

Need help?

Contact Effi Support and include the template name and a screenshot of what you're seeing.