This article will show you how to send out bulk emails or text (SMS) messages to your clients.
Let Us Know You're Interested: PantrySoft staff has some setup to do on our end to activate this feature for you, and if you want SMS/Texting instead of or in addition to email, you'll need to prepay for the carrier fees. Contact us if you're interested in setting up this feature.
Definition
Mass Email and Text is an optional service provided by PantrySoft to bulk message your client base through either email or direct SMS. The SMS/texting aspect of this service has additional charges based on the number of texts sent. Please reach out to us at https://www.pantrysoft.com/support/ if you are interested in implementing this service.
Overview
Dynamic Reports launch Mass messaging. In PantrySoft, bulk emails and text messages are both sent from any properly prepared Dynamic Report; these are reports we've embedded with certain meta-data and are formatted with a single line per household. For instance, most pantries will be equipped with an "All Clients" report, which provides you with a single row for each client record in your database.
Combine your SMS and Email sends: Instructions for mass-emailing and mass-texting (see below) are very similar and are conducted from within these same reports. If you've paid for the SMS version of this service, feel free to experiment performing both email and text-sending operations at the same time.
Verify your sends: Once you've conducted a mass-send, you can review the progress on each individual email and/or text you've sent by going to the "Message Log".
Email and SMS Rates: These mass-communications are charged to your messaging account. There is currently no charge for email messages. SMS rates are $0.02 per text. These rates are subject to change.
Bad Phone Numbers: You will not be charged for improperly formatted phone numbers. Pantrysoft performs an initial later of verification before a mass-send that checks to make sure phones are numeric and have the right number of digits. If Pantrysoft rejects an SMS on that basis, you won't be charged.
Bounced messages: You will be charged for bounced phone numbers. If the service we use cannot find a recipient for the properly formatted phone number you gave us, the service charges Cedar Mountain for the attempt as if it had been successful. Accordingly, your org will be charged for these sends as well.
Sending Mass Emails
Follow these steps to send mass emails to your clients.
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Verify Org Admin Status
Verify you're logged in with Org Admin permissions. Navigate to Reporting->Dynamic Reports.
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Run Report
From the Report drop-down menu, select the report of your choosing (i.e., Visiting Clients)
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Click Run Report
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Filter for Valid Email Addresses
Valid Email Filter? If you don't have the Email filter (sometimes called Valid Email), contact PantrySoft staff and we'll give one to you. More immediately, before sending, you can make sure manually that all selected contacts have an email address.
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Edit the Send List
Click the Select All button above the table. Each client now has a checked box next to their name. If you wish to remove a client from your bulk email, simply uncheck the box. To remove all clients, click Deselect All.
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Compose a Message and Send
In the pop-up window, enter a subject and compose your message. Press and hold the Send button to send. Click Cancel to return to the report page without sending.
Sending is Final: Once you have clicked "Send", there is no way to cancel the bulk message.
Client Email Responses. By default, your clients cannot respond to the message. However, if you set a Reply To Email address, replies will go to that email address. To set the Reply To Email address you will need to be logged in as Org. Admin. Click on your name in the upper right hand corner and then click on Account Settings. Click on Edit and then you will see where you can set the Reply to Email address.
Along those lines, if your account includes the client portal you can also include a Support Email that will allow clients to send an email from your client portal login page if they require assistance.
Sending Mass Texts
Follow these steps to send a mass SMS text to your clients.
- Verify Org Admin Status
Verify you're logged in with Org Admin permissions. Navigate to Reporting->Dynamic Reports. - Run Report
From the Report drop-down menu, select All Client Records. Click Run Report. - Filter by Valid Phone Numbers.
In the top left corner of All Client Records, select "With Phone" from the Phone drop-down menu. This displays all current users that have an phone number on file.
Valid Phone Filter? If you don't have the Phone filter (sometimes called Valid Phone), contact PantrySoft staff and we'll give one to you. More immediately, before sending, you can make sure manually that all selected contacts have phone numbers.
- Edit the Send-list
Click the Select All button above the table. Each client now has a checked box next to their name. If you wish to remove a client from your mass text, simply uncheck the box. To remove all clients, click Deselect All.
- Compose Message and Send
In the pop-up window, enter a subject and compose your message. Press and hold the Send button to send. Click Cancel to return to the report page without sending.
Sending is Final: Once you have clicked Send, there is no way to cancel the bulk message.
Client Email Responses. Your Clients cannot respond to the message. Texts will come from an anonymized phone number. If you're concerned your clients will be confused on this point, include this fact in the message itself.
*Take note of the character counter below the Message. If you go over 160 characters your message will count as more than one text.
Viewing the Message Log
Follow these steps to check the status of your mass messages.
- Login
Verify you're logged in with admin permissions. From the menu, go to Setup->Message Log.
- Find Your Messages
Locate the message(s) to verify. The most recent message will be at the top of the table. Any errors are logged in the Error and System Message column. There are several tools to aid your search:- Start Date / End Date. Change these fields to the desired search range. Click Filter to refresh the report with the new date range. The default is the previous 30 days, including the current day.
- Search Field. Locate an entry by typing into the Search field on the top right above the table. This search field filters the table to only show entries that match your search.
- Show 'x' Entries. Click the drop-down entries menu on the top left and change the value to limit the number of rows displayed on the page.
- Column Sorting. At the top of each column, next to the column description, is an up/down arrow icon. Click this to sort the column by value, either ascending or descending.
- Previous / Next Page. Click the Previous or Next buttons at the bottom right of the table to switch to a different page. If there are multiple pages in the table, click that page's number to jump directly to it.
- CSV. Click CSV to export the report in a spreadsheet format.
- Start Date / End Date. Change these fields to the desired search range. Click Filter to refresh the report with the new date range. The default is the previous 30 days, including the current day.