Configure Invoice Notification

This article explains how to enable and manage automated invoice messages in MyTime. 

Things to know:

• The ability to view and customize automated messages is governed by the "Accessing Automated Messages" access control setting.
• The invoicing feature is controlled by the "Enable Invoicing Clients" company setting. Learn more about invoicing here

• Once an appointment is marked as completed, the 'Send invoice' transactional email can be sent automatically to the client with their invoice to complete payment. This functionality is controlled by the “Send Invoice Automatically When Appointment is Completed” hidden setting, which can only be enabled by the MyTime team. To enable this setting, please contact support@mytime.com 

• Notification Requirements
  • SMS Notifications: Clients must have a valid phone number on file and be single-opted in to receive transactional SMS.
  • Email Notifications: Clients must have a valid email address on file and be opted in to receive transactional emails.
• SMS Segment Calculation & Billing:

  • SMS costs are calculated per segment, not per message. Carriers treat each segment as a separate message for delivery and billing, so every segment is counted and charged individually. This billing method is determined by carriers and is not specific to MyTime.

  • Segments per message are based on length and encoding

  • Encoding Standards 

    • GSM Encoding:

      • GSM-encoded messages (standard letters, numbers, and symbols) allow up to 160 characters per segment. 

      • If the message is longer than 160 characters, it will be split into concatenated segments of 153 characters each.

    • UCS-2 Encoding:

      • UCS-2 messages (special characters, emojis, or non-Latin alphabets) allow up to 70 characters per segment. 

      • If the message is longer than 70 characters, it will be split into concatenated segments of 67 characters each.
        

      • Even a single emoji forces UCS-2 encoding, reducing per-segment capacity and potentially doubling the number of segments.

    • Note: Concatenation headers are hidden data that let the recipient’s phone reassemble multiple segments into a single message.

  • Each recipient receives their own copy, so the number of segments per message is multiplied by the number of recipients to calculate billing. Example: A 2-segment message sent to 50 recipients counts as 100 billable segments. If each segment costs $0.02, the total cost would be 100 × $0.02 = $2.00.

  • Learn more about SMS segments & billing here.
    
• Automated text messages cannot be sent from the dedicated phone number because these are two-way messages. Since SMS messages don’t carry any metadata, MyTime needs to rotate phone numbers in order to determine which message someone is replying to
• Curly braces {} are reserved characters in MyTime’s email template system and are used as variable placeholders. If a client’s pet name contains curly braces (for example, {Bella}), any automated message or notification that references the pet’s name may fail to send. 

  
  

To enable invoice automated messages: 

1. Go to Marketing > Automated Messages
2. From the Transactional tab, navigate to Point of Sale 
3. Hover over the 'Send Invoice' option to reveal the View/Deactivate options 
4. Select View, you will be directed to the Edit Send Invoice page 
5. From here you can edit the following (if your subscription allows):

   • Delivery By: You can specify a fallback delivery method (email, SMS, or push notification) when the primary method is unavailable. Learn more here

     • Use if available: This is the primary method that will be attempted first
     • Use if other methods not available: This method will be attempted if the primary option is unavailable (because contact information is not on file or the user opted out)
     • Never Use: This method will not be used, even if none of the other options are available

   • Reply-to name: This is the name that appears when clients reply to an automated email. By default, it is pulled from the business name set on the Business Profile page.

   • Subject: 

   • Add Directions: You can add directions for each of your locations. They will be featured in clients’ appointment-related emails.

   • Service-specific Instructions: You can add instructions for each of your services. They will be featured in clients’ appointment-related emails and SMS. Learn more here

   • The header contains your location information. You can edit this information from your business profile. Learn how-to here 

   • To edit the body of the email by hover over the highlighted sections > Click on the edit icon   
     
6. When you are finished editing the template, select 'Save' at the bottom 

For more information, contact us at support@mytime.com or (385) 233-6964.

Related Articles:

Invoicing Clients Directly from POS

Paying Invoices Online & Managing Saved Cards on File