Automatic emails based are sent at various stages of the order process, called triggers, and are based on the email templates located in Data Management > Email Templates. In HIP Office, these stages are called triggers.
There are nine possible triggers in the order process:
1. Inspection booked
2. Contract signed
3. Payment made
4. Inspection time
5. Report uploaded
6. Order closed
7. Reject order lead
8. Inspection cancelled
9. Refund issued
Inspection booked means that an order has been successfully created and submitted to HIP Office. Contract signed is initiated when the client has signed the contract/pre-inspection agreement. Payment made occurs after the client has submitted payment via online payment, or a payment has been manually entered for the order by the inspector.
Inspection time is an email reminder to the client (or inspector) sent at a preset time before the inspection that includes details of the order, including the inspection date and time. It is initiated by the time that it is set to send before the inspection.
Report uploaded is triggered when the report has been uploaded to HIP Office for the order, either manually (from within Office) or automatically from HIP Desktop. Order closed indicates that the order is completed. This occurs automatically after an order has a signed contract, payment has been made, a report has been uploaded, and the client has viewed the report.
Reject order lead is triggered when an invalid response is submitted through the client-initiated website scheduler (not currently available.)
Inspection cancelled
The inspection has been cancelled.
Refund issued
A refund has been issued.
Email Triggers and Email Events
Each of these triggers can have multiple email events set up to email different people. For example, once an order has been created, a separate and personalized email can automatically be sent to confirm the order with multiple people, such as: the home owner, the agent, you, an administrative assistant, etc. You can choose who will be sent the emails, and what each of those emails will say. These are the email events. In this example, one email event might be named "Send Confirmation of Booking to Buyer's Agent."
Tips and Recommendations
The email templates allow you to be as specific or as general as you would like. When starting out, it is best to set up the default templates first. Any service type with no custom email template set will use the default template. Then, as you become more familiar with the order process and the email triggers in your testing, you can decide which services and triggers may need more customized emails.
In all email templates, and especially those that are sent to yourself as the inspector, it's good to include identifying information, such as the order number, inspection address, or client name so that you know which order has been updated when you see an email alert (if you have chosen to receive them.)