Help CenterYour customers

Set up automatic notifications

This guide shows a small-business owner how to turn on Routella's automatic delivery messages, so customers get texted or emailed at the right moments (order accepted, on the way, delivered, and more) without anyone hitting send by hand.

What it is

Automatic notifications are the messages Routella sends to your customers on its own as their delivery moves along. You connect a way to reach people (WhatsApp, SMS text message, or email), then you pick which delivery moments should trigger a message, and you set the wording once. After that, Routella watches your deliveries and sends the right message at the right time, all by itself. You set it up one time and it keeps working for every future order.

Why it matters

Customers constantly wonder "where is my order?" Automatic messages answer that before they have to ask, so you get fewer "where's my stuff?" calls and your customers feel cared for. A "driver on the way" message means someone is actually home to receive it, which cuts failed deliveries. And a warm "delivered, thank you!" or review request at the end builds trust and brings people back, all without you or your dispatcher having to remember to do anything.

Step by step

1
Open the Customer Messaging area
From your main dashboard, find and click the Customer Messaging button (it has a little paper-plane icon). A popup opens with four sections across the top: Templates, Messages, Channels, and Test. This popup is your home base for everything about automatic notifications.
2
Connect a way to reach customers (the Channels tab)
Click the Channels tab first, because nothing can send until you connect at least one channel (a way to deliver messages). You have three choices. WhatsApp: scan a QR code with your phone, exactly like setting up WhatsApp Web (open WhatsApp on your phone, go to Settings, then Linked Devices, then Link a Device, and point your camera at the code on screen). Email: type your business email, then enter the short verification code Routella emails you, so replies come back to you and not to Routella. SMS (text messages): this one is a paid subscription you turn on with a quick checkout. Pick whichever channel fits how your customers like to be reached.
3
Go to Templates and choose which moments send a message
Click the Templates tab. You'll see a card for each delivery moment: 'Order accepted for delivery', 'Order picked up', 'Delivery in progress', 'Driver on the way (ETA)' (ETA means the rough time the driver will arrive), 'Delivered successfully', 'Delivery failed', and 'Feedback request'. Each card has an on/off switch. Flip on the moments you want customers to hear about. A good starting set is 'Order accepted', 'Driver on the way', and 'Delivered'.
4
Edit the wording for each message
On any card you turned on, open its editor to change the wording. Routella fills in real details automatically using placeholders, which are words inside curly braces. For example {name} becomes the customer's name, {orderId} becomes their order number, {trackingUrl} becomes their personal live-tracking link, {eta} becomes the arrival time, and {businessName} becomes your shop name. You can keep the ready-made wording or rewrite it in your own voice; just leave the curly-brace placeholders in place so the real info gets filled in. If you connected more than one channel, you can set separate wording for WhatsApp, SMS, and email.
5
Send yourself a test message (the Test tab)
Click the Test tab, pick a channel, enter your own phone number or email, and send. This proves the connection works and lets you see exactly what a customer will receive on their phone or in their inbox. For WhatsApp and SMS, Routella waits for the carrier to confirm real delivery, so a green result here means it genuinely arrived, not just that it was accepted.
6
Run a real delivery and watch it work
Once a channel is connected and your chosen moments are on, you're done. As you create a delivery round and your driver picks up, heads out, and completes stops, Routella sends each message on its own at the matching moment. You don't press send for any of it.
7
Check what actually went out (the Messages tab)
Click the Messages tab any time to see the history of every message Routella sent: who got it, on which channel, and whether it was delivered. If something failed, the row shows the reason (for example a bad phone number), so you can fix it. This is your proof and your troubleshooting log in one place.

Tips

Start small. Turn on just two or three moments (like 'Order accepted', 'Driver on the way', and 'Delivered') so customers feel informed but not spammed. You can always turn on more later.
Always keep the curly-brace placeholders, like {name} and {trackingUrl}, exactly as they are. They are how Routella drops in each customer's real details. If you delete them, the message goes out missing that info.
Routella has built-in duplicate protection, so it won't send the same moment twice for the same order even if a status gets re-saved. You don't have to worry about double-texting people.
Each customer is messaged in their own language automatically based on their delivery address and phone, so you can write your templates in plain English and customers still read them in their own language.

Common questions

Do I have to be at my computer for these to send?

No. That's the whole point. Once you connect a channel and turn on the moments you want, Routella sends every message on its own as deliveries happen, day or night, with no one pressing a button.

Will customers be able to reply to me?

Yes, in a useful way. WhatsApp messages come from your own connected number, so replies land in your WhatsApp. Emails are set up so a customer hitting 'reply' goes straight to your verified business email, never to Routella.

Is there a cost?

It depends on the channel. WhatsApp and email are very low-cost or included depending on your plan, while SMS text messaging is a paid subscription you switch on with a checkout. The Channels tab shows the price for each option before you commit, so there are no surprises.