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Updated Oct 16, 2026

Email and SMS templates ​

Last updated: 2026–08-19

Email and SMS templates control the messages applicants and customers receive during a loan application — things like a decision notice, a document request, or a contract reminder. You manage every template, both email and SMS, from Email & SMS in the sidebar.

How templates work ​

Templates live in one shared list. Each row shows:

  • Name
  • Type — Email or SMS
  • Updated by — either a staff member’s name, or “LendAPI” if the template is a built-in system template
  • Last update date
  • Active status

Built-in system templates (used for account creation, password reset, tenant invites, email verification, and reverted applications) are marked System default template in the list and are attributed to LendAPI rather than a staff member.

Creating a template ​

  1. Open Email & SMS.
  2. Click Create (or Add).
  3. Choose the type: Email or SMS.
  4. Enter a template name and, optionally, an internal description.
  5. Save. You’re taken directly into the editor for that template.

Building the message ​

Subject and body. Email templates have a subject line and a body. SMS templates have only a body.

Recipients. For either type, you pick who receives the message. You can select a recipient from a list of available variables (for example, the applicant’s email address), or type a value directly:

  • On email templates, typed values are validated as email addresses.
  • On SMS templates, typed values are validated as phone numbers.

Variables. Insert placeholders like into the subject or body. When the message is sent, tested, or previewed, these are replaced with real values. Some variables are numbers that display differently depending on how they’re set up — for example, a loan amount can show as plain text, as currency ($25,000), or as a percentage (5.99%).

Application link variable. A special placeholder inserts a link back to the applicant’s application. This link can point at a specific tab of the application, so a message can send someone straight to, for example, the document upload step they still need to finish.

Attachments (email). Email templates can attach a document from the Document Library, a contract, or an uploaded file. There’s also a separate option to automatically attach the signed contract or offer letter. SMS templates have the same “attach the contract/offer letter” option, but not general file attachments.

Sending as a sequence (email). An email template can be set to send once, or as a sequence of messages, each spaced out by a delay measured in hours or days.

Setting the trigger ​

Every template (other than the built-in system ones) fires based on a trigger. There are three configurable trigger types:

Outcome-based. The template fires when an application reaches one or more selected decision outcomes. At least one outcome is required — the form blocks saving without one.

Product-based. The template fires based on a selected product and a “trigger when” condition:

  • a tab is loaded
  • a tab is completed
  • the form is completed
  • the form is not finished

If the condition is “a tab is loaded” or “a tab is completed,” you must also select which product tab(s) it applies to.

Event-based. The template fires on one of these application events:

  • Contract is signed
  • Contract is not signed — fires within the reminder schedule
  • Application withdrawn
  • Continue Application — fires when the application continues after approval
  • Multi Applicant — fires when a multi-applicant invite is sent
  • New Application — fires when a new application is submitted

Selecting the “Contract is signed” event also requires selecting at least one outcome, same as an outcome-based trigger.

Built-in defaults. Five templates — Account Creation, Password Reset, Tenant Invite, Email Verification, and Application Reverted — use fixed system triggers and don’t need an outcome, product, or event configured.

Tenant scope. For outcome, product, and event triggers, you can restrict a template to specific tenants. Built-in default templates are not scoped this way.

Testing a template ​

Before publishing, send yourself (or a colleague) a test message:

  1. Open the template and switch to the test panel.
  2. Enter a destination — an email address for email templates, a phone number for SMS templates.
  3. Enter sample values for the variables used in the template.
  4. Send the test. A successful test shows a confirmation (“Test email sent” or “Test SMS sent”). A failed test shows an error message.

Previewing a template ​

Use the preview action to see the rendered subject and body as an applicant would see them, with variable placeholders shown either as sample values or as raw tokens depending on how you opened the preview.

Managing versions ​

Templates keep a version history. Each version shows a version number, a description, when it was created and last updated, who created it, and whether it’s the current default version.

  • Publish a draft to create a new version, with a description of what changed. You can mark the new version as the default at the same time.
  • If nothing has changed since the last version, publishing tells you no new changes were detected instead of treating it as an error.
  • Set default on any past version to make it the one that’s actually sent.
  • Copy to draft takes a past version and copies it into a new draft, so you can keep editing without touching the live version.

Active status ​

Each template has an active/inactive status, separate from its version history. You can update this status from the template list.

Worked example ​

A lender wants to email applicants an approval notice with their offer letter attached.

  1. In Email & SMS, click Create, choose Email, name it “Approval Notice,” and save.
  2. In the editor, write the subject: Your loan offer is ready, .
  3. In the body, add: Congratulations! You've been approved for at . Because approved_amount is a money-formatted variable, it renders as $25,000. Because interest_rate is percentage-formatted, it renders as 9.5%.
  4. Turn on attach contract so the signed offer letter is included automatically.
  5. Set the trigger to outcome-based, and select the “Approved” outcome.
  6. Open the test panel, enter a test email address, fill in sample values for applicant_name, approved_amount, and interest_rate, and send a test. Confirm the message reads correctly and the currency and percentage formatting look right.
  7. Publish the template with a description like “Initial approval notice,” marking it as the default version.

From now on, any application that reaches the “Approved” outcome sends this email, with the offer letter attached and the applicant’s real numbers filled in.

Use case ​

A credit union sends borrowers a reminder when their loan contract hasn’t been signed yet.

Instead of manually checking who hasn’t signed, the credit union creates an SMS template with the event-based trigger “Contract is not signed.” This event fires on its own schedule for unsigned contracts, so the reminder goes out without staff tracking each application. The message body includes the application link variable, so the text sends borrowers straight to the signing step of their application.

Best practices ​

  • Send a test message before publishing any change, especially when you’ve edited variables or attachments — formatting errors (like a percentage variable rendering as raw text) are easier to catch in a test than after applicants see it.
  • Use outcome-based triggers for decision communications (approval, decline), product-based triggers for in-application nudges tied to a specific step, and event-based triggers for lifecycle moments like contract signing or withdrawal.
  • When using a product trigger tied to “tab is loaded” or “tab is completed,” double-check you’ve selected the correct tab — the form won’t let you save without at least one.
  • Use copy to draft to test changes to a live template without affecting what’s currently sending to applicants. Only set a new version as default after you’ve tested it.
  • Reserve the built-in default templates (account creation, password reset, tenant invite, email verification, application reverted) for their fixed system events — they don’t take a configurable trigger.

Unclear or unconfirmed behavior ​

  • Whether an inactive/deactivated template still fires on its trigger, or is fully skipped, is not documented in the source.
  • There is no confirmed way to permanently delete a template — only to change its active status.
  • SMS character limits are not documented in the source.
  • The exact meaning of the “hidden” trigger type is not documented; it does not appear to be user-selectable in SMS templates.

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