Customer communications

Communication settings control how and when your customers hear from you: push notifications, SMS, and email for order milestones, plus the marketing messages you send through campaigns. Operational notifications keep customers informed without a single phone call from your staff, and marketing messages respect each customer’s consent preferences automatically.

Where to find it

In your admin dashboard: channel providers live at Dashboard → Settings → Integration → Essential (/configuration/integrations/basic-integration); customer-facing message templates at Dashboard → Settings → Notification → Global Notification; contact-form submissions at Settings → Notification → Contact Submissions. Requires admin access.

The three channels

Channel	Providers	Typical use
Email	SendGrid, or your own SMTP server	Receipts, order updates, marketing campaigns
SMS	Twilio or Telnyx	Order updates, OTP login codes, short marketing messages
Push notifications	OneSignal	Instant order updates in your branded customer app

Each channel runs on a provider account. These are typically configured together with the SupaOrder platform team during onboarding — the provider credentials live under Dashboard → Settings → Integration → Essential (/configuration/integrations/basic-integration), and you generally won’t need to touch them afterwards unless you switch providers.

Channels need a working provider

A channel without a configured provider simply doesn’t send. If customers report missing SMS or emails, the provider configuration is the first thing to check — contact your SupaOrder account manager before changing credentials yourself.

When customers hear from you

Order notifications

Notifications fire automatically at order events — placed, accepted, ready, delivered, cancelled, and edited — so customers always know where their food is without calling. See the order lifecycle for what each stage means.

Login codes (OTP)

Customers signing into your app with a phone number receive a one-time code by SMS. This is operational, not marketing — it sends regardless of marketing consent, because the customer requested it.

Marketing

Marketing campaigns and voucher campaigns send through the same email, SMS, and push channels — but only to customers who have consented on that channel. Consent is collected in the customer app and at the in-store tablet, and respected automatically; you don’t filter lists by hand.

Message templates

Customer-facing notification text is managed at Dashboard → Settings → Notification → Global Notification. This is where the wording of the messages your customers receive lives — review it during onboarding so the tone matches your brand, and revisit it when you enable new features that notify customers.

Send yourself a test order

The fastest way to audit your communications is to place a real order with your own phone number and email: you’ll see every notification exactly as customers do — timing, wording, and channel.

Contact form submissions

If your customer app or website includes a contact form, submissions arrive at Settings → Notification → Contact Submissions in the dashboard. Check it as part of your routine — these are customers who took the time to write to you, and an unanswered contact form quietly erodes trust faster than almost any other channel.

Assign it to a named person with a response-time target (same business day is a good bar for a restaurant), rather than leaving it as everyone’s-and-no-one’s job.

Which channel for what

A practical split that keeps costs sane and customers happy:

Message	Best channel(s)	Why
Order status updates	Push, with SMS as reach-everyone backup	Instant, free, expected
OTP login codes	SMS	Works before the app is even set up
Receipts and summaries	Email	Customers file and search email
Marketing campaigns	Push + email first; SMS sparingly	SMS costs per message and feels intrusive when overused
Voucher offers	Push + the in-store tablet	Catch customers at decision moments

Two cost-and-reputation rules of thumb:

• SMS is metered. Your SMS provider bills per message — big campaigns to your full list add up fast. Spend SMS on time-sensitive, high-value messages.
• Protect deliverability. Marketing that recipients didn’t want gets flagged as spam, which can drag down delivery of your operational messages on the same channel. The built-in consent gating exists to protect you — work with it, not around it.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Try this
Customers report no SMS / email arriving	Provider issue is most likely — check with your SupaOrder account manager that the Essential integration credentials are valid
Push notifications not arriving	The customer must have the app installed with notifications allowed at the device level; reinstalling the app re-prompts
Marketing message didn’t reach a customer	Check the customer has marketing consent on that channel — unconsented customers are skipped by design
Notification wording is wrong or off-brand	Edit the template at Dashboard → Settings → Notification → Global Notification
OTP codes delayed	SMS delivery speed depends on the SMS provider and destination network; persistent delays are worth raising with support

Related: Order lifecycle · Marketing campaigns · Voucher campaigns · Branding