Admin Configuration Guide

This guide walks through the specific steps for setting up and managing notifications in your makerspace. For a broader overview, see Notifications Overview.

Setting Up Event Notifications

When you first set up your makerspace, a default set of notification rules is created and switched on. You can customize these, switch them off, or create new ones.

Default class emails

These class emails are on for every makerspace and send for every kind of signup: free, comp, paid, a single session or a full class.

Email	Who gets it	When it sends
Registration Confirmation	The member who signed up	Right after they sign up
Instructor New Signup Alert	The instructor	Right after someone signs up. For a single session that’s the session’s instructor (the substitute, if one is set); for a full class, the class instructor.
24-Hour Reminder	The member	24 hours before each session starts
Post-Event Follow-up	The member	2 hours after each session ends
Instructor 24-Hour Reminder	The session’s instructor (the substitute, if one is set)	24 hours before each session that has registered members, with the list of who’s registered. One email per session, however many members signed up.
Instructor Attendance Reminder	The session’s instructor (the substitute, if one is set)	2 hours after each session that had registered members ends, with a link to mark attendance. Not sent if attendance is already marked for that session.
Cancellation Confirmation	The member	Right after they cancel
Instructor Member Left Alert	The instructor	Right after a member cancels. For a single session that’s the session’s instructor (the substitute, if one is set); for a full class, the class instructor.
Class Cancelled Notice	Each member registered for what you cancelled	Right after you cancel a session or a whole class. Always sends.
Instructor Session Cancelled Notice	The instructor	Right after you cancel a session (its substitute, if one is set) or a whole class (the class instructor and any substitute of a cancelled session)

Cancelling a session or class doesn’t refund anyone automatically. The Class Cancelled Notice tells each member what happens to their payment: that they weren’t charged, that their payment was already refunded, or, if they paid and haven’t been refunded, that you’ll be in touch about a refund or credit.

Reminders and follow-ups follow the session: if a session is rescheduled, its reminder moves with it, and if the session is cancelled or the member no longer attends, the reminder isn’t sent. The instructor’s reminders work the same way, and aren’t sent if nobody is registered any more. Each email is sent in the member’s language (English, Spanish or French), and the instructor alert in the instructor’s.

To stop one of these emails for your whole makerspace, switch it off under Admin → Events & Classes → Communications. To stop it for just one class, use that class’s Notifications tab (see Notifications for one class).

Tip

Members can turn off reminders and follow-ups, and instructors their sign-up, member-left, session and attendance reminders, in their own notification settings (under event reminders). Registration and cancellation confirmations, and the Class Cancelled Notice, always send.

Get emailed about registrations and cancellations

Two more class emails go to your team rather than to members. They are off by default:

Email	Who gets it	When it sends
New Event Registration Alert	Makerspace admins	Right after someone signs up for a class
Event Cancellation Alert	Makerspace admins	Right after a member cancels their registration

“Makerspace admins” means everyone in your makerspace who can edit events (anyone whose role or designation includes editing events, Staff included). Nobody in another makerspace is ever emailed, and the person who signed up or cancelled isn’t alerted about themselves.

To turn them on, go to Admin → Events & Classes → Communications and switch on the alert you want. To get them for just one class, add a rule with the Makerspace Admins recipient on that class’s Notifications tab. Each person can turn the alerts off for themselves in their own notification settings (under event reminders). Each person gets the email in their own language.

Tell members their attendance was recorded

One more optional member email is off by default:

Email	Who gets it	When it sends
Attendance Recorded Notice	The member	When you mark their attendance (present, absent or no-show), one at a time or in bulk. At most once a day per member per session: a correction later the same day sends nothing, and saving without changing their status never sends.

The email says whether the member was marked present or absent (a no-show reads as absent). When that attendance is what completes the class’s credential, the email names it and says it’s added to their profile when the class is completed. Switch it on under Admin → Events & Classes → Communications; members can turn it off in their own notification settings (under event reminders).

Creating a notification rule

1. Go to Admin → Events & Classes → Communications
2. Find the section that matches when you want the notification to fire (Before Event, After Event, or Triggered by Action) and click + Add in that group
3. Fill in the rule details:

Field	Description
Trigger	The event that fires the notification (e.g., “Registration confirmed”, “Event starting soon”)
Send Timing	A number and a unit (Minutes / Hours / Days). The direction (before vs. after) is inferred from the group you clicked + Add from — you don’t enter negative numbers. Leave blank for immediate sends.
Recipients	Who receives the notification. Class emails go to the registrant. Registration, cancellation, reminder and follow-up emails, and the email sent when you cancel, can also go to the instructor; registration and cancellation emails can also go to Makerspace Admins (everyone in your makerspace who can edit events). The editor only offers the recipients the trigger supports.
Template	Which email template to use
Channel	Class communications are email only for now. SMS is offered only for the non-class rules (where SMS is enabled).

Reminders must send before the session starts and follow-ups after it ends, so for those triggers the timing is required.

One rule sends one template to everyone it lists. If you list both the registrant and the instructor on a reminder or follow-up rule, the instructor gets the member’s email too, so use a separate rule (with the instructor template) for each recipient. A future update will let one rule pick a template per recipient.

4. Click Save — the rule is immediately active

If a rule can’t be saved (for example, a recipient or channel that trigger doesn’t support), the editor stays open and tells you which field to change.

Editing or disabling a rule

• Click any rule in the timeline to edit it
• Use the toggle to enable/disable a rule without deleting it
• Disabled rules stop all future sends immediately. Scheduled notifications that were already queued for that rule are cancelled.

Notifications for one class

Each class has a Notifications tab that lists the makerspace rules it uses, marked Inherited from makerspace settings. From there you can:

• Customize for this series — change the timing, recipients or template for this class only. Your makerspace rule keeps applying to every other class.
• Don’t send for this series — switch a rule off for this class only.
• Revert to makerspace default — remove the class’s version so the makerspace rule applies again.
• + Add Notification — add a rule that only this class uses.

Customizing or switching off one rule never affects the others: for example, customizing the confirmation still leaves the instructor alert on.

Timing examples

Scenario	Trigger	Group	Send Timing
Confirm registration immediately	Registration	Triggered by Action	(leave blank)
Remind 24 hours before each session	Scheduled Reminder	Before Event	24 Hours
Follow up 1 hour after each session	Post-Event Follow-up	After Event	1 Hour
Expiry warning 7 days ahead	Membership expiry	Before Event	7 Days

Customizing Templates

The Templates page uses a master-detail layout: the template list sits on the left, and the editor opens on the right when you select a row — no full-page navigation between picking a template and editing it.

Templates are grouped by category (for example Events, Membership, Onboarding) into collapsible sections so you can find what you need without scrolling past unrelated content. The header above the list shows a small set of stats — total templates, how many you’ve customised, and how many are custom — so you can tell at a glance where your makerspace has diverged from the platform defaults.

Each row carries a status badge that tells you exactly which kind of template it is:

Status	What it means
Default	The platform-provided template, unchanged.
Customised	A platform template that you’ve overridden — your makerspace sees your version; other makerspaces still see the default.
Custom	A template you created from scratch. It only exists for your makerspace.

Alongside the status, each row shows:

• Channel icons for every channel the template publishes to (Email / SMS / Push).
• Locale chips — one pill per locale that has content, in your makerspace’s supported-locale order. A dashed “no locales” pill means nothing has been authored yet. If the template has more locales than fit, a +N pill collapses the rest; hover it to see the full list.
• A short description so you don’t have to open the template to remember what it does.

Finding a template

The filter bar above the list mirrors the pattern used elsewhere in admin (Events Calendar, Members, Orders). It supports:

• Search by template name or description.
• A quick filter for status — All / Default / Customised / Custom.
• An expandable funnel (▼) with dropdowns for category and channel.
• An active-filter chip row directly below the bar — remove any single filter from its chip, or Clear all to reset everything in one click.

Your filter and search state are remembered in the page URL, so you can bookmark a filtered view or share a link to it with a co-admin.

Overriding a default template

1. Go to Admin → Communications → Templates
2. Click the template you want to customize — the editor opens on the right pane (on smaller screens it replaces the list; use the back arrow to return).
3. If the template publishes to multiple channels, select the channel tab you want to edit (Email, SMS, or Push). Tabs scroll horizontally when there are more than fit.
4. If the template has multiple locales, pick the locale you’re authoring from the Locale selector at the top of the editor. Switching locales preserves unsaved changes in the locale you were editing — you’ll be prompted before discarding them.
5. Modify the content.
6. Click Save Override.

Your customization applies only to your makerspace — it doesn’t affect other makerspaces using the same default template. The status badge flips from Default to Customised once your override is saved.

Switching templates with unsaved changes

If you click a different template (or close the editor) while you have unsaved changes, a confirmation dialog asks whether you want to Keep editing or Discard. Keep editing is the safe default — press Enter or Escape and you stay on the current template.

Sending a test email

Before saving, you can send a copy of your draft to yourself or a teammate:

1. With a template open in the editor, click the Send test split button.
2. The primary side sends to the email address on your admin account.
3. The caret (▼) on the right opens a small picker where you can choose a recent recipient (the last 5 addresses you’ve tested to, stored only in your browser) or type a custom address.

Test emails render with the current draft content — you don’t have to save first. The recent recipients list is kept in your browser only; it never leaves your device.

Creating a custom template

Custom templates let you build a template from scratch — useful when you have a notification flow that doesn’t fit any of the platform defaults.

Needs your own sending domain

Creating and editing custom templates is only available when your makerspace sends email from its own verified sending domain. Without one, New Template is disabled and the page explains why. Custom templates you already have keep sending from your rules. See Email Content Rules.

1. Go to Admin → Communications → Templates
2. Click New Template in the page header — this opens the dedicated create form.
3. Fill in the form:

Field	Description
Name	A short label that appears in the template list and in the rule editor (e.g., “Workshop Materials Pickup Reminder”).
Subject	The email subject line. Template variables ({{...}}) are allowed.
HTML Body	The full HTML email body. Template variables expand at send time.
Plain text body (optional)	A plain-text fallback for clients that don’t render HTML.

4. Click Create Template

The template is immediately available in the rule editor’s Template dropdown. It appears in the list with the Custom status badge.

Custom templates count as Announcements

Emails sent from a custom template follow each member’s Announcements setting. A member who has turned off Announcements doesn’t get them, and the Unsubscribe link in these emails turns off Announcements.

You don’t pick the key

Each template has a stable internal key that notification rules reference. For custom templates the key is generated from your template name (e.g., “Workshop Materials Pickup Reminder” → custom.workshop-materials-pickup-reminder). If a key collides with an existing one in your makerspace, a numeric suffix (-2, -3, …) is appended automatically.

Reverting and deleting

Secondary actions live in the ⋮ kebab menu in the editor header, so they stay out of the way until you need them:

• Revert to Default — available on Customised templates. Permanently removes your override and restores the platform default. Confirm in the dialog before it applies.
• Delete — available on Custom templates only. If any active notification rule still points at the template, the delete is blocked and the toast lists the rule names; update or disable those rules first, then retry.

Default templates have neither action — there’s nothing to revert and nothing to delete.

Channel-specific editing

Email tab

• Modify the subject and/or body (HTML).
• Use variable chips to insert dynamic content at the cursor.
• A live preview pane on the right shows your draft rendered in a sandboxed frame so you can sanity-check the layout before saving.

SMS tab

• Write a plain text message body.
• The segment indicator shows how many SMS segments your message will use (160 chars per segment, up to 3 segments).
• Keep messages short and actionable — SMS is for alerts, not detailed content.

Push tab

• Title (100 characters max) — the bold headline in the notification.
• Body (255 characters max) — the message text. The higher limit accommodates template variables that expand at send time.
• Deep Link URL (optional) — where the member goes when they tap the notification. Supported protocols: https://, http://, makervera://.

Editing SMS and Push today

The redesigned editor ships with full in-place editing for the Email channel. SMS and Push tabs continue to use the legacy edit screen during the deprecation window — clicking the SMS or Push tab will deeplink you there. The in-place editor for those channels is on the roadmap; nothing you save in the legacy screen is lost.

Template variables

Common variables available in most templates:

Variable	Description
{{member_name}}	The recipient’s full name
{{event_title}}	Name of the event
{{event_date}}	Formatted event date
{{event_time}}	Formatted event time
{{makerspace_name}}	Your makerspace’s name

You don’t need to add an unsubscribe link: MakerVera adds one to the footer of every optional email.

The exact variables available depend on the template — the editor shows which ones are available for the template you’re editing. Variables work across all channels (email, SMS, and push).

Only the variables in the editor’s Available Variables list can be used, and {{first_name}}, {{last_name}} and {{makerspace_name}} are available in every template. Templates can also show a section only when a condition is true ({% if %}) and repeat a section for each item in a list ({% for %}). Anything else, such as filters, calculations or other tags, stops the template from saving, and the editor names the line and the text to fix. See Email Content Rules for the full list of what’s allowed.

Monitoring Delivery

Daily check

Visit Admin → Communications → Analytics to review:

1. Sent this month — is it in the expected range?
2. Delivery rate — should be above 95%. Below that, investigate the issues tab.
3. Suppressed count — a rising number may mean you have outdated member emails

Investigating a specific notification

Use the Delivery Log tab to search for a specific send:

1. Filter by rule to see all sends for a particular notification type
2. Filter by status to find failures or suppressions
3. Click a row to see the full details including error messages

To see everything sent to one member, open the Communications tab on their profile. See Communications History.

Handling delivery issues

The Delivery Issues tab shows members whose emails are consistently failing:

• Bounced addresses — the email address doesn’t exist or the mailbox is full. Click through to the member’s profile and ask them to update their email.
• Complaints — the member marked an email as spam. Their address is permanently blocked. This protects your makerspace’s sending reputation.

Resending Failed Deliveries

If a notification delivery fails due to a transient issue, you can resend it from the analytics dashboard.

1. Go to Admin → Communications → Analytics → Delivery Log
2. Find the failed entry
3. Click Resend
4. Confirm in the dialog

A new delivery attempt is created — the original failed entry stays in the log for audit purposes. The resend goes through the full pipeline including suppression checks.

Fix the root cause first

Before resending, make sure the underlying issue is resolved (e.g., a template was broken and has been fixed, or a temporary provider outage has cleared). Resending without fixing the cause will likely fail again.

Understanding Member Opt-Outs

Members manage their own notification preferences from their Profile → Settings tab. They can opt out of:

• Event reminders
• Membership lifecycle notices
• Announcements (including emails from your custom templates)
• Store alerts (only members who can manage your store see this one)

They cannot opt out of transactional notifications (receipts, confirmations, security notices, invitations and account approvals). These preferences apply across all channels — email, SMS, and push.

The Unsubscribe link in emails

MakerVera adds an Unsubscribe link to the footer of every optional email. It turns off that type of email only, for your makerspace only, and only for email. The member sees a page naming your makerspace and the type of email, and nothing changes until they press Confirm. They can turn it back on in Profile → Settings.

Optional emails also tell mail apps how to unsubscribe, so Gmail, Yahoo Mail and others can show their own Unsubscribe button. Pressing it turns off the same type of email for your makerspace right away, without the confirm page. Mail providers expect this of anyone who sends a lot of email, and it helps your emails stay out of spam.

Required emails have no Unsubscribe link and no mail-app button. A link works for 90 days after the email was sent. You don’t need to add a link to your templates; there is no unsubscribe variable.

For SMS specifically, members must also complete a double opt-in flow before receiving any SMS notifications, regardless of category preferences.

What you’ll see in the delivery log

When a member has opted out, notifications to that member show as Suppressed in your delivery log. This is the system working as designed — not an error.

What you can’t do

• You cannot change a member’s notification preferences
• You cannot send optional notifications to members who have opted out
• You cannot reclassify optional notifications as transactional to bypass preferences

What you can do

• Point members to their Profile → Settings if they ask about notification preferences
• Check the delivery log to confirm whether a member has opted out (look for suppressed status)
• Ensure your notification content is relevant so members choose to stay opted in