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Customising email templates: overview

An overview of the email templates you can customise in ClubRight, what each one does, how to edit them and how to send yourself a test.

ClubRight sends a number of transactional emails on your behalf when key events happen: a member books a class, their plan is frozen, they earn a new award, and so on. You can customise these emails to reflect your club's branding, tone of voice, and content, so every automated communication feels like it is coming directly from you. This article is an overview of the email templates available and how to edit them.

Note: email template customisation is available on certain ClubRight packages. If you are not sure whether yours includes it, click the chat button to contact our Customer Success team.


Layout versus individual emails

There are two distinct kinds of edit you can make. Understanding which one to use is the most important part of getting email templates right.

  • The Layout Template is the wrapper used by every other automated email. It controls the overall look and feel: header, footer, logo, colours, fonts, and contact details. Anything that should appear consistently across every email belongs in the Layout Template, because changes there apply everywhere automatically.

  • Individual email templates control the body content of a specific email type: the subject line, the wording, the tone, and anything specific to that scenario (such as directions to the club in your Membership Confirmation Email, or class prep tips in your Booking Email).

Editing one of the individual templates and adding your logo there is a common mistake. That logo would only appear in that one email type, while other emails would still show the default. The Layout Template is the right place for anything visual or branded.

Important: leave any system commands or merge tags in place when editing templates. These are short codes (such as personalisation placeholders for member names, dates, or membership numbers) that get replaced with real data when the email is sent. Removing them will break the email's content.

To add the member's first name, type [FirstName] where you want it, or click [FirstName] under Dynamic fields. For the full list of codes, see Merge Fields for your Emails and SMS messages.


How to edit an email template

  1. From the burger menu, click Settings

  2. Select Email Templates

  3. Choose the template you want to edit from the list

  4. Make your changes (branding goes in the Layout Template; wording and content for a specific email type goes in that template)

  5. Save your changes

Templates you haven't changed use the ClubRight default content.


How do I send myself a test of an email template?

There's no send-test or preview button on Email Templates. To see what a template looks like, make ClubRight send that email to a member record with your own email address on it. This is how to send yourself a test email of a template you've just created or edited, and see what it looks like in a real inbox before members receive it.

  1. Go to Contacts > Members and add a test contact with your own email address. Using a test contact rather than a real member keeps test bookings, freezes and sales off real members' accounts.

  2. Save your changes in Settings > Email Templates.

  3. Do the action that sends that email, against your test contact (see below).

  4. Check your inbox. The email arrives inside your Layout Template, so you see the finished version.

  5. Undo anything the test left behind, for example cancel the booking, remove them from the waiting list or reinstate the membership.

Which action sends each email?

  • Booking Email: on your test contact's profile, click Book > A class and book them into a class.

  • Waiting List Email: in the Diary, open a class, click Add to Waiting List and choose your test contact. This works even if the class isn't full.

  • Waiting List Space Available Email: add your test contact to a full class's waiting list, then remove one of the bookings. The email goes out when the space comes free.

  • Membership Confirmation Email: on your test contact's membership, click Manage & view details > Send welcome email. Starting a new membership with Send welcome email straight away switched on at the Welcome & PARQ step sends it too.

  • Membership Freeze Email: on the membership, click Manage & view details > Freeze, then Freeze now. Leave Email the member about this freeze ticked.

  • Membership UnFreeze Email: click Reinstate (end freeze) and tick Email the member to say their membership has been reinstated. It isn't ticked by default, so no email is sent unless you tick it.

  • Till Receipt Email: complete a till sale and click Email receipt. You can change the address in the box, so you can send the receipt to your own email address.

  • Layout Template: any of the above, because every email uses it.

💡 Tip: testing a Smart Workflow message? Open its Send Message step and click Send test to me. It sends the message to your own account straight away, including any changes you haven't saved yet, and ignores consent settings. Only Managers and Owners see this button.


Where to start

Most clubs find the most value in customising these four templates first:

  • The Layout Template, to apply your branding (logo, colours, header, footer, contact details) across every email at once

  • The Membership Confirmation Email, the first email a new member receives when you start their membership

  • The Welcome Email, the email new members get to confirm their online account

  • The Booking Email, the most frequently sent transactional email for most clubs

Once these four are tailored, the rest can be left as system defaults or updated when you need them.


Emails you can customise

The following automated emails can be customised in ClubRight:

Layout

  • Layout Template: the wrapper used by every other automated email. Controls overall branding, header, footer, and styling. Listed as ** LAYOUT TEMPLATE in the templates list.

Bookings

  • Booking Email: sent to a member after they book an activity

  • Booking Instructor Email: sent to the instructor (or activity staff) when a member books one of their activities

  • Booking Resource Changed Email: sent when the resource (such as room or equipment) for a booking is changed

  • Waiting List Email: sent when a member is added to a class waiting list

  • Waiting List Space Available Email: sent to members on the waiting list when a space comes free in the class, with a link to book it

Membership lifecycle

  • Welcome Email: the account confirmation email (“Confirm your account”), with the link a new member clicks to confirm their online account. Keep [ConfirmationLink] in this template, because the confirmation link can't work without it.

  • Membership Confirmation Email: sent when a new membership starts. When you add a membership in club, it's sent if Send welcome email straight away is switched on. You can resend it from Manage & view details > Send welcome email on the membership.

  • Confirmation of Membership Freeze Request: sent when a member requests a freeze, before staff approval

  • Membership Freeze Email: sent when a member's plan is frozen, if Email the member about this freeze is ticked

  • Membership UnFreeze Email: sent when a frozen plan is reinstated, if you tick Email the member to say their membership has been reinstated

  • Confirmation of Membership Cancellation Request: sent when a member requests cancellation, before staff approval

Referrals

  • Referred Member Email: sent to the new member who has been referred to your club

  • Referring Member Email: sent to the existing member who made the referral

Awards

  • New Award: sent when a member earns a new award or achievement

Till

  • Till Receipt Email: sent when you click Email receipt after completing a till sale


Have more questions about email templates?

If you have a question that is not covered here, click the chat button to contact our Customer Success team.

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