When to use it
Templates keep repeated messages consistent and in your gym’s own voice. A custom template saves you rewriting the same note from the inbox, and customizing a system template rewords an automatic email without rebuilding it - you copy the built-in version, edit the copy, and can reset to the default at any time. Both use{{variable}} tokens that resolve per recipient when a message is sent, so each member sees their own name, booking, or plan.
Typical uses:
- A welcome note for new members - a padel gym keeps a
messagetemplate that greets each new member by first name and invites them to book an intro session. - A booking confirmation in your own words - a padel gym rewords the Booking Confirmation email to add court etiquette and the member’s door PIN, which disappears for members without one.
- A warmer renewal reminder - a yoga studio customizes the Membership Expiration Reminder with the plan name, expiry date, and renewal price.
Customizing templates is a paid capability. Free organizations and organizations still on the Grow trial see a plan-locked banner and an Upgrade button on the Templates page. The Add template button is disabled until you upgrade.
The Templates list
Both kinds of template live at Settings > Communication > Templates. The grid has four columns:- Name - the template name.
- Source - a Custom chip for templates you authored, a System chip for built-in templates, and an additional Customized chip when you have an active override for a system template.
- Type -
message,transactional, orreceipt. - Actions - depends on the source (see below).
Row actions
- Custom template - View, Edit, Copy, Delete.
- System template - Customize if you have not overridden it yet, or Edit if you already have a customized version.
Creating a custom template
Use a custom template for the ad-hoc notes you send from the Inbox - a class reminder, a promotional blurb, a re-engagement note.- On the Templates page, click Add template. (The button is disabled if your plan does not include template customization.)
- Fill in Name (required).
- Choose the Type:
- Message - shows up in the inbox compose picker for manual sends.
- Transactional - a system-style email body.
- Receipt - invoice receipt content.
- For message and transactional types, add a Subject and optional Preview text (the snippet shown in the inbox preview line of an email client).
- Write the body in the block editor. Add paragraphs, buttons, images, and dividers.
- Insert variables from the Available Variables panel on the right. Click a variable chip to copy
{{token}}to your clipboard, then paste it into the body or subject. - Click Save.
(Copy) appended to the name and opens in the editor.
Welcome message example (racket sports)
Amessage template you send to new padel members after they join:
System template catalog
System templates are the built-in messages 1Club sends automatically. The Templates page lists only the customizable ones - the emails you are allowed to rebrand and reword. Each declares its own variable set, which the editor surfaces when you customize it.System emails you cannot customize
A separate set of system emails is fixed and does not appear in the catalog, because they carry security-sensitive or platform-level content: password reset, email verification and resend verification, inbox verification, organization invitation, account confirmation, instructor invitation, invitation reminder, signup notifications, and AI report verification. These always send with their built-in wording.Customizing a system template
Customizing replaces the built-in email with your own version for that one template key. Under the hood, 1Club copies the system template’s content blocks into an organization-owned template, then applies your edits; at send time it uses your active override instead of the built-in email.- On the Templates page, find the system template row and click Customize.
- The editor opens pre-filled with the system template’s default subject, preview text, and content blocks.
- Edit the subject and body. Use the in-editor Insert variable picker - it lists exactly the variables this template supports (for example,
{{entityName}},{{clubName}},{{bookingDate}}on Booking Confirmation), grouped by category. - Click Save. The row now shows both System and Customized chips.
Keep every required variable in a customized template. If you delete a token the template depends on (for example
{{bookingDate}} on a booking confirmation), that value simply will not appear in the sent email - the token is not re-inserted for you.Worked example: padel booking confirmation
Rebrand the Booking Confirmation email for a padel club so it reinforces the court-etiquette rules and surfaces the door PIN:{{accessPin}} resolves to the member’s access PIN, or to nothing when they do not have one - so the PIN line quietly disappears for members without door access.
Worked example: yoga membership renewal
Customize the Membership Expiration Reminder for a yoga studio to add a warm renewal nudge:Variables
Write variables as{{variableName}}. They are substituted per recipient when the message is sent, using the recipient’s contact record and your organization’s settings. A token that is not part of the template’s variable set is left in the message verbatim - it is not replaced and it does not block saving.
Manual message templates
Formessage templates, the following variables resolve at send time. This is the set surfaced in the Available Variables panel and the same set expanded when a manual message goes out:
Receipt templates
receipt templates additionally resolve {{receiptNumber}}, {{receiptDate}}, {{amount}}, and {{paymentMethod}} alongside the contact and organization tokens above.
System template variables
Each system template declares its own variable set - Booking Confirmation exposes booking tokens ({{entityName}}, {{clubName}}, {{bookingDate}}, {{bookingTime}}, {{bookingDuration}}, {{bookingTotal}}, {{accessPin}}), Membership Expiration Reminder exposes {{planName}}, {{expirationDate}}, {{renewalPrice}}, {{renewUrl}}, and so on. When you customize a system template, the Insert variable picker shows exactly that template’s tokens, so you can only reference values 1Club can actually fill for that send. These booking and membership tokens are only meaningful on their own system template (or on a trigger-based automation that binds the matching record) - they do not resolve on a plain manual message template.
Unknown tokens are not rejected when you save through the admin editor - they are simply left un-substituted in the sent message. Only 1Club’s AI assistant enforces the variable allow-list when it drafts a template for you. Always confirm your tokens against the Available Variables or Insert variable list.
Per-channel content
The same template can be delivered over email, SMS, or WhatsApp. Because content is stored as channel-neutral blocks:- Email renders the blocks through the branded transactional layout, using the Subject and Preview text.
- SMS and WhatsApp render a plain-text projection of the same blocks - buttons collapse to their link text, and formatting is stripped. Keep bodies short if you send over these channels.
Tips & best practices
- Greet with
{{contactFirstName}}, not{{contactName}}. First name reads warmer in a salutation; full name is better for formal receipts. - Customize the highest-volume emails first. Booking Confirmation, Booking Reminder, and Welcome Email reach nearly every member - branding those has the most impact.
- Preview text earns the open. Fill Preview text on email templates; it is the snippet shown next to the subject in most inboxes.
- Do not delete required tokens. Removing a value like
{{bookingTime}}or{{expirationDate}}leaves a gap in the sent email rather than an error. - Reset is your undo. If a customization goes wrong, Reset to Default restores the built-in email cleanly - there is no need to hand-rebuild it.
- Use automations for triggered sends. A template is reusable content; to send it automatically on an event (booking upcoming, membership expiring, review after check-in), wire it into an automation.
Troubleshooting
Related
- Compose - Where
messagetemplates are applied to outbound sends. - Inbox - The conversation list these messages land in.
- Automations - Trigger-based sends that reuse system templates with booking and membership variables.
- Settings overview - Where Communication settings, including Templates, live.