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How to Configure and Use Email Templates

Updated

Pulse Commerce provides multiple email template systems for different communication needs. This guide covers how to configure email settings, create custom templates, and customize system-generated emails.

Before You Begin: Email functionality requires proper configuration. Please review Email Setup and DNS Configuration to ensure your email addresses and domain authentication are properly configured.
🔍 Understanding Email Template Types

Three Types of Email Templates

Pulse Commerce offers three distinct email template systems, each designed for different use cases:

Custom Email Templates

  • Purpose: Manually sent emails to customers, vendors, or for purchase orders
  • Trigger: You manually send these emails
  • Best for: One-off communications, vendor PO emails, promotional messages

System Email Templates

  • Purpose: Plain-text emails triggered automatically by system events
  • Trigger: Automatic when specific events occur (order placed, order shipped, etc.)
  • Format: Plain text with basic variables

Transactional Email Templates (Add On Module)

  • Purpose: Rich HTML emails triggered automatically by system events
  • Trigger: Automatic when specific events occur
  • Format: Full HTML/CSS support with images, custom branding, and advanced variables
  • Best for: Storefront users that need branded emails, abandoned cart campaigns, comprehensive customer communications
Important: Only ONE automatic template type (System OR Transactional) can be active per email type. If you activate a Transactional template, the corresponding System template automatically becomes inactive.
Note: Transactional Email Templates are a separate add-on feature. If you don't see the Transactional E-Mail Template tab in your admin panel, contact Pulse Commerce Support to enable this feature.
Type Template Name Trigger
System E-mail New Order Email When an order is posted
Shipping Confirmation Email When an order is shipped
Order Cancellation Email When an order is marked as cancelled
Random Password Email When an administrator creates a customer account from the Admin Panel
Transactional Email New Order Confirmation When an order is finalized on the storefront or from MOTO
Shipping Notification When a merchant ships the order
Newsletter Welcome When a customer registers for the mailing list/newsletter
New Customer Welcome When a customer creates/registers an account from the storefront
Product Review Solicitation After an order is posted
Abandoned Cart Reminder #1, #2, #3 Based on last customer update and email frequency setting
Unfinalized Order Based on last customer update and email frequency setting
Wishlist Reminder Based on last customer update and email frequency setting
Announce Holiday Season Discounts Manual
Custom E-mail Welcome E-mail to New Customers Manual
Fulfillment Delay Manual
(Create your own templates as needed) Manual
⚙️ Configuring Email Settings in General Settings

Location: Settings → General Settings → Order Settings section

Email Address Configuration

Order Alert Email Address

  • Purpose: Where YOU receive notifications when customers place orders

Order Confirmation Email Reply Address

  • Purpose: "FROM" address on customer order confirmation emails

Message Center Admin Email

  • Purpose: System-wide default FROM address for CRM communications
  • Can Be Overridden: Custom and System email templates can use their own FROM addresses
Key Distinction: Order Alert Email is where YOU receive emails. Order Confirmation Reply and Message Center Admin are where Pulse sends emails to customers on your behalf (DNS authentication required).

Email Notification Triggers

Email Customer on Order Completion

  • Options: Yes or No
  • When Yes: Customers receive order confirmation emails

Disable notification email on cancelling the order

  • Options: Yes or No
  • When No: Cancellation emails ARE ENABLED (sent to customers)

Disable shipping notification email

  • Options: Yes or No
  • When No: Shipping emails ARE ENABLED (sent when orders ship)
Confusing Settings Alert: Settings with "Disable" in the name use negative logic. Setting to "No" means emails ARE ENABLED. Think of it as "No, do not disable emails" = emails enabled.

Additional Email Features

BCC Product Recommendations to Admin Email: Receive copies of product recommendation emails sent to customers

Enable Email Wishlist to Friends: Allow customers to email wishlists from storefront

Remember: Click Update at the bottom of the page to save any changes to email settings.
📧 Custom Email Templates

Custom Email Templates allow you to create reusable templates for manually sending emails through CRM. Use these for customer service replies, vendor communications, and purchase order notifications.

Access: Marketing → E-Mail Templates → Custom E-Mail Template tab

Creating Custom Email Templates

1Navigate to Marketing → E-Mail Templates

2Click the Custom E-Mail Template tab

3Scroll to Create New E-Mail Template section

4Configure template settings:

  • Template Name: Descriptive name (e.g., "Customer - Order Status Reply", "Vendor - PO Communication")
  • From: Email address that appears as sender (e.g., customerservice@yourdomain.com)
  • Subject: Default subject line - can include variables like {{Customer FirstName}}

5Compose email body using WYSIWYG editor

6Click Add New to save

Using Custom Email Templates

Method 1: From Order or Customer Record

  1. Open the order or customer record
  2. Click Email Customer button or CRM tab
  3. Select your template from the dropdown
  4. FROM address, subject, and body automatically populate
  5. Edit as needed and click Send

Method 2: From CRM Module

  1. Navigate to CRM → Send an Email
  2. Enter recipient or search for customer
  3. Select template from Email Template dropdown
  4. Edit as needed and click Send
Note: Learn more about customizing Custom Email Templates. 

Common Variables

  • {{Customer FirstName}} / {{Customer LastName}}
  • {{Customer Email}}
  • {{Order Number}} / {{Order Date}}
  • {{Store Name}}
  • {{Vendor Name}} (for vendor emails)

Variable syntax: Always use double curly braces: {{Variable Name}}

đź“‹ System Email Templates

System Email Templates are plain-text automatic emails that are enabled by default for all merchants. These handle basic order and shipping notifications.

Access: Marketing → E-Mail Templates → System E-Mail Template tab

Configuring System Email Templates

1Navigate to Marketing → E-Mail Templates

2Click the System E-Mail Template tab

3Click Edit next to the template to configure

4Configure settings:

  • From: Email address that appears as sender (must be verified domain)
  • Subject: Can include {{SystemGeneratedSubject}} or write custom subject

5Edit message body:

  • Plain text only - no HTML formatting available
  • Use {{SystemGeneratedMessageBody}} to include default order/shipment details
  • Add custom text before or after system-generated content
  • Add or remove supported variables as needed

6Click Update to save

Important: Include {{SystemGeneratedMessageBody}} in your message to automatically populate order details, tracking numbers, and other relevant information.

Available System Emails

New Order Email

  • Trigger: When customer places an order

Shipping Confirmation Email

  • Trigger: When order is marked as shipped

Order Cancellation Email

  • Trigger: When order is cancelled

Additional System Emails:

  • Random Password Email
  • Subscription emails (Welcome, Cancellation, Update)
  • Password Reset emails
  • Email a Friend

Customization Options

What You Can Customize:

  • FROM email address (per template)
  • Subject line text and variables
  • Message text before and after system-generated content
  • Add or remove supported variables
  • Change default messaging as needed

What You Cannot Customize:

  • HTML formatting (plain text only)
  • CSS styling
  • Images or graphics
  • Complex layouts

Unwanted Text in System Emails: If you notice unexpected or additional text appearing in your system-generated emails, check the Message Editor settings first. To resolve this:

  1. Navigate to Content → Message Editor
  2. Review the content for any unwanted text
  3. Delete the unnecessary text from this section

Once removed, the additional text will no longer appear in outgoing system emails.

Note: System Email Templates are enabled by default. If you need HTML formatting and custom branding, consider enabling Transactional Email Templates (add-on feature - contact support).
🎨 Transactional Email Templates (Add On Module)

Transactional Email Templates provide professional HTML/CSS branded emails for automatic system triggers. This is a separate add-on feature primarily used for storefront implementations.

Add-On Feature: Transactional Email Templates must be enabled by Pulse Commerce Support. If you don't see the Transactional E-Mail Template tab in Marketing → E-Mail Templates, contact support to request this feature.

What Are Transactional Email Templates?

Key Features:

  • Full HTML/CSS support for custom branding
  • WYSIWYG editor with image and formatting capabilities
  • Advanced variables for personalization
  • Abandoned cart reminder campaigns (3 levels)
  • Professional appearance for customer-facing emails

Available Templates:

  • New Order Confirmation
  • Shipping Notification
  • New Customer Welcome
  • Newsletter Signup
  • Abandoned Cart Reminders (3 levels)
  • Unfinalized Order notifications

When to Use Transactional Templates

Best for merchants who:

  • Have a Pulse Commerce storefront
  • Need professional branded customer emails
  • Want HTML formatting, logos, and custom styling
  • Need abandoned cart recovery campaigns
  • Require advanced email marketing features

Transactional vs System Templates

Important: Only ONE automatic template type can be active per email type. When you activate a Transactional template, the corresponding System template automatically becomes inactive.

Example:

  • If you activate Transactional Shipping Notification, then System Shipping Confirmation Email becomes inactive
  • If you activate Transactional New Order Confirmation, then System New Order Email becomes inactive

Basic Setup Overview

Access: Marketing → E-Mail Templates → Transactional E-Mail Template tab

Configuration includes:

  • Global CSS styling for all transactional emails
  • Individual template customization (header, body, footer)
  • FROM address configuration per template
  • Subject line customization with variables
  • HTML/CSS email body design
  • Testing and preview capabilities
Need Detailed Setup Instructions? For comprehensive guidance on configuring Transactional Email Templates including CSS customization, abandoned cart setup, and advanced features, see the dedicated article: How to Set Up and Customize Transactional Email Templates

Requesting Transactional Email Templates

To enable this feature:

  1. Contact Pulse Commerce Support
  2. Request Transactional Email Templates add-on
  3. Specify if you need abandoned cart functionality
  4. Wait for confirmation that feature is enabled
  5. Tab will appear in Marketing → E-Mail Templates once activated
đź“‹ Available Variables

Available Variables

These variables can be used in your custom email templates. They will automatically populate with relevant data when the email is sent.

Variable Description Example Use Case
{{Customer FirstName}} Customer's first name Personalized greeting
{{Customer LastName}} Customer's last name Formal communications
{{Customer Email}} Customer's email address Reply-to or reference
{{Store Name}} Your store/company name Branding, signatures
{{Order Number}} Order reference number Order-specific emails
{{Order Date}} When order was placed Order confirmations
{{Order Status}} Current order status Status updates
{{Todays Date}} Current date Email timestamps
{{Message Center Admin Email}} Your support email Contact information
{{Order Alert Email}} Order notification email Order-specific contact
{{Order Confirmation Reply Email}} Reply-to email for orders Customer replies

đź’ˇ Storefront-Only Variables: The following variables only work if you have a customer-facing storefront configured:

  • {{Site Path}} - Your website URL
  • {{Site Login Path}} - Customer login page URL
  • {{Order Status Path}} - Order tracking page URL
If you're an OMS-only merchant, these variables won't populate and should not be used.
âś… Testing & Troubleshooting Email Templates

Testing System and Transactional Email Templates

Test Order Confirmation Emails:

  1. Place a test order using your own email address as customer
  2. Verify you received the order confirmation email
  3. Check FROM address displays correctly
  4. Confirm subject line and content are accurate
  5. Verify all variables populated with correct data

Test Shipping Notification Emails:

  1. Create a shipment for test order with tracking number
  2. Mark the order as shipped
  3. Verify customer received shipping notification
  4. Confirm tracking link works correctly
  5. Check FROM address and content accuracy

Test Custom Email Templates:

  1. Navigate to test customer or order record
  2. Select your custom template from dropdown
  3. Send test email to your own address
  4. Verify FROM address auto-populated correctly
  5. Confirm formatting and variables display properly
Pro Tip: Always test with real order data to ensure variables populate correctly. Use your own email address as the customer to verify delivery and formatting.

Common Issues & Solutions

Emails Not Sending

  • Check: Email notification settings enabled in Settings → General Settings
  • Check: FROM address uses verified domain (see Email Setup and DNS Configuration)
  • Check: Template is active (for System/Transactional templates)
  • Solution: Verify DNS authentication is complete

Wrong FROM Address Appearing

  • Check: Template's FROM field configuration
  • Check: Message Center Admin Email setting
  • Solution: Edit template and specify correct FROM address

Variables Not Populating

  • Check: Variable syntax uses double curly braces: {{Variable Name}}
  • Check: Variable name is spelled correctly
  • Check: Variable is supported for this template type
  • Solution: Review Supported Variables list in template editor

Emails Going to Spam

  • Check: DNS authentication records properly configured
  • Check: Using verified domain email address
  • Check: FROM address matches domain authentication
  • Solution: Review Email Setup and DNS Configuration article

System Template Not Sending After Activating Transactional

  • This is expected behavior: Only one automatic template type can be active
  • Solution: Deactivate Transactional template if you want to use System template instead

When to Contact Support

Contact Pulse Commerce Support if:

  • Emails still not sending after verifying all settings
  • DNS authentication issues persist
  • You want to enable Transactional Email Templates
  • You need help with complex email configurations
  • Variables or templates not working as expected

Include in your support request:

  • Which template type you're using (System, Custom, or Transactional)
  • Specific email template name
  • Test order numbers or customer IDs used
  • Screenshots of configuration settings
  • Any error messages received

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