Messages

Create Bulk Messages to send a text to many patients or customers at once. Compose Bulk Messages at any time and then conveniently schedule it to send at the right time for your customers.

Bulk Messaging is regulated through message allotments determined by the bundle your office is paying for: 500 (Essential), 1500 (Pro), or 3000 (Elite) text messages per month.

1. Open the Weave Portal and select Messaging from the left navigation bar
2. Select Bulk Messaging from the  dropdown menu
3. Click the New Bulk Message button in the upper right-hand corner to start your new Message
4. Complete the required fields below
5. Bulk Message Title (required): Give this Bulk Message a name that helps you easily identify it
6. Send Date (required): Enter the date and time you would like the Bulk message to send on or begin to send
   

   • You can either Send Entire Bulk at Once or Send a set amount of Messages Per Day. If Send a set amount of Messages Per Day is chosen the days of the week you desire the bulk message to send on must be selected.

     Tip: If you send a bulk message, you may have a flood of responses that can be difficult to manage. Spreading out the message volume over several days helps your office manage the increase in patient responses and minimizes the need to recreate the same message. 

7. Add Recipients (required) 
8. Click the  Add Recipients
9. Either check the box next to the contacts you would like to add under the All Contacts tab or check the box next to a presaved list under the Bulk Messaging Lists tab. If the contacts you individually add are used often in bulk messaging, click Save List above your chosen contacts to create a Bulk Messaging List
   • You can filter your lists by using the Filter Contacts icon or Upload a CSV (see instructions below)

     Note: Only 5000 recipients can be selected per bulk message.

10. Complete the Body Text (required)
    • Dynamic Fields can be placed in the bulk message to have Weave auto fill that Information, such as First Name and Last Name. 

      Note: There is a character limit of 133 characters. You may go over this limit but please know that each recipient will use more than one message from the monthly allotment. 

11.  Check the Legal box (required) 
    • The legal checkbox is required for every send. Your office needs to have additional consent for any marketing or promotional messages. It is up to your office to follow the TCPA and CTIA guidelines.
12. Click Send Message or Save as Draft 

Filter Options

When you add recipients, you can use many different filters to find your contacts. Click the toggle on next to the following filters you would like to use:

Appointment Details 

• Appointment Date Range (All, Next Appointment, Last Seen, or No Appointment)
• Appointment Type
• Appointment Status

Recall Details

• Recall Status 
• Recall Date Range

You can also filter by: 

• Insurance Type
• Recipient Status 
• Service Provider 
• Last Received Bulk Message 
• Minimum or Maximum Age 
• Provider Location

Click Apply Filters at the bottom of the page to return to begin adding recipients. 

Upload a CSV Bulk Messaging List

1. While adding your recipients in a bulk message (see step 7 in Send a Bulk Message), open the Bulk Messaging Lists tab 
2. Click the Upload CSV icon
3. Click Download Empty CSV
4. Open the downloaded file on your computer and copy and paste your contacts (up to 5000) into the CSV
5. Drag and drop the CSV saved with your contacts into the desktop app

   Note: If a contact cannot be messaged because they have opted out of messages or are duplicates, they will automatically be removed.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Is it possible to link text within body copy?

• Yes you can send a URL. Whenever a link is pasted into the message, it will automatically shorten the URL so that it isn't blocked by our partners. We do not support external links in our text messages, which includes any link that has not been shortened automatically by when pasted into the message.

Can patients opt out of Bulk Messaging but still receive other texts from the office?

• Patients can opt out of just Bulk Messages with Text Communication Preferences 

Can I undo or recover the Bulk Message I Canceled or Deleted?

• You cannot undo or recover a Canceled or Deleted Bulk Message. If you just cancel a Bulk message you will be able to duplicate it to send. 

Are there templates to use for Bulk Messaging?

• There are no templates, but you can duplicate a previously used bulk message.

What is considered and counted as a Failed message?

• A failed message will be a Bulk Message sent to a mobile number that is opted in and failed to send. If a number has been opted out of receiving Bulk Messages it will not show in the recipients list, so it will not attempt to send and fail. If the number is a landline and it is the first time attempting to receive a bulk message it will show as a failed message. Once a landline has one failed attempt in receiving a bulk message it will not be considered a failed message again.  The failure of a message can vary. Look at the actual message thread of a recipient for the error.

Which number will the message be sent to?

• The bulk message will by default send to the mobile number. If there is no mobile number the message attempt to send to the home phone number. 

Give each of your patients a personalized experience with your office through message preferences. Either you or your patient can manage what type of text communications they receive. 

Office Updating Patient Communication Preference

1. Select   Messages from your home page
2. Click on the + New Message icon to compose a new message or use the search bar to resume a previous conversation.
3. Select the   Ellipses icon in the top right corner
4. Click the Communication Preferences option

   Note: This will open a new window in your web browser to edit the communication preferences. The communication preferences are location and number-specific. Meaning, all personalized communication preferences set up for a specific number, will only be active in the office location they were adjusted in.

5. Toggle on or off   the preferred text communication preferences
6. Select Save Changes once all text communications are set. Once changes are saved a text message will be sent to the patient's phone number notifying them of the text preference changes. This text will include a link where the patient can click on them and adjust their own text communication preferences. 

Patients Updating Communication Preferences 

1. Follow the steps above to have a communication preferences text be sent to the patient with a personalized link. 
2. Click on the provided link. This will open a new web page on your mobile device.
3. Toggle on or off   the preferred text communication preferences
4. Select Save Changes once all text communications are set. Once changes are saved a text message will be sent to the patient's phone number notifying them of the text preference changes.

   Note: Any time there are changes made to texting preferences a new text will be sent to the patient with a new link. 

If a patient replies STOP it will opt them out of receiving any and all texts from the office's phone number. A text will be sent notifying the patient they have opted out of all texts from the office. If the patient opts out of texts by replying STOP they can opt back in by clicking on the text communication Preferences link or text START. Learn more about Texting Compliance. 

If your office receives lots of calls that would be better handled via messaging conversations, you can allow customers to start a text thread with you right from your Phone Tree or Call Queue using your Missed Call text.

Phone Tree Text Conversations

1. Log into your Weave Portal
2. Select Phone from the left navigation menu
3. Select Phone Trees from the dropdown
4. Select which phone tree you would like to add the text conversation option to

   Note: If you are a Unify customer, you may need to contact support for assistance in creating a phone tree if one does not exist already.

5. Click Add Dial Number 
6. Within the Routing Option dropdown, select Voicemail Message
7. Select which Voicemail Box to send the caller to if they wish to leave a voice message and start a texting conversation from the dropdown
8. Under the Greeting dropdown, select which voice recording you want to play for the patient
9. To record a new voicemail greeting, dial *86 on the desktop phone, upload your own media file, or record from the mobile app. Learn more about how to record new greetings

   Tip: Make sure the recording informs callers to stay on the line to record a voicemail or hang up to start the texting conversation. For example, “If you’d like to start a text conversation hang up now, or stay on the line to leave a message.” 

Call Queue Text Conversations

1. Log into your Weave Portal
2. Select Phone from the left column
3. Select Call Queues 
4. Select which call queue you would like to add the text conversation option to
5. Toggle on Greeting and select the greeting for the call queue

   Tip: The greeting should let the patient know they are entering a call queue and can press “0” to escape the queue and start a texting conversation or leave a voicemail message.

6. Toggle on Escape Option 
7. Click Save to save the call queue

   Note: If you are on Unify, you will need to contact support to assist with setting up the ability to start a text conversation from the call queue.

8. In the left navigation menu, click Phone
9. Select Mainline or the department that the queue will belong to 
10. Select Phone Hours & Call Routing
11. Select Call Queue
12. From the Select a Call Queue dropdown, select which call queue you want to use
13. Click Fallback Option
14. From the Select a Fallback Option dropdown, select Voicemail Message
15. Under the Select Voicemail Box dropdown, select which Voicemail Box you wish to send the caller to if they wish to leave a voice message in addition to starting a texting conversation
16. Under the Select Greeting dropdown, select which voice recording to play for the patient
17. To record a new voicemail greeting, dial *86 on the desktop phone, upload your own media file, or record from the mobile app. See a step-by-step process on recording new greetings

    Tip: Make sure the recording informs callers to stay on the line to record a voicemail or hang up to start the texting conversation. For example, “If you’d like to start a text conversation hang up now, or stay on the line to leave a message.”

18. Click Save Changes

Send important information from your messages with customers as a patient note in your practice management system. 

Currently, this feature is only available for those with these practice management systems:

• Dentrix (G5-7 & G22)
• HVMS
• VIA
• Cornerstone
• Avimark
• Impromed
• DaySmartVet
• ProVet Cloud
• Eaglesoft 18-21
• OpenDental
• Pulse

Write Back a Text Message as a Patient Note

The patient must be a contact in your practice management system with the same phone number in order for writebacks to work.

1. Open the message thread with the customer whose message you would like to write back
2. Select the Ellipses icon in the top right corner
3. Click the Text Writeback option
4. Check the boxes next to the messages you would like to write back

   Note: MMS messages with an image or video will not write back to your practice management system. Emojis will write back but will only show if your system supports them.

5. Select Send to PMS in the bottom right corner
6. In the pop-up, select the radio button next to the name of the pet or client
7. Click Submit

You will receive a pop-up to show the message was successfully written back to your practice management system. Select Close. The text message will show as an entry in the patient/clinical notes.

If the writeback is not successful, a pop-up will appear that says “We ran into a problem.” From here, you may retry the process.

You can quickly check whether a writeback was successful by hovering over the icon in the bottom corner of the message.

The icon will show green if successful and display “Message successfully sent to [your practice management system].” A red icon displays “Message failed to send to [your practice management system]” if the writeback was unsuccessful.

If you're getting spam texts or just need to block unwanted messages, you can use Block Sender to stop receiving messages from a specific number.

Block a Texting Number

1. Click on the Ellipses icon next to the message of the number you would like to block 
2. Select Block Sender 
3. Confirm or cancel blocking sender in the pop up 

Unblock a Texting Number

To unblock a number so that you can begin receiving and sending messages again:

1. Click into the message thread of the number you would like to unblock from the Blocked senders list 
2. Click on the Ellipses icon in the top right corner
3. Select Unblock Sender
4. Confirm or cancel unblocking the sender in the pop-up

Blocker List

You can also see a list of all numbers you have blocked.

1. Select Message on the home page of the desktop app
2. Click on the Ellipses icon in the upper right corner
3. Select View Blocked Senders

Easily send and receive messages from your patients and customers with Weave's two-way texting in the Messages.

To learn more about managing your messages inbox, click here.

Send a Message

1. Select the  Messages
2. Click on the + plus icon in the bottom right corner
3. Type in the name or phone number of the person that you want to send the message to
4. Choose from the available numbers of the patient or click select if the number is not associated with a patient
5. Write your message. From here you can use the following in your message:
   • Emojis
   • Images
   • Templates
6. Click the Send button to send your message to the selected recipient 

Receiving Messages

All received messages will go to the Actionable tab in your Message Inbox. 

If you are logged into Weave, you will receive a notification either in the top right or bottom right corner of the screen where you can:

• Ignore the message notification
• Reply to the message directly from the notification
• Add Tag to add a message tag to this message

Set up Message Notification Sounds

Be notified by a personalized sound notification when you receive a new message.

For the desktop app:

1. Select the  Menu icon in the upper right corner
2. Click on  Settings
3. Select Messages 
4. Toggle on  the notification sound 
5. Click the dropdown, and select the chime you would like to play when you receive a new text message.

   Note: The notification settings are set up by user and device. If a user sets up the message notifications for one computer, then chooses to log into a different computer, the user will need to make the same adjustments for message notifications on the new computer. The message notifications will also need to be set for your specific user. If a user who has message notifications set up logs out, and a new user logs into the same computer, the new user logged in will need to set up their own message notifications.

For the mobile app:

1. Select the Settings icon on the home page
2. Tap Notifications
3. Toggle on SMS (along with any other notifications you would like to receive) 

The sound will be determined by your device settings.