--- title: "Automated Emails in IOS" slug: "automated-emails" description: "Timestone Software's Internet Ordering System automates emails like order confirmations, reminders, and digital deliveries, enhancing customer engagement." tags: ["Email Notifications", "order confirmation", "Reminder Emails"] updated: 2025-08-23T08:05:44Z published: 2025-08-23T08:05:44Z canonical: "help.timestone.com.au/automated-emails" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.timestone.com.au/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Automated Emails in IOS Timestone Software’s Internet Ordering System sends several emails on behalf of the photographer. Some, such as the order confirmation and digital delivery emails, are mandatory, while abandoned cart emails are optional. The emails are formed from HTML templates that can be customized for the user by Timestone Staff. These emails are classified into the following categories: - **Receipt emails** - sent at the successful completion of an order or pose selection - **Reminder emails** - for people who do not order - **Share cart emails** - for customers to share their cart with family and friends - **Digital Delivery emails** - for customers to download their digital products ## Receipt mails These emails are automatically sent when a customer successfully places an order or selects their yearbook pose. They are also referred to as confirmation emails as they ‘confirm’ the customer’s transaction. There are three such emails as described in the tabs below. Order ReceiptAdvice emailYearbook pose When a customer places an order, the system will send an order confirmation receipt. By default, this receipt contains the order number, the date, the job information, the customer information, and the package(s) ordered. ![The Order Receipt email](https://cdn.document360.io/4c6b2b86-f0ee-419b-9aca-71ba574125e1/Images/Documentation/auto%20email%20receipt.png) Figure 1: An order receipt email Optionally, the photographer can receive an **Advice** email, advising them of a customer order. This is often a copy of the customer receipt, but can include different information from the order receipt email if desired. The advice email includes a CSV attachment containing certain order data. ![Order confirmation email detailing items and total cost for Dewar Smith's package.](https://cdn.document360.io/4c6b2b86-f0ee-419b-9aca-71ba574125e1/Images/Documentation/Auto%20Email_User%20Recipt.png) Figure 2: The default Advice email > [!CAUTION] > WARNING > > The advice email is only sent if the an email address has been entered into the **Email advice to**: window of the **Provider** section of tsIOS If the user elects to allow the customer to select a pose, such as for a yearbook, the system automatically emails a confirmation to the customer. This email provides the customer with confirmation of the selected image, along with a link to change the pose if desired. ![Confirmation email for Sharon O'Lochier's yearbook photo selection at Acme School Photography.](https://cdn.document360.io/4c6b2b86-f0ee-419b-9aca-71ba574125e1/Images/Documentation/iosposeselect3.png) Figure 3: The pose selection confirmation email ****Further Reading: Pose Selection with IOS**** A feature of the Timestone Online Ordering System (IOS) is the option to allow customers the ability to select their desired pose for purposes such as yearbooks. [Yearbook Pose Selection with IOS](/v1/docs/have-a-video-1) ## Reminder Emails Optionally, the user can elect to have the system automatically send one or more reminder emails to customers who do not complete an order. There are three reminder emails: - **Casual visits** - for customers who visit the site and do nothing else, not even adding products to the cart - **Abandoned carts** - when products have been added to the cart, but an order has not been placed - **Payment reminders** - an order has been submitted, but payment was never completed > [!NOTE] > Note > > Reminder emails are optional and are activated by Timestone Software upon request. > > Consideration needs to be given as to which of the three reminder emails to activate, their content and the frequency of delivery. Casual VisitsAbandoned CartsPayment Reminders If a customer visits the site but does not make a purchase or add anything to the cart, the system can send them a reminder to visit the site again and continue shopping. The email includes a button to directly return them to the site’s shop without the need to re-enter their Access Key. ![Email confirmation from Acme Photography regarding school photo viewing and order reminder.](https://cdn.document360.io/4c6b2b86-f0ee-419b-9aca-71ba574125e1/Images/Documentation/Auto%20Email_Viewed%20But%20No%20Purchase.png) Figure 4: The default cart inactivity email If a customer adds Packages to the cart but does not submit their order, the system can send an automated email to remind them to finalize the order. It includes a button that returns the customer to the site ***and*** retrieves their cart, meaning they can simply continue to checkout, submit, and pay for their order. ![Order reminder email for school photos with cart details and total cost.](https://cdn.document360.io/4c6b2b86-f0ee-419b-9aca-71ba574125e1/Images/Documentation/Auto%20Email_Abandoned%20Cart.png) Figure 5: The abandoned cart email An order is deemed to have taken place as soon as the customer clicks the **Submit Order** button at checkout. At that point, the order is unpaid. If the customer does not complete payment for whatever reason, it is possible for the system to send a **Payment Reminder** email. ![The Payment Reminder email](https://cdn.document360.io/4c6b2b86-f0ee-419b-9aca-71ba574125e1/Images/Documentation/Auto%20Email_Payment.png) Figure 6: The Payment Reminder email for an unpaid order > [!TIP] > Good to know > > If the customer completes a **new** order before the payment reminder email is sent for the old (unpaid) order, the payment reminder email will not be sent. ## Share Cart Email The share cart email feature allows customers to add items to a shopping cart and subsequently share that cart with someone else. The customer clicks the Share Cart button, whereupon a popup window allows them to compose and send an email containing a custom message along with a link for the recipient to retrieve the cart. ![Composing an email to share the cart](https://cdn.document360.io/4c6b2b86-f0ee-419b-9aca-71ba574125e1/Images/Documentation/auto%20email%20share%20cart.jpg) Figure 7: Composing an email to share the cart. > [!NOTE] > Note > > The Share Cart feature is optional and is activated by Timestone Software upon request. ## Digital Delivery Email The **Digital Delivery** email provides the customer access to their purchased digital products. This email differs from the others in that it is not sent directly by the site but instead requires the digital orders to be processed in Fulfill. ![Email notification for downloading ordered digital images with download links provided.](https://cdn.document360.io/4c6b2b86-f0ee-419b-9aca-71ba574125e1/Images/Documentation/AutoEmail_Download.png) Figure 8: A default Digital Delivery email --- ### FAQ #### Can the emails be customized? Yes, the emails are HTML templates that can be modified. Users with advanced knowledge of HTML can do it themselves or, we are happy to consult with you and customize them as desired. #### How often are reminder emails sent? The first reminder is sent 24 hours after the trigger. You can then choose whether to send further reminders and at what intervals. #### Can the reminders be sent by SMS instead? No. At the time of writing they can only be emailed. #### Why am I not getting my copy of the order confirmation? In tsIOS and the Provider section, check an Advice email address has been set. This is where the Advice email is sent. #### Is the digital delivery email sent automatically? No, the digital delivery email is not sent directly by the site; it requires the digital orders to be processed in Fulfill. #### Can the customer unsubscribe from reminder emails? Yes, the reminder emails have an ‘unsubscribe’ link that will cancel any future reminders for the same order/abandoned cart/visit. They will still get order confirmation emails if they proceed to place and pay for an order. #### Are there any analytics with the reminder emails? Do we know click rates or conversion rates? No, there are no analytics associated with the emails. A utility provided with the Timestone Internet Ordering System (IOS) that is used to upload jobs An Access Key, also referred to as a Shoot Key, is a randomly generated 8 character code that is used to gain access to the Timestone Internet Ordering System (IOS). The keys for the various entities in the Timestone applications can each be used as an Access Key to enable access to different images and products. Subject, folder, family and job keys can therefore each act as an access key depending on context. Packages are defined in an Offer and comprise one or more Products. Packages are the basis of all ordering methods. When customers place an order, when they buy something, they are ordering a package even if that package only contains a single product. ## Related - [Yearbook Pose Selection with IOS](/have-a-video-1.md) - [Site Service Panel](/site-service-panel.md) - [Preparing for IOS](/preparing-for-ios.md)