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ServiceM8 how-to

How much can you format a ServiceM8 email template?

ServiceM8 email templates (Settings, Email Templates) take simple formatting from the message toolbar, and you can toggle Source to write HTML tags. Insert Field adds merge fields such as the client's first name, {statement} or {feedback} links. The logo belongs in the company signature as {company_logo}, set once for every staff member.

Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.

Partly

Partly: simple formatting and HTML in Source view work, logos go in the shared signature, and merge fields add links, but ServiceM8 does not document which HTML survives.

Step by step

  1. Set the company signature first: Settings, Preferences, Email Settings. Use {staff.first} {staff.last}, {staff.job_title} and {company_logo} so it works for every staff member.
  2. Go to Settings, Email Templates and open the Quote or Invoice template, or click Add Email Template.
  3. Write the subject with a field, for example the job number and address, so the client can find the email later.
  4. Keep the body to three or four short lines. Use the toolbar for bold and line breaks; toggle Source only for things the toolbar cannot do.
  5. Use Insert Field for the client's first name and any links ({statement}, {feedback}) instead of typing them.
  6. To change the automatic booking confirmation, create a template named exactly On-Site Service Confirmation, Workshop Service Confirmation or Service Enquiry Confirmation.
  7. Save, open a test job, click New Email, attach the PDF from Smart Attachments, choose your template and send it to yourself on Gmail and Outlook.
  8. If emails show a ServiceM8 sending address, set up your own domain under Settings, ServiceM8 Add-Ons, Website and Email (email sending only), which needs five DNS records.

Gotchas

  • ServiceM8 does not publish which HTML tags or CSS it keeps. Anything built in Source view needs a real send test, not just the editor preview.
  • The Service Enquiry Confirmation template does not support every Insert Field option, because enquiries arrive in the Inbox without becoming a job.
  • A template named the same as a default automatic email replaces it. Name custom templates differently unless that is what you want.
  • With the Custom SMTP add-on, the 'Send emails from' preference has no effect, and wrong SMTP login details silently fall back to ServiceM8's own email system.
  • Promotional lines (discounts, referral offers) turn a service email into marketing. ServiceM8's guidance is not to send those without the client's clear opt in.

What the official help article misses: It says simple formatting and HTML tags are possible but not which ones survive, does not mention putting the logo in the signature with {company_logo}, and does not list the link fields such as {statement} and {feedback}. Read ServiceM8's article.

What the editor accepts

The template editor lives at Settings, Email Templates. Each template has a name, a subject and a message. ServiceM8's help centre describes two levels of formatting: simple text formatting from the message toolbar, and a Source toggle where you can type your own HTML tags and style attributes. That is the whole official description; it does not publish a list of which tags or styles are kept.

So treat Source view as capable but untested until you send yourself a real email. Write HTML the way email newsletters do: inline styles on each element, a simple single column, no scripts and no external stylesheets. Then send a test from a job to a Gmail and an Outlook address and look at it on a phone, because that is where your customers read quotes.

The one design decision that makes most emails look professional is short copy. A quote email does not need the quote in its body. It needs the client's name, one sentence about the job, the attachment or link, and a clear next step.

Logos and signatures

Put the logo in the company wide signature, not in each template. The signature is set at Settings, Preferences, Email Settings, applies to every staff member, and supports fields so one signature works for the whole team: {staff.first}, {staff.last}, {staff.job_title} and {company_logo}.

That keeps every email branded, including ones staff write from scratch, and means a logo change is one edit. If your logo looks blurry or oversized in emails, fix the image you uploaded as your company logo rather than resizing it in each template.

Field codes for links and times

Insert Field lists the job and customer fields you can drop into a template. A few are worth knowing because they turn into links or times when the email is drafted. {statement} becomes the client's Live Statement link (Automation add-on). {feedback} becomes a unique feedback link tied to that job, so the reply lands in the job diary. {job.next_booking_time} prints the allocation window's start and end times if you use Job Allocations.

Quote and invoice emails are better with the document attached from the Smart Attachments panel, or sent as the online quote or invoice link, than pasted into the body. The help centre's invoice walkthrough attaches the invoice file and then applies the invoice email template.

Sources

  1. Email templates are created at Settings, Email Templates; the message toolbar applies simple text formatting, a Source toggle allows HTML tags, and Insert Field adds fields from a drop down list. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  2. The company email signature at Settings, Preferences, Email Settings applies to all staff and supports {staff.first}, {staff.last}, {staff.job_title} and {company_logo}. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  3. Creating a template named On-Site Service Confirmation, Workshop Service Confirmation or Service Enquiry Confirmation replaces the default booking confirmation, and the Service Enquiry Confirmation template does not support all merge fields. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  4. The {statement} merge field converts to the client's Live Statement URL in email and SMS templates; Live Statements use the Automation add-on. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  5. The {feedback} field generates a unique feedback link when an email or SMS is created, and feedback is stored in the related job's diary. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  6. Sending from your own domain is set up in Settings, ServiceM8 Add-Ons, Website and Email, choosing email sending only, and requires adding five DNS records. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
  7. ServiceM8 advises against sending promotional email or SMS unless the client has clearly opted in to marketing messages. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.