ServiceM8 form
ServiceM8 SMS templates for booking, on my way, quotes and invoices
Below are eight ServiceM8 SMS templates using ServiceM8's own field codes, such as {job.contact_first} and {vendor.name}. Each one fills to roughly 104 to 142 characters with typical values. ServiceM8's developer documentation says messages longer than 153 characters use more than one SMS credit, and credits over your plan's allowance cost 10c each.
Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.
Free form
SMS templates form for any trade
Eight saved SMS templates in Settings > SMS Templates, each filling to one SMS credit with typical job details.
The form: 8 questions
| Section | Question | Type | Req. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Booking confirmation | Hi {job.contact_first}, your booking with {vendor.name} is confirmed for {job.next_booking_date} at {job.next_booking_time}. Job {job.generated_job_id}. Questions? Call {location.phone_1} | Text | Yes | Template 187 characters. Filled, about 128 (estimate): 1 SMS credit. |
| Reminder, day before | Hi {job.contact_first}, reminder: {vendor.name} is booked at {job.job_address} tomorrow at {job.next_booking_time}. Please secure pets and clear access. | Text | Yes | Template 152 characters. Filled, about 142 (estimate). The address is the long field: a unit number and long suburb can push it over 153. |
| On my way | Hi {job.contact_first}, {calculation.current_user_first} from {vendor.name} is on the way now. Call {calculation.current_user_mobile} if anything has changed. | Text | Yes | Template 158 characters. Filled, about 104 (estimate). Gives the tech's own mobile so the customer can reach them. |
| Running late | Hi {job.contact_first}, {calculation.current_user_first} from {vendor.name} is running late on an earlier job. We will text a new time shortly. Sorry for the wait. | Text | Template 163 characters. Filled, about 130 (estimate). Send a second message with the new time rather than guessing one now. | |
| Quote ready | Hi {job.contact_first}, your {vendor.name} quote for job {job.generated_job_id} is ready. View and accept it here: {document} | Text | Yes | Template 125 characters. Filled, about 137 with a 45 character link (estimate). {document} is the online view and accept link. |
| Quote follow up | Hi {job.contact_first}, checking you got quote {job.generated_job_id} from {vendor.name}. Any questions, call {location.phone_1}. It can be accepted online. | Text | Template 156 characters. Filled, about 127 (estimate). No discount or special in it, so it stays a service message. | |
| Invoice sent | Hi {job.contact_first}, please find your {vendor.name} invoice attached for ${job.total_price}, due {job.invoice_due_date}. Questions? {location.phone_1} | Text | Yes | Template 153 characters. Filled, about 121 (estimate). Keeps the wording of ServiceM8's default invoice SMS. |
| Invoice overdue | Hi {job.contact_first}, invoice {job.invoice_no} from {vendor.name} for ${job.total_price} was due {job.invoice_due_date}. Please pay or call {location.phone_1}. | Text | Template 161 characters. Filled, about 117 (estimate). Factual only: no late fee unless your terms of trade set one. |
Set it up in ServiceM8
- In ServiceM8 go to Settings > SMS Templates and click Add SMS Template.
- Enter the name from the first column as the Template Name, and paste the message from the second column into the Message box.
- Check every field code against the SMS Template Fields list on that screen, and fix any that do not appear there before you save.
- Replace nothing inside the curly brackets. Edit only the words around them.
- Click Save Changes, then send each template to your own mobile from a test job with a real address and your real business name, and count the characters that arrive.
- If a filled message is over 153 characters, shorten the fixed words first (drop Hi, the job number, or Questions?) before removing a field the customer needs.
- Pick the template when sending from the job card, or attach it to the matching automation for booking confirmations and reminders.
Why 153 characters is the number to write to
An SMS is billed in segments, not per message. ServiceM8's messaging documentation says a message longer than 153 characters consumes more than one SMS credit, so a reminder that runs to 160 characters costs the same as two. On the Australian plans, Starter includes 100 or more SMS a month, Growing 300 or more, Premium 1000 or more and Premium Plus 3000 or more, and each SMS over the allowance is 10c. A business sending 400 booking confirmations a month that creep over the line pays for 800.
The catch is that the template you type is not the message that gets sent. A field code like {job.job_address} is 17 characters in the template and can become 35 on the customer's phone. The character counts below are worked out both ways: the raw template, and our estimate filled with realistic values (an 8 letter first name, a 19 character business name, a full street address, a 45 character link). If your business name is long, drop the job number or the phone number from the longest templates.
Keep to plain letters, numbers and ordinary punctuation. The same documentation says special characters are not supported, so leave out emoji and curly quotes pasted from Word.
Which templates count as marketing
Booking confirmations, reminders, on my way, quote and invoice messages are service messages. The Spam Act rules on consent and unsubscribe apply to commercial messages, and the ACMA warns that a mostly factual message such as a bill or invoice becomes commercial once it carries promotional or sales content. So keep specials, referral offers and review requests out of these templates. If you want to send those, send them separately, with consent, your business identified and a working unsubscribe.
Branded sender names also changed this year. From 1 July 2026, a text sent with an unregistered business name at the top is labelled Unverified and grouped with other unverified messages, including scams. Messages sent from a phone number are not affected. If your ServiceM8 texts show your business name rather than a number, confirm with ServiceM8 that the sender ID is registered.
Where each template fires in ServiceM8
Save each one under Settings > SMS Templates, then pick it from the job card when sending, or attach it to an automation. ServiceM8 can also send its own on the way SMS with an estimated arrival time. If you use that feature, keep the on my way template below for when a tech wants to send the message by hand. For the quote template, the {document} field is what gives the customer a link to view the quote online and accept it. ServiceM8's own invoice SMS starts with Please find your {vendor.name} invoice attached for ${job.total_price}, and the invoice template below keeps that wording.
What this form will not do
- The filled character counts are our estimates from sample values. Your business name, addresses and link length change the real count.
- The 153 character line comes from ServiceM8's Messaging API documentation. Confirm how your account bills a long message on your first invoice after switching templates.
- Templates do not stop a tech sending a long free typed message, which is billed by length like any other.
- These are service messages. A promotion added to any of them makes it a commercial message under the Spam Act, with consent and unsubscribe rules.
- If you send under a branded sender name, customers generally cannot reply to it. Always include a phone number in the message.
Sources
- ServiceM8's Messaging API documentation states that messages longer than 153 characters will consume multiple SMS credits and that special characters are not supported. ServiceM8 Developer documentation, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- ServiceM8 AU plans include SMS allowances of 100+ (Starter, $29), 300+ (Growing, $79), 1000+ (Premium, $149) and 3000+ (Premium Plus, $349) per month, with SMS over the allowance charged at 10c each; prices are in AUD and include GST. ServiceM8 pricing (AU), checked 25 Sep 2026.
- SMS templates are created under Settings > SMS Templates, with SMS Template Fields inserted in the message using curly brackets, such as {vendor.name}, {job.total_price}, {location.phone_1} and {job.generated_job_id}. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Available template fields include {job.contact_first}, {job.job_address}, {job.next_booking_date}, {job.next_booking_time}, {job.invoice_no}, {job.invoice_due_date}, {calculation.current_user_first} and {calculation.current_user_mobile}. Hazel Whicher (ServiceM8 partner) template fields cheatsheet, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Email and SMS templates need the {document} field for clients to view quote options online. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- ServiceM8 can automatically SMS clients to say you are on the way to the job, with an estimated time of arrival. ServiceM8, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Breaches of the spam rules can occur even when a message is mostly factual, such as a bill, invoice or service message that also includes promotional or sales content. Australian Communications and Media Authority, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- People generally cannot reply to an SMS sent with a sender ID (a message header that is usually a shortened business name). Australian Communications and Media Authority, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Businesses sending texts with a branded sender ID must register it through their telco or message provider; from 1 July 2026 unregistered sender IDs are replaced with Unverified and grouped in one thread. Senders using a phone number do not need to do anything. Australian Communications and Media Authority, checked 25 Sep 2026.