Messaging Categories are used to ensure the appropriate account contacts are notified when sending out triggered messages from your Sonar instance. The way messaging categories function is by first being assigned to both triggered messages and account contacts; when the triggered message is sent out, it will only be received by account contacts who have been assigned the same message category as the triggered message.
 

 For example, a 'Financial' message category would be used to ensure that any messages related to payments (i.e., when a payment is refunded, when an automatic payment fails, or when an invoice is due) are received by the contact responsible for the account's financial matters.

 Creating a Message Category

To create a message category:

1. Click on the “Communication Tools” module
2. Click “Configure”
3. Click “Messaging Categories” from the sub-menu:

4.  In the “Messaging Categories” window that appears, click on “Create Messaging Category”:
    

5.  In the new window, fill in the category details:
    

Click here for an overview of the fields within the Create Message Category window

Name: The name of the message category. Before creating message categories, you should have a relative idea of all the categories you plan on creating within your instance, based on the types of triggered messages you plan on sending out. This will help to ensure that the categories accurately align with the types of messages you will be sending and the type of contacts that will be receiving them.

Default: When this is checked, the message category will be automatically applied to any new contacts that are created. When creating a contact, the message category will be prepopulated in the Message Categories field of the Create Contact window, but can be removed, if needed.


Apply To Existing Contacts: If this is checked, the message category will automatically be applied to all existing contacts. If needed, the message category can be removed from existing contacts by navigating to the Contacts tab of the associated account and clicking the "Edit" button next to the appropriate contact. From the Edit Contact window that appears, the message category can be removed by clicking the 'x'.

6.  Click “Create” – the message category will now appear in the table and can be edited or deleted through the “Edit” and downward arrow buttons to the right.
    

7.  Now that the message category is created, you'll need to apply it to your appropriate triggered messages and account contacts. Steps on how to do each of these are provided below.

Applying Message Categories to Triggered Messages

Messaging categories can be applied from the Triggered Messages screen in two different methods, both of which are listed below – click “Details” to see more information. 

Once you have applied the message category to the triggered message, the category will be visible from the Messaging Categories column.

Applying Messaging Categories to Account Contacts

Messaging categories can be applied to contacts in a few different ways, all of which are described below – click “Details” to see more information.

Example Use Cases

Below are some commonly used message categories, along with a description of their use:

Message Categories with Multiple Companies

When multiple companies are deployed in a shared Sonar instance, configuring your message settings becomes slightly more complex. Triggered Messages, Message Categories, and Account Contacts all need to be configured for flawless communication to occur. To set things up, do the following:

1.  Ensure each company added to your Sonar instance has a unique domain
   

    If you plan to share domains between companies, you can still largely follow this section, as the logic applies regardless.

    
2.   Create your distinct, Company-specific Messaging Categories

1.  For example, you could create two new categories – one for company "A", and another for company "B".
    

3.  Create your Triggered Message, assigning it to the company's Messaging Category, and Email Domain. 
4.   For each company (and domain) in your instance, a copy of the triggered message will need to be created. For example, the first Triggered Message would be set to the "Company A" category and Email Domain. Then, duplicate the Triggered Message and set it to the "Company B" category and Email Domain.
5.    Ensure the Contact on each Customer Account has the Message Category applied to them, when relevant. When a customer account is created in your Sonar instance, they would be assigned a message category based on their assigned company.   

1.  For example, a non-billing Contact on the account would not need to receive Company-specific billing emails