Write the message once.
DoulaOne sends it on time.

The welcome email after a contract is signed is the one message every client should get. It is also the easiest to forget when the contract comes back late at night. Every Pro workspace now has a ready-made rule, Welcome email after signing, so you do not have to set it up from scratch.

Open Automations and read the default template. Rewrite it in your own words, add links to anything you send every new client, and leave the rule switched on. In the contract dialog, Send welcome email when signed uses this rule.

A template is a message you write once and reuse. Merge tags fill in each client's details, so the message stays personal without you retyping it. Well-written templates are also how your practice keeps a consistent voice if a colleague helps with admin.

1. On Automations, open the Templates tab and add a template.
2. Write the subject and message in the visual editor.
3. Insert merge tags where details belong. The available tags include first name, full name, partner name, due date, weeks pregnant, baby's birth date and age in weeks, your name, your business name, and the invoice number, event title, or contract title for rules triggered by those items.
4. Attach resources from your library if the message should include a leaflet or guide. Each client gets their own link through the client portal.
5. Save. The same template can be used by several rules and by one-off messages.

With DoulaOne AI turned on, you can ask for a draft or a starter sequence of messages. Read and edit every draft before you use it.

A rule decides when a template goes out. Once it is on, each matching client gets their own scheduled copy, so a check-in at 36 weeks or a note three days after the birth happens without a calendar reminder to yourself.

1. On the Rules tab, add a rule and choose the template.
2. Choose the trigger. The options are a week of pregnancy, days before the due date, days after the birth, an invoice paid in full, a contract signed, a client moving to a pipeline stage, a new client being added (including enquiries from your public page), and a client attending an event.
3. Save and switch the rule on.

The event trigger sends once per event, when you mark someone as attended. Attendees who are not yet clients are skipped until you add them as clients.

Automation should never mean losing control of what a family receives. Every scheduled message can be checked on the client before it goes, so you can adjust it for their situation.

• On a client, the Automations tab lists Upcoming and History. You can edit, send now, or skip any upcoming message.
• Schedule a message sends a one-off to that client, on a date or relative to their due date or birth date.
• Pause all stops everything for that client until you resume it.
• The Activity tab on Automations shows what has sent and what is queued across the practice. Queued messages also appear on your dashboard.

If you record a baby loss on a client, their automations stop straight away, so no pregnancy or newborn message goes out. If you clear the loss record, scheduled messages resume from that day, not from the dates they were missed.

If your personal life is in Google Calendar, families could book a consultation over the school run or a dentist appointment. Rearranging those bookings costs time and goodwill. DoulaOne can now check your Google calendar before it offers a time.

In Settings, under Integrations, connect Google Calendar. Two options are off until you turn them on:

• Hide booking times when my main Google calendar shows me as busy. Only your main calendar is checked, and only events marked Busy. An all-day Busy event hides the whole day. Mark an event Free in Google if you still want bookings then.
• Show my Google Calendar events on the DoulaOne calendar. They appear in grey beside your appointments, read-only. Only you can see them.

Busy times are checked across the whole booking window. This applies to your meeting links, personal client links, and Book a call on your public page.