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Comms Cockpit

The Comms Cockpit is the single control surface for everything your business sends via email. It combines two distinct editors in one page:
  • Email Template editor — build and edit the email bodies (subject, body, variable tokens, links) that the workflow engine sends
  • Workflow Step editor — wire each template to a trigger event with a send offset, recipients, and conditional rules
This article is the UI reference. For the conceptual model behind triggers, offsets, and templates, see Communications & Workflow.

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When you use it

  • First-week setup — build out your standard email templates (booking confirmation, contract reminder, report delivery, agent summary, etc.) and wire each to a trigger
  • Rare adjustments — change a subject line, swap a template, retime a reminder
  • Per-service customization — add a service-type-specific step (e.g. 11-month warranty reminder for New Construction)
  • A/B testing copy — duplicate a template, tweak it, swap the wiring
Most operators rarely visit Comms Cockpit after initial setup. The workflow engine handles delivery for every order automatically once configured.

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Screen layout

[SCREENSHOT: comms-cockpit-screen.png — desktop, the Comms Cockpit with a top section for editing an email template (Name, Trigger, Subject, Body) and a bottom section for editing workflow steps (Trigger, Offset, Recipients, Template).] The page is split into two stacked editors:
  1. Email Template editor (top half) — for the email body itself
  2. Workflow Step editor (bottom half) — for wiring a template to a trigger
A sidebar (typically left) lists existing templates and existing workflow steps. Click a row to load it into the relevant editor.

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Email Template editor

The top editor builds the email itself. Every field your customer sees in their inbox starts here.

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Template fields

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Variable tokens

Tokens are placeholders replaced with real inspection data at send time. The same tokens work in subject lines, body text, and contracts: Client tokens: $ClientFirstName $ClientLastName $ClientNames $Client2FirstName Property & inspection: $InspectionAddress $InspectionDate $InspectionTime Inspector & company: $InspectorName $InspectorLicense $CompanyName $CompanyLogo Fees: $InspectionFee $BaseFee $ServiceFee $InspectionFeeTable Links: $ContractLink — client signing portal $ReportLink — client report download $AgentReportLink — agent-only report view $PortalLink — realtor portal magic link Payment handles: $VenmoHandle $ZelleContact $CashAppHandle See Communications → Template Variables for the complete list and edge cases. The body editor has an Insert Hyperlink toolbar action that opens a small modal: The hint explains: “You can use a VariabletokenastheURL(e.g.Variable token as the URL (e.g. ReportLink).” This is the recommended way to add report-link buttons — the link resolves per-recipient at send time, so the client sees their full report link and the agent sees the agent-only view. The dialog has Cancel (no change) and Apply (commits the link) buttons.

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Workflow Step editor

The bottom editor wires a template to a trigger event. Each row in the workflow steps list is one step; the engine fires every enabled step that matches a trigger.

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Step fields

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Trigger

Tip from the UI: “Add two steps for this trigger — one for Primary Client using $ReportLink, and one for agents using $AgentReportLink. Each recipient gets the correct scoped link.” This is the canonical pattern for report delivery.

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Timing

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Recipients

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Scoping

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Conditional examples

The conditional field accepts simple expressions:
  • contractSignedAt == null — only if the contract is unsigned
  • paymentStatus == 'paid' — only after payment received
  • assignedInspectorName != null — only if an inspector is assigned

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Actions — what the step does

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Order of operations

When a trigger fires for an order:
  1. The engine looks up every enabled step matching the trigger AND the order’s service types
  2. Steps are sorted by their offset (most-negative first, then chronologically)
  3. For each step:
    • The conditional is evaluated against the order
    • If the conditional passes (or is empty), the step is scheduled
  4. Send actions are enqueued; status-advance and retime actions execute synchronously
You can preview the calculated firing schedule by selecting an order and using Preview Workflow Steps (a debug action available to owners).

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Templates list

Each template appears as a row showing its Template Name and a count of which workflow steps reference it (e.g. “Booking Confirmation · 2 steps”). Actions on each row:
  • Click to load into editor
  • 📋 Duplicate
  • 🗑 Delete (only if no workflow step references it)

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Workflow Steps list

Each workflow step row shows:
  • Trigger name
  • Offset (e.g. +2h)
  • Template name
  • Recipient count
  • An on/off toggle (disable a step without deleting it)
Disabled steps remain in Firestore but the engine skips them.

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A typical day-1 setup

Build templates first, then wire steps. Recommended starting set: For New Construction, add a single step:
  • 11-Month Warranty | inspection.completed | +11mo | Client | Service: New Construction Final
This inherits every other step from the base workflow.

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Errors and recovery

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What this page does NOT do

  • It does not send test emails. Use the per-order Communications tab on Inspection Details for one-off sends and previews.
  • It does not show delivery analytics. Open-rate / click-rate / bounce data lives in your email-service-provider’s dashboard (or in future enhancements to the Reports module).
  • It does not manage contracts. Contracts are separate — see Contracts Cockpit.
  • It does not send SMS or push. Email only.