Set up custom notification triggers
Upper fires customer notifications on four built-in events. You control the message, channel, and stop types per event; new trigger events go through support.
Upper sends customer notifications on four built-in events — Out For Delivery, After Delivery, Missed Delivery, and Notify to Next Customer. Together they cover the moments most delivery workflows need to communicate. You can change what each message says, which channel it uses, and which stop types it covers, but the events that fire a notification are fixed in self-service settings. If your workflow needs a notification on a different event, that's a request to our team rather than a toggle you flip.
This article uses Upper's delivery labels (Out For Delivery, After Delivery). A workspace set up for service businesses sees the equivalent service labels instead (Out For Service, After Service, and so on). Both refer to the same settings.
The four built-in events
Each channel — Email and SMS — offers the same four notification templates:
| Notification | Sent when |
|---|---|
| Out For Delivery | The stop is out for delivery |
| After Delivery | The stop is completed successfully |
| Missed Delivery | The stop couldn't be completed |
| Notify to Next Customer | The driver is approaching the upcoming customer |
Notify to Next Customer appears only on accounts that have it enabled, so you may not see it in your settings. The other three are always available.
Check the standard triggers first
Before requesting a custom trigger, confirm that none of the four built-in events fit your workflow. Many "custom" needs are really template edits — showing a different field or rewording the message per stop type — and can be done today without waiting on a new build.
In Manage > Settings > Notifications, open the edit (pencil) icon on any template card. For each notification you can set:
- Message content — Edit the template text and insert merge tags such as Customer Name, Delivery Date, Earliest Time, Latest Time, and Tracking Link. Email templates also have an editable Subject line.
- Channel — Turn the notification on for Email, SMS, or both. Each channel has its own master toggle and its own set of template cards.
- Stop types — Choose which stop types fire the notification: Delivery, Pickup, or Stop. A notification can cover Delivery only, for example, and stay silent on Pickups.
What's not self-service
The events themselves are fixed. In settings, you cannot:
- Add a notification that fires on a brand-new event (for example, "two stops away").
- Change when an existing notification fires.
- Build conditional notifications (for example, send only to certain customers).
Request a custom trigger
If none of the four events fit, tell our team what you need. It helps to be specific:
Describe the event
Say what should fire the notification — the exact moment in the route or delivery you want the message to go out.
Describe the message
Note what the message should say and which merge tags it needs, so the team can see whether an existing template covers it.
Note which stops it applies to
Tell us whether it should apply to Delivery, Pickup, or Stop types, or only to certain customers.
Reach the team
- Email: support@upperinc.com
- Or reach us from the app at my.upperinc.com
A "two stops away" or "30 minutes out" need is close to Notify to Next Customer with the message text edited. Before assuming you need a new build, check whether one of the four existing notifications already fits once you reword it.
Related
Set up automated customer notifications
Set up automated customer notifications in Upper from Settings > Notifications. Turn on email and SMS channels, enable per-event messages, and pick stop types.
Set up customer notifications
Set up automatic SMS and email updates in Upper: pick your channels, turn on the messages you want, and customers get updates as drivers work the route.