Automations: chase reminders and follow-ups

The single most valuable thing Karven does for most users isn't sending the quote, it's chasing it. Tradies leave money on the table not because their pricing is wrong but because they don't follow up. Karven's automation engine handles the chase loop so you don't have to remember.

What's in the default loop

When you turn on automations, every quote runs through this sequence unless you skip it:

| When | Channel | What it says | | --- | --- | --- | | Send + 0 | Email + SMS | The quote itself. | | Send + 48h, if unopened | SMS | "G'day [Name], just making sure the quote landed, let me know if you've got questions." | | Send + 3 days, if opened but not accepted | SMS | "Did you want to chat through anything on the quote?" | | Send + 7 days, if not accepted | Email | "Just touching base, let me know if it's still on the cards. Happy to revise if there's something not right." | | Send + 14 days, if not accepted | Email | "I'll close this one off in my system if I don't hear back this week, no hard feelings either way." |

The wording is editable in Settings → Automations. The schedule is editable too, you can shift the gaps or drop touchpoints entirely.

Why this works

The 48-hour SMS is the highest-impact one. By that point, life has happened and they've forgotten the quote even exists. The SMS lands on their lock screen, they tap, and the quote opens to the breakdown they hadn't read yet.

The 7-day email is the second-highest. "Happy to revise" gives them a soft on-ramp to start negotiating without feeling like they're being aggressive about it.

The 14-day "I'll close this off" is the close. It gives them a deadline without saying "deadline". Sometimes that's the message that flips a maybe into a yes.

Turning it on

Settings → Automations → Master toggle.

Karven defaults to Off because we don't want to surprise you by texting your customers without you knowing. Turn it on after you've sent a few quotes and seen the cadence you want.

Per-quote override

At send time, you can untick Use automations if you don't want the chase loop to run on this specific quote. Useful for:

• Mates' rates where chasing would be awkward.
• Quotes for known time-wasters where you've decided to send-and-forget.
• Commercial quotes where the customer's process is "we'll come back to you in a month" and chasing would just annoy their purchasing officer.

You can also pause automations on a sent quote mid-flight if the customer responds. Karven actually does this automatically, if the customer opens a message thread or replies via email, the chase loop pauses until you re-enable it.

Acceptance celebration

When a quote is accepted, Karven sends:

• Customer: "Cheers [Name]. I'll be in touch within 24 hours to confirm timing." (you can edit this).
• You: a push notification + email + Slack message (if you've connected Slack).

If you've configured a deposit and they haven't paid it yet, the customer also gets a gentle "your deposit's outstanding" nudge 24 hours after acceptance.

Post-job follow-up

Two days after job completion, the customer gets a "How'd we go?" message. If they respond with a thumbs-up, the next message asks for a Google review. See Google review push.

If they respond with anything less than thumbs-up, Karven routes the conversation to a message thread back to you, not to Google. You handle the friction privately.

Long-tail nurture

For customers who didn't accept and went quiet, Karven offers a quarterly check-in option. "G'day [Name], been a few months, let me know if you'd like to revisit that quote." Off by default, but tradies running steady residential work often turn it on; about 1 in 12 cold leads come back through this loop.

Disabling per-customer

Some customers shouldn't be chased. Maybe they're a mate, maybe they explicitly asked. On any customer record, tick Do not auto-message. Karven will still send the initial quote, but it won't chase, won't follow up, won't ask for reviews.

Compliance

Every Karven SMS and email includes proper opt-out. Customers can opt out at any time and Karven respects it across all quotes, present and future. We're set up for the Spam Act 2003, you don't need to think about it.

A common mistake

Editing the wording to sound desperate. "Please please look at my quote, I really need the work." Don't. The default wording is plain, confident, and easy to ignore without guilt. Both you and your customer come out of the loop with their dignity intact, whether they accept or not.