Managing SMS Integration Settings

Managing SMS Integration Settings

If your organisation uses a Student Management System (SMS), Hail Mail can automatically synchronise contact lists for parents, caregivers, staff, and students. This guide shows you how to manage your SMS integration settings and keep your lists up to date.

What Are SMS Integrations?

SMS integrations connect Hail Mail with your Student Management System, automatically creating and updating mailing lists based on your school's data.

Supported Systems

Hail Mail integrates with:

  • KAMAR - Directory Services. School admin sets up.
  • FACTS - Via Wonde integration partner
  • Hero - Direct connection. Email to Hero requesting a connection between Hero and Hail
  • Edge/Helix - Direct connection. School admin can connect
  • eTAP - Direct connection. School admin can connect
  • Compass -direct integration

What Gets Synchronised

Depending on your SMS, Hail Mail can sync:

  • Parent and Caregiver Lists - Contact details for families
  • Staff Lists - School-wide or department-specific staff
  • Student Lists - Student email addresses (if applicable)
  • Year Group Lists - Contacts organised by year level
  • Boarding Groups - Special groups configured in your SMS
  • Pre-enrolled- all students who are uploaded to the SMS but are yet to start

How Synchronisation Works

Automatic Updates: - Your SMS is the "source of truth" - Changes made in your SMS automatically flow to Hail - Lists update before each campaign is sent - No manual import/export needed

What This Means: - New contacts added to SMS appear in Hail automatically - Removed contacts disappear from Hail lists - Updated email addresses sync automatically - Year group changes reflect in Hail

Important:

  • You cannot manually add or remove contacts from integrated SMS lists. All changes must happen in your SMS.
  • Hail will only accept contacts from SMSs with 1 contact per line. For example, Student Sally may have 2 x caregivers. These email addresses need to be added to Caregiver 1 and Caregiver 2 field and NOT both on one line in Caregiver 1. Do not add multiple email addresses in 1 field in your SMS- Hail will not pull these through and this could cause a bounce.


Accessing SMS Integration Settings

  1. Navigate to Hail Mail from the left-hand menu
  2. Click on Your Mail Lists
  3. Click on
  4. Find the integrated list you want to manage
  5. Click on the list to open it
  6. Click Settings or the settings icon
  7. Select Integration Settings from the menu

You'll see the SMS Integration Settings panel showing your current configuration.


Force Sync

Sometimes you need to manually trigger a synchronisation outside the normal schedule.

When to Force Sync

Good Reasons: - You just updated many contacts in your SMS - About to send an urgent campaign - Testing new integration settings - Troubleshooting sync issues - After changing SMS configuration

Not Necessary When: - Normal automatic sync is working fine - No recent changes in your SMS - Not about to send a campaign

How to Force Sync

Step-by-Step:

  1. Navigate to the SMS-integrated list
  2. Open Integration Settings
  3. Click Force Sync button
  4. Confirm you want to trigger immediate sync
  5. Wait for sync to complete (usually 1-5 minutes)
  6. Review subscriber count for changes

What Happens: - Hail immediately contacts your SMS - Downloads latest contact data - Updates the mailing list - Adds new contacts - Removes departed contacts - Updates changed details

Expert Tip: After a force sync, review the subscriber count. A big change (up or down) may indicate an issue worth investigating.

Modifying Integration Settings

Important: Most integration settings are configured during initial setup by Hail support and your SMS provider. You typically cannot change core settings yourself.

Settings You Can Modify

Sync Scope: - Which contacts are included - Year levels to sync - Contact types

To change other settings: Contact Hail support

Troubleshooting SMS Integrations

Missing Contacts

Problem: Contacts in SMS aren't appearing in Hail

Check: - Are they in the right priority in your SMS? - Do they have valid email addresses in SMS? - Are they marked as inactive or departed? - Is the sync scope configured to include them?

Solutions: - Verify contact details in SMS - Check sync scope settings - Force sync - Contact support if still missing

Out-of-Date Lists

Problem: Changes in SMS not showing in Hail

Solutions: - Force sync - Check integration status - Verify auto-sync is enabled - Contact support if recurring issue

Integrated Lists vs Manual Lists

Integrated Lists (SMS)

Characteristics: - Automatically updated - Cannot manually add/remove contacts - Sync from SMS - Always current

Use For: - School-wide communications - Parent newsletters - Staff updates - Year-level messages

Manual Lists (Hail Mail)

Characteristics: - You control all contacts - Manual add/remove - No automatic updates - Full customisation

Use For: - Special interest groups - Event-specific lists - Alumni communications - Niche audiences

Best Practice: Use integrated lists for broad school communications, create manual lists for specific purposes.

Privacy and Unsubscribes

Can People Unsubscribe from SMS Lists?

Yes - Recipients can always unsubscribe from any Hail Mail list, including SMS-integrated lists.

What Happens When They Unsubscribe: - They're removed from that specific list in Hail - They won't receive future emails to that list - Their data remains in your SMS - Next sync doesn't re-add them (Hail remembers their preference)

Re-adding Unsubscribed Contacts: - Use the resubscribe request feature

Last Updated: October 28, 2025

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