Email Templates
Email Templates let you customize the HTML emails Ascent sends to your clients and contacts, with merge variables that are filled in with real data when each message is sent.
Overview
The Email Templates admin page lets you:
- Browse all email templates for your organization in a single table
- Filter templates by category
- Create your own custom templates
- Seed a set of ready-made system templates with one click
- Edit a template's name, subject, content, and active status
- Preview a template rendered with sample data
- Duplicate an existing template
- Mark a template as the default for its type
- Delete templates you created
- Look up the available merge variables in a built-in reference
This page is part of the Admin area. Viewing it requires the email_templates read permission, which belongs to the Administration permission group typically granted to the Owner and Admin roles. Creating, editing, duplicating, seeding, setting a default, and deleting templates each require the matching create, update, or delete permission.
Navigate to Email Templates
Go to Admin → Email Templates in the left sidebar.
The page has two tabs:
| Tab | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Templates | The table of email templates with create, edit, preview, duplicate, set-default, and delete actions |
| Variables Reference | A read-only table of every merge variable, its description, an example value, and which categories it is available in |
The Templates table
Each row in the Templates table shows:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The template name, with a System badge for built-in templates and a Default badge (star) for the default of its type |
| Type | The specific event the template is used for (for example, Ticket Created) |
| Category | The category the template belongs to (Portal, Ticket, Invoice, Quote, Feedback, or Custom) |
| Status | Active or Inactive |
| Actions | A menu with Preview, Edit, Duplicate, Set as Default, and (for non-system templates) Delete |
Use the Filter by Category dropdown above the table to narrow the list to a single category, or choose All Categories.
Categories and template types
Templates are organized into categories. Each category contains one or more template types, where a type maps to a specific event Ascent sends mail for. When you create a template, the Category and Template Type dropdowns offer these choices:
| Category | Template types |
|---|---|
| Portal | Portal Invitation, Password Reset, Welcome |
| Ticket | Ticket Created, Ticket Updated, Ticket Resolved, Ticket Reply |
| Invoice | Invoice Created, Invoice Reminder, Invoice Overdue |
| Quote | Quote Created, Quote Accepted |
| Feedback | Feedback Request |
| Custom | Custom |
When you choose the Custom category and type, you create a free-form template that is not tied to a built-in event.
Seeding (see below) also installs a few additional built-in system templates that are not offered in the create dropdowns, including an Invoice Paid template (Invoice category) and a Generic Notification template used for internal staff notifications. These appear in the table but cannot be created manually from the dropdowns.
Seeding system templates
When your organization has no templates yet, a Seed System Templates button appears next to Create Template. (Once any template exists, this button no longer shows.)
- Click Seed System Templates.
- Ascent creates the full set of built-in templates for your organization. Each is marked as a System template, set Active, and set as the Default for its type.
Seeding only adds a system template when one of that type doesn't already exist, so it is safe to run again. System templates can be edited but cannot be deleted.
Creating a template
- Click Create Template.
- Fill in the fields:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Template Name | A label for your reference (required) |
| Category | The category the template belongs to |
| Template Type | The event this template is used for |
| Email Subject | The subject line; may contain merge variables (required) |
| Email Content (HTML) | The body, edited in a rich-text editor; use merge variables to personalize it |
- Click Create Template. New templates you create are not system templates and are not set as default until you choose to make them so.
The Create Template button is enabled once a name and subject are filled in.
Editing a template
- Open the Actions menu (the ⋯ icon) for a template and choose Edit.
- Update the Template Name, Email Subject, or Email Content (HTML).
- Click Save Changes.
When editing, the Category and Template Type fields are locked — those are set when the template is first created and cannot be changed afterward.
Previewing a template
- Open the Actions menu for a template and choose Preview.
- Ascent renders the template with built-in sample data (a sample organization, contact, client, and — depending on the type — sample ticket, invoice, or quote details) and shows the result in a preview window.
Preview is the best way to confirm your merge variables resolve correctly before a template goes live.
Duplicating a template
- Open the Actions menu and choose Duplicate.
- Enter a name for the copy (it defaults to the original name followed by (Copy)).
- Click Duplicate.
The copy keeps the original's type, category, subject, and content. It is created as a non-system, non-default, active template, so you can edit it freely — including duplicating a system template to make an editable variant.
Setting a default
Each template type can have one default, which is the template Ascent uses when sending that kind of email.
- Open the Actions menu and choose Set as Default. (This option is hidden for the template that is already the default for its type.)
- Setting a template as default automatically removes the default flag from any other template of the same type.
The current default for a type is marked with a Default badge in the Name column.
Deleting a template
- Open the Actions menu and choose Delete, then confirm.
- The Delete action is only available for templates you created. System templates cannot be deleted.
Merge variables
Merge variables are written with double curly braces, for example {{contact_name}}. When an email is sent, each variable is replaced with the corresponding value; any variable that has no value is replaced with an empty string. You can use variables in both the subject and the body.
The Variables Reference tab lists every variable along with its description, an example value, and the categories it applies to. Common variables include:
| Variable | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
{{org_name}} | Your organization name | Acme IT Services |
{{org_logo_url}} | URL of your organization logo | https://example.com/logo.png |
{{org_website}} | Your organization website | https://acme.com |
{{org_phone}} | Your organization phone number | (555) 123-4567 |
{{org_address}} | Your organization address | 123 Main St, City, ST 12345 |
{{current_year}} | The current year | 2026 |
{{contact_name}} | Full name of the contact | John Doe |
{{contact_first_name}} | First name of the contact | John |
{{contact_email}} | Email address of the contact | [email protected] |
{{client_name}} | Name of the client company | Doe Corporation |
Category-specific variables include:
| Variable | Available in | Description |
|---|---|---|
{{portal_url}} | Portal | Link to the client portal |
{{invitation_link}} | Portal | Portal invitation URL with token |
{{reset_link}} | Portal | Password reset URL with token |
{{expires_at}} | Portal | When the link expires |
{{ticket_number}} | Ticket, Feedback | Full ticket number (for example, TKT-1001) |
{{ticket_subject}} | Ticket, Feedback | Subject line of the ticket |
{{ticket_status}} | Ticket | Current ticket status |
{{ticket_priority}} | Ticket | Ticket priority level |
{{ticket_url}} | Ticket, Feedback | Link to the ticket in the portal |
{{assigned_to}} | Ticket | Name of the assigned technician |
{{invoice_number}} | Invoice | Full invoice number |
{{invoice_amount}} | Invoice | Total invoice amount, formatted |
{{invoice_due_date}} | Invoice | Invoice due date |
{{payment_url}} | Invoice | Direct payment link |
{{quote_number}} | Quote | Full quote number |
{{quote_amount}} | Quote | Total quote amount |
{{quote_expiration}} | Quote | Quote expiration date |
{{feedback_url}} | Feedback | Link to the feedback form |
A variable only resolves to a value when the relevant data exists for the email being sent. For example, {{ticket_subject}} is only meaningful for ticket-related templates. Check the Variables Reference tab for the complete, current list and the categories each variable supports.
Tips
- Use Preview to confirm variables resolve before relying on a template in production.
- Keep a system template intact and Duplicate it when you want a customized version, so you can always fall back to the original.
- Only one template per type can be the default — use Set as Default to switch which one Ascent sends.
- Plain-text versions are generated automatically from your HTML when a template has no separate text content, so focus your editing on the HTML body.