Message templates are the reusable messages Skoolite uses when it sends notifications such as fee reminders and portal access details. Editing a template lets you change the wording once, and every message of that type is sent using your new wording. Templates use **merge fields** (for example `{STUDENT_FULL_NAME}`) that are automatically replaced with each recipient's real details when the message is sent.

## View your message templates

1. Go to the **Messaging** module

2. On the sidebar menu, click **Message Templates**

3. You will see a list of the available templates, each showing its **name** and a short **description**. Skoolite comes with the following SMS templates:

   * **Fee Payment Reminder** — reminds parents to clear an outstanding fee balance
   * **Portal Access Notification** — sends students and parents their Student/Parent Portal login details

## Edit a template

1. On the **Message Templates** page, click the **name** of the template you want to edit

2. In the **Body** field, edit the message text to suit your school. You can type freely and add or remove merge fields

3. To add a merge field, place your cursor where you want it to appear, then click the field you need from the **Available Merge Fields** panel on the right. The field is inserted at the cursor position

4. Use the **Example** box below the body to preview how the message will read once the merge fields are filled with real values

5. Click the green **Save** button to apply your changes

## About merge fields

Merge fields are placeholders wrapped in curly braces, e.g. `{STUDENT_FULL_NAME}`. When a message is sent, Skoolite replaces each merge field with the recipient's actual information.

Each template only supports its own set of merge fields:

**Fee Payment Reminder**

| Merge field | Replaced with |
| --- | --- |
| `{STUDENT_FULL_NAME}` | The student's full name (e.g. John Smith) |
| `{FEE_BALANCE}` | The outstanding fee balance (e.g. KES 10,000.00) |
| `{STUDENT_PRONOUN}` | The student's pronoun (his / her) |

**Portal Access Notification**

| Merge field | Replaced with |
| --- | --- |
| `{USERNAME}` | The login username |
| `{PASSWORD}` | The login password |
| `{WEB_ACCESS_LINK}` | The link to the web portal |

**IMPORTANT:**

* Type merge fields exactly as shown — in **CAPITAL LETTERS** and inside curly braces `{ }`. The easiest and safest way is to click them from the **Available Merge Fields** panel rather than typing them by hand.

* If the body contains a merge field that the template does not recognise, Skoolite will show an error such as *"Unknown merge fields found: ..."* when you save, and your changes will not be saved until you correct it.

* Every message is automatically prefixed with your school's name, so you do not need to include it in the template body.

* You can rewrite the surrounding wording however you like; only the merge fields (the text inside the curly braces) must be left intact.