Setting Up Communications
r4ptor sends email via SMTP — Gmail, one.com, or any other SMTP-compatible provider — and SMS via Twilio. Go to Admin → Integrations to configure everything on this page.
Comms starts in Test Mode — all messages are redirected to your test override address and phone, never to real students. Stay in Test Mode until you have confirmed delivery works, then switch it off.
Global
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Test Mode | When ON, all sends go to the Test Override addresses below instead of real student contacts. Toggle off only when ready to go live. |
| Master switch for email sending. Must be ON for any email to go out. | |
| SMS | Master switch for SMS sending. Must be ON for any SMS to go out. |
Test Overrides
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Test Email Override | While Test Mode is ON, all emails are redirected here (e.g. your personal email). |
| Test Phone Override | While Test Mode is ON, all SMS messages are redirected here (e.g. your mobile). Enter in E.164 format: +447700900123. |
Leave both fields set during testing. Clear them only after you've switched Test Mode off and are ready to send to real contacts.
Attendance RAG Thresholds
Controls the colour coding applied to attendance percentages on class cards, student profiles and the SOW report.
| Colour | Meaning | Default threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 🟢 Green | Attendance is healthy | ≥ 80% |
| 🟡 Amber | Attendance needs attention | ≥ 65% |
| 🔴 Red | Attendance is a concern | Below amber threshold |
Green from (%) and Amber from (%) are editable. Red is automatic — anything below the amber threshold. Save each with the tick button next to it.
Email — SMTP Setup
r4ptor works with any SMTP-compatible email provider — pick a known provider below, or Custom SMTP for anything else. This is a vendor-agnostic setting: switching provider later doesn't need a code change or support ticket, just re-entering credentials on this page.
Choose your provider
Under Email — SMTP Setup, the Provider picker offers:
| Provider | Host / port r4ptor fills in for you | Credentials you provide |
|---|---|---|
| Gmail | smtp.gmail.com : 587 | A Gmail App Password (not your main Google password) — see below |
| one.com | send.one.com : 587 | Your mailbox password |
| Custom SMTP | You enter Host and Port yourself | Whatever your provider requires |
Picking Gmail or one.com fixes the host/port for you (shown as a read-only summary line) so they can't drift out of sync with what's actually saved. Choosing Custom SMTP reveals editable Host and Port fields, plus a Secure (SSL/TLS) toggle — on for port 465, off for STARTTLS (587), auto-detected from the port unless you set it explicitly.
Gmail is the one provider here that won't accept your regular account password over SMTP.
- Log into a Gmail account dedicated to your club (e.g.
[email protected]) - Go to Google Account → Security
- Enable 2-Step Verification if not already on
- Search for App Passwords and create a new one — name it r4ptor
- Copy the 16-character password (you won't see it again) — this goes in SMTP Password below, not your normal Gmail password
Most other providers, including one.com and Custom SMTP hosts, accept your regular mailbox password instead.
Fill in the fields
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Email Sender Name | The name recipients see in their inbox — e.g. Prince Avenue Martial Arts |
| Email Address | Your full mailbox address — e.g. [email protected] or [email protected] |
| Instructor BCC Email | Every live email is BCC'd here so the instructor has a record. Typically the same mailbox address. |
| SMTP Password | Your Gmail App Password, or your regular mailbox password for other providers. Masked after entry. |
For Custom SMTP only, also fill in Host (e.g. smtp.example.com), Port (usually 587 or 465), and the Secure toggle.
Save each field with the tick button next to it, then toggle Email ON in the Global section.
Testing your SMTP connection
Before sending anything, tap Test Connection below the provider fields. This performs a real SMTP handshake against your saved host/port/credentials — no email is sent — and shows either a green "✓ Connected to host:port" confirmation or the specific error returned by your provider, so a wrong password or host is caught immediately rather than on the first real send.
SMS — Twilio Setup
Twilio is a cloud communications platform that r4ptor uses to send SMS messages to students and parents. It's the industry-standard way for apps to send text messages — you pay per message sent, and your credentials stay private on your r4ptor instance.
Create a Twilio account
- Sign up at twilio.com
- From the Console Dashboard, copy your Account SID (starts
AC…) and Auth Token
Twilio charges per SMS — typically £0.04–0.07 per message in the UK. Add credit at Billing → Account Balance in the Twilio Console. There is no monthly fee — you only pay for messages sent.
Once you're live, add a payment method under Billing → Payment Methods and turn on Auto Recharge (Twilio tops up automatically once your balance drops below a threshold you set). Without it, your balance can simply run out — and SMS sending fails silently from that point on, with no in-app warning, until someone notices students aren't getting texts. This is the single most common way a club's comms quietly stop working.
Choose an alphanumeric sender ID in your r4ptor settings
Instead of a random phone number, students see your club's name as the sender — e.g. MKF Prnc Av, up to 11 characters, letters/digits/spaces only. For UK numbers, there's nothing to set up in Twilio itself — just decide on a name and enter it directly in Twilio From Number below.
Twilio only requires advance registration for a small list of nationally-protected brand names (banks, government, etc.) — an ordinary club name doesn't need it. Two checks still happen, just automatically rather than in advance:
- Twilio validates the format the moment you send — 11 characters or fewer, allowed characters only
- UK mobile networks filter in real time as each message passes through — this is why the ID should look like a genuine brand (
MKF Prnc Av) rather than something generic likeINFOorALERT, which operators actively block as spam-like
So it's not unchecked, it's just judged live on how legitimate the name looks, rather than against a pre-approved list.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Twilio Account SID | Starts with AC — from your Twilio Console Dashboard |
| Twilio From Number | Your chosen alphanumeric sender ID (e.g. MKF Prnc Av) |
| Instructor SMS Copy Number | Every live SMS is copied here so the instructor has a record. Enter in E.164 format: +447700900123. |
| Twilio Auth Token | From your Twilio Console Dashboard. Masked after entry. |
Every SMS with an Instructor SMS Copy Number set sends twice — once to the student/parent, once to the instructor — so it roughly doubles your Twilio cost. It's genuinely useful for the first few sends after going live, so you can see everything's actually arriving end-to-end. Once you've confirmed that, clear the field to stop paying for the second copy of every message.
A real example, with the instructor and WhatsApp numbers blanked out:
Save each field with the tick button next to it, then toggle SMS ON in the Global section.
Send a test
With credentials entered and Test Mode ON:
- Open any student profile
- Tap Send Comms, select a template, tap Send
- Check your Test Override email and phone — both should arrive within a minute
If email arrives but SMS doesn't (or vice versa), check the credentials for that channel.
Go live
Once delivery is confirmed:
- Toggle Test Mode off and confirm the warning dialog
- From this point, sends go to real student contact details and the instructor copies go to the BCC email and SMS copy number
Only switch Test Mode off when you are ready to send to real parents and students. Suggested Comms that you tested with the amber Test send button will still be in the queue — you can approve them for real after switching Test Mode off.