Change the status, and the rest just happens
Attach an email or SMS template to any status. When a ticket moves to "Diagnosed," the estimate goes out; at "Ready for pickup," the customer gets a text and the portal updates. The counter stops being a notification job.
Recorded from the real app: open a status, see the message attached to it, and flip texting on with one click.
Any status, any message, any channel
Every status in your workflow can carry its own automation: email, SMS, or both. You write the template once, with placeholders for the customer, device, and ticket, and BenchKey personalizes and sends it every time a ticket crosses that line. Sixteen ready-made templates ship with every new account, so day one already talks to customers.
Receipts send themselves
When an invoice is paid, the receipt goes out automatically, email with the PDF attached, and a text with the link. Every payment path triggers it: counter, portal, payment link. Nobody has to remember, so nobody forgets.
The portal stays in sync for free
Statuses also drive the customer portal timeline. The same status change that texts the customer moves their progress bar, so "any update?" calls stop before they start. One source of truth, three things updated.
Tuned by the AI, if you want
Tell the AI assistant "text customers when their device is ready" and it wires the automation and writes the message for you. Changing your mind is one more sentence, not a settings safari.
FAQ
Status automations questions
Can a status send both an email and a text?
Yes. Each status can carry an email template, an SMS template, or both, and you can preview exactly what the customer will receive.
Can I customize the messages?
Fully. Templates support placeholders for customer name, device, ticket number, and more, and the AI assistant can rewrite any of them in your shop’s voice.
What stops a customer getting spammed?
Messages fire on status changes you define, not on every edit. Move a ticket back and forth and BenchKey is smart about not double-sending.
Do automated receipts really cover every payment type?
Yes, counter payments, portal payments, and payment links all trigger the receipt automatically, with the invoice PDF attached to the email.
Works with
Repair tickets & queue
Every job on one board, status, owner, device, and what happens next. Nothing dies in a drawer.
AI that runs your setup
Tell the AI what you want in plain English and it configures the system for you, automations, templates, settings, all of it.
Live customer portal
Customers track their repair like a package, live timeline, estimates, and invoices on one private link.
Put your shop on BenchKey
Set up in an afternoon. Import your customers and tickets, build your check-in flow, and send your first live status link the same day.
Free 14-day trial · No credit card · Import from your old system
Founders pricing: the first 50 shops lock Pro at $59/mo for life · see pricing