Translating automatic messages

Automatic messages are messages that Avela sends on your behalf, based on system events—such as when a form is started, submitted, or changes status.

You can translate these messages in advance so families always receive them in their preferred language, without any manual action at send time.

When to use this

• You want messages to send automatically based on enrollment activity

• You need consistent, multilingual communication at scale

• You don’t want staff to manually translate recurring messages

How automatic message translation works

Automatic messages are:

• Configured in Form settings

• Written once in English (original)

• Translated into as many languages are configured by the organization - this will depend on licensing and settings.

• Automatically sent in the recipient’s preferred language when triggered, as long as it matches the organization's configured settings. Otherwise, they'll get the english version

Once translations are confirmed, Avela uses them every time the message is sent.

How to translate an automatic message

Step 1: Open the automatic messages 

1. Go to Enrollment periods

2. Select the relevant form

3. Open the automatic message you want to edit

You’ll see fields for:

• Subject line

• Email content

• SMS content

Step 2: Write the original message in English

The English version is the source message for all translations.

You can:

• Use variables (for example, {{parent.name}}, {{student.name}}, {{applyUrl}})

• Add links and formatting

• Customize both email and SMS content

💡 Tip: Clear, simple English leads to more accurate translations.

Step 3: Translate to multiple languages

1. Click Translate to multiple languages

2. A translation drawer opens

3. Avela Intelligence, if configured for the organization, will start generating translations

You’ll see a brief loading state while Avela Intelligence:

• Analyzes the original content

• Translates each message

• Preserves variables and formatting

Step 4: Review translations by language

Once translations are ready:

• Each language appears as a tab (for example, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Hindi)

• You can switch between languages to review content

For each language, you can edit:

• Subject line

• Email content

• SMS content

⚠️ Important: Always review translations before confirming, especially for compliance-related or time-sensitive messages.

Step 5: Confirm translations

1. Click Confirm translations

2. A confirmation message indicates how many translations were saved

After confirmation:

• Translations are stored with the automatic message

• They will be reused every time the message is sent

• No further action is required by staff - unless the original message is updated, in which case, you can update translations by clicking on "Translate to multiple languages" again, to update manually 

Things to know about automatic message translations

• Translations are persistent and reused

• Editing the English version does not automatically update translations

• You can re-translate at any time if content changes

• School-specific messages can have their own translations

• New languages added to the organization are not immediately translated - you need to configure each automatic message to consider the new language as part of the translations. In the meantime, recipients will receive the original, English version of the message.

Best practices

• Translate after finalizing message content

• Re-translate if you make meaningful edits

• Keep SMS messages short to avoid segment overages

• Periodically review automatic messages for accuracy and tone