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Getting Started in Activity Messenger: Initial Organization Settings

Use this guide to review the first Organization settings most administrators should configure before launching forms, registrations, communications, and other workflows in Activity Messenger.

 

This video is for administrators who are setting up their Organization for the first time. It is also useful if you are onboarding new administrators into your Organization or reviewing your account before launching forms, registrations, or communications.

The guide focuses on the essential settings to review first. Some settings are more advanced and can safely wait until later, depending on what your Organization needs to launch first.

Covered in this Guide

In this guide, you will learn how to:

  • Find support from the Activity Messenger home page
  • Open Organization Settings from the top navigation bar
  • Confirm your client-facing Organization information
  • Upload your logos and configure your main brand colours
  • Add social media links and marketing tracking codes
  • Verify your website domain and sender email addresses
  • Connect Stripe and review payment settings, if you plan to collect payments
  • Add taxes and ledger codes
  • Review the Billing Page
  • Add users and assign permissions
  • Understand which advanced settings can wait until later
  • Choose the next guide based on what you want to build first

Before you start

You do not need to configure every Organization setting right away.

Start with the settings that affect your immediate launch needs. If a setting is advanced or does not apply to your first workflow, you can return to it later.

If you need help at any point, use the support options on your Activity Messenger home page. You can open the help guides or contact Activity Messenger support directly.

Guide Navigation

1. Video guide
2. Covered in this guide
3. Before you start
4. Step 1: Open Organization Settings
5. Step 2: Confirm your Organization information
6. Step 3: Set up Identity & Branding
7. Step 4: Add social and marketing settings
8. Step 5: Verify your website domain and sender email addresses
9. Step 6: Configure payment settings, if you plan to collect payments
10. Step 7: Review the Billing Page
11. Step 8: Add Users & Permissions
12. Step 9: Leave advanced settings for later if they are not needed yet
13. What to do next
14. Quick decision guide
15. Related guides

 

Step 1: Open Organization Settings

When you sign in to Activity Messenger, you will land on the home page.

From the top navigation bar, click the cogwheel beside your Organization name. This opens the list of Organization settings available to your user account.

Select Modify Organization Settings.

This is where you manage account-level settings that affect your Organization.

Step 2: Confirm your Organization information

Start by reviewing the information section.

Make sure your Organization details are accurate, especially client-facing information such as:

  • Address
  • Email address
  • Telephone number

This information may appear in client-facing areas, including the footer of your emails.

Step 3: Set up Identity & Branding

Open the Branding tab to customize how Activity Messenger forms and emails reflect your Organization’s brand.

You can upload:

  • A square logo
  • A full-width rectangular logo

The square logo can appear centred in the header of forms and emails. The full-width logo is an alternative rectangular header.

These logo options can also be configured per form and per message. Depending on the workflow, you can show a logo, hide it, or choose between the regular logo and full-width logo.

Next, configure your button color. This is usually your primary brand color and may appear on buttons and other branded areas of the platform.

You can also add extra brand colors, which can be used in certain areas of Activity Messenger.

Finally, review the button border radius. A higher number creates a rounder button. A lower number creates a more square button.

Some branding settings are more advanced. If you are setting up your Organization for the first time, you can leave those settings for later or review them with your onboarding specialist.

Read next: Identity & Branding Setup

Step 4: Add social and marketing settings

Open the Social and Marketing tab to add your Organization’s social media links.

You do not need to fill out every field. Add only the social links your Organization uses.

If your Organization uses conversion tracking, such as a Facebook pixel or similar tracking code, you can add those codes in this section.

After making changes, click Update to save your settings.

Read next: Identity & Branding Setup

Step 5: Verify your website domain and sender email addresses

Domain verification helps improve the deliverability and reputation of the emails you send from Activity Messenger.

If you do not verify your website domain and sender email addresses, your messages can still be sent through Activity Messenger. However, verifying your own domain allows your Organization to send from your own email domain, which can help improve sender reputation and reduce the chance that messages are treated as spam.

To verify your domain:

  1. Open the domain verification settings.
  2. Enter your website domain.
  3. Click Verify.
  4. Follow the DNS instructions provided.
  5. Add the required DNS records in your domain or website hosting system.
  6. Add and verify the email addresses you want to send from.

After verification, emails sent from Activity Messenger can be sent from your Organization’s own domain.

Read next: Sending Emails from Your Own Domain

Step 6: Configure payment settings, if you plan to collect payments

If your Organization will collect payments through Activity Messenger, review your payment settings before launching paid workflows.

Stripe

Use the Stripe section to connect your Stripe account for credit card payments.

If you do not already have a Stripe account, create one first. Then connect it to Activity Messenger.

Also make sure your currency is set correctly.

Interac e-Transfer

If your Organization is in Canada and uses Interac e-Transfer, you can configure those settings in the payment area.

Taxes

Use the taxes section to add any taxes your Organization needs to charge.

For each tax, you can define:

  • Tax name
  • Internal description
  • Percentage
  • Whether the tax is inclusive or added on top of the displayed price

After taxes are created, they can be connected to different offers in Activity Messenger.

Ledger codes

Use ledger codes if your Organization needs to classify revenue or connect offers to accounting categories.

For each ledger code, add the code and name. Once created, ledger codes can be connected to different offers in Activity Messenger.

Point of sale and other payment-related settings are more advanced. You can review them later if they apply to your Organization.

Read next: Payment & Financial Configuration

Step 7: Review the Billing Page

Open the Billing page to review Activity Messenger account billing.

From this page, administrators can review:

  • Jurisdiction
  • Plan information
  • SMS balance or SMS purchases
  • Account invoices from Activity Messenger
  • Billing history

The Billing Page is separate from payments your clients make through forms, registrations, or other workflows.

Read next: Understanding the Billing Page

Step 8: Add Users & Permissions

Open Users & Permissions to add staff members to your Activity Messenger administrator account.

You can add users individually or import users in bulk.

When adding users, review the available permission levels. Use Details to see what each permission level allows.

Activity Messenger also includes granular permissions. These allow you to adjust specific permissions one at a time when needed.

Bulk import is useful when you need to add many staff members, such as instructors, camp staff, or seasonal employees. You can prepare an Excel file and define permissions for each person.

When a user is added, they receive an email invitation to create their account and password. They can then sign in to Activity Messenger.

Read next: Users & Permissions

Step 9: Leave advanced settings for later if they are not needed yet

Some Organization settings are more advanced and are not required for every first-time setup.

These may include:

  • Point of sale settings
  • Connected apps
  • Messaging defaults
  • Microsite options
  • Other Organization-wide advanced settings

You can return to these areas later when your workflows require them.

If you are unsure whether a setting applies to your Organization, review it with your onboarding specialist or contact Activity Messenger support.

Read next:

  • Connected Apps: Using Third Party Tools with Activity Messenger
  • Messaging Defaults
  • Microsite Configuration & IFRAME Integration
  • Organization-Wide Advanced Settings

What to do next

After your Organization settings are ready, your next step depends on what you want to build first.

Start with Forms 101 if you want to collect information

Use Forms 101 if you want to collect information such as:

  • Surveys
  • Waivers
  • Feedback
  • Newsletter signups
  • Internal staff forms
  • Other non-payment data collection workflows

Forms 101 explains how forms work and how to start building non-payment data collection workflows.

Read next: Forms 101: Getting Started with Activity Messenger Forms

Start with the Class/Event creation guide if you want to create registrations

Use the Class/Event creation guide if you want to create registrations for scheduled activities such as:

  • Classes
  • Camps
  • Lessons
  • Workshops
  • Drop-ins
  • Events

This guide explains how to create your Activity, define its schedule, and prepare it for registration.

In Activity Messenger, a Class/Event represents an Activity. The Class represents the activity as a whole, and each Event represents one scheduled occurrence within that class.

Read next: Class/Event creation guide

Review payment settings first if you plan to collect payments

If you plan to collect payments, make sure your payment settings are configured before launching paid workflows.

At minimum, review:

  • Stripe
  • Currency
  • Taxes
  • Ledger codes, if required
  • Interac e-Transfer, if used by your Organization

Read next: Payment & Financial Configuration

Quick decision guide

If you want to... Go next to...
Collect survey responses, waivers, feedback, or newsletter signups Forms 101
Create a non-payment form Forms 101
Create registrations for classes, camps, lessons, workshops, drop-ins, or events Class/Event creation guide
Collect payments through Activity Messenger Payment & Financial Configuration, then Forms 101 or Class/Event creation
Invite staff Users & Permissions
Send emails from your own domain Sending Emails from Your Own Domain
Prepare email and SMS communication Messaging Defaults
Embed Activity Messenger on your website Microsite Configuration & IFRAME Integration

Related guides

    • Identity & Branding Setup
    • Sending Emails from Your Own Domain
    • Payment & Financial Configuration
    • Understanding the Billing Page
    • Users & Permissions
    • Connected Apps: Using Third Party Tools with Activity Messenger
    • Messaging Defaults
    • Microsite Configuration & IFRAME Integration
    • Organization-Wide Advanced Settings
    • Forms 101: Getting Started with Activity Messenger Forms
    • Class/Event creation gui