vehReports keeps you in the loop by email and text, and you decide exactly what it tells you about — so the alerts that matter (a return due, a credit balance running low) get through, and the rest stays quiet. This article explains the different kinds of notification, how to switch individual ones on or off, and how to pick whether each reaches you by email or SMS.
What this is for
Notification preferences let you tune the noise. A busy depot might want a text the moment a credit balance drops low and an email whenever a rental is due back, while head office only cares about the monthly product update. Everyone on your team manages their own preferences, so each person sees what's relevant to their job without changing anyone else's.
A key point up front: vehReports delivers everything by email and SMS only. There is no in-app inbox, message centre or notification bell to keep checking — once you've set your preferences, alerts come to you in your inbox or on your phone. You never have to log in just to find out whether something happened.
How notifications reach you
vehReports contacts you in two ways:
- Email — sent to the email address on your personal profile. Good for anything you want a record of, or that includes detail you'll want to read later.
- SMS — a short text to the mobile number on file. Best for time-critical, glance-able alerts (a return due, a low balance) where you want to know immediately without opening your inbox.
You choose, per event, whether it comes by email, by SMS, or both. Pick the channel that matches how urgent the alert is for you.
Customer-facing messages — like the report PDF that's emailed to a customer automatically when you sign off a report, or a signing link for a rental agreement — are separate from your own notification preferences. Those always go to the customer regardless of your settings, because they're part of the job rather than an alert to you. Your notification preferences only control what vehReports sends to you and your team.
The three notification tiers
Every notification falls into one of three tiers. Think of the tiers as broad categories; within each one you get finer, per-event control (covered below).
Operational
These are tied directly to your day-to-day work — the things you'd actually want to act on. Examples include a rental return falling due, a credit balance running low, a licence check flagging points or an expiring licence, or a report being signed off. Most operators leave the operational tier on, because this is the tier that stops things slipping through the cracks.
Product updates
New features, improvements and changes to vehReports. If you like to know when something new lands — a new report type, a new option in templates — keep these on. You can also browse these any time in the What's new product updates area in the app, so turning the notifications off doesn't mean you miss anything; it just means you check on your own schedule rather than being told.
Marketing
Occasional news from vehReports — wider announcements, tips and the like. Marketing is off by default. You'll never get marketing messages unless you deliberately switch them on, so there's nothing to opt out of if you don't want them.
Per-event control
The tiers are the starting point, but the real control is at the event level. Within a tier you can switch individual events on or off, and choose the channel — email, SMS, or both — for each one independently.
That means you can, for example:
- Turn on a low-balance warning by SMS so you're never caught out mid-handover with no credits to sign off the report — the text lands on your phone in time to top up.
- Get rental returns due by email so there's a tidy reminder in your inbox, but skip the text.
- Keep report signed off confirmations on by email for your records, while a colleague who does the inspections turns them off because they were standing right there.
Because preferences are per person and per event, two people on the same account can have completely different setups. A Billing role might want every credit and payment alert; an Inspector might want only return-due and licence-flag alerts.
How to change your notification preferences
- Open Settings.
- Go to Notifications.
- You'll see the tiers and the individual events within them.
- For each event, switch it on or off, and choose whether it arrives by email, SMS, or both.
- Your choices save against your own profile and take effect straight away — no need to tell anyone else or change a company-wide setting.
If you want SMS alerts, make sure there's a current mobile number on your personal profile, and that your email address there is the one you actually read. vehReports can only text or email you on the details it holds.
Does any of this cost a credit?
No. Notifications are completely free and have nothing to do with your credit balance. The only two actions in vehReports that ever use a credit are signing off an inspection report and signing a rental agreement (one credit each, around £1) — see Understanding credits. Receiving an email or a text — including a low-balance warning telling you it's time to top up — costs you nothing, no matter how many you get. Turn on as many alerts as are useful without any worry about the bill.
Tips for setting things up well
- Start with the low-balance warning. A credit balance running low can stop you signing off a report or signing an agreement at the worst possible moment — at handover, with the customer waiting. An SMS low-balance alert gives you time to top up before that happens. (You can still build drafts and run licence checks for free even at zero credits — only sign-off is blocked — but a warning still saves the scramble.)
- Match the channel to the urgency. Use SMS for things you must act on now (return due, low balance, licence points flagged) and email for things you want on record but don't need to jump on.
- Split alerts across the team by role. Let whoever manages billing own the credit and payment alerts, and let the people doing inspections and rentals own the operational job alerts. Each person tunes their own preferences.
- Keep product updates on if you want to hear about new features — or turn them off and check What's new when it suits you.
Common questions
Where do I check past notifications?
There's no in-app inbox in vehReports — notifications come to your email and phone, so your record of them is wherever those messages land. If you want to see what actually happened in the account (who created, signed off, sent or closed something, and when), that's the job of the team activity log, which keeps a full timeline you can filter and open up for a before/after view. The activity log is the place to look back; notifications are how you're told in the moment.
I'm not getting any emails or texts — what's wrong?
First, check the event is switched on under Settings → Notifications and that the right channel (email/SMS) is selected for it. Then check your personal profile holds a current email address and mobile number. For email, also check your spam or junk folder and add the vehReports sender to your safe list. If texts still aren't arriving, confirm the mobile number on your profile is correct and able to receive SMS.
Will turning notifications off stop my customers getting their reports or signing links?
No. Customer-facing messages — the signed report PDF emailed at sign-off, agreement signing links, and so on — are part of the job and always go to the customer. Your notification preferences only affect what vehReports sends to you.
I belong to more than one company — do my preferences carry across?
Your notification preferences are part of your own account. If you work across multiple companies and use the company switcher, your profile and personal settings stay with you. Set the channels and events that suit how you work; the alerts relate to the work happening in the company you're active in.
Can I get a notification when a rental is due back?
Yes — a return-falling-due alert is one of the operational events. Switch it on and pick email, SMS or both. For the bigger picture of how returns and closing work, see the rental lifecycle.
Can I get told when a licence check flags a problem?
Yes — operational alerts cover licence checks that flag points, endorsements or an expiring licence. Turn the relevant event on so you hear about it without having to open the customer record. For how the checks themselves work, see running a driver licence check.
How do I stop marketing messages?
You don't need to — marketing is off by default. It only reaches you if you've deliberately switched it on, and you can switch it back off the same way under Settings → Notifications.