Notifications - Built in

Timesact's default channel: transactional emails sent for you, edited in the app, no integration needed. For an overview of all channels and the events Timesact sends, see Notifications Overview.

Where the content lives

Open Notifications from the main app sidebar (not the one inside a customer experience template). This page has two parts: the sender domain setup and the list of customer notifications.

Custom email domain (optional)

By default emails go from a generic Timesact address (and may show "via timesact.com"). To send from your own branded domain:

1. Enter the Sender Email Address you want to send from (a domain you own and can edit DNS for), then click Configure.
2. A DNS Records Setup window lists the records to add. They are CNAME records that verify ownership and authorize sending.
3. Add each record at your domain provider, that is wherever your domain's DNS is managed (often where you bought the domain, for example GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, or Shopify if your domain is managed there), in its DNS settings. Copy each record exactly as shown (Type, Host/Name, Value).
4. Click Validate DNS Records. Each record shows Pending until it verifies. Propagation can take up to 24 hours but is usually done within 1 to 2 hours.
5. Once verified, all built-in emails send from your domain and the "via" disclaimer disappears. This also helps deliverability, since a branded, verified sender is less likely to be filtered than a generic shared address.

Watch the Host/Name field, it is the most common reason a record stays Pending: many providers automatically add your domain to whatever you type there. So if the Host is "mail._domainkey" and you paste your full domain after it, it can end up doubled (like mail._domainkey.yourdomain.com.yourdomain.com). If your provider auto-appends the domain, enter only the part before your domain. If a record is still Pending after a couple of hours, re-check it was entered exactly, with no extra spaces and no doubled domain, then Validate again.

If a record will not save, or stays Pending

Work through these in order, each one is a different error, and the message your provider shows is usually the clue.

1. The host has your domain in it twice. Many providers add your domain to whatever you type. If the Host is s1._domainkey and you paste your full domain after it, you end up with s1._domainkey.yourdomain.com.yourdomain.com. Enter only the part before your domain.
2. Your provider says the record already exists, or refuses it as a duplicate or "round robin" entry. That means something with the same host is already in your zone. In your domain provider's DNS settings, search the zone for each host we gave you (the sending host, and both _domainkey entries) and remove or replace the old record, do not add a second one alongside it.
3. The Value was entered as an IP address. All three records are CNAME records, so the Value is always a hostname (it ends in a domain, for example …sendgrid.net). If your provider is asking for an IP, you are adding the wrong record type, switch it to CNAME.
4. Your provider will not accept a host that starts with an underscore. Two of the three records begin with _domainkey, and a few DNS panels reject underscores in the host field. If yours does, check the provider's own help for how to add an underscore record, and if it genuinely cannot, send us a screenshot of the screen you are on and we will go through it with you.
5. Your other records are fine as they are. Your root domain and www records, the ones pointing at Shopify so your store loads, are unrelated to email sending. Leave them exactly as they are.

Once each record saves, come back to Notifications in Timesact and click Validate DNS Records. Propagation is usually done within 1 to 2 hours and can take up to 24.

Customer notifications

The notifications are grouped by functionality, each with a status badge:

• Pre-order: Confirmation email, Shipping delay email (use this when a pre-order date slips — see Shipping dates), Confirmation SMS (Coming Soon).
• Back in stock: Back in stock notification email, Back in stock notification SMS (Coming Soon).

There is no built-in email for the back-in-stock sign-up itself, the built-in channel covers the confirmation, shipping delay, and the restock alert. Sign-up is available as a Flow trigger or a Klaviyo event.

Statuses: Live (sending), Draft (saved, not sending), Coming Soon (not yet available, for example SMS).

Which emails send themselves, and which one you send

Two of the pre-order emails behave differently, and it's worth knowing which is which before your first campaign.

The Pre-order Confirmation email is automatic. The checkout is what triggers it: a customer places an order containing a pre-order item and the email goes out. That's the only thing that sets it off, so it covers orders placed from the moment you set the notification Live, and it isn't sent again for orders you took earlier.

The Shipping delay email is the one you send. You pick the orders and the moment, which makes it the email to reach for whenever you want to tell customers who have already pre-ordered something, a date that has moved, a production update, or an item shipping sooner than you promised.

To send it:

1. In the Timesact app, open Notifications from the main sidebar and click the Pre-order Shipping delay email.
2. Click Edit Code to write what you want to say, use Send Test to email yourself a copy, and set it to Live.
3. Go to Analytics → Notifications & email performance → Shipping delay.
4. Select the orders you want to reach, then click Send shipping delay emails.

One thing to build into the wording: this email carries {{order\\\_name}}, {{shipping\\\_date}} and {{product\\\_title}}, rather than the per-item breakdown the confirmation email builds from {{preorder\\\_products}}. So anything order-specific you want customers to read, write into the message itself.

For a broader announcement you'd rather send from your own email platform, go to your Shopify admin → Orders, filter by the Pre-order tag (and Partial Pre-order for mixed orders), export, and send from there. See Shopify Order Tags.

Editing a notification

Click a notification to open its Preview (the subject plus a live preview of the email). From there:

• Edit Code — customize content and layout (basic formatting, or full HTML).
• Send Test — email yourself a copy.
• Mark as Draft / set Live — control whether it sends. Toggling takes effect on the next event of that type.

If a notification is off, the event still fires (visible in Analytics) but no email goes out.

Smart variables

Variables personalize each email, written as {{variable_name}} and replaced at send time. The available variables are listed at the bottom of each email's editor, click one to insert it. Copy the value from the first column straight into your email.

{{preorder_products}} is a list with one entry per pre-order item on the order. Loop it in the Pre-order Confirmation email to render a line per item, each item exposes: product_title, variant_title, quantity, preorder_information, and product_price.

Tracking

Every built-in email is logged with a delivery status (Sent, Delivered, Opened, Clicked, Bounced/Failed/Blocked), which feeds Analytics → Notifications and email performance.

When to switch off built-in

Built-in is intentionally simple. For multi-step workflows, segmentation, SMS/push, A/B testing, or conditional logic, route the functionality through Notifications - Shopify Flow or Notifications - Klaviyo instead.

Updated on: 08/12/2026