Scheduling messages
First, the fact that saves you looking: the Connect Feed's composer has no scheduling button. Agents cannot pick "send later" while typing. Scheduling in REDA Connect is a record-level capability: you (or an automation) create a Connect Message record with a future Schedule Date Time and a template, and the system sends it when the time arrives. That makes it an administrator- and automation-oriented feature — ideal for flows like "send the payment reminder three days before the due date" — rather than an agent convenience. This article shows the shipped, verified way to do it.
- You need create access to Connect Message records (REDA Connect Admin or REDA Connect User).
- For this procedure, prepare an active message template to supply the content. See Creating a template.
- The usual sending prerequisites apply: active Connect Account, correctly formatted phone number (How to enter phone numbers).
How to schedule a message
Create a Connect Message record — from the Connect Messages tab (App Launcher → Connect Messages → New), or from a Flow or other automation — with these values:
| Field | What to set | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Channel | WhatsApp or SMS | The sending channel |
| Connect Account | The account to send from | Must support the chosen channel and be active |
| Message Type | Match the template's type (Text for a text template) | |
| To Number | The recipient's number, digits only with country code | Required for outbound |
| Connect Template | An active template for this procedure | Supplies the content; a message with neither a body nor a template fails at send time (exact error below) |
| Record Id | The 18-character Id of the record the conversation belongs to | Recommended — makes the message appear in that record's feed and fills merge fields |
| Schedule Date Time | The future date and time to send | The trigger for scheduling |
| Send Message | Leave unchecked | The scheduler flips it at the scheduled time |
| Status | Leave blank | A message with any status is not picked up |
Save the record.
Expected result: the record sits with no status until the scheduled time; when it arrives, the message sends automatically and the status starts progressing like any other outbound message (Understanding delivery statuses).
Why this procedure uses a template
The feed builds the body as you type. In the direct-record procedure above, the template supplies the content at send time. A message with neither a body nor a template, and no chat-script content, fails with this error:
"3. Bad Request - Provide either the message body or connect template."
The missing-content case was live-verified on version 1.93. Use an active template for this procedure; merge fields and a Record Id personalise it at send time (see Merge fields). This error does not mean every automation that supplies its own body requires a template.
Timing details (verified)
- A past date-time sends almost immediately. If Schedule Date Time is already in the past when you save, the message goes out within a couple of minutes — live-verified. Useful for automations; surprising if you expected a validation error. There isn't one.
- Editing the schedule on a still-unsent message re-schedules it to the new time.
- Opt-out is enforced at save: creating a scheduled message for an opted-out Lead or Contact is blocked immediately with the channel's opt-out error — see How opt-out works.
Seeing what's scheduled
The package ships a report for exactly this: "Messaging Activities - Scheduled", in the REDA Connect reports folder. It lists messages with a schedule date that have not yet sent — your forward calendar of outgoing messages. See Reports and dashboards.
Cancelling before it fires
To stop a scheduled message that hasn't sent yet, clear its Schedule Date Time (or delete the record). The scheduler double-checks the message just before sending — it must still have a schedule date, no status, and Send Message unchecked — so a message whose schedule you cleared, or that was sent or failed by other means in the meantime, is skipped. Verify in the "Messaging Activities - Scheduled" report that it no longer appears.
FAQ
The composer sends immediately by design; scheduling is a record-level, automation-friendly capability. If your agents need self-serve scheduling, an administrator can build a small Flow screen that creates the record with the fields above.
The feed composer does not offer scheduling. For the direct-record procedure above, put the wording in a template, which can be one-off. A message with no body, template or chat-script content fails with the missing-content error; this is not a universal prohibition on bodies supplied by automation.
What happens if the recipient opts out between scheduling and send time?
Any automation that creates the records can scale this — messages sharing the same scheduled minute are processed in groups and sent one by one. For ad-hoc lists, see Bulk messaging, which sends immediately.
Where to go next
- Creating a template — prepare the content for this procedure.
- Merge fields — personalising the scheduled message.
- Understanding delivery statuses — following the message after it fires.