Communication Settings
Communication Settings control the technical configuration and operational parameters for all system communications. This includes email server setup, SMS gateway configuration, compliance rules, and delivery preferences.
Accessing Communication Settings
- Click the settings icon in the top navigation bar
- Select Communications from the left sidebar
- Click on Settings
Email Configuration
SMTP Settings
Configure outgoing email servers:
Primary SMTP Server
- Host: smtp.example.com
- Port: 587 (TLS) or 465 (SSL)
- Security: TLS/SSL required
- Authentication: Username/Password
Authentication Details
- Username: system@company.com
- Password: [Encrypted]
- From Name: Company Collections
- From Email: collections@company.com
Advanced Settings
- Connection Timeout: 30 seconds
- Max Recipients: 50 per message
- Rate Limit: 100 emails/minute
- Retry Attempts: 3
Email Service Provider
Alternative to SMTP:
Supported Providers
- SendGrid
- Mailgun
- Amazon SES
- Postmark
- SparkPost
API Configuration
json
{
"provider": "sendgrid",
"api_key": "SG.xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"webhook_url": "https://system.com/webhooks/sendgrid",
"tracking": {
"opens": true,
"clicks": true,
"unsubscribes": true
}
}Email Authentication
SPF Record
v=spf1 include:_spf.company.com include:sendgrid.net ~allDKIM Setup
- Generate keys
- Add DNS records
- Verify configuration
- Enable signing
DMARC Policy
v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:dmarc@company.comSMS Configuration
SMS Gateway Setup
Primary Provider
- Provider: Twilio
- Account SID: ACxxxxxxxxxx
- Auth Token: [Encrypted]
- From Number: +1234567890
Backup Provider
- Enable failover
- Secondary gateway
- Automatic switching
- Error thresholds
SMS Settings
Message Configuration
- Character Limit: 160
- Long Message Handling: Split/Concatenate
- Unicode Support: Enabled
- URL Shortening: Automatic
Compliance Settings
- Opt-out Keywords: STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL
- Opt-out Message: "You've been unsubscribed. Reply START to resubscribe."
- Time Restrictions: 8 AM - 9 PM local
- Consent Required: Yes
Communication Rules
Time Zone Management
Calling Hours
Monday-Friday: 8:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Saturday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday: Prohibited
Holidays: ProhibitedTime Zone Detection
- Use account address
- Phone area code backup
- Default to company timezone
- Manual override option
Frequency Limits
Set maximum contact frequency:
Email Limits
- Daily Maximum: 1 per account
- Weekly Maximum: 3 per account
- Monthly Maximum: 8 per account
- Minimum Gap: 24 hours
SMS Limits
- Daily Maximum: 1 per account
- Weekly Maximum: 2 per account
- Monthly Maximum: 4 per account
- Minimum Gap: 48 hours
Overall Limits
- Total Daily Contacts: 3
- Total Weekly Contacts: 7
- Cool-off Period: 7 days after payment
Compliance Configuration
Federal Regulations
FDCPA Settings
- Mini-Miranda: Required on all
- Validation Period: 30 days
- Dispute Handling: Pause collection
- Third Party Contact: Prohibited
TCPA Settings
- Prior Express Consent: Required
- Autodialer Definition: Broad
- Do Not Call Registry: Check daily
- Recording Disclosure: Required
State Requirements
Configure by state:
California
- Additional Disclosures: Yes
- Language Options: English, Spanish
- Special Notices: Rosenthal Act
- Time Restrictions: 8 AM - 9 PM PSTNew York
- NYC License Required: Yes
- Additional Validation: 5 days
- Language Requirements: Top 6
- Special Forms: NYC-specificClient-Specific Rules
Set per client/portfolio:
- Custom templates only
- Approval required
- Special disclosures
- Restricted hours
- Channel preferences
Delivery Settings
Email Delivery
Sending Options
- Immediate: Send right away
- Batch: Queue and send hourly
- Scheduled: Specific time
- Optimized: Best time per recipient
Bounce Handling
- Soft Bounce: Retry 3 times
- Hard Bounce: Mark invalid
- Block Bounce: Add to suppression
- Complaint: Immediate removal
SMS Delivery
Carrier Filtering
- Landline Detection: Enabled
- VOIP Detection: Warning
- Carrier Lookup: Real-time
- International: Blocked
Delivery Reports
- Request receipts
- Track status
- Handle failures
- Update records
Template Defaults
Global Settings
Email Defaults
- Header Image: company-logo.png
- Footer Text: Standard compliance
- Unsubscribe Link: Required
- Privacy Policy: Link included
Design Standards
- Primary Color: #009C32
- Font Family: Arial, sans-serif
- Font Size: 14px
- Line Height: 1.5
Variable Defaults
Set system-wide defaults:
{company_phone}: 1-800-555-0100
{company_email}: info@company.com
{company_hours}: Mon-Fri 8AM-9PM EST
{privacy_url}: https://company.com/privacySecurity Settings
Encryption
Data in Transit
- TLS 1.2 minimum
- Certificate validation
- Perfect forward secrecy
- Cipher suite restrictions
Data at Rest
- AES-256 encryption
- Key rotation: Quarterly
- Secure key storage
- Audit logging
Access Control
API Security
- IP whitelisting
- Rate limiting
- Authentication required
- Request signing
User Permissions
- Role-based access
- Approval workflows
- Audit trails
- Change notifications
Integration Settings
Webhook Configuration
Inbound Webhooks
Email Events: https://system.com/webhooks/email
SMS Events: https://system.com/webhooks/sms
Unsubscribes: https://system.com/webhooks/unsubEvent Types
- Delivered
- Opened
- Clicked
- Bounced
- Complained
- Unsubscribed
API Endpoints
Communication API
Base URL: https://api.debtrecoup.com/v2
Authentication: Bearer token
Rate Limit: 1000 requests/hourMonitoring and Alerts
Performance Monitoring
Track key metrics:
Email Metrics
- Delivery rate
- Open rate
- Click rate
- Bounce rate
- Complaint rate
SMS Metrics
- Delivery rate
- Error rate
- Opt-out rate
- Cost per message
Alert Configuration
Set up notifications for:
Delivery Issues
- High bounce rate (>5%)
- Low delivery rate (<95%)
- Provider errors
- Authentication failures
Compliance Alerts
- After-hours attempts
- Frequency violations
- Opt-out failures
- Template errors
System Alerts
- Queue backlog
- Provider outage
- Rate limit reached
- Configuration errors
Backup and Failover
Redundancy Setup
Email Redundancy
- Primary provider
- Secondary provider
- Automatic failover
- Health checks
SMS Redundancy
- Multiple providers
- Load balancing
- Geographic routing
- Carrier preferences
Disaster Recovery
Backup Procedures
- Configuration backups
- Template backups
- Contact list backups
- Settings export
Recovery Plans
- Provider failure
- System outage
- Data corruption
- Security breach
Testing Tools
Configuration Testing
Email Testing
- Send test message
- Check authentication
- Verify delivery
- Preview rendering
SMS Testing
- Send test SMS
- Verify formatting
- Check delivery
- Test opt-out
Compliance Testing
- Time zone validation
- Frequency checking
- Template compliance
- Variable replacement
Best Practices
Regular Maintenance
Monthly Reviews
- Check delivery rates
- Review bounces
- Update suppressions
- Verify compliance
Quarterly Updates
- Review provider performance
- Update authentication
- Test failovers
- Audit settings
Security Hygiene
- Access Reviews: Audit user permissions
- Key Rotation: Update API keys
- Provider Security: Check certifications
- Compliance Updates: Review regulations
Troubleshooting
Common Issues
Email Not Sending
- Check SMTP settings
- Verify authentication
- Review error logs
- Test connectivity
High Bounce Rate
- Verify email validation
- Check sender reputation
- Review content
- Update suppression list
SMS Failures
- Check number format
- Verify carrier support
- Review balance
- Check time restrictions
Compliance Violations
- Review settings
- Check time zones
- Verify consent
- Audit templates
Related Documentation
- Manage Communications - Communication oversight
- Email Templates - Template creation
- Company Settings - Organization configuration
- Audit Logs - Communication tracking