Contact settings define how Aloware handles contacts, leads, appointments, and inbound or outbound messages. These settings help admins control ownership, notifications, compliance behavior, and automation at the account level.
This guide explains what each group of settings controls, when it applies, and how it affects contacts as they move through the system.
Contact and messaging restrictions
Prevent messaging to non TCPA approved contacts
This setting blocks outbound messages to contacts who are not marked as TCPA approved.
When enabled, Aloware prevents agents and automations from sending messages to these contacts. This ensures that outbound messaging only happens when consent requirements are met. No workflow changes are required from agents, since the system enforces the restriction automatically.
Call notification timing
Call contact notification hours
This setting defines when users receive in-app and browser notifications for incoming calls.
It only affects notification delivery. It does not change call routing, call volume, or Aloware’s TCPA-compliant calling window (8:00 AM–9:00 PM). Calls may still be received outside the notification window; users simply will not receive alerts.
Appointment-related settings
Appointment recipients
This setting allows appointment details to be copied to specific email addresses or smart calendars.
It is commonly used when appointments need to be visible outside of Aloware, such as for managers or shared scheduling systems.
Lead handling
Lead recipients
This setting forwards new leads received through API, email processing, or other sources to a specified email address.
It does not affect how leads are created or assigned inside Aloware. It only controls external notifications.
New lead settings
This setting determines whether contacts that already exist in the system are treated as new leads when they are re-added.
When enabled, re-added contacts trigger lead handling behavior again. When disabled, they retain their existing status.
Auto-contact ownership
Auto-assign contact
Auto-assignment determines who owns a contact when it first enters the system. This setting only affects new contacts and never changes ownership of contacts that are already assigned.
When auto-assignment is enabled
When a new contact is added, Aloware assigns ownership based on the first qualifying interaction:
The contact is assigned to the first user who starts a conversation.
If the contact is enrolled in a sequence, ownership is assigned to the agent scheduled to make the first outbound call.
If assignment rules are updated later, existing contact owners are not changed.
This ensures that ownership reflects actual engagement rather than who happened to create the contact.
SMS-specific behavior
Assignment depends on how the SMS is sent:
Private line - the contact is assigned immediately to the owner of that line.
Public line (IVR or shared inbox) - the contact is not assigned when the message is sent. Ownership is applied only after the contact replies.
This prevents contacts from being assigned before there is a confirmed interaction.
When auto-assignment is disabled
When auto-assignment is turned off, admins select a default contact owner in the account settings.
All new contacts are assigned to this default owner
Contacts are not assigned to the active user or message sender
Existing contacts keep their current owner
This setup is commonly used when contact ownership is managed centrally or reassigned later through workflows.
Contact list organization and imports
Default contact date filter
This setting determines how contacts are sorted by default based on creation date or engagement date. It affects how contact lists are displayed but does not change contact data.
Automatically tag imported contacts
This setting controls whether tags are applied automatically when contacts are imported.
Disabling this is useful when importing large volumes of contacts and manual tag control is preferred.
Automatically add imported contacts to a list
When enabled, imported contacts are added to a selected list during import. This removes the need to manually assign contacts after the import is complete.
SMS appointment reminders are sent
SMS reminder settings define how appointment reminders are generated by default. These settings apply when appointments are created and can be overridden manually if needed.
Enabling or disabling SMS reminders
SMS reminders can be enabled or disabled at the account level. When disabled, no reminder messages are sent for appointments.
Default reminder message
Admins define a default reminder message that is used for appointment notifications. This message is sent unless a custom message is specified during appointment creation.
Which phone number sends the reminder
Aloware determines the “Send From” number based on account settings and user configuration:
When reminders are set to use a personal line:
If the user has a personal line, that line is used
If the user does not have a personal line, Aloware automatically selects an active number
When reminders do not use a personal line:
Admins assign a specific active number as the default reminder line
This line is used for all appointment reminders
This prevents reminder failures when a user does not have a personal number assigned.
When reminder messages are sent
Two settings control reminder timing:
Default send time defines the time of day the reminder message is delivered
Send-before days defines how many days before the appointment the reminder is sent
These defaults ensure consistent reminder timing across all users and appointments.
Reject and archive communications from blocked contacts
This feature allows admin users to prevent calls and messages from blocked contacts from reaching the user's line. It ensures that communications from blocked contacts do not appear in the dashboard call logs or reports. Note that this does not apply to fax numbers and email communications.
When enabled, calls and messages from blocked contacts are immediately rejected, ensuring they do not disturb the user. These communications are excluded from call logs and SMS reports, maintaining clean and relevant data dashboards.
When disabled, calls from blocked contacts appear in the dashboard as "Abandoned Inbound Calls," and efforts are made to include SMS messages in reports, aiming for a comprehensive communication log.
Automatically mark opt-out messages as read
This setting detects inbound SMS messages that contain opt-out keywords defined by the account and marks them as read.
It helps reduce inbox noise by preventing opt-out messages from remaining in an unread state.
