How to Send Emergency Text Messages with UnDesked (Step-by-Step)

When severe weather or urgent situations arise, getting the right message to the right people—fast—matters. UnDesked includes built-in emergency text messaging so you can communicate critical updates without relying on email, apps, or manual call trees.

This guide walks through exactly how to find, set up, and send emergency text messages, and import your employee cell numbers and opt-in. 

Step 1: Find Emergency Text Messaging in Your Admin Platform

First, you’ll want to navigate to the "Messaging" area inside your UnDesked admin platform:

Step 2: Create Text Message Templates and Mark Them as Emergency

Once instead the Messaging screen, click the far right tab at the top labeled "Templates".

Click "Create New":

Then select "SAVE CHANGES" at the bottom.
This text will now appear in your template library. Confirm the "Emergency Template" toggle is ON (it will be blue). 

Step 3: Send Now or Schedule an Emergency Text

Emergency texts can be sent immediately or scheduled in advance, depending on the situation.

This can be done from any mobile browser if you’re away from your desk. There is no app to download. (Instructions below)

To send the message, navigate to the "Scheduled" tab (same screen, tab to the left) and select "Create New". 



TYPE: Schedule Message(sends at the date/time you choose below)
OR
"Send Now"

Template Name: (select the template you created) You can also type a message in the box below without choosing an existing template. 



Once the message is in the text box, SCROLL DOWN:
Select Recipients. Options are "Group, User, Digital Signage, Check-Ins
If your employees are in groups and you wish to text individual groups, select that options then choose your groups. 
User = All employees inside the platform
Digital Signage = Will create a pop-up on your digital signage (if equipped) 
Check-Ins = Will send this message to your current checked in visitors.

When selecting "USERS", the "ALL" option will populate at the top. 


You will see all users populate with their cell numbers beside their name, then click "Send Now" (blue button at bottom).
If you are "SCHEDULING" the message for later, the button will say "Save Changes". 



Your message has now been sent or scheduled depending on the option you chose. 

Step 4: Make Sure You Have Employee Cell Numbers

Emergency texts are delivered only to employees with mobile numbers on file.

If your employee data is already up to date:
If employee cell numbers are already stored in UnDesked, you’re good to go—no additional setup needed. 

If you still need to collect cell numbers:
If you don’t yet have cell numbers for everyone, we can help. We have already created a TCPA Compliant form that will allow employees to ADD THEMSELVES to your database and/or update their cell phone number to opt in for text messaging. 

If you'd like us to add this form to your UnDesked account, please click the button and complete the form.

Once that form is inside your account, there a number of ways your employees can access it:
• It will generate a link you can distribute to employees.
• It will generate a QR Code that employees can scan from a mobile device.
• If you have employee kiosks, we can add the form here.
• If you have UnDesked digital signage, we can add the QR code to display there.
 •If you have a visitor check-in kiosk, we could temporarily add the form there for employees to access. 

Alternative Option: Bulk Upload Cell Numbers

If you already have employee cell numbers stored elsewhere, you can upload them manually or in bulk.

To do this: (Left Blue Nav Bar) Navigate to:
If you only have visitor management- Click Visitors > Hosts > Users
If you have workflows-Click Users > People > Users

From there, chose to edit an employee manually or use the bulk template. 

Manual: Select the edit pencil to the right of the employee name. Add cell number to the correct field and click UPDATE (blue bottom, bottom right)


Bulk Template: This allows you to quickly add or update phone numbers for multiple users at once.

Click Bulk Import (top right): 
Select BULK EXPORT. 

This will download an excel CSV to your device. 
When you open the file, you will be able to manually add cell phone numbers, additional employees, etc. 

Once the updates are done, SAVE IT as a CSV. 

Return to the same screen and click IMPORT CSV. This will update all the data. 

Accessing the Admin Platform from Your Phone:

Emergency situations don’t always happen at a desk. The UnDesked admin platform works from any mobile browser.

• URL: app.undesked.com

• Login required, please make sure you know your username and password. Allow the browser to save it if you're on your personal mobile device. 

• No app download needed

We recommend bookmarking the admin platform on your phone so it’s always one tap away. If you need instructions to bookmark a mobile site, click here to download instructions. 

When logging in through a mobile browser, the admin platform will look different. 

Select "Emergency" at the top:

From there, select recipients: 
ALL USERS will be what you want for employees only. 
ALL Check-Ins is your visitors currently inside the building. 
ALL PERSON is all users + all currently checked in visitors. 


Then Select your template.  It will populate inside the text box.
*If you did not create a template, you can manually type a message in the box. 
Then click Send. 

Need Help?

If you’d like help locating text messaging, creating templates, collecting phone numbers, or testing your setup, just reach out. We’re happy to walk through this with you so everything is ready before you need it.

Being prepared now means one less thing to worry about when it matters most.