Lead and message notifications

Bornbir notifies you about new leads and new messages so you can respond quickly. Here's what to expect from each channel, and how to choose what you receive.

New lead alerts

Email — every matched provider in range gets an email when a new lead is posted.
Push notification — sent if you use the Bornbir for Providers iPhone app and have allowed notifications (see "The Bornbir for Providers iPhone app").
Text message — sent to Premium and Business subscribers with a phone number on file. If you've opened the iPhone app with notifications allowed in the last three days, you get the lead as a push instead of a text, so you aren't alerted twice. If you stop opening the app or turn its notifications off in your iPhone's settings, lead texts start again within three days; turning off the Push switch for New lead alerts brings them back right away.

Lead alerts usually arrive within a few minutes of the family posting their request.

New message alerts

When a family sends you a message, you're notified by email, text, and push notification. The email includes a Reply on Bornbir button that takes you straight to the conversation — replying to the email itself does not deliver your message (see "Messaging families on Bornbir").

Interview notifications

When a family proposes interview times, confirms or cancels an interview, or withdraws times they proposed, you're notified by email and text (and push in the app), with a reminder the day before and a follow-up a couple of hours after it ends asking how it went. Proposals are sent after a short pause, so if a family proposes times and then corrects them straight away, you get one alert for the final times instead of one for every change. A cancelled interview is sent right away. If a family tells us after an interview that they'd like to hire you, you're notified the same way. See "Messaging families on Bornbir".

Reply reminders

If a family messages you and you haven't replied in that conversation yet, we send one reminder email ("Reminder: [name] sent you a message") about 24 hours after their message. You'll only ever get one reminder per conversation.

When a lead closes

If a family closes a lead you replied to, you get an email ("Update on your lead from [name]") but no push notification or text. The provider the family hired doesn't get this email. See "When a lead closes".

Other notifications you may get

Availability check-ins — if you've set your availability but haven't confirmed it in 30 days, we email "Is your availability still accurate?" with a button to confirm or update it. See "Setting your availability".
Payments — when a family or client pays one of your payment requests or invoices, you get an email ("[name] paid you [amount]") and, in the app, a "Payment received" push. See "Invoicing clients and getting paid".
Documents — you get an email when a client signs a document you sent ("[client] signed [document]", with the signed PDF attached) or declines it ("[client] declined [document]"). See "Sending contracts for signature".
Referral credits — when a provider you invited makes their first payment, we email "You earned a [amount] Bornbir credit". See "Referring other providers".

Push notifications and texts go out around the clock

Bornbir sends push notifications and texts as soon as something happens, at any hour — there are no quiet hours. If you don't want to be woken up, use your phone's Do Not Disturb or Focus settings, or turn off the channels you don't need below.

Choosing which notifications you get

Open Account settings in your portal and click Manage notifications. Each category has a switch per channel, and changes save instantly:

New lead alerts (a family in your area is looking for your services) — Email, Text, Push
Messages (new messages from families and reminders to reply) — Email, Text, Push. Interview notifications and lead-closed emails follow these switches too.
Reviews (new reviews and review import updates) — Email
Tips & reports (profile tips and your monthly performance report, plus availability check-ins) — Email
Product updates (what's new on Bornbir and occasional offers) — Email
Events (sign-ups and reminders for events you host) — Email
Payments (when a family pays one of your payment requests) — Push

The Push switches are only active once the Bornbir app on your phone has registered for notifications; until then the page tells you to install the app or allow notifications in your phone's settings. Billing and account emails, and the text we send if a payment fails, can't be turned off — they're how we keep you informed about your subscription. Payment receipts and referral credit emails are always sent too, and document emails stop only if you unsubscribe from all Bornbir email.

Stopping everything at once

Text messages — reply STOP to any Bornbir text to stop all texts, or START to resume them. Our texts to providers don't include a "Reply STOP" line, but STOP works on every one. While texts are stopped, the Text switches show as paused.
Emails — the Manage your notification settings link at the bottom of most Bornbir emails opens the same settings page. If you previously unsubscribed from all Bornbir email, the page shows a Resubscribe button — until you click it, the email switches have no effect.
Out-of-area leads — if you're getting alerts for leads too far away, adjust the service range on your profile so alerts match the area you actually serve.

Not getting texts?

If your phone number can't receive texts — for example, it's a landline or isn't a valid mobile number — we stop texting that number once our texts to it fail. Put a mobile number in the Phone number field of your profile's Business section (see "Editing your profile") and texts start going to the new number. If you replied STOP in the past, text START to Bornbir to turn texts back on.