Skip to main content

QR Scan Notifications

What it is​

When a recipient scans the QR code on a mailer, thanks.io can notify you instantly via:

  • Email - a notification to your account email with the recipient's name, address, and scan timestamp. To email additional people when a particular mailer is scanned, add their addresses to Email me when it's scanned under Optional extras on the creative's message step (or the Message step of Send Mail).
  • SMS/Text - a text message to your registered phone number
  • Webhook - a POST request to your configured endpoint with the full scan event payload

Every scanned piece also lands on the Lead Board as a card in New, where you can track your follow-up.

How to configure notifications​

  1. Go to Settings → Profile. In the Contact Information card, turn on Email on QR Scan and/or Text on QR Scan, then click Save Changes. Texts go to the phone number in the same card.
  2. For webhooks, go to Settings → Webhooks, click Add Webhook, enter your endpoint URL, and choose the QR Code Scan Notification type. You can scope it to one mailing list or sub-account.
  3. Save.

Webhook payload​

The scan webhook payload includes:

  • Recipient name and address
  • Source mailing list and campaign
  • Scan timestamp
  • QR destination URL scanned
  • Thanks.io recipient ID (for CRM correlation)

See Webhooks for the full payload schema and verification guide.

Lead Board stage webhooks​

A QR Code Scan Notification webhook fires on every scan. To send a lead to your CRM only when you reach a point in your follow-up, use a Lead Board Stage Change webhook instead: it is tied to one column of the Lead Board and fires once per card when the card moves into that column. A New stage webhook fires when a piece is scanned for the first time, so it never repeats for the same piece. Its URL can include replacement variables like ~FIRST_NAME~, filled in for each lead. Stage webhooks need the Business plan or higher, and fire only for scanned-mail cards, not for AI Receptionist callers. See Stage webhooks.

Tips & best practices​

  • Enable email notifications for high-value campaigns (real estate, VIP clients) so you can follow up personally within minutes of a scan.
  • For high-volume campaigns, use webhooks to push scan events into your CRM automatically rather than receiving individual emails.
  • Webhook delivery is at-least-once - build idempotent consumers to handle duplicate delivery.
  • Test your webhook endpoint with a preview scan before launching a campaign.

Limits & gotchas​

  • SMS notifications require a phone number in Settings → Profile.
  • Webhook payload format may evolve - subscribe to the thanks.io changelog to stay informed.