Merge tags complete reference

Merge tags let you write one template that sends thousands of personalized emails. When the automation fires, tags like {{renter.firstName}} are replaced with real data for that specific rental. This article is the complete reference.

How tags work

A merge tag is a variable name wrapped in double curly braces: {{renter.firstName}}. Drop it anywhere in the subject, body, or HTML and it becomes the actual value at send time. Missing tags render as empty strings (never as "{{renter.firstName}}"), so a missing phone number does not leak broken syntax to the renter.

Renter tags

Everything you know about the person renting:

• {{renter.firstName}} — first name only.
• {{renter.lastName}} — last name only.
• {{renter.fullName}} — first + last.
• {{renter.email}} — email address.
• {{renter.phone}} — phone number, formatted.
• {{renter.company}} — company name if provided.
• {{renter.trustScore}} — internal only, not recommended in customer-facing emails.

Rental tags

The specific rental this email is about:

• {{rental.id}} — the short booking reference (e.g. R-4821).
• {{rental.pickupDate}} — pickup date.
• {{rental.pickupTime}} — pickup time.
• {{rental.returnDate}} — return date.
• {{rental.returnTime}} — return time.
• {{rental.days}} — total rental days.
• {{rental.total}} — total price charged.
• {{rental.deposit}} — deposit amount held.
• {{rental.balance}} — any outstanding balance.
• {{rental.deliveryAddress}} — delivery address if applicable.
• {{rental.status}} — current status (Confirmed, Active, Returned, Canceled).

Trailer tags

The trailer attached to this rental:

• {{trailer.name}} — trailer name as shown on the website.
• {{trailer.category}} — category (Dump, Utility, Enclosed, etc.).
• {{trailer.length}} — length in feet.
• {{trailer.capacity}} — load capacity.
• {{trailer.plate}} — license plate.
• {{trailer.vin}} — VIN (use sparingly — usually internal only).
• {{trailer.photoUrl}} — URL of the primary photo for image embeds.

Business tags

Your business, for signatures and branding:

• {{business.name}} — business name.
• {{business.phone}} — main phone.
• {{business.email}} — main contact email.
• {{business.address}} — street address.
• {{business.city}} — city.
• {{business.bookingLink}} — main booking URL (your TrailerBase subdomain or custom domain).
• {{business.logoUrl}} — logo URL for email headers.

Action link tags

These generate one-time secure URLs tied to the rental:

• {{contract.signUrl}} — secure digital signing link for the rental agreement.
• {{invoice.payUrl}} — payment link for any outstanding invoice.
• {{portal.url}} — the renter portal link for this booking.
• {{review.googleUrl}} — your Google review link, pulled from settings.
• {{review.facebookUrl}} — your Facebook review link.

Format helpers

Append a pipe and a helper to format the output:

|date — format any date

• {{rental.pickupDate|date:"MMM D, YYYY"}} → Apr 17, 2026
• {{rental.pickupDate|date:"dddd"}} → Friday
• {{rental.pickupDate|date:"M/D/YY"}} → 4/17/26

|currency — format a dollar amount

• {{rental.total|currency}} → $1,250.00
• {{rental.total|currency:"USD":0}} → $1,250 (no decimals)

|upper, |lower, |title — adjust capitalization

• {{renter.firstName|upper}} → ALEX
• {{trailer.name|title}} → 16-Foot Dump Trailer

|default — fallback for missing values

• {{renter.company|default:"Valued Customer"}}

Chain helpers in order: {{rental.pickupDate|date:"MMM D"|upper}} → APR 17.

Good practices

• Always use |default on tags that are frequently empty (company, delivery address).
• Test with edge cases — send a test to yourself using a renter with no company name, no phone, or no delivery address.
• Keep tags out of subject lines that may be blank — a subject starting with an empty merge tag looks broken.
• Use {{portal.url}} for everything renter-facing — the portal has all the other links (pay, sign, view rental) inside it.

Finding tags in the editor

In the template editor, click Insert tag or just type {{. A searchable autocomplete appears with every tag from this reference. Hover any tag to see a sample value from the preview dataset.