User guide

Everything in SMS by NGS version 2, from your first sign-in to closing out a report. Words in bold are the buttons and menu items you'll see in the app.

1. Getting started

SMS by NGS runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS 16 or later. Get it on the App Store.

Create your account

Open the app and tap New User?.
Enter your email address and a password of at least 6 characters, then tap Sign Up.
Open the confirmation link we email you (check your spam folder; it can take a few minutes), then come back and tap Log In.

Join your company

After you log in for the first time, the app asks for your Activation Code. Your safety officer emails it to you; it looks like ABCD-1234 (4 letters, a dash, 4 digits). If the email has a button, tapping it on your iPhone fills the code in for you. Tap Activate.

Your activation code is not your password. It only links your login to your company, once.

The app then downloads your company's forms. This needs an internet connection the first time; after that you can work offline.

Try it with a demo account

No company code yet? After confirming your email, choose Create a Demo Account on the activation screen. You get full access for 21 days as the company administrator, with example forms to start from, and can add up to 9 more users. Demo data is erased 30 days after the demo ends — contact us to keep going.

Coming from version 1?

Your company's forms and reports are moved to version 2 for you, and you keep the same email address. Passwords cannot be moved: on the sign-in screen tap Reset Password, enter your email, tap Send Code, type the 6-digit code we email you and choose a new password.

2. The Home screen

Start a New Form lists the forms your company gave you access to.
Drafts are forms you started and saved.
Pull down, or tap Sync Now, to get new forms, messages and published reports and to send anything waiting to upload.
Menu holds the rest:
- Company Specific: Messages, Company Contacts, View Submissions and Submission History (how many years of submissions this device keeps).
- Help: this guide, the FAQ and Contact Us.
- User Settings: Submit Saved Queue, CC Me (get a copy of the forms you send), Delete Drafts, Sync, Change Password, Delete Account and Log Out.
Administrators also see Admin.

3. Filling out a form

Tap Start a New Form and choose a form. Answer the questions in any order; answers save as you go.

Yes/No, Multi Choice and Multi Answer — tap your answer(s).
Dates and times — pick from the calendar. Some forms work out the hours between two dates for you.
People, aircraft and equipment — pick from your company's lists.
Airports — type the code (for example KDEN). Current METAR and TAF weather is shown when you're online and can be added to the report.
Photos — take a photo or choose one from your library.
Signatures — sign with your finger or Apple Pencil.
Notes — add a note to any question to explain an answer.

Not sure what's left? Review Answers jumps to the first question that still needs an answer. View PDF shows the report as it will be sent.

Flying several legs? New Leg starts the next leg's form from this one.

4. Scores, risk levels and mitigation

On risk assessment forms, answers carry points and the total is shown as you go:

LOW — low risk.
CAUTION — medium risk; your company's chosen contacts are also emailed.
HIGH — Mitigation Required: describe how the risk was reduced.

A section can also have a maximum; going over it needs mitigation too. On forms set up that way, a note on a question counts as mitigation for it. Your company decides the levels and who is told.

5. Submitting, drafts and offline use

Tap Submit. If the form allows it, Submit Anonymously sends it without your name; your answers are not changed.
Some answers need another form (for example a hazard report). The app tells you and puts a draft of that form in your Drafts.
Save Draft keeps a form to finish later; Delete Draft removes it.
No connection? The form is Saved to Queue and sent at the next sync. Pull down on Home, or use Menu → Submit Saved Queue, when you're back online.
Large forms keep uploading in the background, even if you lock your phone.

6. Submissions and messages

View Submissions shows the forms you sent (Mine) and reports your company published (Published), with their status — for example Uploads at the next sync or Mitigation Required.
Messages are notices from your company. Urgent messages are shown when you open the app. Tap Acknowledge to confirm you read one; some include a PDF to open.
Company Contacts lists the people your company wants you to be able to reach.

7. For administrators

Tap Admin on the Home screen. Forms, contacts, groups and aircraft & equipment are changed in an editing session:

Tap Start Editing. One administrator at a time can edit; others can look.
Make your changes.
Tap Review & Submit Changes, describe what changed (at least 10 characters) and send. Users get the changes at their next sync. Change Log can restore earlier versions.

Forms

Add Form — start from scratch or from an NGS template. Add sections and questions; each question type works as described above.
Points — turn on Point based in Form Settings, give answers points (for example “Night, 3”), add Multipliers for answers that are riskier together, and set a section's Max points.
Notifications & Thresholds — choose who is emailed for every submission, and the Caution and high levels above which more contacts are emailed and mitigation is required.
Triggers — open a draft of another form after certain answers.
Privacy — allow anonymous submissions, and mark answers to be hidden when a report is published.
Revision or New Version — a revision keeps the form's reports together but can't add, delete or retype questions; a new version can change everything and starts its own reports.

People

Users — Add User, or Import Users from CSV (last name, first name, email, then any groups). New users get an activation email; Resend Activation Email if needed. Give admin access, or disable someone who left.
Groups — for example PILOTS or EMB145. Users only see the forms and messages of their groups; aircraft groups sort reports by type.
Contacts — the people forms email, such as the Director of Safety.
Aircraft & Equipment — tail numbers and equipment users can pick in forms.

Reports and follow-up

Submissions — search all submissions by form, ID or name. Mitigate adds a mitigation; Close & Publish adds the narrative and corrective action and shares a redacted copy with every user. You can also hide a submission from users or delete it.
Messages — send a notice to everyone or to groups, as Normal, Important or Urgent, with an optional PDF and expiry date, and see who has read it.
Reports — Form Reports (scores over time, common answers, aircraft, airports, pilots) and Company Statistics, as PDFs you can share.
Company Info — your company logo (used on PDFs) and your license.

8. Troubleshooting

I didn't get the confirmation or code email.: Check spam or junk, and that the address is right. On the sign-in screen, Resend Email sends the confirmation again; your administrator can resend activation emails.
“Code not recognized.”: Check the code against your activation email (letters, dash, digits), or ask your company for a new one.
A form says “Waiting to upload”.: Connect to the internet and pull down on Home, or use Menu → Submit Saved Queue.
“License expired.”: Your company's subscription needs renewing — ask your administrator, or contact us.
“Account disabled.”: Your company turned your access off and the data on the device was removed. Ask your company for a new code if this is a mistake.
“Update required.”: Open the App Store, search for “SMS by NGS” and tap Update.

Still stuck? See the FAQ or send us a message.