How do I set up appointment confirmations and reminders by email, text and in-app notification?

Each calendar can send automatic messages when an appointment is booked, confirmed, rescheduled or canceled, plus reminders before and follow-ups after. Good reminders cut down on missed assessments and make families feel looked after.

The six notification types

• Booked (Unconfirmed): sent as soon as an unconfirmed appointment is booked.
• Booked (Confirmed): sent when a confirmed appointment is booked, or when an appointment's status changes to confirmed.
• Cancellation: sent when an appointment is canceled, marked no-show or marked invalid.
• Reschedule: sent when the date or time changes.
• Reminder: sent a set amount of time before the appointment.
• Follow-Up: sent a set amount of time after the appointment.

Each type can go to the Contact, any Guests, the assigned User and any additional email addresses or phone numbers you add. You can write different content for each, or turn a type off for any of them.

Open the notification settings

1. Go to Calendars, then Calendar Settings.
2. Open the calendar you want to set up.
3. Click the Notifications tab.
4. Click the notification type you want to change.

Email

1. Open the Email tab and make sure the toggle is on.
2. Pick a saved email template, or write the subject and body directly. Choose None in the template list to remove a template.
3. For reminders and follow-ups, set the timing. You can add more than one timing, for example 24 hours and 2 hours before.
4. Send a test email if you like, then click Save.

Email templates are built under Marketing, then Emails, then Templates. Make sure every template has a subject line, or it may not send.

Text message (SMS)

1. Open the SMS tab and turn it on.
2. Choose who receives it: the contact, the assigned user or additional phone numbers. Include the country code on extra numbers.
3. Pick or edit an SMS template, set timing for reminders and follow-ups, then save.

Texts are billed per segment, so keep them short.

In-app notifications for your team

1. Open the In-App tab and turn it on.
2. Choose which users should be notified.
3. For reminders and follow-ups, set the timing, then save.

By default the assigned user receives in-app notifications. For event-style calendars, account admins receive them by default.

WhatsApp

If your account has a verified WhatsApp Business account connected, a WhatsApp tab is also available. Only approved WhatsApp templates can be used. Click Fetch New Templates to refresh the list and send a test before turning it on.

Personalize your messages

Click the { } merge field icon while editing to insert details such as the contact's name, appointment time or a reschedule link. Choose from the Custom Values section to add your own saved details, such as your office phone number.

Troubleshooting

• The reschedule or cancellation link is blank. These links only fill in when the message is tied to a real appointment. If you send it from a workflow, use an appointment trigger such as Appointment Status or Customer Booked Appointment. Test with a real booking, not a generic test send.
• Guests get two confirmation emails. If you send your custom form to guests, the system already emails them a link once the appointment is confirmed. Turn off the separate guest confirmation to avoid duplicates.
• My templates are not in my language. Default templates follow your business profile language. On an existing calendar, choose Reset to default on a template to load the translated version. Customized templates are not changed unless you reset them.

Good to know: appointment notification emails can still reach contacts who have unsubscribed from marketing email, because they contain information about their appointment. Marketing emails still respect their preference.

Tip: each team member can ask to be alerted when an appointment is booked without a meeting link or address. This is under Settings, then My Staff, then the staff member's Notification Settings, under Calendar Notifications.

Have a question about your own account? Submit a ticket and our team will follow up.