Customer Notifications & Reminders
Bookings can send customers email and text messages. Configure each message’s channels, wording, and reminder times under Settings → Booking → Customer Notifications.
The messages
Section titled “The messages”| Message | Sent |
|---|---|
| Request received | The moment a customer submits a booking request that needs review. |
| Deposit request | When a deposit offer starts. For Request to book, this is after you approve the request. |
| Deposit offer expired | After an unpaid deposit deadline passes and the appointment time is released. |
| Booking approved | When every requirement has cleared. For an approved request with a deposit, this follows full payment. |
| Appointment reminder | Before the appointment, at the times you pick. |
| Sign your form | Before the appointment, with a link to sign the release form online. Off by default. |
| Reschedule notice | When a confirmed appointment moves to a new future time — including a lapsed appointment moved forward. Retiming an unconfirmed request sends nothing. |
| Cancellation notice | When an appointment is cancelled. |
| No-show notice | When a no-show is recorded, with a nudge to rebook. |
| Request declined | When a request can’t be taken on. |
Each message has an email and a text variant, toggled independently. The wording is editable with {{variables}} — customer name, appointment time, links — inserted from the picker in the message editor, and can be put back to the default at any time. Texts deliver to US and Canada numbers, and a long message can use more than one billable text segment; customers with international numbers get these by email instead.
Deposit offer messages
Section titled “Deposit offer messages”Deposit request and Deposit offer expired are separate messages, with text and email on by default. The request tells the customer how much is due, the exact deadline in the studio’s time zone, and where to pay. Keep {{booking.payurl}} in the message when customers can pay online. Use {{booking.depositdeadline}} wherever the deadline should appear.
If the deadline passes unpaid, the booking becomes Deposit expired and the time is no longer reserved. The expiry message tells the customer that the appointment was not confirmed and asks them to contact the studio for another time. Their private manage page shows the same explanation.
Turning off Deposit offer expired stops that message on the selected channel. It does not extend the offer or keep the time reserved.
Reminder timing
Section titled “Reminder timing”Appointment reminders take up to five send times, from 1 hour to 1 week before, picked right on the message.
The sign-your-form reminder
Section titled “The sign-your-form reminder”When enabled, a confirmed booking sends a private sign link one to four hours ahead of the appointment (default: 2 hours before) that drops the customer into the web sign flow with their appointment’s services already selected: the same checklist as at the studio, including multi-form visits. They confirm their date of birth to open it.
Several guardrails apply on their own:
- It only sends when the booking is confirmed, any deposit is settled, nothing’s signed yet, and at least one of the booking’s services maps to a form that allows web signing, so kiosk-only shops never send a link customers can’t use.
- The link itself opens on the day of the appointment (an after-midnight appointment opens two hours ahead) and stays open until 12 hours after the appointment’s start time. The reminder’s lead time controls when the message sends, and a reminder never goes out before its link works. Someone standing in the shop can always sign once the window is open.
- The link stops working when the booking is cancelled. Once the forms are signed (or the visit has begun), it shows an “already signed” confirmation instead.
- The lead is deliberately short — the longest, 4 hours, still puts a 10:00 AM appointment’s message at 6:00 AM, which is why 2 hours is the default.
Signing early doesn’t count as arrival: the customer stays an expected booking until work actually starts.
Staff can also text or email the private link from Collect the form first after selecting Begin visit. This manual send works when the automatic reminder is off. If the automatic reminder is on, sending manually prevents the same channel from sending the reminder again for that booking.
Text message compliance
Section titled “Text message compliance”The consent language customers agree to sits right on the booking page’s identity step (“Reply STOP to opt out or HELP for help…”), and two public pages back it: one explaining how the text program and opt-in work, and one carrying the messaging terms. These exist for carrier compliance; they’re linked from the booking flow and need no setup from you. Opt-out is handled by reply: STOP ends the messages, HELP gets help.