Reminders and texts
When email and text reminders go out, what you have to switch on, and why a text sometimes does not send.
Reminders are what brings no-shows down. Email reminders work on their own from day one. Text messages have to be switched on and they cost money.
Email reminder
It goes out automatically 24 hours before the appointment, for confirmed bookings and ones pending payment. It is sent once per appointment.
It is included on every plan and costs nothing. There is nothing to configure.
A client who has asked not to receive emails does not get it.
Text reminder
Text messages are off by default. You switch them on in Settings, in the SMS section, with the Send text messages to my customers toggle. Turning it on requires confirming in a dialog that you accept the cost.
Unlike email, which is included, every text message carries a per-message cost billed to your account. With texts switched off your clients still get every notice by email at no cost.
The text reminder goes out in the window between 25 and 2 hours before the appointment. The window is wide on purpose, so a message that falls inside quiet hours can still be sent as soon as it is allowed.
Why a text might not go out
There are five reasons, and all of them are deliberate:
Quiet hours. Nothing is sent between 21:00 and 08:00 in your time zone. The message is not lost, it is deferred and goes out after 08:00.
Per-phone cap. A maximum of five messages to the same number in any 24 hours.
Per-booking cap. A maximum of six messages across the whole life of one booking.
The client opted out. Anyone who replies STOP stops receiving messages, and that cannot be undone from the dashboard. It is a legal requirement.
The phone number is not valid. If the number is not in correct international format, no attempt is made.
The exception to quiet hours is a message that answers something the client just did, such as their own cancellation. Those go out immediately.
Which messages exist
Confirmation, reminder, cancellation and reschedule. Both by email and by text.
Text message consent
The booking form has a checkbox where the client agrees to receive messages about that appointment and is told they can opt out by replying STOP. Without that consent nothing promotional is sent to them.
The language of the notices
Emails and texts go out in the language set for your public page, not the one you read the dashboard in.