Here are a couple of clarifications of when booking confirmation messages are sent: 

• If a Booking changes message has not been set up, customers will not be sent a confirmation message of any kind if the booking has been made manually on the calendar. However, if a customer books online, they will still receive a confirmation email once their booking has been confirmed. 
• If a Booking changes message has been set up, customers will be sent a confirmation message for a confirmed appointment that's been made manually on the calendar. If a customer books online, they will receive a confirmation email (plus SMS if you have that set up) once the booking has been confirmed.

 

Appointment reminders

1. Go to Setup > Customer messages in the main menu: 

   

2. Click Add a new message in the top right corner: 

   

3. Select the Customer reminder option from the list:

4. Select what type of message you'd like to send (SMS or email). You will be able to set up both email and SMS notifications, but they will need to be set up separately:
5. If you would like to add a Consult form to your reminder, tick the box that says 'Automatically send a Consult form with this reminder, and then choose from the drop down list which of your templates you would like to send out. You will be able to choose any of Timely's premade templates, or if you have shared consultations with your business you can use one of your own. You can only add a Consult form to an SMS, not to an email.
6. Setup your reminder rules by choosing when you'd like to send your Customer reminders. There are two options - x hours before or x days before at x time. We recommend using the 'x hours before' option for the best experience for your customers. If you choose the 1-day prior setting, then only bookings added at least 24 hours before the appointment start time will be sent reminders. If a reminder won't be sent on a booking, we will add an alert to the appointment's history. Check out our How to view appointment history guide for more information.
7. If you'd like to send reminders to clients that have pencilled in appointments, make sure to check the box. You can also use two-way SMS to confirm appointments by setting up "Text Y to Confirm"
8. Once your rules are setup, enter your SMS template. Check out our guide on customising SMS templates for more details. 

   

9. If you're selected Email, set up your email rules, and click Save.
   

 

Rebooking reminders

Before you start, you will need to make sure that you have Two-way Messaging enabled. This allows customers to reply to SMS messages and is a requirement for setting up an SMS rebooking reminders. Our How to turn on SMS replies and confirmations (two-way SMS) guide steps you through that process.

Rebooking reminders are an awesome way to get your clients coming back if they've been away for a while. A rebooking reminder will send a message a set number of weeks after an appointment, if the client does not have a future booking. To get started, head to Setup > Customer messages, and click Add a new message.

1. Select Rebooking reminder from the list:
2. Choose whether you'd like to send the rebooking reminder as an SMS or email. We recommend SMS as these are more likely to be opened and viewed by clients.
3. Set up the rules for your rebooking reminder. A message will be sent based on the customer's appointment history, as well as their future bookings in the calendar. This can be applied to any bookings, or restricted to bookings for a specific service e.g. if a customer comes in for a particular service regularly.
4. If you'd like to restrict the rebooking reminder to specific services, choose 'Selected services' and select them from the pop up screen. Click Save once you're ready:
5. Once your rules are set up, enter your message into the template field. You can find out more about customising message templates here. Your message length can be up to 434 characters - if your message is longer, it may cost you multiple messages.
   If you'd like to include a link in this message, then you may like to use a URL shortener like  Bitly (https://bitly.com/) or Google (https://goo.gl/). 
6. If you are setting up a rebooking reminder Email, customise your message content. You can include a button link to your email, which is great for including a direct link to your online bookings.
7. Enter a message name, and click Save. 
   

Pencilled-in Appointment Messages

If you're using the pencilled-in appointment status for online or in-calendar bookings, this message type is a great way to inform your clients that you have received their booking request. 

1. Go to Setup > Customer messages in the main menu: 

   

2. Click Add a new message in the top right corner: 

   

3. Select the Appointment pencilled-in option from the list:
4. Select what type of message you'd like to send (SMS or email). You will be able to set up both email and SMS notifications, but they will need to be set up separately:
5. Customise your message if sending via SMS (there is no option to customise the email):
6. Once you're ready, click Save to begin sending the message automatically.

Sending one-off messages to clients

There are a couple of ways to send messages directly to your clients from Timely:

Send a message from the calendar

1. Click on an appointment in the calendar. From the pop up, click the envelope icon:

   

2. Choose either the Send an SMS or Send an Email option: 

   

3. The client's mobile number or email address will be added automatically so simply write your message: 

   

4. Click the Send button when you are ready.

From the client record

1. Head to the Customers tab.
2. Search for the client by entering their name, phone number, etc.
3. Once found, click the Messages button on the right: 
4. Choose Send a message from the options:

5. Then you can choose either the  Send an SMS or Send an Email option.

6. Compose your message and click the Send button when you are ready. 

From the Timely iOS app

1. Head to the Customers tab.
2. Search for the client by entering their name, phone number, etc.
3. Once found, click the View messages button on the right.
4. Click the button in the top right-hand corner that looks like a pen and paper.
5. Create your message and click 'Send'.