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Introduction

The Automated Messages section allows you to manage automated notifications sent to clients via SMS and/or email. These messages keep clients informed and reduce no-shows through timely reminders.

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Message Types

Bella Booking sends automated messages for three main categories:

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1. Reminders

First Upcoming Appointment Reminder:
  • Sent before the appointment (timing configurable)
  • Reminds clients of their scheduled appointment
  • Common timing: 24 hours or 48 hours before appointment
Second Upcoming Appointment Reminder:
  • Optional secondary reminder closer to appointment time
  • Reduces last-minute no-shows
  • Common timing: 2-4 hours before appointment
Reminder to Rebook:
  • AI-powered timing to encourage rebooking
  • Sent after appointment completion
  • Helps maintain client retention
  • System automatically selects optimal send time

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2. Appointment Updates

Pending Confirmation:
  • Sent immediately when an appointment requires client confirmation
  • Only sent when account/location has confirmation policy enabled
  • Includes {{ConfirmAppointmentButton}} or {{ConfirmAppointmentLink}} for easy confirmation
  • Client must confirm within the confirmation window to secure their booking
Pending Approval:
  • Sent immediately when an online booking requires business approval
  • Only sent when “Require Approval for Online Bookings” is enabled
  • Informs the client their booking request has been received and is awaiting review
  • Client receives a separate “Confirmed Appointment” notification once you approve
Confirmed Appointment:
  • Sent immediately when an appointment is confirmed
  • Confirms booking details (date, time, services, team member)
  • Provides appointment details for client records
  • For auto-confirm accounts: sent when appointment is created
  • For require-confirmation accounts: sent after client confirms
Rescheduled Appointment:
  • Sent when an appointment start time is changed
  • Shows new date/time and updated details
  • Includes previous date/time for reference (using {{PreviousDateTime}} variable)
  • Confirms the change was successful
Canceled Appointment:
  • Sent when an appointment is cancelled
  • Confirms cancellation
Checked Out Appointment:
  • Sent after appointment checkout is completed
  • Thanks client for their appointment

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3. Waitlist Updates

New Waitlist:
  • Sent when a client is added to the waitlist
  • Confirms waitlist entry

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4. Business Notifications

These messages are sent to your business (location email/SMS) rather than to clients.

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Include Appointments Created by Staff

By default, business notifications are only sent for appointments created via online booking. You can enable notifications for all appointments (including those created by staff in the dashboard) using the toggle at the top of the Business Notifications section. When disabled (default):
  • Notifications only sent for online bookings
  • Labels show “Online Booking: New Appointment”, etc.
When enabled:
  • Notifications sent for ALL appointments, regardless of how they were created
  • Labels change to “New Appointment”, “Cancelled”, etc. (without “Online Booking:” prefix)
  • Useful if you want to be notified of all appointment activity, including staff-created bookings
New Appointment:
  • Sent when a new appointment is confirmed
  • By default: only online bookings; when toggle enabled: all appointments
  • Notifies staff of new bookings
Pending Approval:
  • Sent when an online booking requires business approval
  • Notifies staff that a booking needs to be reviewed
Cancelled:
  • Sent when an appointment is cancelled
  • By default: only online cancellations; when toggle enabled: all cancellations
  • Notifies staff of cancellations
Rescheduled:
  • Sent when an appointment is rescheduled
  • By default: only online reschedules; when toggle enabled: all reschedules
  • Notifies staff of reschedules
New Waitlist:
  • Sent when a client joins the waitlist
  • By default: only online waitlist entries; when toggle enabled: all waitlist entries
  • Includes client name, phone, preferred date, and services

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Message Configuration Options

When you click a message card, you can configure: Enable/Disable:
  • Toggle the message on or off
  • Disabled messages won’t be sent to clients
Delivery Channel:
  • SMS, Email, or both
  • Based on your subscription and client contact preferences
Timing (for reminders):
  • Hours or days before appointment
  • Custom timing per reminder type
Greeting:
  • Customise the message greeting with your preferred greeting
Additional Instructions:
  • Add custom instructions that will appear in the email body before appointment details
Custom Templates:
  • Create fully customised message templates using variables
  • Personalise messages to match your brand voice
  • Use template variables for dynamic content

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Template Customization

Bella Booking allows full customisation of SMS and email templates using template variables. This gives you complete control over your message content and branding.

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Available Template Variables

You can use these variables in your custom templates:
  • {{FirstName}} - Client’s first name
  • {{LastName}} - Client’s last name
  • {{BusinessName}} - Your business name
  • {{Date}} - Formatted date (Mon, 18 Nov 2025)
  • {{Time}} - Formatted time (2:05 PM)
  • {{DateTime}} - Formatted date and time (Mon, 18 Nov 2025, 2:05 PM)
  • {{PreviousDate}} - Previous date for rescheduled appointments (Mon, 18 Nov 2025)
  • {{PreviousTime}} - Previous time for rescheduled appointments (2:05 PM)
  • {{PreviousDateTime}} - Previous date and time for rescheduled appointments (Mon, 18 Nov 2025, 2:05 PM)
  • {{ServiceName}} - Service name(s)
  • {{TotalPrice}} - Formatted total price
  • {{LineItems}} - Formatted line items (email only)
  • {{SelfServiceLink}} - Link to appointment details page (view, confirm, or cancel)
  • {{SelfServiceButton}} - Email only - Styled button linking to appointment details page
  • {{CancelAppointmentLink}} - Direct link to cancel appointment (shows confirmation dialog)
  • {{CancelAppointmentButton}} - Email only - Styled button to cancel appointment (outline/red style)
  • {{ConfirmAppointmentLink}} - Direct link to confirm appointment (one-click confirmation)
  • {{ConfirmAppointmentButton}} - Email only - Styled button to confirm appointment (green style)
  • {{CancellationPolicy}} - Human-readable cancellation policy text (if active policy exists)
  • {{Reason}} - Cancellation reason with label (e.g., “Reason: No show”) - for cancellation messages only; empty if no reason provided
  • {{PreferredDates}} - Client’s preferred dates for waitlist entries
  • {{PhoneNumber}} - Client’s phone number (for business notifications)
Self-Service Links Explained:
VariableURL PatternAction
{{SelfServiceLink}}/booking/{id}Opens appointment details page where clients can view details and choose to confirm or cancel
{{CancelAppointmentLink}}/booking/{id}/cancelOpens cancellation confirmation dialog directly
{{ConfirmAppointmentLink}}/booking/{id}/confirmInstantly confirms the appointment (no additional clicks required)
When to Use Each Link:
  • SelfServiceLink: General-purpose link for appointment management; best for initial booking confirmations
  • CancelAppointmentLink: When you want to make cancellation easy but still require confirmation
  • ConfirmAppointmentLink: Best for reminder messages when you want clients to confirm with one click
Date and Time Formatting:
  • All date/time variables are automatically formatted using standard formats
  • Dates include the day of week (Mon, 18 Nov 2025)
  • Times use 12-hour format with AM/PM (2:05 PM)
  • Formatting is consistent across all messages

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Creating Custom Templates

How to Customise:
  1. Click on any message card to open configuration
  2. Toggle “Use custom template” if available
  3. Enter your custom message using variables above
  4. Preview shows how variables will be replaced
  5. Save to apply changes
Template Examples: Simple Confirmation: 
Hi {{FirstName}}, your appointment for {{ServiceName}} on {{Date}} at {{Time}} is confirmed. See you then!
Detailed Confirmation: 
Hi {{FirstName}},

Your appointment with {{BusinessName}} is confirmed:

Date: {{Date}}
Time: {{Time}}
Service: {{ServiceName}}
Total: {{TotalPrice}}

We look forward to seeing you!

{{BusinessName}}
Rescheduling Notification: 
Hi {{FirstName}}, your appointment has been rescheduled to {{DateTime}}. Your original time was {{PreviousDateTime}}. See you then!
Note: The {{PreviousDateTime}} variable is automatically populated with the original appointment date and time when an appointment is rescheduled. This helps clients understand what changed. Reminder with Confirmation Link: 
Hi {{FirstName}}, reminder: your appointment at {{BusinessName}} is on {{Date}} at {{Time}}. Please confirm: {{ConfirmAppointmentLink}}
Reminder with Options: 
Hi {{FirstName}}, your appointment is tomorrow at {{Time}}.

Confirm: {{ConfirmAppointmentLink}}
Need to cancel? {{CancelAppointmentLink}}
View details: {{SelfServiceLink}}

See you soon!
{{BusinessName}}
Note: Use {{ConfirmAppointmentLink}} in reminder messages when client confirmation is enabled. This helps reduce no-shows by prompting clients to actively confirm their attendance. Online Booking Waitlist Notification (Business): 
New waitlist entry:

Client: {{FirstName}} {{LastName}}
Phone: {{PhoneNumber}}
Date: {{PreferredDates}}
Service: {{ServiceName}}
Note: This template is sent to your business email/SMS when a client joins the waitlist through online booking. Confirmation with Cancellation Policy: 
Hi {{FirstName}},

Your appointment with {{BusinessName}} is confirmed:

Date: {{Date}}
Time: {{Time}}
Service: {{ServiceName}}
Total: {{TotalPrice}}

{{CancellationPolicy}}

We look forward to seeing you!

{{BusinessName}}
Note: The {{CancellationPolicy}} variable displays a concise cancellation policy message if one is active. Examples:
  • “24 hours notice required, 50% late fee.”
  • “48 hours notice required.”
If no cancellation policy is active, the variable will be empty. Cancellation with Reason: 
Hi {{FirstName}},

Your appointment with {{BusinessName}} for {{Date}} at {{Time}} has been cancelled.

{{Reason}}

We hope to see you again soon.

{{BusinessName}}
Note: The {{Reason}} variable displays the cancellation reason if one was provided (e.g., “Reason: No show” or “Reason: Client requested”). If no reason was recorded, the variable will be empty. Best Practices:
  • Keep SMS messages concise (under 320 characters when possible)
  • Use email templates for detailed information
  • Always include date and time for appointment-related messages
  • Personalise with client’s first name
  • Include your business name for brand recognition
  • Test templates before enabling to ensure proper formatting

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Message Delivery

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Client Contact Preferences

Messages are sent based on:
  • Client’s contact information on file
  • Client notification preferences (if set)
  • Your message channel settings (SMS, Email, or both)
Requirements:
  • SMS: Client must have valid phone number
  • Email: Client must have valid email address

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Monitoring Message Usage

SMS Consumption:
  • Track SMS usage in General Settings
  • Monitor remaining credits
  • Upgrade plan if needed

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FAQs

Q: Will clients receive messages if I disable them? A: No. Disabled messages are not sent until you re-enable them. Q: What if a client doesn’t have an email address? A: Email messages won’t be sent. Use SMS-only or collect email addresses during booking. Q: Do automated messages count against my SMS limit? A: Yes. Each SMS sent counts toward your plan’s SMS allotment. If you reach your limit, you can purchase additional SMS packages at $10 for 100 SMS from the Billing page. Q: Can I manually send a reminder to a client? A: Yes. Open the appointment details and click the menu (three dots) to find “Send Reminder”. This sends an immediate reminder using your configured reminder template, regardless of whether automated reminders are scheduled. This is useful when:
  • A client didn’t receive or see their automated reminder
  • You want to send an extra reminder closer to the appointment
  • You need to resend a reminder that may have failed
Q: What’s the difference between “Confirmed Appointment” and “Pending Confirmation”? A: This depends on your confirmation policy settings:
  • Auto-confirm accounts: Only “Confirmed Appointment” is sent when an appointment is created
  • Require-confirmation accounts: “Pending Confirmation” is sent first, then “Confirmed Appointment” is sent after the client confirms
Q: How do I enable client confirmation? A: Go to Settings > Booking Policies and configure the “Confirmation Window” setting. When enabled, clients must confirm their appointments within the specified window. Q: What happens if a deposit is required? A: When deposits are required:
  1. Client books → redirected to payment page
  2. Client completes payment → “Confirmed Appointment” is sent
  3. No “Pending Confirmation” is sent (client is already in the payment flow)
Q: Can I receive business notifications for appointments created by staff? A: Yes! By default, business notifications are only sent for appointments created via online booking. To receive notifications for ALL appointments (including those created by staff in the dashboard), enable the “Include appointments created by staff” toggle at the top of the Business Notifications section. This is useful if you want to be notified of all appointment activity, such as when staff create, cancel, or reschedule appointments.