Sending appointment reminders via text

Send a notification to your client's mobile device about an upcoming appointment.

Send automated SMS text message reminders to keep your appointments top-of-mind for your clients and reduce your no-show rate. You can send one text message reminder per appointment.

This guide is about text message reminders for your clients. To learn about text notifications for yourself and your staff, visit Sending internal appointment notifications and agendas with Acuity Scheduling.

Note: Please ensure you've provided notice and obtained all legally required consent before enabling text message notifications.

Text message notifications are available in the Standard or Growing and Premium or Powerhouse plans. They aren't available during free trials.

Rates

There are no additional fees for sending text notifications. Phone carriers’ text messaging rates may apply to message recipients.

Tip: We recommend that you explain these potential costs to your clients.

Each appointment sends a single text message

For each appointment booked, Acuity can send a single text message reminder to your client. It's not possible to use Acuity to send additional text messages to clients.

Where text messages are sent

Text message reminders are sent to the client phone number listed in the appointment details.

Replies

If clients respond to a text message, they'll get an automated reply telling them that the messages are from an automated service and suggesting they contact you by other means.

Clients must opt in

Clients receive text message reminders only if they've opted in to text messages.

Clients can always opt out

Clients are able to book an appointment whether they've opted in or out. It's not possible to require clients to opt in as part of booking an appointment.

Each appointment is a separate opt-in

Clients opt in or out for each appointment separately. It's not possible for clients to opt in or out of text message reminders for all of their appointments from one business at the same time.

How clients opt in when booking online

Clients opt in by checking a box during booking. The box appears below the email address field when they're entering their information.

During the verification period for customized reminders, this box appears when clients schedule any appointment type. Once you’re verified, it only appears when clients schedule an appointment type that has text reminders turned on.

How clients opt in when you book appointments for them

When you're booking for the client, if they give you permission to send a text message about the appointment, you can check a box in the appointment details opting them in.

How to change the opt-in status of an existing appointment

To change the opt-in status of existing appointments:

1. In Acuity, click Calendar, then click the appointment to open the appointment details.
2. Click Edit, then check or uncheck the box for I’ve received permission from this client to opt them in to receive an SMS reminder message before their appointment.
3. Click Confirm changes.

Stopping all text messages

If a client replies STOP to a text message reminder, they'll be opted out of all Acuity text message reminders from all businesses. After stopping text message reminders, they can re-enable them by replying START to the same message.

Default vs. customized text message reminders

You can send default text message reminders as soon as you upgrade to a paid Standard or Growing or Premium or Powerhouse plan.

The default text message reminder is: “You have an upcoming appointment with [Business Name] on [Date time]. Sent via Acuity.”

After you verify your business information and phone number, you can customize your text message reminders.

Start sending default text message reminders

These reminders are sent a set number of hours or days before your clients’ appointments.

Text messages are sent from an automatically assigned phone number, not your phone number.

Confirmation messages, which are sent as soon as your clients book, are sent as emails, not text messages.

To send one text message reminder for each of your appointments:

1. In Acuity, click Client Text Messages.
2. Click Turn On in the top-right corner.
3. Use the Send for field to choose which appointment types should trigger this text message reminder.
4. Use the Send reminder drop-down menu to choose how far in advance your appointment reminders are sent.
5. Use the Date & Time format drop-down menu to select a format for your text messages.
6. Use the Send a reminder to admins toggle to decide if you want copies of your text message reminders for yourself or your staff.
7. Use the preview pane to review your text message reminders.

Note: Acuity uses Twilio to send text messages. All messages must comply with Twilio's content requirements.

Get verified to start sending customized text message reminders

Verification helps fight spam. It’s required to send customized text message reminders.

The phone number you use to verify isn't shown to clients, and doesn't need to be a business number. 

The business information you provide helps us categorize your messages appropriately within our partnered telecommunication systems. The time required for verification to be processed can vary.

To verify your information:

1. Enable default text message reminders.
2. Click Verify number.
3. Follow the prompts to enter information about your business and text message needs.
   • You may be asked several questions about where you expect to send text messages, how your business is set up, and where it operates.
   • You may be asked to enter your Employer Identification Number if you have one. If you don't have an EIN, you can still set up text message reminders. If you do have an EIN, the business name you enter while setting up text message reminders needs to match the business name associated with your EIN. 
4. Use the drop-down menu to select your country, enter your phone number, and click Send verification code.
5. Enter the code you receive via text message, then click Submit.
6. Enter your name, address, and business name in the fields provided, then click Save.

Create or edit customized text messages

After you’ve verified your information, you can customize your default template or add new templates. You can now make the following customizations:

• Use the toggles in the Show section to choose which details to include in your reminder text message, including appointment type name, calendar name, and location.
• If you’ve switched on the Phone number toggle, use the Phone number section to add your country and phone number. Text messages are sent from an automatically assigned phone number, not your number. Consider adding your business name and phone number to your messages to prevent confusion.
• Add a customized message in the Custom message field. You can use tags to pull in details about the client and their appointment by clicking the insert tags icon beside the Custom message field.

Note: Acuity uses Twilio to send text messages. All messages must comply with Twilio's content requirements.

Stop sending text message reminders

To stop sending text message reminders:

1. In Acuity, click Client Text Messages.
2. In the Active list on the left side of the page, click a template.
3. In the top-right corner, click Turn Off.
4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until the Active list is empty.

Stop sending text message reminders for a specific appointment type

To stop sending text message reminders for a specific appointment type:

1. In Acuity, click Client Text Messages.
2. In the Active list on the left side of the page, click through your text message reminder templates to find the one with the specific appointment type listed in the Send For field.
3. When you find it, click Select.
4. Uncheck ‌the appointment type you don't want to send reminders for, then click Select in the top-right. 
5. Click Save. 

Use reminder templates to customize your reminders

If you're verified, you can use reminder templates fully:

• Customize your reminder message.
• Customize when clients get a text message reminder for each appointment type.
• Decide if any of your reminders are also sent to staff.

If you’re not verified, it's not possible to customize your message content, but you can:

• Customize when clients get a text message reminder for each appointment type.
• Decide if any of your reminders are also sent to staff.

To create multiple templates:

1. Create a first text message reminder using the steps above.
2. Click Add New Reminder.
3. Choose the appointment types you want to use the new template for, then click Select.
4. Use the fields to set up your template, as you did for your first text message reminder.
5. After you're done, click Turn On. This sets your template to active, and it will start sending.

After creating your new reminder template, you can add or remove appointment types using the Send for field. Each appointment type can only trigger one template. When you assign an appointment type to a template, it's removed from any other template it's already on.

Tip: Text message reminders only send if your reminder template is turned on and has at least one appointment type assigned. The left menu shows where appointment types are assigned and which templates are active.

Verify appointment types are assigned to active templates

Even if your client has entered a phone number at booking and opted in to text messages, for them to receive a text message reminder:

• The appointment type they've booked must be assigned to a template.
• The template must be turned on.

Tip: Common sources of unassigned appointment types and inactive templates include:

• duplicating a template.
• adding a new template without assigning appointment types or turning the template on.

Appointment types that aren't assigned to a template

To check for appointment types that aren't assigned to a reminder template:

1. In Acuity, click Client Text Messages.
2. If you have any appointment types that aren't assigned to a reminder template, there will be an Unassigned Appointment Types box at the bottom of the left bar.

To remove appointment types from the Unassigned Appointment Types box:

1. Click a template.
2. In the Send For field, click Select.
3. Use the checkboxes to choose appointment types.
4. Click Select.
5. Click Save.

Templates that are turned off

To check for templates that are turned off:

1. In Acuity, click Client Text Messages.
2. In the left bar, review the Inactive section.

To turn inactive templates on:

1. Click a template.
2. In the top-right corner, click Turn On.

Duplicate a reminder template

To duplicate a reminder template you've already created:

1. In Acuity, click Client Text Messages.
2. Next to the template you want to duplicate, click the three dots, then click Duplicate.

Note: When you duplicate a template, the duplicate is automatically set to inactive and does not have any appointment types assigned. To start sending the template, add appointment types and turn the template on.

Character limit

Your text message reminder can include up to 300 characters if you use only plain text. The 300-character limit includes any fields you toggle on for the message, such as your business name and the appointment type name. Special characters (such as é, û, or ±) and emojis count as more than one character. You can use tags to include information about your appointment or client. When calculating the character limit, Acuity counts the content a tag pulls into your message, not the characters in the tag itself.

Keep in mind:

• If you use special characters, tags, or emojis and exceed the character limit, your message will be cut off.

• Your text message might be split into two sections depending on the number of characters. However, most devices display split messages as a single message.

Message timing

You can choose times for your text message reminders ranging from 15 minutes to 14 days before the appointment. Your text message reminders will be sent within several minutes of the specified time.

If a client books an appointment close to the time of a text message reminder, there's a grace period in which the reminder is still sent. This grace period is about a third of the time between the reminder and the appointment. For example, a reminder set to be sent 24 hours before an appointment will still go out if a client books 16 hours in advance.

Appointments booked less than an hour in advance may not receive a reminder text message, even if they're within the grace period.

Send text reminders about one appointment to multiple people

To send a text message reminder for an appointment to multiple people, edit the appointment details to include multiple phone numbers separated by commas.

Phone number format

When clients book on their own, Acuity will prompt them to use a valid phone number format. Acuity will also check that the phone number entered is valid for the country code chosen. For example, in the U.S., a phone number with 555 as prefix would be rejected.

When manually adding new clients or appointments, or importing client contact information, use one of the following phone number formats:

• 123-456-7890
• 1234567890
• (123) 456-7890

Country codes and international messaging

When clients book, the Phone field includes a country code dropdown menu. The country code defaults to match the time zone you selected, but the client can adjust it to any country they wish.

If you’re entering a phone number for a client, such as when booking an appointment on their behalf, the following country code rules apply:

• In the United States and Canada, no country code is required.
• In Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, no country code is required. Enter a zero, then enter the rest of the number, like 0417827142.
• In all other countries, enter +, then the country code, then the rest of the number, like +97312345678.

We support international messaging to more than 180 destinations, but we can’t guarantee deliverability. Each country has its own individual regulations and guidelines that may apply based on sender type, use case, or legal regulations. Learn more about international messaging.

Verify clients received text messages

To view the messages sent for an appointment, click the appointment to open appointment details, then click View all changes & notifications sent. The changelog shows all sent email and text messages for the appointment. To learn more about the changelog, visit Tracking appointment changes in Acuity.