How do appointment reminders work?

Reminders are the automation that pays for itself: fewer no-shows, fewer "was it today?" calls. They are on from day one; the checklist row "See the reminder your client would get" opens the preview of exactly what goes out in your name.

What a client receives

• The first reminder, two days before by default, by email and text. It names the pet, the day, the time, the service and who is doing it, and asks the client to confirm. Tapping the confirm link is the confirmation: no login. The page it opens shows the visit and offers "Can't make it? Cancel or rebook" through the portal. The email also has Reschedule and Add to Calendar buttons; those open the same page without confirming, and Add to Calendar offers Google Calendar or a file for Apple and Outlook calendars. What you see in the drawer's Preview is the email that is sent.
• A second reminder, the day before by default, to clients who have not confirmed yet ("we haven't heard back"), by text and email the same way as the first. The text is one short message with the confirm link, and the drawer shows it. You can send it to everyone instead.

Reminders go out in the morning, on your store's clock, for appointments that many whole days ahead. A client needs a phone number or email on file to get one.

Where you see the result

On the calendar and on Today each card is Unconfirmed until the client taps, then Confirmed. The stats strip counts both. A visit that is moved to another day goes back to Unconfirmed and gets asked again. Staff can also mark a visit confirmed by hand after a phone call. The Reminders and confirmations report shows, per day, who was reminded and who confirmed.

Adjusting them

Open Grow › Automations and the Appointment Reminders row:

• days before for the first reminder, whether there is a second, and who gets it;
• the email subject and body, and the text message (the counter shows how many text segments it uses; one emoji can triple it);
• extras to include: the groomer's name, arrival instructions in your own words, a reschedule link;
• a Preview tab with the real email and text, and Send a sample to yourself.

Switching the row off stops reminders entirely. Settings › Notifications & Emails lists this alongside every other automated message.

Texts

Text reminders count against the texts included in your plan; each text is a segment of 160 plain characters, and a long store name plus a long pet name can make one reminder two segments. Included texts cover US and Canadian numbers. Settings › SMS shows your usage.

The other confirmation

"Booking confirmation" is a different message: the email a client gets when they book online or when you approve their request. It is listed in the same places and is not a reminder.