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Setting up automated booking notifications and reminders

Bookem has a number of default appointment-related automated reminders. You can create more of your own, edit default templates, or use them as they are.

Using automated reminders saves you time and reduces the number of no-shows and late cancellations. By default, reminders are sent out both as an SMS and an email reminder. You can customize this setting and choose how you would like messages to be delivered, i.e only via email, only via SMS, or via SMS with email as fallback (in the event the SMS fails)

We recommend using three automated messages for first-time clients,

  1. Booking confirmation (sent immediately after the appointment is confirmed)

    If you are using Bookem's online forms, you will need to create a message for Initial consultations, which includes the link to the patient intake form.

  2. Reminder one day before the appointment

  3. Reminder 2 hours before the appointment

and at three messages for repeat clients:

  1. Booking confirmation (sent immediately after the appointment is confirmed)

  2. Reminder 2 hours before the appointment

  3. Follow-up reminders as per your custom settings

Additional automated messages:

Video call link

If you are using Bookem's video call function, you will need to create a reminder that contains the video call link to send to clients before their booking. We recommend setting up this reminder to be sent out on the day of the booking.

Let's start setting up reminders! Follow the steps below:

  1. Go to Settings > Automated messages.

  2. Click on the +Add button on the top right of the screen, then select Reminder.

  3. You can also edit one of the default or previous reminders from the list displayed down the middle of the window.

  4. Now it's time to make magic!

    Give your message a name that makes sense to you and your client

  5. Decide when you would like the message to be sent, by picking your option from the two drop down menus

  6. Now, specify which services, locations and practitioners/providers/resources this automated message should be sent out for.

    You can also leave it as the standard "any service at any location with any resource" and exclude (+Add exception) services if necessary.

  7. Next, you have to set the occurrence of bookings you would like the message to be sent for (select from the drop down menu) in the example below.

    This process might sound complicated, but it makes it possible to create multiple messages for various services.

  8. The next step is to choose your preferred delivery mechanism

    SMS with email as fallback,

    SMS and email or,

    just email

    Click here for an explanation of fallback and emails and SMS's

  9. Set the time you would like messages to be sent

  10. Finally - compose your message and save

NOTE: Any text you see highlighted in purple is linked to information already in Bookem. Here, you can add fields by using the # to find variables eg. 'start time' or 'business name'.