Events
Set up event notifications and reminders
Choose which customer emails, texts, and reminders are sent for scheduled events.
What you will accomplish
You will choose which emails, texts, and reminders customers receive when an event is scheduled, changed, started, completed, or cancelled.
Clear messages reduce phone calls, missed appointments, and confusion. They also help customers feel confident that their booking is confirmed and your team is prepared.
This guide explains two related settings on Settings > Events & schedule:
- Notification settings decide which messages can be sent when an event is scheduled, rescheduled, started, completed, or cancelled.
- Reminder settings decide when reminders are sent before the appointment time.
Before you start
- Make sure the event type already exists. If not, start with Configure event types.
- Decide whether the event should use your team defaults or its own custom settings.
- Confirm your team has email or text messaging set up in Settings > Communications if you plan to send those messages.
- Think about what customers truly need. Too many messages can feel noisy.
Recommended starter setup (most facilities)
If you are unsure where to begin, use these team defaults first. You can always turn more channels on later.
- Scheduled → Email on — customers get a confirmation when an appointment is booked.
- Rescheduled → Email on — customers know when the time changes.
- Cancelled → Email on — customers are not left wondering.
- In Progress and Completed off for customer-facing events unless you have a specific reason (many facilities keep these staff-only).
- SMS off until Configure communications is finished.
- One default reminder: Email — 1 day before the appointment.
Understand team defaults and event overrides
Team defaults are the starting message settings for new event types.
Event overrides are custom settings for one specific event type.
Example:
Your team may want all events to send an email when they are scheduled. That belongs in the team default.
But you may want Vehicle Pickup to send an extra reminder one day before the appointment. That can be set on the Vehicle Pickup event type.
Review default texts and emails for new services
- Open Events & schedule
Go to Settings > Events & schedule.
- Find Default texts & emails for new services
Scroll to Default texts & emails for new services.
This section controls the starting on/off settings for new event types.
- Review each row
Rows such as Scheduled, Rescheduled, In Progress, Completed, and Cancelled describe what happened to the event.
- Review each message channel
Channels may include Email, SMS, and Push.
If a channel is unavailable, your team may need to finish communications setup before that message can send.
Expected result: You know which messages new event types will send by default. Turn off channels you do not want (for example SMS until texting is set up).
Set default reminders before appointments
Default reminders are the reminder times new event types use unless you override them later.
- Find Default reminders before appointments
On Settings > Events & schedule, scroll to Default reminders before appointments.
- Review existing reminders
Look at the reminder type and timing.
Example: an email reminder 1 day before the event.
- Click Add Reminder if you need another reminder
Add another reminder only when it helps the customer or your team.
Common choices are 1 day before and 1 hour before.
- Remove reminders that create noise
If customers receive too many messages, remove the reminders that are not helpful.
Expected result: New event types inherit reminder timing that matches how your facility actually operates (for example one email 1 day before the appointment).
Customize messages for one event type
Use this when one event type needs different message behavior than your team default.
- Open the event type
Go to Settings > Events & schedule, find the event type, and click Edit.
- Scroll to Notification Settings
Find Notification Settings.
- Choose whether to use team defaults
If Use team defaults is on, the event type follows your team default settings.
Turn it off only when this event type needs its own message rules.
- Choose the events that should send messages
Review the rows:
- Scheduled - when the appointment is booked.
- Rescheduled - when the appointment time changes.
- In Progress - when the event starts.
- Completed - when the event finishes.
- Cancelled - when the event is cancelled.
- Choose the message channels
Turn on only the channels your team wants to use for this event type.
If text messaging is not set up, keep SMS off until your team finishes setup.
Customize reminders for one event type
- Scroll to Reminder Settings
On the same event type edit page, find Reminder Settings.
- Use team defaults unless this event needs different timing
Keep Use team defaults on when the regular reminder timing works.
Turn it off when this event needs more or fewer reminders.
- Click Add Reminder if needed
Choose the reminder type and timing.
Good examples are Email - 1 day before or Email - 1 hour before.
- Save the event type
Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.
Message choices that work well
- Send a confirmation when customers book an appointment.
- Send a reschedule notice when the appointment time changes.
- Use one reminder the day before for appointments customers must attend.
- Use a second reminder closer to the appointment only when missed appointments are common.
- Keep internal-only events quieter so customers do not receive messages they do not need.
Test that messages and reminders work
After you save notification and reminder settings, run a short test so you are not surprised on a real customer appointment.
- Turn off live customer channels if needed
If you are testing with a real customer's email or phone, temporarily turn off Email and SMS on the event type—or use a test customer record with your own contact details.
Why this matters: A saved test appointment can send real messages when channels are on.
- Create a test appointment
Follow Test an event setup and book at least two days in the future if you are testing a 1 day before reminder.
Expected result: A confirmation email or text arrives when Scheduled notifications are enabled.
- Check the customer's contact record
Open the customer in Contacts and confirm Email and Phone are correct.
Why this matters: Messages only go to contact details saved on that record—wrong email is the most common reason customers say they never received a reminder.
- Review activity after the test
Open the customer record and scroll to Activity Feed, or check Inbox for outbound messages.
Expected result: You see a line showing the confirmation or reminder was sent, with a timestamp you can share with the customer if they ask.
What success looks like
After setup:
- Customers receive the messages your team expects.
- Reminder timing gives customers enough notice to arrive or respond.
- Event types that should be quiet do not send unnecessary messages.
- Staff understand whether an event type uses team defaults or custom settings.
Troubleshooting
What to do next
After messages and reminders are set, use Test an event setup to create a test appointment and confirm the customer experience.