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SMS Appointments Reminders

SMS Appointment Reminders let you customize messages with Appointment and Customer fields. When enabled, all Locations share credits from the same bank.

Sabrina Herrera avatar
Written by Sabrina Herrera
Updated today

📝 Overview

Guide to DaySmart SMS Appointment Reminders: enable the plugin, manage and auto-renew credits, customize templates, set opt-in/out, timing and reply options, handle multi-location settings, FAQ's and disable/re-enable when needed.


📲 Enabling SMS Appointment Reminders

The Enabling SMS Reminders section explains how to activate the SMS Appointment Reminders plugin within your account

Click Here to learn more about how to Enable the SMS Appointment Reminders plugin

To enable SMS reminders, you'll need to visit the Marketplace from Site Administration.

  1. Click Marketplace.

  2. Click Appointments in the menu to the left.

  3. Locate the plugin and click Learn More/Enable.

  4. Choose applicable Locations from the drop-down menu.

  5. Click Enable to finish the activation.


🏦 SMS Appointment Reminder Credits Overview

Once you have the plugin enabled, you'll need to manage SMS credits. Credits are purchased from your DaySmart Appointments account. Each message (160 characters, including spaces or line breaks) will use 1 SMS credit. If a message exceeds 160 total characters, it will be sent in multiple parts and consume a credit for each message part sent.

Click Here to learn more about Managing Credits & Bank Balance Alerts

To add SMS credits to your account, click the red Low Credit Alert on the top right of Site Administration labeled SMS. Here you will see how many credits you have left and an Add Credits button, redirecting you to the plugin.

Any credits purchased will not expire if they aren't used. Instead, they'll simply roll-over from month to month until they are used to send a message.

Click Here to learn more about One-Time Purchases & Auto-Renew Credit Subscription for SMS Credits

Click Add More to instantly buy credits and send pending reminders (within 3 hrs). Requires a valid payment method. To avoid running out, enable Auto-Renew, which auto-replenishes credits at low balance.

Click Here to learn more about Bank Balance Settings

The Manage Credits tab also lets you control who can view SMS credit balances and receive low credit alerts (not used with Auto-Renew). By default, Headquarters Administrators see alerts, but you can grant or restrict access by access type or for individual users in the Bank Balance Settings.


✍️ Customizing SMS Templates

The SMS Appointment Reminders plugin provides a default template you can edit in Settings > Notifications > SMS Templates. Customize by adding, removing, or rephrasing text, and insert fields from Appointment, Customer, or Location using the ‘Insert Additional Info’ dropdown.

🧠 Examples of Customized Messages:

  • Just a reminder that your appointment is scheduled on {{Date}} at {{Time}} with {{Employee.displayName}}. We look forward to seeing you!

  • Your appointment is coming up! Visit our office at {{Location.address1}} at {{Time}} on {{Date}}.

⚠️ Please Note: All SMS reminders include a mandatory ‘Reply X to opt out’ line, which counts toward the character limit. After customizing, preview your message and click Update to save before leaving the page.

Click Here to learn more about Managing Templates for Multiple Locations

If your account has multiple Locations, you will want to ensure you enabled this plugin for all Locations you'd like this this feature active in within the plugin itself in the Marketplace.

You can use one SMS template for all Locations or customize each individually in the SMS Templates tab. Use Update All Locations or Update This Location as needed, and switch between Locations from the drop-down at the top of the tab.

The From Number is always shared across all Locations, regardless of the sharing setting on individual Sub-Locations.


⚙️ Reviewing Additional Settings

The Settings > Notifications > SMS Settings tab offers you control over initial settings for Customer Opt-In/Out, determines the time period at which to send the reminder and more.

🔍 Let's review each of the available SMS Settings:

Click Here to learn more about Customer Opt-In Default

You can set SMS Appointment Reminders to automatically Opt-In new Customers, whether profiles are created in Site Administration or Customer View. Phone numbers must be 10–15 digits and numeric only.


Click Here to learn more about Reminder Send Time

Set the reminder to send between 1 and 72 hours before the Appointment Start Time.

⚠️ NOTE: Keep your cancellation settings in mind when making this selection.


💬 Reminder Replies

Customers can reply ‘1’ to Confirm or ‘0’ to Cancel, updating their Appointment Status Type. Optional emails may be sent. Success responses are logged in reports and can be disabled to save credits.

🔍 Let's review the options you can enable for replies:

Click Here to learn more about Confirming an Appointment

Customers can reply ‘1’ to confirm. You may send a confirmation response, but it will use an extra credit. Leave the field blank to skip sending.


Click Here to learn more about Cancelling an Appointment

Customers can reply ‘0’ to cancel. You may send a confirmation response, but it will use an extra credit. Leave the field blank to skip sending.


Click Here to learn more about Cancellation Settings and SMS

Appointment cancellation rules still apply to SMS Reminders. If cancel replies are allowed but appointment cancellation is restricted by your settings, customers will get a denial message. Since submitting cancel reasons are not supported by SMS, businesses requiring them should disable SMS cancellations.


📡 Expanded SMS Options

Our SMS services have been expanded! We now offer the following SMS Appointment Notifications:

  • Confirmation

  • Cancellation

  • Changes

  • No Show

  • Completion of Service

⚠️ NOTE: This will be for clients who have completed the 10DLC Brand & Campaign registration through Vonage, both using our Brand & Campaign or creating their own.


❌ Disabling SMS Appointment Reminders

Click Here to learn more about how to Disable the SMS Appointment Reminders plugin

If you decide that you no longer want to send reminder messages via SMS to your Customers, you can return to the Marketplace and remove the plugin from any or all Locations.

  1. Click Marketplace.

  2. In the left-hand column, find and click SMS Appointment Reminders under Active plugins.

  3. In the plugin’s first tab, click the Locations drop-down field.

  4. Uncheck All Locations or click None.

  5. Click Update.

Upon this update, the application will:

  • Remove any queued reminders for future Appointments.

  • Cancel the from number for your account.

If in the future, you wish to reenable the plugin, your account will receive a new from number and determine if any reminders should be queued for future Appointments. This check would be based on any current Customers having previously opted in to receive SMS messages.


Frequently Asked Questions - (FAQs)

Click the arrow to view frequently asked questions

How much will the plugin cost?

Click below to see the answer

SMS Appointment Notifications use credits. Each credit equals one message (up to 160 characters). Messages longer than 160 characters use additional credits per extra part.

Here is a breakdown of cost:

Number of Credits

Cost per Credit

Total Cost

100

$0.10

$10

500

$0.08

$40

1,000

$0.07

$70

5,000

$0.06

$300

10,000

$0.05

$500


Which messages consume credits?

Click below to see the answer

Any outgoing message from the scheduling system to the Customer will consume credits. This includes the initial Reminder message and any automated or optional responses to Customer replies.


If I run out of SMS Credits, will my Customers still get their SMS Notifications?

Click below to see the answer

If a SMS Notification is scheduled to be sent when there are 0 credits left, the message will not be sent. However, any scheduled SMS Reminders after the time SMS Credits are added, will send successfully.


What phone number will my SMS Notifications come from?

Click below to see the answer

Every DaySmart Appointments client who uses SMS Notifications will be assigned a unique phone number. If an account has multiple Locations, the same phone number will be shared among all Locations.


What if a Customer tries to respond to the SMS reminder?

Click below to see the answer

Outside of the supported reply to options available, the assigned SMS phone number is a no-reply number. We suggest you include a brief note in your SMS content that lets your Customers know.


Can SMS Credits be Refunded?

Click below to see the answer

SMS credits are purchased in advance of use and cannot be refunded. Any credits consumed by messages that failed to send will be returned to the account’s credit bank.

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