Booking Reminders
Reminders reduce forgetful customers and so reduce no-shows. Etalasse sends two kinds of booking messages: schedule reminders and change notifications.
WhatsApp reminder the day before
The day before the appointment, customers can receive a WhatsApp reminder with the name, service, date, time, and shop. For timed services the time shown is the start time the customer picked.
- the reminder uses a WhatsApp template approved by Meta and your plan's WhatsApp quota
- bookings that are canceled or marked no-show are no longer sent reminders
- the time follows the shop time zone
Showing staff and balance
You can use extra placeholders in free-form reminder text (not the Meta template): {staff} for the staff member's name, {deposit} for the deposit paid, and {balance} for the balance due. These cannot go into the Meta-approved template because its number of variables is fixed.
To send staff and balance over official WhatsApp, a new seven-variable template approved by Meta is needed, and an Etalasse operator must switch it on. Until then, the WhatsApp reminder keeps using the five standard variables. Contact Etalasse support if you need it.
Custom reminder schedule
Besides the standard day-before reminder, Booking shops can choose when reminders are sent. Open Booking Settings → Reminders section:
| Setting | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Custom reminder schedule | off | off: the day-before WhatsApp reminder above applies and nothing else. On: you choose the schedule |
| Remind the provider too | off | also remind the service provider (see below) |
With the custom schedule on, add 1 to 4 times, each a number plus a unit (minutes, hours, or days), from 1 minute to 7 days, with no duplicates. Quick-add chips offer 1 day, 2 hours, 1 hour, and 30 minutes. The list is shown largest first. One reminder is sent per time, to the customer. Turning the switch off returns the shop to the standard day-before reminder.
Turning the custom schedule on replaces the standard day-before WhatsApp reminder, so customers never get double reminders.
Who gets a reminder
Only confirmed bookings: active bookings with an order that is Paid, On delivery, or Delivered. Bookings awaiting payment, canceled, expired, marked no-show, or completed get nothing. All-day sessions (no start time) get no reminders from this schedule.
Customer channels
| Channel | Requirement |
|---|---|
| a valid email address and your plan's email quota | |
| Push notification | the customer has a registered device |
| the Booking Reminder (H-1) automation in WhatsApp Automations is on and your plan's WhatsApp quota is available. WhatsApp reminders other than the day-before one need an extra template set up by the Etalasse operator |
The message includes the service, date, time (with a time-zone label), provider, and the location or meeting link when there is one (see Service Location). Empty parts are left out.
WhatsApp reminders other than the day-before one use a template that Meta must approve and the Etalasse operator must switch on. Until then your schedule still runs by email and push, and WhatsApp is sent only for the 1 day time (using the existing day-before message). Free-text WhatsApp only reaches customers inside Meta's 24-hour window. Contact Etalasse support if you need this.
Timing rules
- a reminder is sent when its time arrives and only if it is not too late. A booking made 3 hours before the session does not get the 1-day reminder, and a reminder missed because of an outage is not sent late
- each reminder is sent once; a failed send is tried up to 3 times in total
- rescheduling re-arms every reminder for the new time
- the check runs every 5 minutes, so a reminder can arrive a few minutes from its exact time
- times follow the shop time zone
Provider reminders
Turn on Remind the provider too to remind the service provider too. The times are the same as the customer schedule; when the custom schedule is off, the provider is reminded 1 day before.
| Case | Who is reminded | Channels |
|---|---|---|
| Multivendor shop and the service belongs to a seller | the seller | email, and WhatsApp when the provider template is active. The merchant is not reminded |
| Otherwise | You or the assigned booking staff | in-app notification and push to the shop's devices, plus WhatsApp to the booking staff when their number is filled in and the provider template is active |
Booking confirmation
When an order with a timed booking is paid, the customer receives a Booking confirmed message with the service, schedule, provider, and location or link, instead of the generic "Your order is being processed" on email and push. This applies to all Booking shops with no setting. Channels, recipients, and quotas are unchanged, and WhatsApp keeps the old message until the operator activates the confirmation template.
Change notifications
| Event | Who is notified |
|---|---|
| Customer reschedules | You (notification bell, devices, and push) |
| Merchant reschedules | The customer (in-app notification) |
| Customer cancels | You |
| Merchant cancels | The customer |
| Deposit refunded | The customer (email or push, per notification settings). WhatsApp is opt-in |
| Marked no-show | The customer (in-app notification) |
| Booking completed, order not yet delivered | The customer (in-app notification) |
| A seller completes, reschedules, or marks no-show | The customer and you |
There are no new notification settings to configure: these use the channels you already have.
Tips
- turn on WhatsApp reminders and make sure customers' phone numbers are filled in
- combine reminders with a deposit: reminders prevent forgetting, deposits prevent casual bookings
- use deposits for expensive or limited-slot services