Overview
Automated notifications keep customers informed about their appointments through SMS and email. Configure when and how customers receive updates, reminders, and custom messages.
Included in Business Pro, Business Flex, and Business Max
Plan | SMS Included | |
Calendar Lite | None | ✅ Included |
Business Pro | 500/month | ✅ Included |
Business Flex | 700/month | ✅ Included |
Business Max | 1,000/month | ✅ Included |
Appointment Updates
Send automatic notifications when appointments are booked, changed, or cancelled.
SMS Notifications
Send SMS notifications when appointments are booked, changed, or cancelled
Enabled - Send SMS updates
Customers receive text messages for appointment changes
Instant delivery to mobile phones
High open rates (98%+)
Best for time-sensitive updates
Disabled - No SMS notifications
No text message notifications sent
Email only (if enabled)
Use if SMS costs are a concern
Email Notifications
Send email notifications when appointments are booked, changed, or cancelled
Enabled - Send email updates
Customers receive emails for appointment changes
Includes full appointment details
Professional formatting with branding
Can be saved and referenced later
Disabled - No email notifications
No email notifications sent
SMS only (if enabled)
Rarely recommended
What Triggers Notifications?
Booked:
New appointment created
Recurring appointment instance created
Changed:
Appointment time rescheduled
Team member changed
Service added or modified
Location changed
Cancelled:
Appointment cancelled by business
Appointment cancelled by customer
Recurring series cancelled
Recommendation
Enable both SMS and email for maximum customer communication:
SMS for immediate awareness
Email for detailed information and record-keeping
Customers appreciate being informed
Reminder Settings
Send automatic reminders before appointments to reduce no-shows.
Email Reminders
Send email reminders before appointments
Enabled - Send email reminders
Automated reminder emails sent before appointments
Reduces no-shows
Professional appearance
Includes appointment details and action buttons
Disabled - No email reminders
No email reminders sent
Only SMS reminders (if enabled)
SMS Reminders
Send SMS reminders before appointments
Enabled - Send SMS reminders
Automated text message reminders sent before appointments
High open rates ensure customers see reminders
Quick and easy for customers
Reduces no-shows by 60-80%
Disabled - No SMS reminders
No SMS reminders sent
Only email reminders (if enabled)
Reminder Time
How long before the appointment to send reminders
Time Configuration:
Weeks - 0 weeks
Days - 0-7 days
Hours - 0-23 hours
Minutes - 0, 15, 30, 45
Common Settings:
2 hours - Last-minute reminder for same-day appointments
24 hours - Standard reminder (most common)
48 hours - Two-day advance notice for grooming appointments
1 week - Reminder for monthly recurring appointments
Example: If set to "2 hours", customers receive a reminder 2 hours before their appointment time.
Reminder Window Warning:
When creating or rescheduling an appointment that starts sooner than the configured Reminder Time, Petboost displays an amber warning on the booking form: "Customer won't get an automated reminder". This appears because the reminder window has already passed by the time the booking is saved, so the system cannot send a reminder before the appointment.
The warning includes an Adjust Reminder Time button that links directly to Settings > Notifications so you can shorten the reminder window if needed. This is informational only and does not block the booking.
Best Practices:
24 hours works for most businesses
Earlier reminders (2-7 days) for appointments requiring preparation
Later reminders (2-4 hours) for same-day bookings
Consider customer preferences and appointment types
Second Appointment Reminder
Send an additional reminder at a different time before the appointment, giving you two touchpoints to reduce no-shows.
How to enable:
Navigate to Settings → Notifications
Scroll to the Pre-Appointment Reminders section
Under the Second Reminder heading, enable Email Reminders (2nd) and/or SMS Reminders (2nd)
Set the Reminder Time (2nd) using the duration picker (weeks, days, hours, minutes)
Channel options:
Email Reminders (2nd) - Send a second email reminder before the appointment
SMS Reminders (2nd) - Send a second SMS reminder before the appointment (requires Business Pro or higher)
Timing configuration:
The second reminder uses the same duration picker as the first reminder, supporting:
Weeks - 0 weeks
Days - 0-7 days
Hours - 0-23 hours
Minutes - 0, 15, 30, 45
When you enable a second reminder channel without a time already set, it defaults to 1 day before the appointment.
Per-service override:
The second reminder can be configured differently for individual services. Navigate to a service's Notifications tab to override the business-level second reminder settings. This is useful when some services need closer follow-up (e.g. a full groom) while others don't (e.g. a quick nail trim).
Best practices for spacing:
48 hours + 2 hours - A heads-up two days out, then a last-minute nudge on the day
1 week + 24 hours - For longer booking lead times (e.g. monthly grooms), give an early heads-up then a final reminder
24 hours + 2 hours - Standard pairing for most businesses
Avoid setting both reminders too close together (e.g. 3 hours and 2 hours apart), as customers may find this annoying rather than helpful.
Weekly Recurring Reminders
Send reminders for recurring weekly appointments
Enabled - Remind about recurring bookings
Customers with weekly recurring appointments receive reminders
Reduces forgetting about regular appointments
Helpful for weekly training, daycare, or grooming
Disabled - No recurring reminders
No reminders for recurring appointments
Assumes customers remember their regular schedule
When to enable:
Weekly training classes
Regular daycare schedules
Weekly grooming appointments
Customers with recurring bookings
When to disable:
Customers find reminders annoying for regular appointments
Very predictable schedules
High customer retention and memory
Custom Messages
Customize notification messages for different appointment scenarios.
Pre-Appointment Banner Message
Message shown before appointment (optional)
Displayed at the top of appointment confirmation and reminder messages.
Use cases:
"Please arrive 10 minutes early for check-in"
"Bring your pet's vaccination records"
"Park in the rear parking lot"
"Call us if you're running late: 555-1234"
Best practices:
Keep it short (1-2 sentences)
Include actionable information
Update seasonally or based on current needs
Post-Appointment Thank You Message
Message shown after appointment (optional)
Displayed in the appointment completion confirmation.
Use cases:
"Thank you for visiting! We hope [Pet Name] enjoyed their service"
"Please leave us a review on Google!"
"Book your next appointment and save 10%"
"Follow us on Instagram @yourbusiness"
Best practices:
Express gratitude
Encourage reviews or referrals
Prompt for rebooking
Include social media links
Customer Note Alerts
Receive a notification when a customer adds or edits notes or attachments on their upcoming appointment through the Pet Owner App. This keeps your team informed of special requests, updated instructions, or photos sent ahead of the visit.
How It Works
When a customer adds a note or attachment to an upcoming appointment, Petboost can notify your business via email, SMS, or both. The notification includes the pet owner's name, pet name, service, appointment date, and a direct link to the appointment in your dashboard.
Email Alert
Customer Note Email Alert
Enabled (default) - Receive email alerts
Email sent to the business when a customer adds or updates notes or attachments
Includes a link to the appointment for quick review
Helpful for spotting last-minute requests or special instructions
Disabled - No email alerts for customer notes
SMS Alert
Customer Note SMS Alert
Disabled (default) - No SMS alerts for customer notes
Enabled - Receive SMS alerts
Text message sent to the business when a customer adds or updates notes
Useful if you need immediate awareness of customer messages
Uses your SMS allocation
How to Configure
Navigate to Settings → Notifications
Find the Appointment Updates section
Toggle Customer Note Email Alert and Customer Note SMS Alert independently
These settings can also be overridden per service. For example, you might enable SMS alerts for boarding appointments (where last-minute instructions matter most) but keep only email alerts for grooming.
Notification Content (SMS)
Customer note added:{{PetOwnerFirstName}} - {{PetFirstName}}'s {{ServiceLabel}} {{StartDate}}{{BusinessAppointmentLink}}Abandoned Booking Email
Petboost can automatically email your business when a customer starts a booking but does not complete it. These notifications are sent hourly so you can follow up and recover the booking.
How to Configure
Navigate to Settings → Notifications
Find the Abandoned Booking Email section
Toggle between Enabled and Disabled
When enabled, you receive an email whenever a customer begins the self-service booking process but drops off before completing it. Use this to reach out proactively and help them finish their booking.
Notification Preview
Before enabling notifications for a service, you can preview what your customers will see. The notification preview shows the exact SMS or email content with sample data, helping you verify the message is correct before it goes live.
Email Preview with Branding
For email notifications, a full-screen preview dialog lets you see the exact email your customers will receive, rendered with your business logo, brand colour, and contact details. You can:
Switch between desktop and mobile views to check how the email looks on different devices.
Select sample data (a specific pet, service, and appointment time) to see realistic content in the preview.
Verify your branding - the preview pulls your current logo, primary colour, business address, ABN, and email from your business profile settings.
To open the email preview, click the preview button next to any email notification template in Settings > Notifications. The preview uses sample data and does not send any real emails.
SMS Credit Management
Your SMS allocation depends on your plan (500/month for Business Pro, 700/month for Business Flex, 1,000/month for Business Max). For detailed information on monitoring your SMS usage, purchasing SMS Power-Up Packs, and optimising your SMS spend, see the SMS Credits guide.
Notification Best Practices
SMS vs Email
Use SMS for:
Time-sensitive updates (reminders)
Immediate attention needed
High open rates required
Short, actionable messages
Use Email for:
Detailed appointment information
Receipts and invoices
Policies and documents
Record-keeping
Use Both for:
Maximum communication effectiveness
Redundancy (if one fails, other works)
Customer preference coverage
Reminder Timing
Consider:
Service type and preparation needed
Customer travel time to location
How far in advance customers typically plan
No-show patterns (earlier reminders = fewer no-shows)
Avoid:
Too early (customers forget again)
Too late (customers can't reschedule)
Sending reminders too close together (space your first and second reminders apart, e.g. 48 hours and 2 hours)
Custom Messages
Do:
Keep messages short and clear
Include helpful, actionable information
Update messages regularly
Test messages before publishing
Use friendly, professional tone
Don't:
Write long paragraphs
Include multiple calls-to-action
Use ALL CAPS or excessive punctuation!!!
Forget to proofread
Notification Content Examples
Appointment Reminder (SMS)
{{PetFirstName}}'s {{ServiceLabel}}{{StartTime}} on {{StartDate}}{{WindowRangeDescription}}-{{BusinessName}} (no-reply)
Appointment Rescheduled (SMS)
Booking changed - {{PetFirstName}}:WAS: {{OldStartDate}} {{OldStartTime}}NOW: {{StartDate}} {{StartTime}}{{AppointmentLink}}-{{BusinessName}} (no-reply)
Appointment Cancelled (SMS)
Cancelled: {{PetFirstName}}'s {{ServiceLabel}} {{StartDate}}{{CancellationReason}}-{{BusinessName}} (no-reply)
Reminder (Email Subject)
Reminder: [Pet Name]'s appointment tomorrow at [Time]
Appointment Completed (Email)
[Pet Name]'s appointment is complete! View photos, invoice, and report card at [Link]. Thank you for visiting [Business Name]!
How Petboost Notifications Compare to MoeGo
Petboost sends 14 SMS templates and 13 email templates across the complete appointment lifecycle. Here is how the two systems compare:
What Petboost has that MoeGo doesn't:
Auto-start, auto-complete, auto-finalise, and auto-pay automation chain (MoeGo has none of these)
Payment failure SMS + email alerts to both customer and business (pre-auth declined, payment declined)
Friday weekly lookahead email for upcoming recurring bookings
Refund notification email
Separate cancellation templates for business-cancelled vs customer-cancelled
Customer note alert (SMS + email when customer adds notes)
Drop-off, running late, and pickup SMS notifications
Pre-auth heads-up email 74 hours before appointment
Abandoned booking recovery with recovery messaging
Processing fee pass-through with automatic calculation
What MoeGo has that Petboost doesn't (yet):
Multi-stage reminder chase (1st for unconfirmed, 2nd for still-unconfirmed, general for all)
Automated phone call reminders (press 1 to confirm, 2 to cancel)
Tipping screen with smart presets
Promo/discount codes with auto-apply
Email marketing campaigns with drag-and-drop editor
Per-pet custom pricing overrides
What both have:
SMS + email booking confirmations
Configurable appointment reminders
SMS confirmation reply (customers confirm by replying)
Appointment rescheduled notifications
Cancellation notifications
Vaccination expiry alerts
Bulk SMS messaging
Tips for Reducing No-Shows
Enable both SMS and email reminders - Multi-channel approach
Set reminders to 24 hours - Sweet spot for most businesses
Use pre-appointment banner messages - Reinforce commitment
Enable pre-hold funds (Automatic Actions) - Financial commitment reduces no-shows
Send weekly recurring reminders - For regular customers
Include easy cancellation/reschedule options - Better to reschedule than no-show
Common Questions
Q: Do SMS notifications cost extra?
A: SMS notifications are included in your plan at no extra charge:
Business Pro: 500 SMS/month included
Business Flex: 700 SMS/month included
Business Max: 1,000 SMS/month included
Calendar Lite: Email only (no SMS)
If you exceed your monthly allocation, SMS Power-Up Packs are available for purchase.
Q: Can customers opt out of notifications?
A: Yes, customers can reply "STOP" to SMS messages to unsubscribe. Email notifications include unsubscribe links.
Q: What if a customer doesn't receive notifications?
A: Check that their phone number and email are correct in their profile. Verify they haven't opted out. Check spam folders for emails.
Q: Can I send a notification manually?
A: Yes, you can send custom messages from individual appointments or use the broadcast messaging feature.
Q: What time are reminders sent?
A: Reminders are sent exactly [X hours/days] before the appointment time. For example, a 10 AM appointment with 24-hour reminder sends at 10 AM the day before.
Q: Can I customize notification content?
A: You can add custom banner messages. The core notification content (appointment details, etc.) is standardized for consistency.
Q: Do I get notified about customer bookings?
A: Yes, you receive notifications when customers book online. Configure these in your personal notification preferences.
Related FAQs
Have questions about notifications and communications? See these commonly asked questions:
Next Steps
Set up Automatic Actions for automated appointment workflows
Review Booking Configuration to enable online booking
Configure Policies & Paperwork for cancellation policies
Test notifications by creating a test appointment