Common questions about notifications, SMS, email, and customer communications in Petboost.

Petboost uses three main communication channels:

Each channel serves a different purpose:

Petboost sends 14 SMS templates and 13 email templates across the complete appointment lifecycle. The Control column names the switch in Settings > Notifications that controls each message. New accounts start with Email the customer: booking updates off, so booking confirmation, accepted, declined, receipt, cancellation and refund emails go out only after you turn it on. Here is the full notification matrix:

Booking Created Stage:

Booking Response Stage:

Pre-Appointment Stage:

Payment Stage:

Cancellation Stage:

Post-Appointment Stage:

Staff-Triggered Notifications:

Configure all notification settings in Settings, then Notifications. Each setting can also be overridden per service.

Standard notifications (included in Business Pro, Flex and Max) are one-way automated messages. Your customers receive SMS reminders, payment alerts, and booking confirmations, but they cannot reply directly.

Communications Booster (optional add-on for Business Pro, Flex and Max) upgrades your SMS to a full two-way communication channel:

In short: standard notifications keep your customers informed automatically. Communications Booster lets you have real conversations with them, just like texting from your phone, but managed from your Petboost dashboard.

See Communications Booster and 2-Way SMS for full details.

Automated notifications in Petboost are fired by specific events, not on a fixed schedule. Here is a breakdown of what triggers each message:

Time-based triggers (fire at a scheduled time relative to the appointment):

Event-based triggers (fire immediately when the event occurs):

Staff-triggered (manual, from the appointment screen):

All configurable notifications can be toggled on or off in Settings, then Notifications, and many can be overridden per service.

You need Communications Booster (available as an add-on for Business Pro, Flex and Max plans) to send a manual SMS to an individual customer. Standard notifications are automated only and do not support ad-hoc messaging.

Step-by-step:

Important details:

Without Communications Booster, you can still trigger manual notifications from an appointment (drop off, ready for pickup, running late) using the appointment's Manage dropdown, but you cannot compose a free-text message.

The phone number customers see depends on your setup:

Without Communications Booster: Automated SMS (reminders, payment alerts) are sent from a shared sender ID. The number that appears on the customer's phone is a Petboost system number, not your personal or business number. Customers cannot reply to these messages.

With Communications Booster: After you verify your business, you receive a dedicated Australian mobile number (+61). This number appears on all outbound SMS from your Communications Booster inbox, and customers can save it as your business number. Automated messages sent via the Communications Booster channel also show this dedicated number.

To update your business contact details (the phone number shown in email footers, booking confirmations, and your customer portal):

This business phone number is for display purposes in emails and your portal. It does not change the SMS sender number, which is controlled by whether you have Communications Booster active.

SMS is included in your plan at no extra charge up to your monthly allocation:

Each outbound SMS uses 1 credit, however long it is. Inbound messages (customer replies via Communications Booster) are always free.

If you exceed your monthly allocation, SMS Power-Up Packs are available for purchase:

Pack credits never expire and can be set to auto top-up when your balance runs out. Credits from packs are pooled with your plan's included SMS and any Communications Booster credits. Plan allocation credits that go unused do not roll over to the next month.

Check your usage in Billing.

See SMS Credits and Usage for full details.

Common reasons your credits may be depleting faster than expected:

Message length does not change the count: a long message or one with emojis still uses 1 credit.

How to reduce credit usage:

Check Settings > SMS > SMS Usage Breakdown to see what is using credits.

Common reasons SMS may not be delivered:

Troubleshooting steps:

That is SMS-provider traffic, not a client conversation. Login and phone-verification codes can land in Messages after an SMS provider change. You can ignore it. Do not reply to it as if it were a customer.

Automated reminders and real client replies still appear in the same inbox when you have Communications Booster. A six-digit "Your verification code is" line from TWVerify (or similar) is not one of those.

It depends on whether you have Communications Booster:

Without Communications Booster: No. Automated SMS (reminders, payment alerts, booking confirmations) are sent from a shared sender ID. If a customer replies, the reply is not received by your business. The automated messages include "(no-reply)" in the sender label to set this expectation.

With Communications Booster: Yes. Automated messages sent via your dedicated Communications Booster number appear in the customer's conversation thread. If the customer replies to an automated reminder, the reply arrives in your Messages inbox and your team can respond. This is one of the key benefits of Communications Booster, as customers can ask questions about their upcoming appointment directly by replying to the reminder.

Special case: SMS Confirmation Reply. Confirmation Reply (Y/N) under Reminder Rules on Settings → Notifications adds a reply prompt to SMS reminders. It needs an active dedicated number (Communications Booster) and applies to the whole business. A Y reply keeps the appointment Confirmed, and Petboost texts back "Thanks! See you then." An N reply can cancel the appointment, subject to your change and cancellation policy.

Yes, customers can opt out by replying "STOP" to any SMS.

When opted out:

Important distinctions:

Staff can also turn off reminder and update texts for a specific customer on the Settings & Overrides tab of their profile.

You can disable SMS notifications for an individual customer from their profile:

The changed row shows Different to default, and What they receive today at the top of the tab shows the result. A customer's setting takes precedence over your business and service settings. The Communication Preferences card on the same tab covers marketing and rebooking reminders only.

When SMS is turned off for a customer:

Alternative: Disable reminders for a specific service if you want to turn off reminders for a service type rather than for a specific customer:

This is useful for same-day bookings, recurring appointments where customers already know, or VIP services with custom communication arrangements.

SMS messages may queue temporarily when:

Usually resolves within minutes. If messages remain queued for more than an hour, check your SMS credit balance (messages will queue if credits are depleted mid-send). If credits are available and messages remain queued for several hours, contact support.

Yes! With the Communications Booster add-on (available for Business Pro, Flex and Max plans):

How to get started:

Without Communications Booster, SMS notifications are one-way (reminders, alerts, payment links).

See Communications Booster and 2-Way SMS for full setup instructions.

Two-way SMS requires the Communications Booster add-on. Here is how to get set up from scratch:

Step 1: Check your plan. Communications Booster is available for Business Pro, Flex and Max plans. If you are on Calendar Lite, you will need to upgrade first.

Step 2: Activate Communications Booster.

Step 3: Start messaging.

Once your verification is approved and your dedicated number is live:

What to expect:

Top-up packs for businesses that need more SMS credits beyond their plan allocation:

Pack credits never expire and can be set to auto top-up when your balance runs out. Credits from packs are pooled with your plan's included SMS and any Communications Booster credits.

See SMS Credits and Usage for full details on credit management, auto top-up configuration, and usage monitoring.

No, you can only message existing pet owner customers in your Petboost account. Communications Booster is for customer conversations, not cold outreach or marketing blasts. Each conversation thread is linked to a customer profile.

Petboost includes Bulk 1-Way SMS for sending a single message to many customers at once. Here is how to send one:

Step-by-step:

After sending: View delivery tracking in the send history, including per-recipient status (sent, delivered, failed, skipped).

Important: Always include your business name in the message text, as recipients see a shared sender ID. Test by sending to yourself first.

See Bulk SMS: Announcements and Marketing for full details.

Yes! Petboost includes Bulk 1-Way SMS with two modes:

Marketing SMS respects customer consent preferences. Customers who have opted out of marketing communications will be automatically skipped. Business announcements are sent to all selected recipients.

Recipients without a valid mobile number on file are also skipped. The send summary shows exactly how many recipients will receive the message and how many are being excluded (and why) before you confirm.

Each pet owner has a marketing consent preference visible in their profile. Customers can opt in or out of marketing communications. When you send a Marketing SMS via bulk send, only recipients with active consent receive the message.

Transactional messages (reminders, payment alerts) are not affected by marketing consent preferences - these are operational messages required for the services your customers have booked.

Consent can be updated by:

See Communication Preferences and Consent for full details.

Before sending a bulk SMS, Petboost analyses the message content for compliance issues. This helps ensure your messages meet Australian Spam Act 2003 requirements and don't contain content that could be flagged by carriers. If any issues are detected, you will see a warning with guidance on how to adjust your message before sending.

Yes, with Communications Booster. When Confirmation Reply (Y/N) is on under Reminder Rules on Settings → Notifications, SMS reminders include the Confirmation Message prompt. The setting applies to the whole business and needs an active dedicated number. A Y reply keeps the appointment Confirmed and appears in Messages. Inbound confirmation replies from customers are free (no credit cost). Each text Petboost sends back uses an SMS credit.

This is one of the most common support questions. Here is a systematic diagnostic checklist:

Step 1: Check the customer's email address.
Open the customer's profile in Customers & Pets and verify the email address is correct. Look for common typos: .con instead of .com, missing characters, extra spaces.

Step 2: Ask the customer to check spam/junk folders.
Email providers (especially Gmail and Outlook) frequently filter messages from new senders. Ask the customer to:

Step 3: Check the communication log.
Open the customer's profile and view the communication history. Look for:

Step 4: Verify notification settings.
Go to Settings, then Notifications and confirm that booking confirmation emails are enabled. Also check the specific service's settings, as notification preferences can be overridden per service.

Step 5: Check Google Calendar invitation settings.
If the missing notification is a calendar invitation, the customer's Google Calendar may be set to hide invitations from unknown senders. Share the instructions from Ensuring Petboost Emails Arrive with your customer.

Step 6: Resend the confirmation.
Open the appointment, click the Manage dropdown, and select Resend to send the confirmation again.

Long-term fix: Ask the customer to add [email protected] to their contacts. This tells Gmail, Outlook, and other providers to always deliver Petboost emails to the inbox. See Ensuring Petboost Emails Arrive for step-by-step instructions you can share with customers.

Common reasons emails may not arrive:

Ask customers to:

See Ensuring Petboost Emails Arrive for detailed instructions per email provider that you can share directly with customers.

Partially. Petboost provides structured SMS templates that include your business name, pet name, service details, and appointment times automatically via template variables (e.g. {{PetFirstName}}, {{ServiceLabel}}, {{StartTime}}).

What you can customise:

What you cannot customise:

Custom email templates are not currently available for individual businesses. If you have specific template requirements, contact support to discuss your needs.

Partially customisable elements:

Standard templates include:

Custom email templates are not currently available. Contact support for specific requirements.

Petboost only sends transactional emails (appointment confirmations, reminders, receipts). These cannot be unsubscribed as they contain essential appointment and payment information required for the services your customer has booked.

Petboost does not send marketing emails on your behalf. For marketing, Petboost provides email templates that open in your own email client for you to review and send manually, or you can use Bulk SMS for marketing messages with built-in consent management.

Recommended settings for most businesses:

Adjust based on:

Common configurations by business type:

Yes, reminder settings can be configured per service:

This is useful for:

Yes, automated reminders are sent based on appointment timing, not business hours.

If an appointment is on Monday morning, the 24-hour reminder sends on Sunday morning. Reminders do not skip weekends or public holidays. This is by design, as customers need to receive the reminder regardless of the day of the week to reduce no-shows.

Yes, you can resend any notification for a specific appointment:

This is useful when:

Note: Resending uses 1 SMS credit per SMS sent. The resent message appears in the customer's communication log.

If you have Communications Booster, you can also send a free-text message to the customer from the Messages tab, which gives you more flexibility than resending the standard template.

View notification preferences in the customer profile:

What you will see:

You can also check during a bulk SMS send. When composing a Marketing SMS, the recipient selection screen shows how many recipients have marketing consent and how many will be skipped.

Quick check from the communication log: If a customer's recent messages show "skipped - opted out" in the delivery status, they have opted out.

Only the customer can re-opt in to SMS.

If a customer wants to receive SMS notifications again:

For marketing consent specifically, your team can update a customer's marketing consent status from their profile (Communication Preferences section). However, SMS delivery opt-outs (where the customer replied STOP) can only be reversed by the customer themselves replying START.

Staff cannot override a customer's SMS delivery opt-out for compliance with Australian telecommunications regulations.

Yes, communication history is logged per customer:

If you have Communications Booster, the Messages tab also shows the full conversation thread with that customer, including both automated and manual messages in chronological order.

Common failure reasons:

Check these in order:

This usually means:

Solution:

Yes, you can resend communications:

Manual messages can also be sent from the customer's profile for non-appointment communications, and from the Messages tab if you have Communications Booster.

Staff-triggered notifications (drop off, ready for pickup, running late) are always manual and are sent from the appointment screen by your team.

Need help? Contact support or click the "Get Help" button in your dashboard to chat with our team.