Notifications

Notifications lists every message in the order a booking meets it: Booking Created, Booking Updates, Booking Accepted / Declined and Pre-Appointment Reminders, then the rest behind Advanced options. Each message has a switch, or names the switch it follows, and a Preview. To find one quickly, type in the search box at the top, for example "intake form".

Three things can override these switches, and the page says so at the top:

• A service keeps its own copy. You will see how many services use their own setting under a switch
• A customer's own settings, on the Settings & Overrides tab of their profile, can turn their messages off
• On a trial, reminders do not send until the trial ends

Email notifications are included on every plan. SMS is included on Business Pro, Business Flex and Business Max:

Turn on booking confirmations

Turn these on so customers hear from you as soon as a booking is made. New accounts start with them off.

1. Open Notifications.
2. Under Booking Created, switch on Email the customer: booking updates.
3. Switch on Text the customer: booking confirmation.
4. Select Preview on a message to read it as the customer receives it.
5. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

Email the customer: booking updates is one switch for every customer booking email: the booking confirmation, rescheduled, accepted, declined and cancellation emails, receipts, refunds and payment-failure emails. Your own copy of each online booking only sends while it is on too.

Text the customer: booking confirmation texts the pet owner when a booking is made. The same switch sends Text the customer: booking request received when a booking needs your approval.

Each stage lists its messages under the switches. A message marked To Pet Owner goes to the customer and one marked To Business comes to you. A message with no switch of its own shows Follows and the switch that controls it.

Text customers when a booking changes

Turn this on so customers get a text when their booking moves, its price changes, a request is accepted or declined, or it is cancelled.

1. Open Notifications.
2. Under Booking Updates, switch on Text the customer: booking changes.
3. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

Rescheduled SMS, Price Updated SMS, Accepted SMS, Declined SMS and the Cancellation SMS under Booking Cancelled all follow Text the customer: booking changes. The customer emails for the same events follow Email the customer: booking updates. New accounts start with both off.

What triggers a message

A team member change on its own does not message the customer. It emails the assigned team member when Email assigned team members is on, under Booking Created.

Set up appointment reminders

Reminders go out before each appointment to reduce no-shows.

1. Open Notifications.
2. Under Pre-Appointment Reminders, then First Reminder, switch on Email the customer: reminders, Text the customer: reminders, or both.
3. Under Reminder Time, choose how long before the appointment in Weeks, Days, Hours and Minutes.
4. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

Email the customer: reminders emails the pet owner at the Reminder Time, with the appointment details and action buttons. Text the customer: reminders texts them at the same time and needs a plan that includes SMS. With only one of them on, the customer gets only that channel. Both are the default for every service, and a service can change them on its own Notifications tab.

A text reminder due between 11pm and 4am, business time, is not sent. The email reminder still is.

Minutes go in 5-minute steps, and the line above the dropdowns shows the total, for example 1 day. With 2 hours set, customers get the reminder 2 hours before their appointment. A reminder time longer than 72 hours shows This reminder may not land in time to be effective.

Consider your customers' preferences and your appointment types when you choose.

When the reminder time has already passed

If you book or reschedule an appointment that starts sooner than the Reminder Time, a Reminders panel appears under Notify customer? on the booking form. Each reminder that can no longer go out on time shows Won't send - reminder time already passed. Turn on Send now to send that reminder when you save. If you leave it off, Petboost does not send that reminder for this booking.

Add a second reminder

A second reminder at a different time gives you two chances to prevent a no-show.

1. Open Notifications.
2. Under Pre-Appointment Reminders, then Second Reminder, switch on Email the customer: reminders (2nd), Text the customer: reminders (2nd), or both.
3. Set Reminder Time (2nd) in Weeks, Days, Hours and Minutes. Minutes go in 5-minute steps.
4. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

Text the customer: reminders (2nd) needs Business Pro or higher. When you switch either on and Reminder Time (2nd) is empty, it starts at 1 day.

A service can set its second reminder differently on its Notifications tab, which suits a service that needs closer follow-up, such as a full groom, beside one that does not, such as a quick nail trim.

Space the two apart: 48 hours and 2 hours gives a heads-up two days out and a nudge on the day, and 24 hours and 2 hours is the standard pairing. Two reminders close together, such as 3 hours and 2 hours, annoy customers more than they help.

Remind customers with daily or weekly series

Turn this on when customers with a daily or weekly series should still get reminders, such as for weekly training classes, regular daycare or weekly grooming.

1. Open Notifications.
2. Under Pre-Appointment Reminders, then Reminder Rules, switch on Reminders for frequent Daily and Weekly Recurring appointments.
3. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

It is off by default. While it is off, appointments in a series that repeats every day or every week get no reminder, on the basis that customers remember their regular schedule. A series that repeats less often, such as every two weeks, always gets reminders. Leave it off when customers find reminders annoying for regular appointments, when schedules are very predictable, or when your customers are loyal and remember.

Let customers confirm by text

Confirmation Reply (Y/N) adds a Y/N question to reminder texts, so the customer can confirm or cancel with one reply.

1. Open Notifications.
2. Under Pre-Appointment Reminders, then Reminder Rules, switch on Confirmation Reply (Y/N).
3. Edit Confirmation Message, the text added to reminder texts.
4. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

What each reply does:

• Y: the appointment stays Confirmed. Petboost texts back "Thanks! See you then." and the reply appears in Messages
• N: Petboost cancels the appointment if the customer gives at least your Change & Cancellation Notice Period. With less notice and a cancellation fee, Petboost asks them to reply Y to cancel and pay the fee, or N to keep the appointment. If Allow changes and cancellations is off, Petboost tells them to contact you and texts your business number
• No reply keeps the booking

Each text Petboost sends back uses an SMS credit.

The setting applies to the whole business. It does not change confirmation emails: use Pre-Appointment Message for those, and turn on Also add to confirmation and reminder texts if you also want that note on SMS.

Email customers before a pre-authorisation hold

Email the customer: pre-auth heads-up emails the pet owner 74 hours before the appointment, 2 hours before the pre-authorisation hold.

1. Open Notifications.
2. Under Pre-Appointment Reminders, then Reminder Rules, switch Email the customer: pre-auth heads-up on or off.
3. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

It is on by default, but a new business account starts with it off.

Email customers a Friday reminder

Email the customer: Friday reminder emails the pet owner on Friday with next week's bookings. It follows Email the customer: reminders until you change it.

1. Open Notifications.
2. Under Pre-Appointment Reminders, switch Email the customer: Friday reminder on or off.
3. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

A service can set its own Friday reminder on its Notifications tab.

Add a message to confirmations and reminders

Pre-Appointment Message is a note Petboost includes in confirmation and reminder emails and on the pet owner's booking card. It is under Custom Messages on Notifications, not on SMS.

1. Open Notifications.
2. If Custom Messages is not on screen, switch on Advanced options.
3. Enter the note in Pre-Appointment Message.
4. Optional: switch on Also add to confirmation and reminder texts to add the note to texts as well.
5. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

With Also add to confirmation and reminder texts on, Petboost adds the message to the booking confirmation text and to each reminder text, including a second reminder if that reminder is on. The page shows how many SMS segments the confirmation and the reminder would use. One emoji or other Unicode character can switch the whole text to Unicode, at 70 characters per segment, and increase the segment count.

This is not Confirmation Message, which adds a Y/N question to reminder texts only. Default notes for a service's appointments live on the service's Notes Templates tab, where only Internal Notes and the Customer-facing Notes in Business Notes are added to new bookings.

Keep the message short and clear, with helpful information and one call to action. Proofread it and test it before you publish, avoid long paragraphs, ALL CAPS and excessive punctuation, and update it regularly.

Get alerts when a customer adds a note

Petboost can tell your business when a customer adds or edits notes or attachments on an upcoming appointment in the Pet Owner App, so your team sees special requests, new instructions or photos before the visit. The alert includes the pet owner's name, the pet's name, the service, the appointment date and a link to the appointment.

1. Open Notifications.
2. Under Booking Updates, switch on Customer Note Alert (Business) to get an email.
3. Switch on Customer Note Alert SMS (Business) to get a text as well, or instead.
4. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

A new business account starts with the email off, and the text is off by default. The email helps you spot last-minute requests. The text reaches you straight away and uses your SMS allocation.

To set them for one service, open Per-Service Settings on the same page, select the service's cell on the Email you: customer note alerts or Text you: customer note alerts row, then select Save Service Settings. For example, you might text yourself for boarding, where last-minute instructions matter most, and keep email only for grooming.

The alert text reads:

Customer note added:
{{PetOwnerFirstName}} - {{PetFirstName}}'s {{ServiceLabel}} {{DateRange}}
{{BusinessAppointmentLink}}

Get a copy of each new booking

Email you: new booking copy emails your business address a confirmation addressed to your team when a customer books, reschedules, updates or cancels online, with their booking details and a link to the appointment. Text you: new booking alert texts your business number when an appointment is created.

1. Open Notifications.
2. Under Booking Created, switch Email you: new booking copy on or off.
3. Switch Text you: new booking alert on or off.
4. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

Email you: new booking copy only sends while Email the customer: booking updates is on, so turning that switch off stops both. Turning the copy off leaves the customer's confirmation emails and Text you: new booking alert unchanged. It is on by default, but a new business account starts with it off. It covers the whole business and cannot be set per service. Text you: new booking alert can be set per service.

Get an email when a payment is declined

Email you: payment declined emails your business address when a pre-authorisation or payment is declined.

1. Open Notifications.
2. If Payment Events is not on screen, switch on Advanced options.
3. Under Payment Events, switch Email you: payment declined on or off.
4. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

It is on by default, but a new business account starts with it off. The customer's copies of those emails follow Email the customer: booking updates. Payment-declined texts always send.

Get the daily run sheet

At 6:30am, business time, Petboost can email your business address the day's run sheet and text your business number a one-line summary. Nothing is sent on a day with no appointments.

1. Open Notifications.
2. If Daily Run Sheet is not on screen, switch on Advanced options, or type "daily run sheet" in the search box.
3. Under Daily Run Sheet, switch Email you: daily run sheet on or off.
4. Switch Text you: daily run sheet on or off.
5. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

The email lists every active appointment for the day, with the pet, the owner's contact details, the service, time, team member, notes, attributes, custom fields and intake form responses, each with a View button. Cancelled, declined and no-show appointments are left off. It is on by default, but a new business account starts with it off.

The text is a one-line summary of today's pets, bookings and anything that needs attention. It is off by default, needs the SMS feature and uses your SMS allowance.

Each switch works on its own: turning one off leaves the other unchanged. Both cover the whole business and cannot be set per service.

Get alerts for abandoned bookings and unfinished profiles

Petboost can email you hourly when a customer starts a booking and does not finish it, or leaves their profile unfinished.

1. Open Notifications.
2. If Abandoned Bookings & Incomplete Profiles is not on screen, switch on Advanced options.
3. Switch on Email you: abandoned bookings & unfinished profiles.
4. Optional: switch on Returning Customer Abandoned Bookings to hear when an existing customer starts a booking and does not finish.
5. Optional: switch on Abandoned Booking SMS to text your business number when a booking is abandoned.
6. Optional: switch on Auto Recovery SMS to text the customer who started the booking and did not finish, including an existing customer who drops off a rebooking.
7. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

With Email you: abandoned bookings & unfinished profiles on, you get both the abandoned-booking digest and the unfinished-profile alert. With it off, neither email is sent. A new business account starts with it off.

Abandoned Booking SMS texts your business number. Auto Recovery SMS texts the customer, except a customer who has replied STOP to your texts. It needs Communications Booster, and shows a Communications Booster badge until that add-on is on.

Intake forms

Petboost can email you when a client fills in an intake form, and email and text the pet owner when a form is sent with a booking.

1. Open Notifications.
2. If Intake Forms is not on screen, type "intake form" in the search box.
3. Switch Email you: intake form submitted on or off.
4. Switch Email the customer: intake form request and Text the customer: intake form request on or off.
5. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

With Email you: intake form submitted on, Petboost emails your business address each time a client fills in an intake form. With it off, no intake-form email is sent. Completing a form on a client's behalf does not send it.

Email the customer: intake form request and Text the customer: intake form request cover a form sent automatically with a booking. Sending a form yourself from Forms still emails and texts the client, even with these off.

All three are on by default, but a new business account starts with them off.

Completing a form on a client's behalf emails and texts them only when you tick Notify client. There is no setting to turn that off.

Set membership notifications

Membership Notifications appears on Notifications when you sell memberships.

1. Open Notifications.
2. If Membership Notifications is not on screen, switch on Advanced options.
3. Under Lifecycle, switch Welcome Email, Cancellation Confirmation and Pause / Resume Notification on or off.
4. Under Payments, switch Recurring Payment Receipt, Payment Failed (Member) and Text you: payment failed on or off.
5. Under Business Intelligence, switch Usage Threshold Alert and Weekly Membership Summary on or off.
6. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

The emails are on by default and Text you: payment failed is off, but a new business account starts with all of them off.

Turn on rebooking reminders

A rebooking reminder is a text to a customer when one of their pets is due for its next visit. It is off until you turn it on, it needs a dedicated number, and each text uses an SMS credit.

1. Open Notifications.
2. If Rebooking Reminders is not on screen, switch on Advanced options.
3. Under When to send, choose Based on previous appointment history or After a set number of weeks.
4. If you chose a set number of weeks, enter Weeks before a pet counts as due, from 1 to 104.
5. Optional: edit Message, or pick a starting point above it. Leave it blank to use the standard reminder, and keep offers and discounts out of it: those belong on a marketing send.
6. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

Reminders go out at 10am, once a day. A pet is never texted twice inside 30 days, whatever the interval says, and a pet with an upcoming booking is skipped. An owner with three pets due gets three messages. Based on previous appointment history needs at least two completed visits before it knows a pet's rhythm, and until then that pet is not messaged.

The page warns that this is a commercial message under Australian spam law. Until your dedicated number is active, nothing on the card sends.

Who receives a reminder

Reminders are on for every customer unless they turn them off. A customer's marketing choice makes no difference either way: someone who declined marketing still gets their reminder, and someone who accepted marketing has not thereby asked for reminders. Two things stop a reminder:

• The customer chose No thanks under Reminders to book again, either when booking or later in their profile
• The customer replied STOP to any message, which stops every text from your business

A customer is asked about reminders once, the first time they book with you. Yes, remind me is preselected. An existing customer is not asked again; they can change the choice at any time under Communication Preferences in their profile, and you can see it on the customer's Consent Declaration card.

Override for one service or one pet

The business setting is the default. A service can set its own cadence under Rebooking Reminders on the service's Notifications tab, and a pet can be set individually from the pet's profile with Use the business setting, Based on previous appointment history, After a set number of weeks, or Off for this pet. The most specific setting wins: a pet set to Off for this pet is never reminded, whatever the business or service says.

Vaccination expiry reminders

Petboost can email and text the pet owner before a vaccination is due. Both reminders stay off until you turn them on.

1. Open Notifications.
2. If Vaccination Expiry Reminders is not on screen, switch on Advanced options.
3. Switch on Email the customer: vaccination expiry, Text the customer: vaccination expiry, or both.
4. Optional: switch on Ask for missing certificate dates.
5. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

Petboost sends the reminder about 30 days before the expiry date. If the certificate has a Date Administered but no expiry, Petboost sends the reminder about 11 months after the Date Administered.

A certificate stored without a Date Administered or expiry, such as a photo imported from another system, gets no reminder unless Ask for missing certificate dates is on. With it on, Petboost sends one message on the channels above asking the owner to upload a complete certificate.

The text and the email button open the vaccination upload in the pet owner app.

To download every pet's vaccination row, use Quick Export: Vaccinations on Customers & Pets. See How do I check vaccination expiry dates across all pets?.

Vaccination certificate rejected

When you reject a vaccination certificate, Petboost always emails and texts the pet owner so they can re-upload. Email the customer: certificate rejected and Text the customer: certificate rejected are always on, and there is no setting to turn them off. The text and the email button open the vaccination upload.

Card expiry reminders

Email the customer: card expiry always emails the pet owner 30 days and 7 days before their saved card expires, when they have an upcoming visit or a membership still in use. There is no setting to turn it off.

Change notifications for one service

Every switch on Notifications is a default. Change a service's own copy when that service should message customers differently, such as confirming an assessment by email and nothing else.

1. Open Services, select Manage on the service, then Manage Service.
2. Choose Notifications.
3. Under Appointment Updates and Reminder Settings, switch each message the way this service needs it. The second reminder, the Friday email, recurring reminders, a custom pre-appointment message and a rebooking reminder override are under Advanced options.
4. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

Each switch shows Matches Default when the service does what the business does, and Different to Default when it has its own value and the business switch no longer reaches it. To see several services at once, open Per-Service Settings on Notifications, where you select a cell to give that service its own value and then select Save Service Settings.

Preview a notification

The preview shows the exact SMS or email with sample data, so you can check a message before it goes live.

1. Open Notifications.
2. Select Preview beside a message.
3. For an email, switch between desktop and mobile views, and choose sample data: a pet, a service and an appointment time.

The email preview renders your business logo, primary colour, business address, ABN and email from your business profile, so you can check your branding. Notification Preview at the top of the page lets you pick a service and pet for personalised examples across every message. Previews use sample data and never send a real message.

SMS credits

Your SMS allocation depends on your plan: 500 a month on Business Pro, 700 on Business Flex and 1,000 on Business Max. For monitoring your usage, buying SMS Power-Up Packs and keeping your SMS spend down, see the SMS Credits guide.

Choosing channels and timing

Use SMS for time-sensitive updates such as reminders, anything that needs immediate attention, messages that need a high open rate, and short, actionable messages. Use email for detailed appointment information, receipts and invoices, policies and documents, and record-keeping. Use both for the most effective communication, for redundancy if one channel fails, and to cover each customer's preference.

When you set reminder times, consider the service and the preparation it needs, your customers' travel time, how far ahead they usually plan and your no-show patterns: earlier reminders mean fewer no-shows. Avoid reminders so early that customers forget again, so late that they cannot reschedule, or so close together that they annoy, such as a first and second reminder less than a few hours apart.

To reduce no-shows:

1. Turn on both SMS and email reminders
2. Set reminders to 24 hours, which suits most businesses
3. Add a Pre-Appointment Message to reinforce the commitment
4. Turn on Pre-hold funds on Pricing & Payments, because a financial commitment reduces no-shows
5. Turn on Reminders for frequent Daily and Weekly Recurring appointments for regular customers
6. Make it easy to cancel or reschedule, because a reschedule is better than a no-show

Notification content examples

Appointment texts use {{DateTimeRange}} for the when line. A same-day booking shows the start date and time. A Stay booking, or any booking that ends on a later day, shows both the start and the end date and time.

When Also add to confirmation and reminder texts is on, confirmation and reminder texts include the Pre-Appointment Message on its own line. When the switch is off, that line is left out. When Confirmation Reply (Y/N) is on, the Confirmation Message goes at the end of the reminder text.

The examples end in (no-reply). Petboost adds it only when your business has no active dedicated number.

Appointment reminder (SMS)

{{PetFirstName}}'s {{ServiceLabel}}
{{DateTimeRange}}
{{WindowRangeDescription}}
{{PreAppointmentInfo}}
-{{BusinessName}} (no-reply)

Appointment rescheduled (SMS)

Booking changed - {{PetFirstName}}:
WAS: {{OldDateTimeRange}}
NOW: {{DateTimeRange}}
{{WindowRangeDescription}}
{{AppointmentLink}}
-{{BusinessName}} (no-reply)

Appointment cancelled (SMS)

Cancelled: {{PetFirstName}}'s {{ServiceLabel}} {{DateRange}}
{{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]!

Common questions

Do SMS notifications cost extra?

SMS notifications are included in your plan at no extra charge: 500 a month on Business Pro, 700 on Business Flex and 1,000 on Business Max. Calendar Lite sends email only, with no SMS. If you go over your monthly allocation, you can buy SMS Power-Up Packs.

Can customers opt out of notifications?

Yes. Customers can reply STOP to a text to unsubscribe, and emails include an unsubscribe link.

What if a customer doesn't receive notifications?

Check that their phone number and email are correct in their profile, and that they have not opted out. Ask them to check their spam folder for emails.

Can I send a notification manually?

Yes. You can send a message from an individual appointment, or use broadcast messaging.

What time are reminders sent?

Petboost checks for due reminders every 15 minutes, so a reminder goes out within 15 minutes after its reminder time. For example, a 10 AM appointment with a 24-hour reminder sends between 10:00 and 10:15 AM the day before. A text reminder due between 11pm and 4am, business time, is not sent; the email still is.

Can I customise notification content?

You can add a Pre-Appointment Message, edit the Confirmation Message, and edit the rebooking reminder Message. The rest of each template is fixed.

Do I get notified about customer bookings?

Yes. Under Booking Created, Email you: new booking copy emails your business address a confirmation addressed to your team when a customer books, reschedules, updates or cancels online, and Text you: new booking alert texts your business number when an appointment is created.

Related FAQs

Have questions about notifications and communications? See these commonly asked questions:

• What notification channels does Petboost support?
• Why didn't my customer receive an SMS?
• Why didn't my customer receive an email?
• Can customers opt out of SMS?
• What's the best reminder timing?

Next steps

• Set up Automatic Actions for automated appointment workflows
• Review Booking Settings to turn on online booking
• Configure Policies & Paperwork for cancellation policies
• Test notifications by creating a test appointment