# Appointment reminders that cut no-shows

> An appointment reminder is a message sent before a booking so the person turns up. In the new Vonza Scheduling every meeting starts with a confirmation, a reminder and a follow-up email; you add more reminders by minutes, hours or days before, or at a set time the day before, and switch on text reminders from your SMS allowance.

## What is an appointment reminder?

An appointment reminder is a message that goes out automatically before a booked time, by email or text, with the date, the time in the booker’s zone, the place or joining link and a way to reschedule or cancel. It exists to stop no-shows.

In Vonza, reminders are part of a meeting’s notifications. Each meeting comes with a default set, called “Basic Notification” in the app: a confirmation (“Sent right after a booking, with the calendar links, the reschedule and cancel links and your policy.”), a reminder and a follow-up. You edit the From name, Reply-to, Subject and body, insert details with Add Variable, and add a Cancellation policy note.

Reminders are tied to the booking, not to a list. When a client reschedules, the older reminders fall silent and new ones are set for the new time; a cancelled booking never gets a reminder.

**When a reminder can go out**

| Timing | How you set it | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A fixed time before | Minutes, hours or days before the start, up to 60 days | 24 hours before; 2 days before |
| A set clock time | Day(s) before at a time you choose, in the host’s time zone, up to 30 days ahead | The day before at 6:00 PM |
| After the meeting | A follow-up a set time after the end | 1 hour after, with a thank-you and a link to book again |
| Feedback rating | Right after it ends, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours or the next day | A 1 to 5 rating email the next morning |

## How to set up appointment reminders on Vonza

Four steps in the new Scheduling.

1. **Open the meeting’s notifications**: Every meeting starts with confirmation, reminder and follow-up emails. Open one to change the From name, Reply-to, Subject and body; Add Variable drops in the booker’s details, and Write with AI drafts the text (uses AI credits).
2. **Add more reminders**: Press Add Another Reminder and choose the timing: minutes, hours or days before the meeting, or Day(s) before at a time in your zone. Tick Also send a copy to me to get the same reminder in your own time zone.
3. **Switch on text reminders**: Go to Booking settings › Text reminders, turn it on and pick the countries you text. Then give any reminder an SMS text of up to 700 characters; a built-in text is used when a notification has none. Messages come out of your SMS marketing allowance.
4. **Test, then let it run**: Send test to me and Text me a test show exactly what the client gets (five tests a minute; texts count against your quota). Add the feedback rating email if you want a 1 to 5 score, and mute notifications on any meeting that should stay quiet.

## Every reminder a booking needs

Email, text, feedback and the follow-up, all tied to the booking.

- **Confirmation on booking**: Sent right after a booking with the calendar links, the reschedule and cancel links and your policy.
- **Reminders on your timing**: Minutes, hours or days before (up to 60 days), or the day before at a set time in your zone (up to 30 days).
- **Text reminders**: An SMS text of up to 700 characters per reminder, sent while Text reminders is on, from your SMS marketing allowance.
- **Follow-up after the end**: A follow-up email a set time after the meeting ends, for notes, homework or the next booking link.
- **A feedback rating**: A 1 to 5 rating email right after the meeting, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours or the next day; Poor to Excellent, averaged on Analytics.
- **A copy for the host**: Also send a copy to me puts the same reminder in your inbox, in your time zone; CC up to five team emails.
- **Reschedules handled**: A moved booking silences the old reminders and sets new ones; a cancelled booking never gets a reminder.
- **Posts to your team channel**: New, rescheduled and cancelled bookings posted to a Slack, Discord or Microsoft Teams channel.

## Limits, stated plainly

What reminders need, and what they do not do.

- **Text reminders need an SMS allowance**: Texts go out only while Booking settings › Text reminders is on and your plan has SMS. Otherwise the app says “SMS isn’t in your plan, so reminder texts are not sent.” or “SMS limit reached.” The SMS text marketing page explains the allowance.
- **Texts are one-way**: A reminder text is sent; a reply is not read by Scheduling. Put a phone number or a reply-to email in the text for questions.
- **Emails are in English**: The booking page can be shown in 88 languages, but notification emails stay in English. You can rewrite the body of every notification yourself.
- **Wall-clock reminders and the host copy are in the new Scheduling**: Classic meetings send reminders a fixed time before; “Day(s) before at a time” and Also send a copy to me are new-module settings, visible after you opt in.

## Who relies on appointment reminders

Anyone whose empty slot cannot be resold at short notice.

- [Coaches](https://vonza.com/scheduling-for-coaches): A reminder the day before at 6 PM and a text two hours before, so a client who booked a month ago turns up.
- [Tutors](https://vonza.com/scheduling-for-tutors): Reminders to the parent’s email and phone, and a follow-up with the homework after each lesson.
- [Consultants](https://vonza.com/scheduling-for-consultants): A confirmation that carries your policy, a reminder with the joining link, a feedback rating after the call.
- [Churches](https://vonza.com/scheduling-for-churches): Counselling and pastoral visits booked weeks ahead, with reminders that follow the time when it moves.

## Related pages

The rest of Vonza Scheduling, and the SMS allowance reminders draw on.

- [Appointment scheduling](https://vonza.com/appointment-scheduling): The whole booking module: meeting types, templates, rules, questions, design and sharing.
- [SMS text marketing](https://vonza.com/vonza-sms-text-marketing): Where the SMS allowance that reminder texts draw on comes from.
- [Automations](https://vonza.com/automations): Build your own reminder flow: Before the meeting starts, Wait, Email the invitee, Text the invitee.
- [Paid appointments](https://vonza.com/paid-appointments): Prices per length, deposits and session packs, with the reminders attached to each booking.
- [Recurring appointments](https://vonza.com/recurring-appointments): A series of up to 12 sessions, each with its own reminders.
- [Team scheduling](https://vonza.com/team-scheduling): Round robin and collective meetings for a team of hosts.
- [Pricing](https://vonza.com/pricing): Which plans carry an SMS allowance, and the 14-day free trial.

## Questions about appointment reminders

### Does Vonza send appointment reminders automatically?

Yes. Every meeting in the new Vonza Scheduling starts with a confirmation, a reminder and a follow-up email, on by default. You can edit each one, add more reminders and switch on text reminders. Scheduling is included in every Vonza plan, with a 14-day free trial.

### How far ahead can a reminder be sent?

A reminder set in minutes, hours or days before the meeting can be up to 60 days ahead. A reminder set at a clock time (“Day(s) before at 6:00 PM, host time”) can be up to 30 days ahead. A follow-up is sent a set time after the meeting ends.

### Can I send text message reminders?

Yes, when Booking settings › Text reminders is on and your plan has an SMS allowance. Give a reminder an SMS text of up to 700 characters, or let the built-in text go out, to numbers in the countries you pick. If the plan has no SMS or the limit is reached, the email still goes and the text does not.

### What happens to reminders when a client reschedules or cancels?

A rescheduled booking silences the reminders for the old time and sets new ones for the new time. A cancelled booking never receives a reminder. Clients reschedule or cancel from the links in their confirmation, within the deadline you set on the meeting.

### Can I ask for feedback after the appointment?

Yes. Turn on the after-meeting feedback email and choose when it goes: right after the meeting ends, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours later or the next day. Clients give a 1 to 5 rating, from Poor to Excellent, and Analytics shows the average and spread.

### Can I get a copy of the reminder myself?

Yes. Tick Also send a copy to me on a reminder and it arrives in your inbox at the same moment, with the time shown in your zone. You can also CC up to five team email addresses on a meeting’s notifications.

### Can I build a different reminder flow with automations?

Yes. Scheduling › Automations has triggers such as Before the meeting starts, After the meeting ends and Marked as no-show, with steps to wait, email or text the invitee or the host, tag the contact or send a webhook, up to 20 steps.