Appointment reminder texts you can copy, by trade.

What every reminder needs

Every template below follows the same order, because the customer reads the first line in the notification and may never open the rest:

• Your business name, first. The customer may not have your number saved.
• The day and time, written the way people say it: "Thursday 14 March at 3.30pm", not "14/03 15:30".
• Where, if it is not obvious, plus anything about the door or parking.
• What to bring or do beforehand, if anything.
• How to move or cancel: a link from your booking tool, or "reply here".
• How to stop texts, in the first reminder and every so often after that.

The base template:

"Harbour Dental: reminder of your appointment on Thursday 14 March at 3.30pm. To move or cancel: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out."

Everything in brackets comes from your booking tool's placeholders. Fill in a real example with the longest customer name you have before you judge the length.

When to send each one

The day before is the right default for most appointments: close enough to remember, early enough to refill the slot if they cancel. Add an earlier reminder, two or three days ahead, when:

• The appointment is long or costly, such as a colour and cut, a long treatment or a full-day job, so a cancellation needs more notice to fill.
• The customer has to prepare: fasting before a procedure, clearing a room for a carpet fitter, gathering papers for an accountant.
• It was booked weeks ago.

Send a same-day text only when it adds something, such as the engineer's arrival time or a reminder for an early class.

Match the reminder to your cancellation rule. If you need 24 hours' notice to cancel, the reminder has to arrive before that point, or it only tells the customer they are too late. How to write a cancellation policy covers the rule itself.

Send in the customer's time zone, in daytime hours. A reminder at 6am annoys the person it was meant to help.

Keep it to one text

A single text holds 160 plain characters. One emoji, or a curly apostrophe pasted from a word processor, switches the whole text to a character set that holds 70, so a message just over that splits into two or three parts, each one charged.

• Type templates straight into your booking tool, or paste them as plain text.
• Use straight apostrophes and quotes, and no emoji.
• Use your booking tool's own link for managing the booking.
• Write dates and times in full, the way people scan them.

Then send each template to your own phone and look at it on the lock screen, where many customers will first see it.

Dental, medical and physio clinics

Health reminders carry one extra rule: say when and where, never what for. A text can be read on a locked screen, by a partner or by a colleague. HHS guidance under HIPAA allows appointment reminders, and its advice on phone messages is to leave only what is needed to confirm the appointment. The same logic fits a text, and in Europe the GDPR treats health information as a special category, which points the same way.

• Dental clinic: "Harbour Dental: reminder of your appointment tomorrow at 3.30pm with Dr Shah. To move it: [link] or call us. Reply STOP to opt out."
• Physiotherapy clinic: "Riverside Physio: see you tomorrow at 10am. Please wear loose clothing. To move it: [link]"
• Clinic with preparation: "Parkway Clinic: your appointment is on Monday 3 June at 8.15am. Please follow the instructions we gave you. Questions: call us. To move it: [link]"
• Vet clinic: "Elm Vets: Bella's appointment is tomorrow at 4.40pm. Please bring her vaccination card. To move it: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out."

Leave out the treatment, the condition, results, prices and any department name that gives the reason away. The sender name can say a lot on its own: a general practice name is fine, while a fertility or oncology clinic should use a neutral one.

"Reply YES to confirm" is fine if someone reads the replies and offers the slot to another patient after a no.

Salons, barbers and spas

• Hair salon: "Harbour Hair: see you Saturday at 11am with Jess for colour and cut, about 2.5 hours. Need to move it? Free until Thursday 11am: [link]"
• Barber: "Fade Room: your cut is tomorrow at 5.15pm with Marco. Can't make it? Rebook here: [link]"
• Spa: "Willow Spa: your massage is on Friday at 2pm. Please arrive 10 minutes early to fill in a short form. Changes: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out."
• Patch test: "Harbour Hair: please pop in for your patch test before Thursday. It takes five minutes and needs no booking."

If you take deposits or charge for late cancellations, put the cut-off in the reminder in plain words. A fee the reminder warned about is easier to accept than one the customer meets for the first time on their card. The salons and spas page covers the patch test checks and waiting lists a salon can automate around these texts.

Trades and home visits

For work at someone's home, the reminder is about access: who is coming, when, and what the customer needs to do.

• Plumber: "Brightwater Plumbing: Dan will visit tomorrow between 8am and 10am to look at the leak. Please clear the cupboard under the sink. To move it, reply here."
• On the way: "Volt Electrical: Sam is on the way and should be with you by 1.40pm."
• Cleaning company: "Brightside Cleaning: your clean is on Wednesday from 9am. Please leave the key as agreed and keep pets in one room. Changes by Monday 5pm: [link]"
• Pest control: "Shield Pest Control: your treatment visit is on Friday at 9am. Please empty the kitchen cupboards and keep pets out of the kitchen. Questions: reply here."

Give an arrival window you can keep, and text when it slips. A short "on the way" text on the day saves a call asking where you are. The home services page covers the rest of what a trade business automates.

Accountants, lawyers and consultants

Meetings need the link or the address and what to bring. Keep the subject of the matter out of the text.

• Accountant: "Lane Accounts: your meeting with Mark is on Tuesday at 2pm. Please bring or upload the documents on your checklist first: [link]. To move it, reply here."
• Law firm: "Hollis Law: reminder of your call with Rachel Hollis on Wednesday at 11am. She will ring you on this number. To move it: [link]"
• Coach or consultant: "Clara Byrne Coaching: our session is tomorrow at 7pm. Join here: [link]. Need another time? Reply here."

Leave out the type of legal matter, sums owed and anything a person reading over the customer's shoulder should not see.

Fitness classes, tutoring and lessons

• Fitness class: "Core Studio: you are booked into Reformer Pilates tomorrow at 7am. Cancel by 9pm tonight to keep your credit: [link]"
• Personal training: "PT with Leon: see you Thursday at 6pm at the park gate. Bring water and a mat."
• Tutoring, sent to the parent: "Bright Minds Tutoring: Amir's maths lesson is on Monday at 4.30pm with Ms Cole. To move it, reply here by Sunday."
• Driving lesson: "Ace Driving: lesson tomorrow at 8am, pick-up from home. Bring your licence."

For children, text the parent, use the child's first name only, and check a new number belongs to the parent before you send it a lesson time and place.

Garages and car dealerships

• Garage service: "Station Road Garage: your car is booked in for its service on Tuesday at 8.30am. Please bring the locking wheel nut key. Ready from 4pm. Changes: reply here."
• Ready to collect: "Station Road Garage: your car is ready to collect. We are open until 6pm."
• Dealership test drive: "Parkside Motors: your test drive is on Saturday at 10am. Please bring your driving licence and ask for Ben at the front desk."

Restaurants, venues and hotels

• Restaurant: "Olive and Vine: table for 4 tomorrow at 7.30pm. Running late or need to change? Reply here, or cancel at [link]."
• Venue viewing: "The Old Granary: looking forward to showing you round on Saturday at 11am. Park in the main yard and ring the bell at the barn door."
• Hotel: "Harbour House: we look forward to welcoming you on Friday. Check-in is from 3pm. Reply here with your arrival time or any requests."

For a large table or an event, send the earlier reminder too. A party of ten that drops to six is easier to plan for two days ahead than at the door.

Weekly visits, courses and the confirmation before them

Recurring bookings need a lighter touch. A customer with a clean every Wednesday does not need a full reminder every week, but does need to hear when something changes:

• Weekly clean: "Brightside Cleaning: no change this week, Maria is with you on Wednesday from 9am as usual. To skip a week: [link]"
• A change to the usual pattern: "Brightside Cleaning: next week's clean moves to Thursday because of the bank holiday. Reply here if Thursday does not work."
• A course of treatment: "Riverside Physio: your next session is on Monday at 10am, the fourth of six. To move it: [link]"

Every reminder works better when the confirmation sent at booking was clear. Send it straight away, with the details the reminder will not repeat:

"Harbour Hair: you are booked for colour and cut with Jess on Saturday 12 April at 11am. Free to move until Thursday 11am: [link]. We will text you a reminder the day before. Reply STOP to opt out."

Handle the replies and the no-shows

Customers answer reminders. Plan for what they send:

• "Can I come at 4 instead?" needs a person, so send reminders from a number someone reads.
• "YES" to a confirmation request should mark the booking confirmed, if you asked for one.
• STOP should stop every text from every tool, at once.
• "Wrong number" means remove it, not ignore it.

Three more texts worth writing once:

• Missed appointment: "Harbour Dental: we missed you today. Would you like a new time? Reply here or book at [link]."
• Waiting list: "Harbour Hair: a 2pm slot with Jess has come free today. Reply YES within the hour and it is yours."
• Cancellation received: "Harbour Hair: your Saturday appointment is cancelled. Book again any time: [link]"

Consent and the opt-out line

Reminders about a booking the customer made are informational texts, and giving you their number for that booking generally covers texts about it. Say so at booking anyway, and keep offers out of reminders: an offer turns a reminder into a marketing text, which needs written consent. The detail is in text message consent rules.

Add "Reply STOP to opt out" to the first reminder and every so often after that. If the texts come from your own business number rather than your booking tool's, that number must be registered with the US carriers first, as set out in A2P 10DLC registration.

Set them up in your booking tool

Many booking tools send reminders already. Acuity sends text reminders on its Standard plan and above, and Fresha sends booking reminders by email and text. Use the tool's placeholders for the name, date and time, then:

• Book yourself an appointment and check what arrives, on an iPhone and on an Android phone.
• Book one for 9am on a Monday and see when the reminder lands.
• Try the link to move the booking, on a phone.
• Reply to the reminder and see where the reply goes.
• Switch off reminders in any second tool, so customers do not get two.

If your booking tool cannot send texts, or you want reminders to come from your own number with replies in your team's inbox, GGSites sets up reminders by text or email, and booking automation keeps the calendar and customer records in step with every change.