Overview

Receptioner provides a comprehensive notification system to keep your customers, staff, and business informed at every stage of the booking lifecycle. Notifications can be sent via email and SMS, with customizable templates and automated triggers.

The notification system covers:

• Booking notifications — Confirmations, reminders, updates, and cancellations
• Review requests — Automated requests for customer feedback after appointments
• Smart Form delivery — Intake forms and questionnaires sent before appointments
• Gift voucher notifications — Purchase confirmations and delivery to recipients
• Payment notifications — Payment confirmations and failed payment alerts

Email Notifications

Email notifications are automatically sent for key events in the booking lifecycle. These professionally designed emails include your company branding and all relevant appointment details.

Booking Email Types

The following emails are sent automatically based on booking events:

Other Email Notifications

• Review Request — Sent after appointments to collect customer feedback
• Gift Voucher Purchase — Confirmation to purchaser and delivery to recipient
• Gift Voucher Redeemed — Notification when a voucher is used
• Payment Failed — Alert when a payment attempt fails
• SMS Reply — Email notification when a customer replies to an SMS
• Tip Received — Notification when a customer leaves a tip

Email Response Settings

You can configure email notifications for customer responses in the SMS Settings. When enabled, you'll receive an email notification whenever a customer replies to an SMS message. Configure the email address where these notifications should be sent.

SMS Notifications

SMS notifications have significantly higher open rates than email, making them ideal for appointment reminders and time-sensitive communications. SMS messages are delivered directly to customers' mobile phones.

Enabling SMS Notifications

SMS Notifications is a system service that must be enabled before use. Navigate to the SMS Notifications section in your dashboard to enable the service. When you first access this section, you'll see an option to enable SMS notifications along with information about the benefits.

SMS Credit System

SMS notifications use a credit-based system. Your current balance is displayed at the top of the SMS Notifications page. Each SMS sent deducts from your balance based on the message length and destination country.

Top-Up Options

You can add credits to your SMS balance in two ways:

• Manual Top-Up — Add a specific amount of credits when needed
• Auto Top-Up — Automatically add credits when your balance falls below a threshold

Transaction History

The SMS Notifications page displays a complete history of all SMS transactions, including:

• Date and time of each transaction
• Customer name (for sent messages)
• Transaction type (e.g., reminder, confirmation, review request)
• Amount deducted or added

SMS Settings

Configure your SMS notification preferences in the Settings modal. Access it by clicking the settings icon in the SMS Notifications section.

Response Settings

Configure how you receive customer responses to SMS messages:

• Email Response — Receive an email when customers reply to SMS. Configure the email address for notifications.
• SMS Response — Receive an SMS when customers reply. Configure the phone number for notifications.

Notification Settings

Control which SMS notifications are sent automatically:

• Booking Confirmation — Send SMS when a booking is confirmed
• 1 Day Reminder — Send SMS reminder 24 hours before the appointment (enabled by default)
• 1 Hour Reminder — Send SMS reminder 1 hour before the appointment (enabled by default)

SMS Templates

Customize the content of your SMS messages using templates. Each notification type has its own template that you can personalize with dynamic placeholders.

Available Templates

• Booking Confirmation — Sent when a booking is confirmed
• 1 Day Reminder — Sent 24 hours before the appointment
• 1 Hour Reminder — Sent 1 hour before the appointment
• Review Request — Sent after appointments to request feedback
• Smart Form — Sent to deliver intake forms to customers
• Form Acknowledgement — Sent when a customer submits a form

Template Placeholders

Use placeholders to personalize your messages with dynamic content. Available placeholders vary by template type:

Booking Confirmation, 1 Day & 1 Hour Reminders

• {{companyName}} — Your business name
• {{customerFirstName}} — Customer's first name
• {{date}} — Appointment date
• {{time}} — Appointment time

Review Request

• {{companyName}} — Your business name
• {{customerFirstName}} — Customer's first name
• {{reviewLink}} — Link to the review submission page

Smart Form

• {{companyName}} — Your business name
• {{customerFirstName}} — Customer's first name
• {{date}} — Appointment date
• {{formLink}} — Link to the form

Form Acknowledgement

• {{customerFirstName}} — Customer's first name

Booking Notifications

Booking notifications keep all parties informed throughout the appointment lifecycle. The system automatically sends notifications based on booking events and scheduled reminders.

Automatic Notifications

* SMS notifications require the SMS service to be enabled and the specific notification type to be turned on in SMS Settings. Update notifications are only sent if the booking details (date, time, service, or staff) changed.

Manual Notifications

You can manually resend notifications for any booking using the "Send Notifications" action in the booking details. This is useful if a customer didn't receive the original notification or needs a reminder.

For more details on booking management, see the Bookings documentation.

Review Notifications

Review request notifications are sent automatically after appointments to collect customer feedback. You can configure whether to send review requests via email, SMS, or both.

Review Request Settings

Configure review notifications in the Reviews section settings:

• Send Emails — Enable or disable email review requests
• Send SMS — Enable or disable SMS review requests

Email Review Requests

Email review requests include:

• Personalized greeting with the customer's name
• Details of their visit (company, service, date)
• Clickable star rating icons
• A "Give Feedback" button linking to the review form
• Option to unsubscribe from review requests

SMS Review Requests

SMS review requests are concise messages containing the customer's name, your company name, and a direct link to leave a review. Customize the template in SMS Templates using the available placeholders.

For complete details on the review system, see the Reviews documentation.

Form Notifications

Smart Forms can be automatically sent to customers before their appointments. Form delivery is triggered based on automation rules configured when linking forms to service groups.

Form Delivery

When a form is scheduled to be sent, the system:

1. Generates a unique link for the form submission
2. Sends an email with the form link and instructions
3. Sends an SMS notification with the form link (if SMS is enabled)

Form SMS Template

The Smart Form SMS template can be customized with these placeholders:

• {{companyName}} — Your business name
• {{customerFirstName}} — Customer's first name
• {{date}} — Appointment date
• {{formLink}} — Link to fill out the form

Form Acknowledgement

When a customer submits a form, they can receive an acknowledgement SMS confirming their submission was received. This template uses the customer's first name placeholder.

For complete details on creating and managing forms, see the Smart Forms documentation.