SMS reminders
A text the day before, and a link to cancel if plans change
At noon the day before, OnTime sends each client a text with the time of their appointment and a short link. If they can't come, they cancel in two taps and the slot opens up again.
What the client receives
Reminder: appointment with Awa tomorrow Oct 14 at 10:30 AM. OnTime Click here to cancel: on-time.pro/a/7Hq2kP9xLm
Every message fits in a single 160-character SMS, so each reminder counts once. It's written in French or English depending on the client's phone number, and the time is your local time. A client with two appointments with you on the same day gets one message listing both.
When it goes out
Reminders leave from 12:00 your time on the day before, once per appointment. Move an appointment to another day and a fresh reminder goes out the day before the new date.
A few other texts follow what you do in the calendar:
- When you cancel an appointment, the client is told by text. This is on by default and you can switch it off.
- When you move one, the client gets the new date and time.
- A confirmation text when you book someone is off by default. Most businesses find the reminder enough, and every text comes out of your pack.
The cancel link, and why it matters
Clients who can't make it rarely phone to say so. The link takes away the excuse. It opens a page asking whether they can't make it, and one tap frees the slot, which your booking page then offers to someone else. In your calendar the card reads Cancelled by client.
If your booking page is switched on, the client is offered a button to pick another time there and then.
A cancellation made on the day of the appointment counts as a late cancellation, kept apart from no-shows. The dashboard shows both, so you can tell the client who cancels at 9 a.m. from the one who never turns up.
SMS pack, countries and trial
- The SMS pack comes in 200, 500 or 1,000 texts a month, shared by the whole team and reset on the 1st. Team agendas draw on the same pack.
- At 80 % and again at 100 % of the pack, the people who manage the subscription get an email and see a banner. Once the month's texts are gone, reminders pause until the 1st. There is no top-up to buy. For more than 1,000 texts, write to us for a custom pack.
- A text that never leaves, because the network refused it for instance, goes back into the pack.
What reminders don't do
- You can't rewrite the message or pick another hour. It's always noon on the day before.
- It's one-way: OnTime doesn't read replies to the text.
- Reminders go by SMS only, never by WhatsApp.
Updated 30 September 2026
Questions people ask
It's billed monthly on top of the subscription, by the size you pick, for the whole team. The price depends on your country, and the pricing page shows yours.
No, they use the link. It takes two taps and frees the time at once.
Yes. Once you accept a request it becomes an appointment like any other, and the client gets the reminder the day before.
Reminders pause until the first of next month, or until you move to a larger pack, which applies at once. The calendar and the booking page carry on as usual.
Read next
- Online booking pageA page with your name, your services and your free times, where clients ask for an appointment.
- Team calendars and dashboardA calendar and the right access for each colleague, bookable team agendas, and a dashboard with revenue and no-shows.
- PricingOne professional included, a fixed price per extra professional, no commission. SMS, AI notes and documents in packs for the team. 30 days free.
Try it on your own week
Add your opening hours and your services, then share your booking link. The first 30 days are free and there is no card to enter.