Calendar notifications & policies
Every time someone books, changes or misses an appointment, Pondocean can let the right people know automatically. Your customer gets a confirmation, a reminder and a thank-you. You and your staff get a heads-up when your day changes. You don't have to send any of it by hand.
This guide covers where those messages live, what each one does, how to switch channels on and off, and how to write texts that go through without costing you more than they should.
Where to find them
Each calendar has its own notification settings, so a haircut calendar and a consultation calendar can send different messages.
Open Calendars and pick the calendar you want to change.
Open Advanced settings.
Choose Notifications & policies.
At the top you'll see a line saying you can send booking notifications by email, SMS, WhatsApp and in-app alerts. Below that is a list of notification types, one per row.
The six notification types
Each row is one moment in an appointment's life. Here's what sets each one off and a sensible starting point for most small businesses.
Notification | When it sends | Good starting channels |
|---|---|---|
Appointment booked (Status: Unconfirmed) | Right away, when a booking comes in that still needs your approval | SMS to the customer, In-app to staff |
Appointment booked (Status: Confirmed) | When a booking is confirmed, or its status is changed to confirmed | SMS or Email to the customer, In-app to staff |
Cancellation | When an appointment is cancelled, marked as a no-show, or marked invalid | SMS to the customer, In-app to staff |
Reschedule | When the date or time of an appointment changes | SMS to the customer, In-app to staff |
Reminder | A set amount of time before the appointment (you choose when) | SMS to the customer |
Follow-Up | A set amount of time after the appointment (you choose when) | Email or SMS to the customer |
Why there are two "booked" messages
Some calendars accept bookings straight away. Others hold them as unconfirmed until you or your staff approve them. That's why "Appointment booked" appears twice:
Unconfirmed tells the customer you've got their request and will confirm soon.
Confirmed tells them it's locked in.
If you approve bookings by hand, a customer can get both, one after the other. That's normal. If your calendar confirms everything automatically, focus on the Confirmed message.
A no-show counts as a cancellation
Marking someone as a no-show sends the Cancellation notification. Write that message so it still reads well for someone who simply didn't turn up. For example, "Your appointment on {{appointment.only_start_date}} has been cancelled. Call or text us to book a new time." works for both.
The four channels
Each row shows four chips: Email, In-app, SMS and WhatsApp. A green chip means that channel is on for that notification. Each channel has its own settings and its own message.
Good for longer details, directions, prep instructions and follow-ups. You can use one of your saved email templates or write the subject and body right there. Every email needs a subject line, or it won't send.
Who can receive it: the Contact (your customer), the Assigned user (the staff member on the appointment) and any Additional emails you add, such as a front-desk inbox.
In-app
An alert inside Pondocean for you and your staff. It never goes to customers. Use it so the team knows the moment a booking lands, moves or drops off.
Who can receive it: the staff users you pick. By default, the assigned user on the appointment gets it. On event-style calendars, account admins get it by default.
SMS (text)
The channel customers are most likely to read. Best for confirmations, reminders and anything with a cancel or reschedule link. Texts are billed per segment, so keep them short (more on that below).
Who can receive it: the Contact, the Assigned User and any Additional Phone Numbers. Always include the country code on extra numbers (for example +1 for the US).
Useful if your customers already use WhatsApp. It works a little differently from texting:
Your WhatsApp business number has to be connected and verified in your account first.
You can only send approved WhatsApp templates. You can't type a free-form message here. WhatsApp only lets a business start a conversation with a template it has approved.
If you've just had a new template approved and don't see it, refresh the template list.
Send yourself a test before you switch it on.
Who can receive it: the Contact, the Assigned User and any additional numbers you add.
Not set up for WhatsApp yet? Start a request and we'll help you connect it.
How to turn a channel on and choose who gets it
On the Notifications & policies page, find the notification you want, for example Reminder.
Click the pencil icon on that row. The edit window opens.
Click the tab for the channel: Email, In-app, SMS or WhatsApp.
Switch the Enabled toggle on.
Under Who should receive this notification?, tick the people who should get it: Contact, Assigned user, or extra emails or phone numbers.
Open each recipient to check or edit the message they'll get. The customer and your staff can get different wording.
For Reminder and Follow-Up, set how long before or after the appointment it should send. You can add more than one timing, for example a reminder the day before and another two hours before.
Send yourself a test (see below), then click Save changes.
Back on the list, the chip for that channel turns green.
Greyed-out tab? If you hover over a tab and see "This notification has been disabled. Please enable it to make any changes.", that channel is switched off. Turn the Enabled toggle on first, and the fields will unlock.
Writing text messages that go through (and cost less)
Segments: what you're billed for
Texts are billed per segment, not per message. A plain text segment holds up to 160 characters. Your customers' replies are billed too.
Here's the catch: one special character switches the whole message to a different format, where a segment holds only about 70 characters. That includes:
any emoji
curly quotes and apostrophes (’ “ ”) instead of straight ones (' ")
other symbols that aren't on a standard keyboard
The message box shows a live counter, like 139 characters | 14 words | 3 segs. The default "unconfirmed" text is a good example. It's only about 139 characters, but the apostrophe in "We’ll" is a curly one. That single character turns what should be one segment into three. Retype it as a straight apostrophe and it drops back to one.
Keep in mind the counter measures your template. Once merge fields are filled in with real names, dates and times, the sent text is usually longer.
Quick rules:
Use straight quotes and apostrophes. Copying from Word, Google Docs or a phone often adds curly ones, so retype them in the box.
Skip emoji in texts.
Keep it short. Put the details in the email and the essentials plus a link in the text.
Watch the counter and aim for 1 segment.
Use links, never "reply CANCEL"
Give customers a link to cancel or reschedule. Never ask them to text back a word.
CANCEL, STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, END and QUIT are phone-carrier opt-out words. If a customer texts any of them, they're unsubscribed from all your texts, not just this appointment. Use these instead:
{{appointment.cancellation_link}}: lets them cancel
{{appointment.reschedule_link}}: lets them pick a new time
Your texting number must be registered
In the US, phone carriers require business texting numbers to be registered (this is called A2P 10DLC registration). Texts from an unregistered number can be blocked by the carriers, even when your account shows them as sent. If you're not sure whether yours is registered, ask us.
The first text includes your business name
The first text a new contact gets from you automatically includes your business name and a short line on how to opt out. You don't need to add it yourself, but allow for the extra characters in that first message.
Send a test first
In the SMS tab, find Test SMS.
Enter your own mobile number with the country code (for example +1 then your number).
Click Send test SMS and check how it looks on your phone.
Merge fields like the appointment time may show blank in a test, because a test isn't tied to a real appointment. To see the real thing, book a test appointment on your own calendar.
Changed the wording and want the original back? Click Reset to default above the message box.
Personalizing with merge fields
Merge fields are placeholders in double curly braces. When the message sends, Pondocean fills in the real details. Click the tag icon next to the message box to pick one from a list rather than typing it.
The ones you'll use most:
Merge field | What it shows |
|---|---|
{{contact.first_name}} | Your customer's first name |
{{contact.name}} | Your customer's full name |
{{appointment.title}} | The appointment name |
{{appointment.start_time}} | Full start date and time |
{{appointment.only_start_date}} | Just the date |
{{appointment.only_start_time}} | Just the time |
{{appointment.day_of_week}} | Day of the week |
{{appointment.timezone}} | The time zone |
{{appointment.meeting_location}} | Where the appointment is |
{{appointment.user.name}} | The staff member it's with |
{{appointment.cancellation_link}} | Link to cancel |
{{appointment.reschedule_link}} | Link to pick a new time |
{{appointment.add_to_google_calendar}} | Add to Google Calendar link |
{{appointment.add_to_ical}} | Add to Apple or Outlook calendar link |
Good to know: appointment fields (anything starting with appointment.) only work in messages tied to an appointment, like these calendar notifications. Pasted into an ordinary text or email, they'll come out blank.
Example reminder (plain characters only, no emoji or curly quotes):
Hi {{contact.first_name}}, reminder of your appointment {{appointment.day_of_week}} at {{appointment.only_start_time}}. Need to change it? {{appointment.reschedule_link}}
Policies: when customers can cancel or reschedule
The cancel and reschedule links follow your calendar's cancellation and reschedule policy. This is where you decide whether customers can make changes themselves, and how close to the appointment they're allowed to.
Allow cancellation: switch on to let customers cancel from their link.
Allow rescheduling: switch on to let customers pick a new time from their link.
Cut-off time: for each one, you can set how long before the appointment the link stops working. For example, set 24 hours and customers can't cancel online on the day. Leave it blank and the link works right up to the appointment.
After the cut-off, the link no longer lets them make changes, so they'll need to call or message you. Say so in your reminder text, for example "Changes within 24 hours: please call us."
If you turn cancellation off, don't include {{appointment.cancellation_link}} in your messages. Exact labels and time options can vary by calendar type. If you can't find these settings on your calendar, ask us.
Avoid sending the same message twice
Booking messages can come from two places: these calendar notifications, and automations (workflows) that send on a booking, reminder or cancellation. If both are on, your customer gets two confirmations or two reminders.
Pick one source for each message:
Simple setup? Use the calendar notifications and turn off matching steps in your automations.
Already have automations for a message? Leave that notification's channels off here.
Not sure which is sending what? Our message guide maps every email and text the platform can send, or start a request and we'll check your account.
Troubleshooting
Customers aren't getting emails
Check the Email chip is green for that notification, and Contact is ticked.
Make sure the email has a subject line. Emails without one don't send.
Emails go out from your account's sending domain. If that domain lapses or its settings change, emails stop. Ask us to check it.
Ask the customer to check spam and promotions folders.
Texts aren't arriving
Check the SMS chip is green and the right recipients are ticked.
Check the customer's number is correct and includes the country code.
Has the customer ever texted STOP, CANCEL or a similar word? If so, they've opted out of your texts.
In the US, check your number is registered with the carriers (see above). Unregistered texts can be quietly blocked.
The cancel or reschedule link is blank
These links only fill in when the message is tied to a real appointment. They'll be blank in tests and in general messages. Book a test appointment to see them working. If they're blank in a real calendar notification, ask us to take a look.
A tab is greyed out
The tooltip "This notification has been disabled. Please enable it to make any changes." means that channel is off. Turn on the Enabled toggle for that tab to edit it.
Customers get two of everything
A calendar notification and an automation are probably both sending. See Avoid sending the same message twice above.
Need a hand?
We're happy to set up or review your notifications with you.
Start a request and tell us which calendar you're working on.
See every email and text the platform sends in our message guide.
Got a quick question? Try Ask AI here on the support site.
