SMS, Email, Push & Business Notifications
Reduce no-shows with automated reminders across SMS, email, push, and your notification centre. 49 message types keep clients and your team informed.
What is automated notifications?
Automated notifications in salon software are messages triggered by appointment events - confirmations, reminders, cancellations, and rebook prompts - sent to clients and your team without manual effort. Bella Booking supports 49 message types across SMS, email, push, and an in-app notification centre. Every template is customisable with variables like client name, service, date, and time, so your communication stays on-brand while running entirely on autopilot.
Automated notifications are messages sent to clients and your team via SMS, email, push, or in-app alerts - triggered by scheduling events like confirmations, reminders, and cancellations. Bella Booking handles all your client and business communications automatically. Send appointment reminders, confirmations, rescheduling notices, cancellation alerts, and rebook prompts - via SMS, email, push notifications, or all three. Your notification centre keeps you informed when clients schedule, cancel, join the waitlist, submit forms, or leave tips. Customise every message template with your own wording and use variables like client name, date, time, and services. With 49 automated message types across 4 channels, you never have to send a manual reminder again.
What's included
Key capabilities of automated notifications
Four notification channels
SMS, email, business notification centre, and push notifications. Push requires installing Bella from your browser (no app store needed). On phones, alerts arrive even when Bella is closed. On desktop, your browser needs to be running in the background. Enable or disable each channel independently per message type.
Appointment reminders
Send up to two reminders before appointments. Configure timing separately (e.g., 24 hours before and 2 hours before) for each.
Booking confirmations & updates
Automatic messages for: confirmed, pending approval, pending confirmation, rescheduled, cancelled, and checked out appointments.
Business notifications
Get notified in your notification centre, email, and SMS when clients book online, request approval, reschedule, cancel, join the waitlist, submit forms, or leave tips.
Refund and fee messages
Refunding a sale sends the client a Refund issued message with their amended receipt - partial refunds included. A per-refund Notify the client toggle keeps a quiet correction silent. Charging a late-cancellation or no-show fee to a saved card sends a Cancellation fee charged message saying exactly what was charged and why. Both templates are yours to reword under Settings → Automated messages.
Rebook reminders
Remind clients to rebook when they are due for their next appointment. Smart timing based on their service history.
Review requests
Send review request messages to clients after appointment checkout. Configurable timing, neutral wording, and a direct link to leave a review. Can also be sent manually from the appointment actions menu.
Follow-up messages
Check in with a client once their appointment is over, in your own words: aftercare after a facial, a note on how colour is settling, a thank you after a first visit. There are two follow-ups, each with its own wording, delay, channels and services, so you can write to them the next day and again months later. Choose when each goes: First follow-up anywhere from within 15 minutes of the appointment ending out to 14 days after it, Second follow-up out to 365 days for a six-month check-up or a yearly reminder. The sender runs on a 15-minute cycle, so the shortest option goes out on the first run after the appointment's end time, up to 15 minutes later. Send them for every service, or only for the services and bundles that need it. Switch on Only after a client's first visit and returning clients are skipped. Follow-ups go out between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm in your timezone, and one client gets at most one of each every three days. The email sends anywhere; the SMS goes from your own dedicated number and is skipped without one. You can also send one by hand from the appointment, with Send first follow-up or Send second follow-up, and a by-hand send ignores the service scope, the first-visit switch, the 8:00 am to 8:00 pm window and the three-day limit. Part of Messages Plus, the add-on charged per location.
Waitlist notifications
Clients receive confirmation when they join your waitlist. You receive a business notification to review the request.
Customisable templates
Edit every message template with your own wording. Use variables like {{FirstName}}, {{Date}}, {{Time}}, {{ServiceName}}, and {{SelfServiceLink}}.
Confirmation links
Include one-click confirmation links or self-service links so clients can confirm, cancel, or reschedule directly from the message.
Client notification preferences
Respect individual client preferences. Clients can opt out of SMS, email, or both from their profile.
Live preview
See exactly how your message will look before saving. Test with sample data to verify formatting and variables.
Resend and manual reminders
Resend a booking confirmation or send a manual reminder from the appointment actions menu. Useful when a client says they didn't receive the original message.
Smart debouncing
When an appointment is changed multiple times in quick succession (e.g., dragged on the scheduler), the system debounces notifications so clients receive only the final update.
SMS delivery tracking
Track SMS delivery status in real time. See whether messages were delivered, failed, or are pending.
Email hard bounce handling
When an email hard bounces (invalid address), the system automatically marks the client's email as undeliverable and stops sending to it. Prevents repeated failed deliveries and protects your sender reputation.
Cancellation reason in business notifications
When an appointment is cancelled, the business notification includes the cancellation reason and any notes. See why appointments were cancelled without opening the appointment record.
Incomplete booking reminder
Recover abandoned bookings automatically. When a client starts booking online but does not complete it, they receive a reminder with a one-tap link to resume exactly where they left off.
Per-appointment reminder controls
Override reminder settings on individual appointments. Suppress reminders for a specific appointment or send one immediately - useful for last-minute bookings or sensitive situations.
How automated notifications work
Configure your templates
Set up message content for each notification type. Customise wording and choose which channels (SMS, email) to enable.
Set timing preferences
Choose when reminders are sent relative to appointment time. Configure two independent reminder schedules.
Messages sent automatically
The system sends messages at the configured times across all enabled channels. No manual action required.
Track and respond
See which clients have confirmed. Review business notifications for online bookings, cancellations, and waitlist requests.
Plan availability
Feature
Solo
Starter
Professional
All prices in AUD, GST included. No currency conversion fees.
Frequently asked questions
How many SMS credits are included?
Solo includes 50 SMS credits a month, Starter 200, and Professional 500. One credit is one SMS segment sent to one client in most countries (about 160 characters, or about 70 with emoji); texts to some countries use 2 or 4 credits per segment. Need more? Buy one-time SMS credit packs (typically 200 / 500 / 1,000 credits) from Settings → SMS credits. Current prices are on /pricing and never expire. Email notifications are unlimited on all plans.
What notification types are available?
Client messages: Confirmed appointment, Pending approval, Pending confirmation / deposit, Rescheduled appointment, Cancelled appointment, Checkout summary, Refund issued, Cancellation fee charged, Waitlist confirmation, two appointment reminders, Reminder to rebook, Review request, and two follow-up messages, First follow-up and Second follow-up (part of Messages Plus). Business notifications: Confirmed appointment, Pending approval, Pending confirmation / deposit, Awaiting deposit, Awaiting card, Cancelled, Rescheduled, Waitlist entries, Form completed, Tip received, and New review.
What template variables are available?
Variables include: {{FirstName}}, {{LastName}}, {{Date}}, {{Time}}, {{ServiceName}}, {{BusinessName}}, {{TotalPrice}}, {{SelfServiceLink}}, {{ConfirmAppointmentLink}}, {{CancelAppointmentLink}}, {{FormName}}, {{TipAmount}}, and {{TeamMemberName}}.
Can I disable notifications for specific clients?
Yes. Each client profile has notification preferences where you can enable or disable SMS and email notifications individually.
Are SMS sent through Australian networks?
Yes. SMS to Australian mobiles are delivered by the Australian networks at one credit per segment. They come from Bella's shared sending number, or from your own Australian number with Messages Plus.
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