Email and SMS Templates in FlexBookz

Introduction

With Email Templates and SMS Templates in FlexBookz you can automatically send personalized messages to clients. Templates are used for appointment confirmations, reminders, cancellations, rescheduling notices and more. Automating these messages keeps communication consistent and professional while reducing manual work for your staff.

How it Works

FlexBookz provides a set of standard templates that are triggered by client actions (for example: booking, canceling, rescheduling). You can edit those default messages or create new templates from scratch. Each template can be enabled or disabled, assigned to a notification type, and made location- or staff-specific if needed.

Templates support variables (placeholders) that are replaced with real data when messages are sent. You can create both HTML email bodies and plain-text SMS messages. FlexBookz gathers appointment and customer data automatically, fills the variables, and queues messages according to your notification settings.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Manage Email Templates

1. Go to Settings > Email Templates in the FlexBookz admin panel.

2. Review the default templates such as:

   • Appointment Confirmation – Sent when a client books an appointment.

   • Appointment Reminder – Sent before the appointment to reduce no-shows.

   • Appointment Cancelled – Sent when a booking is cancelled.

   • Appointment Rescheduled – Confirms a changed date/time.

3. To create a new template, click + Create Template.

4. Fill in the template fields:

   • Template type: Choose the notification purpose (confirmation, reminder, etc.).

   • Template name: A descriptive internal name (e.g., "24h Reminder - English").

   • Email subject: e.g. Your appointment with {{businessName}}.

   • Content: Use the HTML editor or switch to text mode to compose the message.

5. Enable Active template to start using it immediately.

6. Click Save.

2. Use Variables (Placeholders)

Insert variables to merge appointment and customer data automatically. Common variables include:

• {{customerName}} – Client's full name

• {{appointmentDate}} – Appointment date and time

• {{businessName}} – Your business name

• {{serviceName}} – The booked service

• {{staffName}} – Assigned staff member

Example of a short email subject using variables:

Subject: Appointment confirmation - {{serviceName}} on {{appointmentDate}}

3. Example: Appointment Confirmation Email

Here is a practical HTML example you can adapt:

<h1>Appointment Confirmed</h1>
<p>Hi {{customerName}},</p>
<p>Your appointment for <strong>{{serviceName}}</strong> is confirmed for <strong>{{appointmentDate}}</strong> with <strong>{{staffName}}</strong> at {{businessName}}.</p>
<p>Location: {{locationAddress}}</p>
<p>If you need to change or cancel, please reply to this email or call us at {{businessPhone}}.</p>
<p>Thanks,<br/>The {{businessName}} Team</p>

4. Set Up SMS Templates

1. Go to Settings > SMS Templates.

2. Click + Create Template to create a new text message.

3. Enter concise text. Keep messages short — typical SMS limits are 160 characters for a single segment (longer messages may be split or billed as multiple segments).

4. Use the same variables as in emails to keep contents consistent (for example {{appointmentDate}} and {{customerName}}).

5. Save and assign the template to a notification type (e.g., 24-hour reminder).

Tips & Best Practices

• Use a friendly yet professional tone that matches your brand voice.

• Always include the business name and a clear call-to-action (CTA) such as contact phone or cancellation link.

• Test templates before enabling them: use the preview function and send test emails/SMS to verify variable substitution and formatting.

• For SMS, keep the most important info at the beginning because of character limits.

• Provide localized templates for multi-location or multilingual businesses to improve client experience.

• Group and name templates clearly (e.g., "EN - Confirmation", "NL - Reminder 24h") to avoid confusion when managing many templates.

• Limit the number of active templates per notification type to maintain clarity and prevent duplicate sends.

Troubleshooting

• Emails are not being sent: Verify the template is Active, check the mail delivery settings in Business Settings (sender address, SMTP or email provider configuration), and ensure there are no bounce or suppression rules blocking delivery.

• Variables show as raw text (e.g., {{customerName}}): Ensure you used the exact variable names supported by FlexBookz and that those fields are populated on the appointment/customer record.

• SMS not delivered: Confirm SMS notifications are enabled for your account and that you have credits or an active SMS provider configured under Business Settings. Also confirm recipients have valid phone numbers including country codes.

• Formatting issues in email: If HTML renders poorly, test send to multiple email clients (Gmail, Outlook, mobile). Prefer inlined CSS and simple layouts for best compatibility.

• Duplicate notifications: Check if multiple templates are assigned to the same trigger, or if both SMS and email are enabled and you expect only one channel.

Pro tip: Create a dedicated set of test templates and a test customer record so you can safely preview messages without disturbing real clients.