How to set up SMS appointment reminders

A no-show doesn't just cost you the job — it costs you the morning. You've turned down other work for that slot, driven across town, and now you're sitting outside a house where nobody's answering. Most of the time it's not rudeness; the customer booked you two weeks ago and simply forgot.

Automatic SMS reminders fix the forgetting. TradePlanr texts your customer before the booking without you lifting a finger — you set it up once, and every scheduled job sends its own reminder from then on. This tutorial covers turning reminders on, choosing when they go out, and what the customer actually sees.

1. 1. Open Reminders in Settings

   Go to Settings and open Reminders. This is where SMS appointment reminders live — one switch that applies to every job you schedule, rather than something you set per booking.

   Reminders only send for jobs with a date, a time and a customer with a mobile number attached, so the habit of booking jobs properly in the diary pays off here.

   The Reminders settings screen in TradePlanr with the SMS appointment reminders toggle

2. 2. Turn on appointment reminders

   Switch on SMS appointment reminders. From this point, every job in your diary with a customer mobile number will get a reminder text automatically — including jobs you've already booked in, not just new ones.

   Tip

   SMS gets read. Most text messages are seen within minutes of landing, which is why a reminder text beats a reminder email for cutting no-shows.

3. 3. Choose when the reminder sends

   Pick how far ahead of the appointment the text goes out. The day before works for most trades — it gives the customer time to reply if something's changed, without being so early they forget all over again.

   If your work involves access arrangements — a tenant who needs to be in for a gas safety check, a loft that needs clearing before you arrive — an earlier reminder gives people time to sort it. Some trades send two: one a few days out, one the day before.

   The reminder timing options showing a reminder set to send the day before the appointment

4. 4. Check what the customer receives

   The reminder text includes the essentials: your business name, the appointment date and time, and the job address. It reads like a message from you, not a marketing blast — short, useful and easy to reply to.

   Preview the message in Settings before you rely on it. The detail customers care about most is the time, so make sure the jobs in your diary carry a real time slot rather than just a date.

   A preview of the SMS appointment reminder as the customer sees it on their phone

5. 5. Book jobs as normal — the reminders handle themselves

   That's the setup done. Schedule jobs in the diary the way you already do, and TradePlanr sends the reminder at the time you chose. If a job moves, the reminder follows it — rescheduling in the diary means the customer gets reminded about the new slot, not the old one.

   When a customer does reply to say tomorrow no longer works, you've gained something valuable: an empty slot you know about today, rather than a wasted drive you find out about on the doorstep.

   Tip

   A reminder that prompts a cancellation isn't a failure — it's a morning you can fill with other work instead of losing entirely.

One toggle, one timing choice, and the no-show problem mostly solves itself. The customers who were going to forget get reminded, the ones who need to cancel tell you in time, and your diary stops leaking mornings.