Editing message templates

What templates are

Every message event — booking confirmed, reminder, review request, and so on — has its own template, and email and SMS have separate templates for the same event. That means you can write a fuller email and a shorter SMS without one constraining the other. See "Confirmations and reminders" for the full list of events and how to turn each channel on.

Edit a template

1. Go to Settings → Messages & reminders.
2. Choose the event you want to edit, for example Reminder or Payment receipt.
3. Choose the channel, Email or SMS — each has its own template.
4. Edit the wording in the template box.
5. Place your cursor where you want a booking detail to appear, and insert a placeholder, such as {{customer_first_name}}.
6. Click Save.

If you want to undo your changes, click Reset to default on that template to go back to Slotwise's original wording.

Tip Always keep {{manage_url}} in your booking confirmation and reminder templates, so customers can reschedule or cancel themselves instead of calling you.

Available placeholders

• {{customer_first_name}} — the customer's first name
• {{business_name}} — your business name
• {{service_name}} — the booked service
• {{staff_name}} — the team member the appointment is with
• {{date}} — the appointment date
• {{time}} — the appointment time
• {{location}} — your business location
• {{reference}} — the booking reference
• {{manage_url}} — the link the customer uses to manage their booking
• {{review_url}} — the link the customer uses to leave a review
• {{amount_due}} — the amount owed, for payment-related messages

Tip Keep SMS templates especially short. Every character counts toward your SMS credits, so a shorter template can mean one credit instead of two — see "SMS credits" for how that's counted.

Writing good templates

Keep the event in mind when you write. A booking confirmation is often read in full, while a reminder is usually skimmed on a phone, so put the essentials — service, date, time — near the start of each one.

Tip Edit one channel at a time and check it against a real booking before rolling a wording change out everywhere. If it doesn't read well, Reset to default brings back Slotwise's original wording, so it's safe to experiment.