Why wasn't a reminder or confirmation sent?

What the Why? check on a booking message tells you, what each answer means, and what to do next.

This article is being updated.

Each calendar sends its own booking messages: the booking confirmation, the reminders before the appointment, the reschedule and cancellation notices, the follow-ups and the heads-up to the host (Notify assigned user). When one of them can't be sent, the appointment's Activity tab shows a line such as Reminder email not sent, with the reason beside it and a Why? link. Select Why? to see why it wasn't sent, what stands in the way today, and what to do.

Messages that will keep failing also show under Check my account when you open Help in Appointments, newest first. A message is listed for 30 days, while its appointment hasn't ended and something still stands in the way, once per appointment for each thing in the way. Follow-ups, which go after an appointment, aren't listed.

For how calendars and their messages are set up, see Appointments and your booking page.

What stands in the way today

The answer starts with why the message wasn't sent. Prevarro then checks today's facts in the order a message is sent: the contact, then for an email their email address and whether it bounced, or for a text whether SMS sending is on, whether their SMS consent is withdrawn, their mobile number, your business's Twilio account and number, and the text's length. For a follow-up, a withdrawal is read with their consent, which comes last. You see the first thing that still stands in the way. If the reason the message was skipped has been fixed but something later in that order now stands in the way, the answer says so. If the appointment has moved to another contact since, the answer says so and checks the new contact.

The contact was deleted

Nothing is sent to a deleted contact.

The contact has no email address

Add one to their record and the next email goes to it.

The contact's email address bounced

An earlier email to this address bounced, so nothing more goes to it until the address is changed. Change it on their record and the next email goes to the new address.

The contact hasn't agreed to these messages

The No-show follow-up and the Post-appointment follow-up are marketing messages, by email or text. They only go to a contact whose consent for that channel is on record and allowed by your business's consent settings, in Settings → General on the Marketing consent card. A contact who has withdrawn their consent, for example by replying STOP to a text or using the unsubscribe link in a marketing email, gets no follow-ups on that channel. The other booking messages aren't marketing, so they don't need marketing consent. If you add an offer or promotion to one in the calendar's Communications settings, it counts as marketing. A STOP (or any opt-out reply) also stops automatic texts, such as appointment reminders and payment reminders. Prevarro sends the contact nothing until they reply START, UNSTOP or YES to a consent request, or until you record that they've agreed to texts again. The answer says they haven't agreed to these messages. Their emails still go.

Only the contact can agree. If they tell you they agree, record it under Communication Preferences on their record. If Ask for consent in follow-ups is on, on the Marketing consent card, follow-ups end with a line asking the contact to confirm they'd like to keep hearing from you.

SMS sending is off

An Owner can turn on SMS sending under Settings → Integrations → SMS & Phone (Twilio), once the business has a default number. If it was paused, select Resume SMS.

The contact has no mobile number

Add one to their record and the next text goes to it.

Twilio has paused the account

Twilio paused your business's account, so no texts can go. Contact Prevarro support to restore it.

There's no number to send from

A reminder text goes from the number already used with the contact, or else from your business's default number. A text sent when someone changes the booking can also go from that person's own number. An Owner can buy a number, and a number you already have can be made the default, under Settings → Integrations → SMS & Phone (Twilio).

The text was too long

The calendar's text for this message was too long to send. Details such as a long location can make the finished text longer than its template. Shorten it in the calendar's Communications settings. Prevarro checks the text as the next one would be sent, so once it fits, the answer says so.

Answers with nothing to fix

• It's been fixed since. Whatever stopped the message has been fixed since, for example the contact now has an email address or SMS sending is now on. The skipped message isn't sent again, but later messages go as normal.
• Heads-ups to the host go by email when Email is switched on for Notify assigned user in the calendar's settings, and by text when SMS is switched on there and the host has turned on texts in their own notification preferences (they're off until the host turns them on).
• Prevarro can't explain the reason recorded. The message wasn't sent and Prevarro can't say why. If it matters, contact the person yourself.

If you can't see something

• If the answer says someone with edit access to Contacts can add or change an address or number, your role can't change contacts. Ask someone who can.
• If it says someone can check whether the next one will go, your role can't see what Prevarro would check next, such as the contact's details, your business's SMS setup or the calendar's messages. Ask them to look.
• You can't see this record means the appointment was deleted.
• We couldn't run the check. means Prevarro couldn't read the message just then. Choose Try again.