How to Set Up Booking Confirmation and Reminder Emails in Opencals

Opencals sends your customers automated emails around every booking — a confirmation when they book, a reminder before the appointment, a feedback request afterward, and updates when things get rescheduled or canceled. This guide shows how to turn those emails on, set the reminder timing, and customize what each one says using template variables.

Before you start

You'll need admin access to your Opencals dashboard. No third-party account is required — email sending is built in. If you want to send from your own domain, have your DNS access ready; changing the "from" address is done with support (covered in Step 1).

Step 1 — Turn on your notification emails

Open Settings and find the Notifications card. Each toggle controls one type of automated email to your customer:

• Confirmation email — "Send appointment details to the customer on booking confirmation." Sent the moment a booking is confirmed.
• Reminder email — "Send booking reminder email." Sent before the appointment; you set the timing in Step 2.
• Thank you & feedback email — "Send thank you email after booking with feedback form." Sent after the appointment to collect feedback.
• Email from address — the address that appears as the sender, so customers receive emails from you rather than a generic no-reply. It defaults to the Opencals address until you set your own.

Step 2 — Set when the reminder is sent

When you switch on Reminder email, a timing selector appears — "Specify how early before an appointment to send an email reminder." This is required whenever the reminder is enabled. Choose from:

Pick the window that matches how far your customers typically travel or prepare. Reminders are the single most effective lever for cutting no-shows.

Step 3 — Open the email templates

The toggles decide whether an email goes out; the templates decide what it says. Go to Look & Feel → Emails to see one editable template per notification type:

• Appointment Confirmation — "Sent when an appointment is confirmed."
• Appointment Reminder — "Sent before an appointment as a reminder."
• Appointment Feedback — "Sent after an appointment to collect feedback."
• Appointment Rescheduled — "Sent when an appointment is rescheduled."
• Appointment Canceled — "Sent when an appointment is canceled."

Every template ships with a production-ready default, so your emails work out of the box even if you never touch them. The language badges (EN, ES, …) show which translations you've customized — each template can be edited per language. Click Edit to open one.

Step 4 — Customize the subject and content

Each template has a Subject line and an HTML body. Personalize both by dropping in variables wrapped in double braces — they're replaced with real booking details when the email is sent.

Common variables you can use in the subject or content:

• Customer — {{customer.firstName}}, {{customer.full_name}}
• Appointment — {{appointment.date}}, {{appointment.time}}, {{appointment.duration}}
• Service — {{service.name}}
• Staff — {{staff.full_name}}
• Location — {{location.name}}, {{location.address}}
• Store — {{store.name}}
• Links — {{booking_link}}, {{reschedule_link}}, {{cancel_link}}, {{feedback_link}}

For example, a confirmation subject of You're confirmed for {{service.name}} becomes "You're confirmed for Massage." The live Preview panel shows the subject and body filled in with sample data as you type.

Step 5 — Send a test and save

Before going live, click Test to email yourself the template rendered with sample data — check the subject, that every variable filled in, and that the links work. When it looks right, click Save. If a customization ever causes trouble, Reset restores that template to the Opencals default.

Frequently asked questions

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