Help Center

Appointment Reminders

LeadCenter automatically sends reminders before scheduled appointments to help reduce no-shows. Two types of reminders are available:

• Text (SMS) reminders — sent to the contact’s phone through your assigned virtual number
• Email reminders — sent to the contact’s primary email address

Both reminder types can be configured independently for each timing, with separate templates for text and email. LeadCenter also includes a separate built-in reminder for the appointment host or team member.

Important: Appointment reminders are not affected by the Calendar Invite vs Email Confirmation setting. Reminders are always sent by LeadCenter regardless of your calendar’s confirmation mode.

Overview

You can send appointment reminders at these intervals before the appointment:

• 21 days before
• 7 days before
• 3 days before
• 2 days before
• 24 hours before
• 2 hours before
• 15 minutes before

For each timing, you can enable:

• Text reminders
• Email reminders
• Or both

Default: The text reply option is enabled by default. When enabled, LeadCenter automatically appends: Reply 1 to confirm, 2 to reschedule, 3 to cancel to appointment reminder text messages.

Contact Reminders vs Host Reminders

Note: The appointment host or team member always receives a built-in reminder email about 15 minutes before the appointment. This reminder is not configurable.

Text Reminders vs Email Reminders

Requirements

Text Reminder Requirements

• A calendar with text reminders enabled
• A text template in the Appointments category
• A purchased or assigned virtual phone number on the calendar
• A valid phone number on the contact record
• A2P 10DLC registration for outbound texting — to send outbound appointment reminder text messages in the U.S., your business texting setup must be approved through carrier verification. See the A2P 10DLC campaign registration help article.

Important: If no virtual phone number is assigned to the calendar, text reminders will not be sent even if text reminders are enabled and a template is selected.

Note: Sending text reminders requires a virtual phone number. If you have not purchased one yet, go to the Phone Numbers page.

Email Reminder Requirements

• A calendar with email reminders enabled
• An email template in the Appointments category
• An active email configuration for the account
• A valid primary email address on the contact record

Note: By default, reminder emails are sent from no-reply@leadcenter.ai. To send reminders from your own email address, connect a Shared Email Account.

Important: Only email and text templates in the Appointments category appear in reminder template dropdowns. If a template is missing, update its category on the Email Templates page.

How to Set Up Appointment Reminders

Step 1: Open the Appointment Reminders section

1. Go to Calendars.
2. Select the calendar you want to edit.
3. Scroll to the Appointment Reminders section.

Step 2: Configure reminder timings

For each reminder timing, you can:

• Enable or disable Text
• Enable or disable Email
• Select a text template
• Select an email template

Step 3: Select a virtual number for text reminders

At the bottom of the reminders section, select which virtual phone number will send the reminder texts. This is also the number contacts reply to.

If you only use email reminders and do not enable text reminders, you do not need a virtual number for that calendar.

Step 4: Enable or Disable Text Reply Options

The setting that adds Reply 1 to confirm, 2 to reschedule, 3 to cancel can be changed from either:

• Manage Calendars → click Settings
• An individual calendar’s Appointment Reminders section → click Settings

Important: The reply option is an account-wide setting. Reminder timings, templates, and virtual number selection are configured per calendar.

Step 5: Set category-specific templates (optional)

You can use different reminder templates for different appointment categories. If no category-specific template is selected, LeadCenter uses the default reminder templates.

How Text Reply Options Work

What the contact receives

When text reminders are enabled and the reply option setting is on, LeadCenter appends this text to the reminder:

Reply 1 to confirm, 2 to reschedule, 3 to cancel

The rest of the message comes from your selected text template. Email reminders do not include reply-by-number instructions.

What happens when the contact replies

Important: Replies 2 and 3 are requests only. LeadCenter does not automatically reschedule or cancel the appointment. A team member must review the request and update the appointment manually.

Note: Replying 1 records that the contact confirmed and shows the confirmation indicator, but it does not automatically change the appointment’s underlying status.

How replies are matched to appointments

When a contact replies with 1, 2, or 3, LeadCenter matches the reply to the most recent outgoing appointment reminder text sent to that phone number.

The reply system is always active

Turning the reply option setting off only stops LeadCenter from automatically appending the instructions. The reply processing system itself still works. If you manually include the instructions in your text template, replies are still processed the same way.

Where to Find Results

• Calendar view — appointments show a status indicator after a reply
• Contact details page — the latest appointments section shows the request status
• Email notifications — appointment attendees and the account owner receive a notification when a reply is received

Follow-Up Emails

In addition to reminders sent before the appointment, LeadCenter can also send follow-up emails after the appointment ends.

• Follow-up emails are configured separately on the calendar edit page
• They are sent a configurable number of minutes after the appointment ends
• They can be filtered by appointment status and category
• Each follow-up uses its own email template
• Each follow-up is sent only once per appointment

Note: Follow-up emails are separate from appointment reminders and use their own settings and templates.

How Spouse Reminders Work

If Include spouse is enabled on the appointment and the spouse has contact information on record:

• Text reminder: the spouse can receive a separate personalized text reminder
• Email reminder: the spouse can be included on the same reminder email, but shortcodes use the primary contact’s details

How Reminder Scheduling Works

LeadCenter checks reminder timings on a regular schedule. Because of that, reminders may not send at the exact second of the target time.

In practice, there can be a small delay of a few minutes when reminders are processed and sent.

What Does Not Receive Contact Reminders

• Time blocks
• Cancelled appointments
• Completed appointments
• External events synced from connected calendars

Internal meetings: The host or team member can still receive the built-in 15-minute reminder, but contact reminders are not sent because internal meetings do not have a client invitee.

Important Notes

• Reply options are enabled by default for text reminders only.
• The reply option is account-wide, while reminder timings and templates are per calendar.
• Changes apply to future reminders, including reminders for appointments already on the calendar.
• The reply processing system still works even if the toggle is off — turning the toggle off only stops LeadCenter from appending the instructions automatically.
• If Include spouse is enabled, the spouse can also receive reminder notifications if valid contact information is available.
• Calendar Invite vs Email Confirmation settings do not affect reminders. Reminders are always sent by LeadCenter.
• Recurring appointments receive reminders for each occurrence.
• Reminder templates use the same shortcodes as appointment confirmation templates.

Best Practices

• Choose the right timings — 24 hours before and 2 hours before are a good starting point for most appointments.
• Use both text and email reminders when appropriate for better coverage.
• Keep reply options enabled so contacts can quickly confirm or request a change.
• Keep text templates short since reply instructions add extra characters.
• Use email reminders for more detail, such as office instructions, agenda details, or attachments.
• Act on reschedule and cancellation requests quickly, since those actions are not automatic.
• Use category-specific templates if different appointment types need different reminder wording.
• Set up follow-up emails separately if you want post-appointment communication.

Troubleshooting

Text reminder not received

• Make sure a virtual number is assigned to the calendar
• Make sure the Text toggle is enabled for that timing
• Make sure a text template is selected
• Make sure the contact has a valid phone number
• Make sure the appointment is in the future and not cancelled or completed
• Make sure the contact has not unsubscribed from texts

Email reminder not received

• Make sure the Email toggle is enabled for that timing
• Make sure an email template is selected
• Make sure the contact has a primary email
• Make sure your email configuration is active
• Make sure the contact has not unsubscribed from emails

FAQs

Is the reply option feature enabled by default?

Yes. It is enabled by default for all accounts and applies to text reminders only.

Where do I change the reply option setting?

You can open the same setting from:

• Manage Calendars → click Settings
• The Settings button inside an individual calendar’s Appointment Reminders section

Can I enable reply options for one calendar and disable them for another?

No. The reply option is account-wide. If you want reply instructions only on some reminders, turn the toggle off and add the instructions manually in selected text templates.

Does replying 2 or 3 automatically reschedule or cancel the appointment?

No. Those replies create requests only.

What if the contact replies with something other than 1, 2, or 3?

Only replies of exactly 1, 2, or 3 are treated as appointment responses. Other replies are treated as regular incoming text messages.

What if the contact has multiple upcoming appointments?

The reply is matched to the most recent outgoing appointment reminder text sent to that phone number.

If I turn the reply option setting off, will replies still be processed?

Yes. The toggle only controls whether the instructions are appended automatically.

Can I add the reply instructions manually in my text template?

Yes. The system will still process replies the same way.

Will changes affect appointments already on the calendar?

Yes. Settings and template content are checked when each reminder is sent.

Do email reminders include the reply-by-number instructions?

No. That feature is only for text reminders.

Does the spouse receive personalized reminders?

For text reminders, yes — the spouse can receive a separate personalized text reminder if included. For email reminders, the spouse can be included on the same email, but shortcodes use the primary contact’s details.

Does this work with recurring appointments?

Yes. Reminders are sent for each occurrence, and replies are matched to the occurrence with the most recent reminder.

Is the host reminder configurable?

No. The host or team reminder is built in and not configurable.

Are reminders affected by the Calendar Invite vs Email Confirmation setting?

No. That setting only affects the initial appointment notification, not reminders.

What about follow-up emails after the appointment?

Follow-up emails are configured separately and are not part of the reminder timing settings.

Need help? Contact support@leadcenter.ai.