# Set up appointment reminders

> Velarya reminds patients of each appointment by push notification, text and email, 24 and 2 hours before by default. Turn on Appointment Reminders in Organization settings > Notification Templates, set timings under Reminder Delivery Schedule, and select Save. Booking Confirmations emails each patient when a booking is made, by them or by your team.

- Source: https://velarya.com/help/set-up-appointment-reminders
- Who can do this: Admins and roles with Notification templates set to Edit
- Plans: Basic, Scale, Branded, Connected
- Time: 5 minutes
- Last verified: 2026-10-01

## Before you begin

- Your appointments are booked in Velarya, by patients online or by your team on the Calendar: Book an appointment for a patient.

## Turn on appointment reminders

Appointment reminders are messages Velarya sends each patient before their visit, at the times you choose. You turn them on in **Notification Templates**, and they apply to every location in your practice.

1. Open the menu at the bottom of the left sidebar and select **Organization settings**.
2. Under **Client Experience**, select **Notification Templates**.
3. Turn on **Appointment Reminders** in the **Client Communication** card. The switch saves as soon as you select it.

![Notification Templates, Client Communication card with the Appointment Reminders switch turned on](https://velarya.com/assets/help/set-up-appointment-reminders/appointment-reminders-switch-659d8193.webp)

4. Turn on **Booking Confirmations** too, so each patient gets a confirmation email as soon as the booking is made, by them or by your team. This switch also saves at once.

Both switches start on for a new practice, and reminders go out 24 hours and 2 hours before each appointment until you change the schedule.

> **Important:** **Appointment Reminders** also sends members their membership reminders. Turning it off stops appointment reminders and the membership renewal, benefit expiring, unclaimed benefits, selection deadline and selection window closed reminders.

## Choose when reminders go out

The **Reminder Delivery Schedule** lists each timing as a chip, such as **24 Hours Before**. Velarya sends one reminder per timing, counted back from the start of the appointment.

1. Select **Add Frequency** and pick a timing: 1, 2, 4, 12, 24, 48 or 72 hours before. The new chip joins the list, longest first.

![Reminder Delivery Schedule with 48, 24 and 2 Hours Before chips and the Add Frequency button](https://velarya.com/assets/help/set-up-appointment-reminders/reminder-schedule-b762d352.webp)

2. For any other number of hours, select **Add Frequency** > **Custom...**, enter a whole number in **Hours Prior to Start**, and select **Add Schedule**.

![Add Custom Timing dialog with 6 entered in Hours Prior to Start and the Add Schedule button](https://velarya.com/assets/help/set-up-appointment-reminders/add-custom-timing-370849f5.webp)

3. To drop a timing, select the trash icon on its chip.
4. Select **Save** in the **Unsaved changes** bar at the top of the page. The bar closes, and reminders from then on follow the new schedule.

![The Unsaved changes bar at the top of the page, with Save outlined next to Discard](https://velarya.com/assets/help/set-up-appointment-reminders/save-reminder-schedule-c74a86a7.webp)

The default schedule, **24 Hours Before** and **2 Hours Before**, gives patients a day to reschedule and a same-day nudge.

## What do patients see?

Velarya sends each appointment reminder on every channel the patient has turned on, and checks their choices at the moment it sends. Push notifications and texts give the day and time and keep the treatment private, so nothing personal shows on a lock screen.

| Channel | Who gets it | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| Push notification | Patients with the patient app and push turned on | **Appointment reminder**: "You have an appointment Tuesday at 2:30 PM PDT." Tapping it opens the appointment in the app. |
| Text | Patients with SMS turned on and a phone number on file | A short text with the day and time, ending "Reminder: you have an appointment Tuesday at 2:30 PM PDT. Details are in your email or the app." |
| Email | Patients with email turned on and an email address on file | Your practice's name at the top, a subject such as "Reminder: your appointment tomorrow", then "Hi [first name]," and "This is a reminder about your appointment at [practice] on Tuesday, October 6, 2026 · 2:30 PM PDT." It ends "See you soon!" and is signed by your practice's team. |
| The app's **Notifications** list | Patients with a patient app account | The email's subject and message |

A reminder sent 2 hours or less before the visit counts the hours left in its subject, such as "Reminder: your appointment in 2 hours". When the patient has forms to fill in for the visit, the email and the reminder in the app's **Notifications** list carry a link to them: forms set to **Send with reminder** in **Forms & Charts** go with every reminder, and forms set to **Send same day** go with reminders sent on the day of the visit. Choose those switches on each form template, as [Send intake and consent forms to patients](https://velarya.com/help/send-intake-and-consent-forms) shows.

**Booking Confirmations** emails the patient "Your booking is confirmed" with the date, time and location, and a **View in the app** button. Patients with the app see it in **Notifications** too. When a booking moves, Velarya emails "Your booking has moved" with the old and new times, unless your team clears **Notify client about the new time**; a cancelled booking gets "Your booking has been cancelled". To see or change a patient's channels, follow [Loyalty notifications patients receive](https://velarya.com/help/loyalty-notifications).

## How do appointment reminders behave?

Velarya checks for due reminders every minute and sends each timing once.

| Situation | What Velarya does |
|---|---|
| Your schedule holds 24 and 2 Hours Before | Sends two reminders for each appointment: one 24 hours before and one 2 hours before |
| A patient books inside a timing's window, such as 3 hours before the visit | Skips that timing and keeps the shorter ones: this patient gets only the 2-hour reminder |
| A booking waits for the patient's online payment | Counts the window from the moment payment confirms the booking |
| The appointment is cancelled, marked as a no-show, completed or checked out | Sends no further reminders for it |
| You add a timing | Sends it for appointments whose reminder moment is still ahead; appointments already inside it keep their other reminders |
| The patient turned a channel off | Sends on the channels still on, and always adds it to the app's **Notifications** list for app users |

Reminders give the time in the time zone of the location where the appointment is booked. To move or cancel a visit, see [Cancel or reschedule an appointment](https://velarya.com/help/cancel-or-reschedule-an-appointment).

## If something goes wrong

**A patient didn't get a text reminder.** Texts go only to patients with **SMS** turned on and a phone number on their profile. SMS starts off for every patient until they agree to texts, in the app or through your team, and a patient who replies STOP is opted out. Open the patient in **Clients** and check that **SMS** shows in green on the **Contact** card.

**A patient got the 2-hour reminder but not the 24-hour one.** They booked less than 24 hours before the visit, so that window had already started. Velarya skips a reminder the patient would get at the same moment they booked, and still sends the shorter ones.

**No reminders went out at all.** Check that **Appointment Reminders** is on, that the appointment has a patient on it and is not cancelled, and that the patient has at least one channel on. Reminders also need the patient's email address, phone number or app account. A patient who books less than 2 hours before the visit (inside your shortest timing) gets no reminder for it; their booking confirmation covers them.

**The schedule went back to what it was.** Changes to the **Reminder Delivery Schedule** take effect only when you select **Save** in the **Unsaved changes** bar. **Discard** drops them.

**"Couldn't save reminder schedule".** The schedule was not saved; the rest of the message gives the reason or says "Please try again." Select **Save** again; if it keeps failing, reload the page and redo the change.

**Notification Templates isn't in my Organization settings menu.** The page needs the **Notification templates** permission at **edit**. Ask an Admin to update your role.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do patients get reminders for appointments the front desk books?

Yes. Velarya reminds patients of every booked appointment in your calendar that has a patient on it, whether the patient booked in the app, on your web booking page, or your team booked it from the Calendar. The reminder goes to the patient on the appointment, on the channels they have turned on, at each timing in your Reminder Delivery Schedule.

### Can a patient stop appointment reminders?

Yes, channel by channel. In the patient app, under Profile & Settings > Communication preferences, a patient turns I want to receive emails, I want to receive SMS messages or I want to receive app push notifications on or off. Your team can record the same choice on the patient's profile with Edit client details. A patient who replies STOP to a text gets no more texts.

### Do providers hear about new bookings?

Yes. Velarya emails the provider on an appointment when it is booked, moved or cancelled, and texts them too if they turn texts on. Each staff member chooses these notices on the Communication tab of their profile: New online booking, New front desk booking and Client cancellation, each by Email, on until they turn it off, and SMS, off until they turn it on. Staff texts never name the patient.

### Which time zone do reminders use?

The time zone of the location where the appointment is booked. Velarya counts each timing back from the appointment's start, so a 24 Hours Before reminder for a 2:30 PM visit goes out at 2:30 PM the day before, and every message gives the time as the patient will see it on the clock at that location, such as Tuesday at 2:30 PM PDT.

### Does Appointment Reminders also send membership reminders?

Yes. The same switch sends members a renewal reminder about 3 days before a membership renews, and reminders about benefits that are expiring, unclaimed or waiting to be chosen. Keep Appointment Reminders on if you sell memberships. Loyalty notifications patients receive lists every membership message and what it says.