Appointment Reminders
No-shows and last-minute cancellations cost your business time and money. Driive's appointment reminders give your customers a heads-up the day before their scheduled appointment, reducing missed visits and keeping your day on track.
How reminders work
Driive automatically sends a reminder notification the day before the scheduled appointment. The reminder is sent to the customer — it's designed to confirm the upcoming visit and give them a chance to reschedule if something has changed. In the app, this notification is labeled 24hr Reminder.
For example, if an appointment is scheduled for Wednesday at 2:00 PM, the reminder goes out on Tuesday.
Who receives reminders
- Customers receive reminders via email and/or SMS (depending on the contact information available and the notification channels enabled).
- Users do not receive appointment reminders. Your team sees upcoming appointments on the calendar instead.
What the reminder contains
The reminder email includes:
- Appointment date and time
- Service name (appointment type)
- Service location or address
- The assigned user's name
- A link to view appointment details
- An option to reschedule if needed
The SMS version is shorter — it includes the date, time, service name, and a link to view or manage the appointment.
Enabling and disabling reminders
Reminders are controlled at the appointment type level. To toggle them:
- Go to Setup > Appointment Types.
- Select the appointment type you want to configure.
- Open the Notifications tab.
- Find the 24hr Reminder toggle and turn it on or off. You can also choose the Email and SMS channels independently.
When disabled, no reminder is sent for appointments of that type — even if the customer has a valid email and phone number on file.
Tip: Keep reminders enabled for most appointment types. They're one of the most effective ways to reduce no-shows, especially for in-home services where the customer needs to be present.
Reminder delivery timing
Reminders are processed once a day in a batch to ensure reliable delivery. Here's what to expect:
- Target window: The day before the appointment
- Delivery: The exact send time depends on when the daily batch runs, so it may not be exactly 24 hours before the appointment
- Short-notice appointments: If an appointment is booked for the same day (or after the day's batch has already run), no reminder is sent — the booking confirmation serves as the notification
Frequently asked questions
Can I change the reminder timing (e.g., send it two days before instead of one)? Not currently. Reminders are fixed at the day before the appointment. If this is something you need, reach out to our support team — we'd love to hear your use case.
Does the customer receive both an email and an SMS reminder? If the customer has both an email address and a phone number on file, and both channels are enabled, they receive the reminder on both channels.
What if the appointment is rescheduled after the reminder is sent? If the appointment is rescheduled, the customer receives a separate Booking Rescheduled notification with the updated time. Driive sends one reminder per appointment — if the reminder already went out, the rescheduled notice serves as the update; if it hasn't gone out yet, it's sent the day before the new time.
What if the appointment is cancelled after the reminder is sent? The customer receives a Booking Cancelled notification confirming the cancellation. No further reminders are sent.
Next steps
- Customer Notifications — See all the notifications your customers receive.
- Managing Your Preferences — Control which notifications you receive as a user.
- Troubleshooting Notifications — Fix issues with reminders not arriving.