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Automated appointment reminders for your salon

Avana sends a booking confirmation and an appointment reminder by email automatically, with the time, the service and your address. Email reminders are in every Avana plan, so fewer chairs sit empty because someone simply forgot.

Sent automaticallyYou choose whenIn every plan
How they go out

Two messages you never have to write

Avana sends the confirmation the moment someone books and the reminder at the time you choose, from four hours to three days before.

Straight away

The confirmation goes out the moment they book

Clients get it in writing: what they booked, when and where. That alone saves you half the messages you'd otherwise get.

  • Service, time, length and your address
  • Also for appointments you add yourself
  • From your salon name, not a no-reply address
Before the appointment

The reminder arrives while there's still time

By default a short message goes out four hours before, and you can choose one, two or three days instead. With a day or more, there's still time to fill the slot if it no longer suits.

  • You decide how far ahead
  • Includes your cancellation deadline
  • Sent from your salon name
If it doesn't suit

Clients reschedule themselves, within your rules

Every message has a button to reschedule or cancel. You decide how late that's allowed and what happens after that.

  • Rescheduling without ringing you
  • The freed-up slot is open again at once
  • Your own cancellation rules apply
From booking to appointment

What makes an empty chair genuinely rare

A reminder takes care of most no-shows. A deposit, clear cancellation rules and, from Business Plus, your waitlist handle the rest.

ReminderCancellation rules

The deadline is right there in the email

The reminder tells clients how long they still have to cancel for free. If it's too late, they're shown who to call instead.

ReminderDeposit

Clients who've paid nearly always come

For a three-hour balayage you ask for part of the price up front and the reminder does the rest. If the client still stays away, you keep the deposit.

ReminderWaitlist

A cancellation goes straight back out

When a client cancels from their reminder, your waitlist hears straight away that the slot is free. From Business Plus.

Why it works

Most no-shows are just forgetfulness

Hardly anyone misses an appointment on purpose; most simply forget. A reminder at the right moment puts it back on their mind.

Clients remember in time

A short message beforehand is usually enough. The appointment is back on their mind, with the time and the place.

You don't send a thing

No list to work through on a Sunday night, no messaging people between clients. It happens on its own, even on your day off.

Rescheduling beats staying away

The reminder has a button to reschedule. The slot frees up while there's still time for someone else to book it.

What you can set

Every message your clients get from you

Avana's emails go automatically to every client with an email address, and you choose when the reminder goes.

Confirmation after bookingWhat they booked, when, how long it takes and where you are.
Reminder before the appointmentFour hours ahead by default, or one, two or three days. Short, with the time and your address.
A message when things changeMove an appointment and the client knows straight away, without a phone call.
A welcome messageWhere to park, or to arrive five minutes early: your own words, shown while booking and with the appointment.
Asking for a reviewAfter the visit, a request to leave a review goes out automatically.Turn on reviews Questions before the visitClients answer your intake questions while booking, so you know what to expect.Create a form An email for half-finished bookingsIf someone started booking and dropped out, they get a nudge to finish.Turn it on Your own cancellation rulesHow late clients can cancel, and what applies after that.Set your rules
Questions

Appointment reminders: the details

What are automated appointment reminders?

Automated reminders are messages your booking system sends to clients on its own: a confirmation as soon as they book and a reminder shortly before the appointment. In Avana they go out by themselves with the service, the time and your address, plus a button to reschedule. You don't have to do anything.

Do appointment reminders really reduce no-shows at a salon?

Yes, because most people who don't turn up had simply forgotten. A message beforehand puts the appointment back on their mind, and if it no longer suits, they reschedule while the slot can still be filled.

How far ahead does Avana send appointment reminders?

Avana sends the reminder at a time you choose. In your notification settings you choose four hours, one day, two days or three days before. Switching them off altogether isn't possible: every client with an email address gets the confirmation and the reminder. If you don't want messages for one particular appointment, mark it as for your own records when you create it.

Can I change the wording of the reminder?

No, Avana's reminder wording is fixed, with your salon name as the sender and the service, time and address included. If you want to tell clients something, such as where to park, write a welcome message in your settings. Clients see it while booking and on their appointment page.

Why does a client sometimes not get the email?

Usually it's in their junk folder, or the email address has a typo such as gmial.com. Check the address on the client record and correct it if needed. You can resend the confirmation once per appointment from the appointment itself.

Are reminders included in every Avana plan?

Yes, email reminders are in every plan, starting at $20.99 a month, tax included, with no charge per message. See the pricing page.

Can clients reschedule from the reminder?

Yes. Every Avana message has a button to reschedule or cancel, within the rules you set in your cancellation policy. The slot that frees up is open for booking again straight away.

Is there a service fee, and who pays it?

When a client pays online, a small service fee is part of the price they see from the very first screen: 3% of the booking, at least $1.99 and at most $2.79. You pay nothing on your takings, because Avana charges no commission. That small amount from the client is what lets us pay you out in full, so the whole treatment price stays with you.

Question not answered here? Send it to us and a real person at Avana will answer it.

The short answer

What are Avana's automated reminders?

Avana is salon booking software that sends appointment reminders by email automatically. Clients get a confirmation straight after booking and a reminder shortly before the appointment, with the service, the time and your address. You choose how far ahead the reminder goes, from four hours to three days, and there's always a button for clients to reschedule or cancel themselves. Email reminders are included in every plan. For a solo salon, Avana Business costs $20.99 a month, tax included, which is $0.69 a day.

Reminders against no-shows

Fewer empty chairs in your salon

An empty chair doesn't just cost you that hour; you could have given it to someone else. Yet hardly anyone stays away on purpose. They forgot, or thought it was next week. Automated appointment reminders tackle exactly that, with a confirmation email after booking and a reminder email shortly before the appointment.

In Avana those messages go out on their own, whether the appointment came in through your booking page, your own website or your Instagram DMs. You decide how far ahead the reminder goes, and there's a button to reschedule, so a client who can't make it frees up the slot instead of leaving it empty.

For extra certainty on a long or expensive service, ask for a deposit and set out the rules in your cancellation policy. If someone still cancels, your waitlist gets an email straight away, from Business Plus. What each plan includes is on the pricing page.

How do automated reminders work in a salon?

Automated reminders are emails your booking system sends to clients without you typing anything: a confirmation as soon as they book, and a reminder just before the appointment. They solve the most common no-show problem, which is the client who simply forgot. They also save you a stream of messages, because someone who has the time and place in writing doesn't need to ask again.

Every client with an email address gets these emails, whether they booked through your booking page or you added them to your calendar yourself. They come from your salon name, with the service, the time and your address. Every confirmation and reminder has a button to view or reschedule, so clients can sort things out within your rules.

How far in advance should you send an appointment reminder?

Send it before your cancellation deadline, so the client can still cancel in time and you can still fill the slot. If clients can cancel free up to 24 hours ahead, two days before is a good choice.

In Avana the reminder is set to four hours ahead by default. That works as a memory jog, but by then canceling is often too late. You can choose one, two or three days instead in your notification settings, and if your choice falls after your cancellation deadline, the settings screen tells you. A salon with lots of short cuts often picks one day; a nail studio with long sets or a beauty salon with ninety-minute treatments usually picks two. If someone books after the reminder time has passed, they get it four hours before.

Which emails does a client get from booking to after the visit?

Four kinds, and you send none of them yourself. They only go to clients with an email address, and any reply comes straight to you.

First the confirmation, straight after booking, with a button to add the appointment to their own calendar. Then the reminder, at the time you chose. If the appointment is moved or canceled, by the client or by you, there's an email about that too. And after an online booking comes a request for a review, at least three hours after the visit and only between 9:00 and 21:00. You can add more yourself: an aftercare email after a treatment, or an abandoned booking email for someone who stopped halfway.

Why didn't a client get their confirmation or reminder?

Usually it's in their spam or junk folder, or the email address has a typo. Addresses like gmial.com or hotmial.com are the most common cause, so ask the client to check their spam folder first, and in Gmail the Promotions tab too.

Then check the email address on the client record and correct it if needed. If you created the appointment for your own records only, the client deliberately gets nothing. If you approve online bookings yourself, the confirmation only goes once you accept the request. To resend the confirmation, open the appointment and resend it from the menu; that's possible once per appointment. More ideas for keeping chairs full are on no-show protection.

Pricing

Three plans, and the price is right here

Every plan includes sales tax, takes no commission on your bookings and can be canceled any month. Try Avana free for 7 days, no card needed.

MonthlyYearly save up to $142

Business

For the independent salon that takes bookings seriously.
$20.99/month

$0.70 a day, and no commission on your revenue.

Start free
Most popular

Business Plus

For the salon that wants every gap in the week filled.
$35.99/month

$1.20 a day. One extra appointment a month covers it.

Start free

Business Max

For the salon that also teaches, with Avana Academy included.
$70.99/month

$2.37 a day, with Avana Academy included.

Start free
  • Mobile app for iPhone and Android
  • 2 extra team members includedEach with their own calendar. After that, $7.99 a month per person.
  • Avana Academy includedSell courses with certificates for your students.
  • Treatment rooms in your calendarAdd the room or chair to each appointment, so two treatments never clash.
  • 5 free SMS a month included
  • Email campaigns
  • Automatic birthday and win-back emails
  • Use your own domain name
  • Your own branding in campaigns
  • Advanced settings
  • Early access to new features

All prices include sales tax. Move to another plan and you only pay the difference.

Add-ons when you need them

Three things you can add on their own

On the same bill as your plan, and you can stop any month.

Avana Connect

Link your Instagram once. From then on, an assistant answers client messages with your own prices and free times, and clients can book right there in the chat.

$12.99a month
Add Avana Connect

Avana Academy

Sell your own course to people who want to learn your craft. You record the lessons once, the practical day sits in your calendar and certificates go out on their own.

$11.99a month
Add the Academy

An extra team member

Someone joins you on Tuesdays and Saturdays? Add them with their own hours and their own column in the calendar, and clients can book with them by name.

$7.99a month
Add a team member

Get your salon taking bookings this afternoon

Create your booking page, set your hours and share your link. Avana is free for the first 7 days.

Set up your booking page