Booking reminders are easy to send once and easy to forget at scale. TatTool Flows lets you write the message once and schedule it relative to the appointment start—one day before, two days before, or at another interval that suits your studio.

This guide covers the built-in 24-hour email template and building your own flow. Both use the same two-part structure: a Trigger configured for a booking and an email or SMS action. The Trigger includes the timing—when it runs and how far before the booking starts.

Create a flow from a template or from scratch

TatTool Nodes and Templates panel showing message actions, conditions, and booking reminder templates — A booking reminder uses the same basic structure: a Trigger configured for a booking, connected to a message action.

Open Flows, select New, and give the flow a clear name such as Appointment reminder. The new flow opens in the node builder with a Trigger node on the canvas and the Nodes and Templates panel on the right. Your account needs permission to create or edit flows.

For the fastest setup, select the built-in 24-hour booking reminder under Templates. TatTool adds the configured Trigger, a Send Email node, and starter copy. The template is only a starting point: you can edit its timing, recipient, subject, and message.

To build from scratch, keep the initial Trigger node and add Send Email or Twilio SMS from the Nodes list. Connect the Trigger to the message node on the canvas. Every action that should run needs to be connected to the flow.

Set the trigger to run before the booking

A TatTool booking reminder flow configured to run one day before an appointment starts — Click the Trigger node, then set Event to Booking, choose Before a booking starts, and enter the interval.

Select the Trigger node on the canvas. Its settings open in the right-hand inspector. Configure these three values:

Set Event to Booking.
Set When to Before a booking starts.
Set Interval to the amount and unit you want, such as 1 Day or 2 Days.

The interval is always relative to the booking start. You do not need to calculate a separate send date for each appointment.

One day before is a useful default for a straightforward reminder. Two days may work better when clients need more time to prepare or travel. Choose one consistent rule for the studio, then adjust it if your clients need more notice.

Edit the reminder message in the node inspector

TatTool Send Email node configured with a client recipient, appointment reminder subject, and booking variables — Click the Send Email node to edit the recipient, subject, message, and booking variables in the inspector.

Select the Send Email node. Set the recipient to Client, use a direct subject such as Appointment reminder, and keep the message easy to scan. Include the details a client is most likely to check:

the client's name;
the appointment date and start time;
the studio location;
the artist's name; and
a clear way to contact the studio if something has changed.

Use Insert variable to add booking details such as the client's first name, appointment start time, location, and artist name. TatTool replaces each variable with data from the booking when the message is sent, so the same flow works across your calendar.

Email or SMS: Send Email uses the provider selected under Settings → Communication. Twilio SMS requires the Twilio extension. Whichever action you choose, the client must have the matching email address or phone number.

Choose whether the reminder runs automatically

TatTool flow builder with the Always run setting enabled — Use Always run for a standard reminder that should apply automatically; leave it off when staff should choose per booking.

Enable Always run at the top of the builder when the reminder should apply automatically whenever its Trigger conditions are met. Use this for a standard studio reminder that should not depend on someone selecting the flow for each appointment.

Leave Always run off when staff should choose case by case. Manual flows can be selected while creating a booking; Always run flows cannot be deselected by the person creating the booking.

Run a dry test before you create the flow

TatTool flow test run preview showing successful reminder steps — A dry run lets you validate the flow against a sample booking without sending anything to the client.

Select Test run, choose an existing booking as the sample record, and run the preview. TatTool shows the execution timeline using the current draft. It is a dry run: no messages or notifications are sent, and no Flow Log is stored.

Check that the Trigger is scheduled at the intended time, the message node appears in the timeline, and the booking variables resolve correctly. Then return to the builder and select Create. The saved flow is active and runs asynchronously, without blocking the booking.

Check Flow Logs after a real booking runs

After the flow runs for a real booking, open that booking and review Flow Logs. The log shows which flow ran, which actions executed, whether they succeeded or failed, and any retry attempts. It is the first place to check if a reminder does not arrive.

For the complete reference, read the flow creation guide, trigger and timing guide, and message actions guide.