---
title: What messages clients get automatically
slug: what-messages-clients-get-automatically
category: Messages & Notifications
url: https://alaga.io/help/article/what-messages-clients-get-automatically
audiences: business_owner, manager
updated: 2026-10-23
source: Alaga Help Center
---

# What messages clients get automatically
Settings for all of these are on **Sidebar → Business Settings → Customer Notifications**. Owners and managers can change them.

## Two master switches first

Nothing reaches clients until these are on:

- **Email your clients** (top of Customer Notifications). While it is off, clients get no email from Alaga at all: no confirmations, reminders, follow-ups, invoices or receipts. New accounts start with it off. An owner or manager turns it on.
- **Text switches** on the **Text Messages** tab. Every automatic text is off until you turn it on.

Email and text are separate. Turning on one does not turn on the other.

## What goes out, and when

| Message | Email | Text | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online booking request received | Yes | No | When a client books online |
| Booking confirmation | Yes | No (coming soon) | When the appointment is confirmed (see below) |
| Appointment reminder | Yes | If **Appointment reminder texts** is on | About 24 hours and about 2 hours before |
| Check-in tracker link | No | If **Check-in tracker texts** is on | When the pet is checked in on the Live Board |
| Ready for pickup | Yes | If **Ready-for-pickup texts** is on | When the pet is ready (see below) |
| No-show follow-up | Yes | No | After a no-show, if **Follow-up emails** is on |

Emails also depend on the switches in the **Client Email Notifications** card: **Booking confirmations**, **Appointment reminders** and **Follow-up emails**. Each client's own preferences in the portal still apply.

## Booking confirmations

- **Online bookings** arrive as requests. The client gets a "request received" email right away. When you confirm the request, they get the confirmed email.
- **Bookings you make yourself** email the client a confirmation when you save, as long as **Email the client a booking confirmation** is ticked on the booking form's last step. It is ticked by default. Untick it to book quietly. If no email can go out, the form says why instead: for example, the client has no email address, or confirmations are switched off. Booking several pets sends one email per pet. A repeating series sends one email, for the first visit. Pressing **Confirm** later doesn't send it a second time.
- **Boarding and daycare requests** get a confirmation email when you confirm the stay.

Confirmations are email only. **Booking confirmation texts** show as **Coming soon** on the Text Messages tab. A client with no email on file gets no confirmation.

## Reminders

Reminders go **about 24 hours** and **about 2 hours** before the appointment. You can't change these times.

- An appointment booked less than about 23 hours ahead never gets the 24-hour reminder. It can still get the 2-hour one.
- Reminders are checked once an hour, so the exact minute varies.
- The reminder text needs **Appointment reminder texts** on. The email needs **Appointment reminders** on.

See [Reminder timing and editing message templates](/help/article/reminder-timing-and-templates).

## Ready for pickup

The ready message goes when:

- you move the pet's card to **Ready for Pickup** on the **Live Board** (on **Overview**), or
- you complete an appointment that was In Progress.

The text needs **Ready-for-pickup texts** on. It is off until you turn it on. The email goes whenever client email is on.

**Families with several pets get one message.** Alaga waits until the last pet in that visit is ready, then sends one combined message.

## Who messages come from

- **Texts** come from Alaga's shared phone number, not your business's own number. Clients may not recognize it at first. Tell them to save it. When they reply, the reply lands in **Messages**. See [Two-way messaging with clients](/help/article/two-way-messaging-with-clients).
- **Emails** come from noreply@notifications.alaga.io with your business name. Replies go to your business email, set in **Business Profile**.

## Rules for texts

- **Consent.** Texts only go to clients who agreed to receive them. A client who replies STOP gets no more texts until they reply START.
- **Plan.** Automatic texts need the Professional plan or higher.
- **Allowance.** Every text counts against your plan's monthly allowance, shown on the Text Messages tab. When it runs out, reminder texts pause until next month. Emails keep going.

See [Text messages: consent, compliance and what gets sent](/help/article/sms-consent-and-compliance).

## Checking what was sent

The **Delivery Log** tab on Customer Notifications lists every email and text and whether it was sent, failed or skipped. If a client says they got nothing, start there. See [Why didn't my reminder send?](/help/article/why-didnt-my-reminder-send).