Reminders & Workflows

A reminder workflow is an automated sequence of emails, webhooks, or other actions that fire at specific moments around a booking. Workflows are how you cut no-shows, personalize follow-ups, and integrate Bookme with the rest of your stack.

1. The Five Workflow Triggers

A workflow can fire on any of these triggers:

• Before the event. A scheduled offset before the meeting (24h, 1h, 15m, custom).
• After the event. A scheduled offset after the meeting (immediately, 1h, 24h, 1 week).
• When attendance is marked. Right when you click Met / Missed / No-show / Decided to reschedule.
• When a booking is created. Fires immediately at booking time.
• When a booking is cancelled. Fires when an invitee or you cancels.

2. The Three Action Types

Each workflow runs one or more actions:

• Email invitee. Send an email to the person who booked.
• Email host (you) or a custom address. Useful for internal alerts or CC’ing teammates.
• Webhook. POST a JSON payload to any URL (CRM, Slack, your own database).

3. The Four Default Workflows

Every new Bookme account ships with four workflows pre-installed:

• 24-Hour Reminder. Email to invitee 24 hours before the meeting.
• 1-Hour Reminder. Email to both you and the invitee 1 hour before.
• Post-Meeting Check-In. Email to you after the meeting with four action buttons.
• Post-Meeting Follow-Up. Email to the invitee based on which check-in button you clicked.

These cover the basics. You can edit them, turn them off, or add more.

4. Why Workflows Matter

• Lower no-shows. A 24-hour and 1-hour reminder roughly halves no-show rates.
• Faster follow-up. Automated thank-you and recap emails reach the invitee within minutes of the meeting ending.
• Less manual work. No more remembering to email people; the system does it.
• Cleaner CRM data. Webhook to your CRM and bookings flow straight into your pipeline.

5. Merge Variables

Workflow emails support merge variables that pull from the booking record. The most useful are:

• {{invitee_name}}, full name of the invitee.
• {{host_name}}, your display name.
• {{event_name}}, event type title.
• {{meeting_time}}, meeting time in the recipient’s zone.
• {{meeting_link}}, direct join URL.
• {{booking_link}}, link to book again.
• {{host_meeting_notes}}, your notes from the Met-with-notes flow.

Plus host contact variables ({{host_phone}}, {{host_whatsapp}}, {{host_linkedin}}, etc.) for sign-offs.

6. When To Turn Off A Workflow

Workflows can be turned off without deletion. Useful when: – You are testing a new template and want to pause the old one. – An event type does not need reminders (e.g. internal team checks). – You are temporarily on vacation and do not want post-meeting emails.

Creating a workflow takes about a minute. You pick a trigger, who it sends to, write the subject and body, and turn it on.

1. Open The Workflows Page

In the dashboard sidebar, click Workflows. You see a card for every workflow already configured.

2. Click + New Workflow

Click + New Workflow in the top right. The new workflow editor opens.

3. Pick A Trigger

Choose one of: – Before the event. Offset in minutes, hours, or days before. – After the event. Offset after. – When attendance is marked. Filter by Met / No-Show / Host No-Show / Rescheduled. – When a booking is created. – When a booking is cancelled.

4. Pick Recipients

Choose any combination: – Invitee. – Host (you). – Custom email (a teammate, your CRM intake address). – Webhook URL (POST JSON to any endpoint).

5. Write The Subject And Body

Two fields: – Subject. Email subject line. – Body. Plain text with merge variables.

Click the {{ var }} button next to either field to open the merge-variable picker.

6. Pick Which Event Types The Workflow Applies To

Below the body, the Event types dropdown lets you scope the workflow: – All event types (default). – Specific events (tick which ones).

7. Send A Test To Yourself

Click Send test to me to fire a real email to your address using fake booking data. This is the best way to spot formatting issues.

8. Save And Turn On

Click Save, then toggle the workflow On at the top. The workflow now fires on every matching future booking.

Every new Bookme account ships with four pre-installed workflows. They cover the basics; most hosts never need more.

1. The 24-Hour Reminder

• Trigger: 24 hours before the meeting.
• Recipient: Invitee.
• Subject: “Reminder: {{event_name}} tomorrow.”
• Body: A friendly reminder with the meeting time, location/link, and reschedule + cancel links.
• Purpose: Reduce no-shows by giving invitees a day’s heads-up.

2. The 1-Hour Reminder

• Trigger: 1 hour before the meeting.
• Recipients: Invitee AND host.
• Subject: “Reminder: {{event_name}} in 1 hour.”
• Body: A short final reminder with the meeting URL and a prominent “Join meeting” button.
• Purpose: Final nudge. Catches people who said “yes” 6 days ago and forgot.

3. The Post-Meeting Check-In

• Trigger: Immediately after the meeting ends.
• Recipient: Host (you).
• Subject: “How did your meeting with {{invitee_name}} go?”
• Body: A branded email with four action buttons:
• Met. You attended and connected.
• Decided to reschedule. The meeting needs to be moved.
• I missed. You missed the meeting on your end.
• No-show. The invitee did not show.

Clicking any button triggers the post-meeting follow-up workflow with the right tone.

4. The Post-Meeting Follow-Up

• Trigger: When attendance is marked.
• Recipient: Invitee.
• Variations based on which button you clicked:
• Met: Thank-you email with your meeting notes ({{host_meeting_notes}}) and a “Book another time” CTA.
• Decided to reschedule: Email with reschedule link.
• I missed: Apology email with reschedule link.
• No-show: “We missed you; want to reschedule?” email.

5. The Met-With-Notes Flow

Clicking Met in the check-in email opens a notes-entry page where you can type a short message about the meeting. That message becomes {{host_meeting_notes}} in the follow-up email.

This is one of Bookme’s most useful features for high-touch hosts.

6. Toggling The Defaults Off

You can turn off any default workflow without deleting it. Open the workflow and toggle Active off.

7. Customizing The Defaults

Open any default workflow and edit subject, body, timing, or recipient. Common customizations: – Replace the generic reminder body with your brand voice. – Add your contact channels ({{host_whatsapp}}, {{host_linkedin}}) to the signature. – Add a personal touch to the post-meeting follow-up.

The subject and body of every workflow email are fully editable. You can rewrite them, add merge variables, and preview before saving.

1. Open The Workflow Editor

Workflows in sidebar, then click the workflow you want to edit.

2. Edit The Subject

The subject field is plain text plus merge variables. Click {{ var }} to insert a variable.

Examples: – “Reminder: {{event_name}} tomorrow.” – “See you in 1 hour, {{invitee_name}}.” – “Looking forward to chatting today at {{meeting_time}}.”

Keep subjects under 50 characters where possible.

3. Edit The Body

The body is plain text with merge variables. Newlines preserve as paragraph breaks in the rendered email.

Bookme renders the body inside a branded HTML wrapper with your logo, brand color, and a “Join Meeting” button (for before-event workflows with meeting links).

4. The Merge-Variable Picker

Click {{ var }} to see every available variable for this trigger. Each one is listed with a description. Click to insert at the cursor position.

5. Preview Live

The right side of the editor shows a real-time preview of the rendered email using sample data. As you type or insert variables, the preview updates.

6. Send A Test To Yourself

Click Send test to me to fire a real email to your address. This catches formatting issues the preview misses (some email clients render HTML slightly differently).

– Merge variables that did not interpolate (typo in the variable name).

– Line breaks that did not render.

– Body too long for the email body width.

7. Markdown Support

The body field supports a subset of Markdown: – Bold with text – Italic with text – Bullet lists with - item – Links with [label](https://example.com)

Use sparingly. Heavy formatting can break in some email clients.

8. Saving

Click Save at the top. Changes apply to all future emails fired by this workflow. Bookings that already had this workflow fire (past emails sent) keep their original content.

Merge variables are placeholders that get replaced with real booking data when the email is sent. Bookme exposes a comprehensive set for every workflow.

1. Identity

• {{invitee_name}}, Full name of the invitee.
• {{invitee_email}}, Email of the invitee.
• {{host_name}}, Your display name.

2. Host Contact Channels (From Settings > Profile)

• {{host_email}}, Your login email. Useful for sign-offs.
• {{host_whatsapp}}, Your WhatsApp number (if set).
• {{host_telegram}}, Your Telegram handle (if set).
• {{host_linkedin}}, Your LinkedIn URL (if set).
• {{host_phone}}, Your phone number (if set).
• {{host_website}}, Your website URL (if set).

Empty fields render as empty strings, not the literal {{host_whatsapp}}.

3. Event And Meeting

• {{event_name}}, Event type title (e.g. “30-Min Intro Call”).
• {{meeting_title}}, Alias of {{event_name}}, used in follow-up templates.
• {{date_time}}, Meeting time in the recipient’s zone.
• {{meeting_time}}, Alias of {{date_time}}.
• {{date_time_invitee}}, Time forced to the invitee’s zone.
• {{date_time_host}}, Time forced to your zone.
• {{duration}}, Meeting duration in minutes.
• {{location}}, Meeting location or type label (e.g. “Zoom” or address).
• {{meeting_link}}, Direct join URL.
• {{meeting_link_section}}, Pre-styled meeting link block with a “Join meeting” button.

4. Post-Meeting Notes

• {{host_meeting_notes}}, Your notes from the Met-with-notes flow. Empty if you have not entered notes.

5. Booking Actions

• {{booking_link}}, Link to book again with you.
• {{cta_url}}, Alias of {{booking_link}}.
• {{reschedule_link}}, Link to reschedule this booking.
• {{cancel_link}}, Link to cancel this booking.

6. Intake Form

• {{intake_answers_section}}, The full set of intake-form answers, formatted as a clean block with labels.

You can also reference individual intake questions by their slug: – {{intake.company}}, Answer to a question with slug “company.” – {{intake.budget}}, Answer to a question with slug “budget.”

7. Cancellation

• {{cancellation_reason_section}}, Pre-formatted cancellation reason block (empty if no reason given).

8. Insertion

Type {{ var }} in any field, or use the variable picker button next to the field, to insert.

For “before event” workflows that send to the invitee or host, Bookme automatically renders a styled “Join Meeting” button when the meeting has a video link. You can also include or exclude it manually.

1. The Automatic Button

Any workflow with trigger Before the event that sends to invitee or host and references the meeting will auto-render a mint-colored “Join Meeting” pill button at the bottom of the email body.

The button appears whenever the booking has a meeting URL (Zoom, Google Meet, brandID Meet). For in-person or phone-only events, the button is skipped automatically.

2. Manually Insert The Button

You can also place the button anywhere in the body using the {{meeting_link_section}} merge variable. It renders as the same styled pill button.

Example body: “` Hi {{invitee_name}},

Looking forward to chatting with you in 1 hour about {{event_name}}.

{{meeting_link_section}}

If something comes up, you can reschedule here: {{reschedule_link}}.

See you soon, {{host_name}} “`

3. Just The Raw URL

If you want only the raw URL without the button styling, use {{meeting_link}} instead:

“Join here: {{meeting_link}}“

This is useful for fallback environments (very old email clients) where the styled button might not render perfectly.

4. Why The Button Matters

A clearly-clickable button raises join rates noticeably compared to a plain text URL. Invitees scanning their inbox can click without parsing.

5. Customizing The Button Label

The default label is “Join Meeting.” To change it (e.g. to “Join Zoom Call” or “Open Video Room”), Bookme uses the format of {{meeting_link_section}}. There is no direct label override; use a custom button by writing plain HTML in the body if you need a different label.

6. For In-Person Events

Before-event reminders for in-person events do not get a Join Meeting button. Instead, include the address in the body:

“We’re meeting at 247 Main Street, Suite 200. The buzzer is on the left.”

Bookme’s post-meeting check-in email asks you to mark how the meeting went, then fires the right follow-up based on your answer. You can fully customize each variation.

1. The Check-In Flow

Right after each meeting ends, you (the host) get a “How did your meeting go?” email with four buttons:

• Met. You attended and the meeting happened.
• Decided to reschedule. Meeting needs to move.
• I missed. You missed it on your end.
• No-show. The invitee did not show.

Clicking any one triggers the corresponding follow-up workflow.

2. The Four Follow-Up Templates

Each click triggers one of the four default follow-up emails to the invitee:

• Met click: Thank-you email with your notes ({{host_meeting_notes}}) and a “Book another time” CTA.
• Decided to reschedule click: Email with the reschedule link.
• I missed click: Apology email with the booking link for a fresh slot.
• No-show click: “We missed you” email with the booking link.

3. Customize Each Template

Open Workflows, find the four templates (followup_attended, followup_no_show, followup_host_missed, followup_rescheduled). Edit subject and body independently.

4. Example Customization: Met Follow-Up

The default Met template includes {{host_meeting_notes}}. If you do not use the Met-with-notes flow, replace the body with something simpler:

“` Hi {{invitee_name}},

Great chatting with you today. Let me know if there is anything else I can help with.

If you want to schedule another time, my calendar is here: {{booking_link}}

Best, {{host_name}} “`

5. Example Customization: No-Show Follow-Up

The default tone is friendly but firm. Some hosts want a sharper version:

“` Hi {{invitee_name}},

Looks like we missed each other at {{meeting_time}}. No worries, things come up.

If you would like to reschedule, here is my calendar: {{booking_link}}

Regards, {{host_name}} “`

6. Skipping Specific Follow-Ups

You can disable any individual follow-up. Turn off the workflow but leave the others on. Useful when, for example, you do not want any follow-up after a “Decided to reschedule” click (because you handle reschedules manually).

7. Adding A Met-With-Notes Step

The Met click is special. By default, it routes to the notes-entry page where you type a short message about the meeting. That note appears as {{host_meeting_notes}} in the follow-up email. See the next article for details.

The Met-with-notes flow is one of Bookme’s most useful features. When you click Met in the post-meeting check-in email, you are taken to a notes page where you can type a short message about the meeting. That message becomes {{host_meeting_notes}} in the follow-up email to the invitee.

1. The Flow End-To-End

1. The meeting ends.
2. You get the “How did your meeting with {{invitee_name}} go?” email.
3. You click Met.
4. A page opens asking “Glad it happened. Anything to add?”
5. You type a quick note (or skip).
6. You click Send follow-up with notes.
7. The invitee gets a thank-you email with your notes embedded inline.

2. Why It Matters

A generic thank-you email gets skimmed. A thank-you with specific notes (“As promised, I’ll send the proposal by Friday, and the intro to Sarah next week”) feels human and reinforces the meeting outcome.

You can also use the notes for: – Action items. “Next steps: I’ll follow up with pricing options on Wednesday.” – Resources. “Here’s the case study we discussed: [link]” – Personal touches. “Loved hearing about your trip to Iceland; here’s that book I mentioned: [title]”

3. The Default Met Template

The follow-up uses the followup_attended template by default:

“` Hi {{invitee_name}},

Thanks for the time today. Really enjoyed our conversation about “{{meeting_title}}”.

{{host_meeting_notes}}

If you would like to schedule another time, the link below will pull up my calendar. {{booking_link}}

Regards, {{host_name}} “`

If you do not type a note, {{host_meeting_notes}} renders as empty, and the email still flows naturally.

4. Customize The Notes Template

Edit the followup_attended workflow under Workflows. You can: – Move the notes block to a different spot. – Add a header above the notes (“Here’s a quick recap:”). – Skip the notes entirely if you do not want them on certain event types.

5. Skip Notes And Send Anyway

The notes page has two buttons: – Send follow-up with notes. Sends the email with whatever you typed. – Skip notes and send follow-up. Sends the email with {{host_meeting_notes}} rendered as empty.

You can also close the tab without doing anything; the workflow does not fire and the Met action remains unrecorded. You can re-click Met any time before the email-action token expires (14 days).

6. Length Of Notes

Up to 2000 characters. Keep them short. Two or three sentences max is the sweet spot.

7. Notes Are Saved Per Booking

The notes get attached to the booking record permanently. You can review them later from the booking detail panel on your dashboard.

Webhooks let Bookme POST a JSON payload to any URL when a workflow fires. Use them to push bookings into your CRM, alert Slack, or trigger any other system.

1. Open Or Create A Workflow

Workflows page, then + New Workflow or edit an existing one.

2. Pick A Trigger

Any trigger works. Common choices: – When a booking is created. Fires immediately on booking. Best for CRM intake. – After the event. Fires after the meeting. Best for “meeting complete” updates. – When attendance is marked. Fires when you click Met / Missed / No-show. Best for pipeline state changes.

3. Add A Webhook Action

In the Actions section, click + Add action, then pick Webhook.

Enter: – URL. The endpoint to POST to (e.g. https://hooks.zapier.com/... or https://your-crm.com/api/bookings). – (Optional) Secret. A signing secret Bookme uses to sign the request so you can verify it came from Bookme.

4. What’s In The Payload

Bookme sends a JSON body like:

“json { "event": "booking.created", "booking": { "id": "abc123", "event_type": "30-Min Intro Call", "start_time": "2026-07-15T14:00:00Z", "end_time": "2026-07-15T14:30:00Z", "invitee_name": "Sarah Chen", "invitee_email": "[email protected]", "host_name": "James Li", "host_email": "[email protected]", "location": "Zoom", "meeting_link": "https://zoom.us/j/123", "intake_answers": [ { "label": "Company", "value": "Acme" }, { "label": "Budget", "value": "$50k" } ] } } “

The exact schema depends on the trigger; see Bookme’s developer docs for full reference.

5. Verifying The Signature

If you set a secret, Bookme adds a header X-Bookme-Signature to the request. Compute HMAC-SHA256 of the request body with your secret; if it matches the header, the request is authentic.

6. Retry Policy

If the webhook URL returns a non-2xx status, Bookme retries: – 5 minutes later. – 30 minutes later. – 4 hours later.

After three failed attempts, the webhook is given up. You see the failure in your workflow’s “Recent activity” log.

7. Common Integrations

• Zapier or Make: Use Bookme as a trigger; build any downstream automation.
• CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive): Push bookings as new contacts or deals.
• Slack: Post a message to a channel.
• Custom database: Save to your own backend.

Bookme supports SMS reminders on the Elite plan. They work alongside email reminders and use the same workflow system.

1. The Status Of SMS Today

• Plan: Elite only.
• Coverage: US, Canada, UK, Australia, EU.
• Pricing: Included up to 200 SMS / month per workspace; additional usage charged at a per-message rate (varies by country).

2. Enable SMS On Your Account

Settings, then Integrations, then SMS. Click Enable.

You will be asked to verify: – Your country. – A sender phone number. Bookme provisions a number for you, or you can bring your own via Twilio (advanced).

3. Add An SMS Action To A Workflow

Open or create a workflow. Click + Add action, then pick SMS invitee.

The SMS action has one field: the message body. SMS messages are plain text only.

4. SMS Length And Cost

• Standard SMS: 160 characters per message.
• Longer messages are split into multiple SMS automatically; each segment counts as one message toward your limit.

Bookme shows the character count and how many segments it will take.

5. Merge Variables In SMS

Same merge variables as email work in SMS. A typical 1-hour SMS reminder:

“Hi {{invitee_name}}, reminder: {{event_name}} in 1 hour. Join here: {{meeting_link}}”

6. Collecting Phone Numbers

For SMS to fire, you need the invitee’s phone number. Add a “Phone number” question to your intake form (required field). Bookme uses the answer for the SMS reminder.

7. SMS Compliance

• Always tell invitees they will receive SMS reminders when they book.
• Bookme adds an opt-out link to every SMS by default (“Reply STOP to unsubscribe”).
• Compliance with TCPA (US), CASL (Canada), and GDPR (EU) is the host’s responsibility; Bookme provides the tooling.

8. Costs Beyond The Free Allotment

After 200 SMS in a month, additional SMS are charged at: – $0.04 / SMS in US, Canada. – $0.06 / SMS in UK. – $0.08 / SMS in EU.

Billed to your Bookme subscription card monthly.

Toggling a workflow off pauses it without deleting its configuration. Useful when testing, when on vacation, or when the workflow is no longer needed for a specific event.

1. Open The Workflows Page

Workflows in sidebar. Each workflow has a toggle at the top right of its card.

2. Toggle Off

Click the Active toggle. The workflow stops firing for any new booking.

Bookings that already had this workflow’s job scheduled (e.g. a 1-hour reminder for a meeting later today) DO still fire. Toggling off only stops future scheduling, not in-flight jobs.

3. Toggle Back On

Click the toggle again. The workflow resumes for new bookings.

4. Per-Event-Type Off

If you want a workflow to apply to most event types but not one specific event, do not toggle it off entirely. Instead: – Open the workflow. – Scope it to specific event types (the Event types dropdown). – Untick the one you want to skip.

5. Bulk Pause All Workflows

For vacations or temporary breaks, you can bulk-pause all workflows. At the top of the Workflows page, click Pause all. All workflows pause.

When you return, click Resume all.

6. Toggle History

Bookme keeps a history of when each workflow was toggled on or off, visible in the Activity log at the bottom of the workflow editor. Useful for troubleshooting “why did this not fire?”