Notification Rules
Notification rules are the heart of Attendara. Each rule defines when to send a message, what to say, and how to deliver it. Rules run automatically for every appointment — you configure them once and they work forever.
Viewing your rules
Go to Notifications → Rules to see all your notification rules. Each rule shows its name, trigger, medium (email or SMS), and whether it is active.
Creating a rule
- Click Add rule.
- Optional — start from a preset. At the top of the form, select a preset template from the dropdown. Choosing a preset immediately fills in every field in the form: name, trigger, offset, delivery medium, and message content. You can then customise any of these fields. Leave this blank to start from scratch.
- Give the rule a descriptive name (e.g. 24-hour reminder).
- Choose a trigger (see below).
- Set the offset — how many hours or days before or after the trigger event the notification should be sent.
- Choose the delivery medium — Email or SMS. New rules default to SMS; switch to Email if you prefer.
- Write your message using template variables.
- Configure any additional options.
- Click Save. The rule is active immediately.
Trigger types
A trigger is the event that causes the notification to be sent. The available triggers are:
| Trigger | When it fires | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| After creation | Immediately when a new appointment is detected | Initial confirmation request |
| Before start | X hours/minutes before the appointment start time | Reminder (e.g. 24 hours before) |
| After end | X hours/minutes after the appointment ends | Review request, follow-up |
| After update | When the calendar event is edited (time/title change) | Change notification |
| After reschedule | When the event is moved to a new time | New time notification |
Offset configuration
For Before start and After end triggers, you set an offset that determines the exact timing. The rule editor shows a numeric field with a unit toggle:
- Enter a number in the input field.
- Click the unit toggle to switch between Hours and Days.
Examples: enter 24 with Hours selected to send a reminder 24 hours before start; enter 1 with Days to send a reminder the day before.
Rule options
- Active / Inactive — Toggle a rule off temporarily without deleting it. Inactive rules do not fire.
- Skip if already confirmed — Available on Before start rules. If the customer has already confirmed, the reminder is not sent. Avoids redundant messages.
- Fallback medium — If the primary delivery method fails (e.g. no email on file), try the other method (SMS). See Delivery Methods.
Editing and deleting rules
Click any rule in the list to edit it. Changes take effect immediately for all future notifications — they do not affect notifications already queued or sent.
To delete a rule, open it and click Delete rule. This removes the rule and cancels any pending notifications that were queued by that rule.