Customers & Automation
Birthday & Rebooking Automations
Last updated 19 May 2026
Birthday & Rebooking Automations
Keep clients engaged without typing every message yourself. Birthday automations send a message on (or around) a customer's birthday; rebooking nudges remind them to come back after their typical cadence. Both run on a daily cron and respect opt-out, quiet hours, and Spark / wallet rules.
Where to find them — Web: Sidebar → Automations. Mobile: More → Automations.
TL;DR
- Birthday automations send a message before or on a customer's birthday; rebooking nudges fire after a configurable inactivity window.
- Both require an active Pro subscription. SMS delivery requires a dedicated number in AU or GB. NZ is email-only.
- Opt-out, quiet hours, and wallet pause are honoured automatically — you don't need to manage them per send.
- The Concierge has on-demand sibling actions (Birthday outreach, Cohort outreach) for when you want to review the wording or send to a subset.
Requirements
- Active Pro subscription.
- Owner access to configure automation settings. Managers can view but not edit.
- For SMS delivery: a dedicated number provisioned in Settings → SMS & Messaging (AU and GB only).
- New Zealand supports these automations by email only.
Birthday automation
Sends a single message on or near each client's birthday. Uses the venue's brand voice and the standard birthday template.
Configure
- Open Automations → Birthday.
- Set the timing:
- On the day — fires at 09:00 in venue timezone on the birthday itself.
- N days before — fires earlier (1, 3, or 7 days before).
- Choose the channel (SMS, Email, or both — SMS requires AU/GB + dedicated number).
- Optionally edit the template copy. The template uses your venue's brand voice persona by default.
- Save and toggle the automation On.
What sends and what doesn't
| Recipient state | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Marketing opt-in active | Sent. |
| Opted out of marketing | Skipped, no charge. |
| Blocked client | Skipped, no charge. |
| In Quiet Hours window at fire time | Delayed to the next allowed slot (next morning after quiet hours end). |
| Wallet balance short | Job pauses until topped up; no partial sends. |
| Birthday already wished this year | Skipped (one-per-year dedup). |
Sibling: Birthday Concierge action
The Concierge has a Birthday outreach action (Concierge Actions & Backfill) that lets you draft and send a birthday SMS to today's or this week's birthdays on demand. Use the automation for hands-off coverage; use the Concierge action when you want to review the wording, pick a subset, or batch-send to a wider cohort. The two are independent and don't conflict.
Rebooking nudge
Reminds clients to come back after a configurable inactivity window. Uses cadence math: if a client typically books every 6 weeks, the nudge fires 6 weeks after their last appointment unless they've already rebooked.
Configure
- Open Automations → Rebooking.
- Set the inactivity window:
- Use the default cadence per service (recommended) — the nudge uses each service's typical client cadence.
- Or pick a fixed window (e.g. 8 weeks after last visit).
- Choose the channel (SMS / email / both).
- Optionally edit the template copy.
- Save and toggle the automation On.
Relationship to rebook-at-checkout
The prebooking panel at checkout offers the same nudge in person at the end of the appointment with one-tap pre-snapped intervals (+4, +6, +8 weeks). A client who books their next visit at checkout won't receive the automated rebooking nudge later — the system checks for any future booking before firing.
This means the in-person panel and the automated nudge complement each other:
- In-person checkout catches the easy yes.
- The automation catches clients who left without rebooking.
What sends and what doesn't
Same opt-out / quiet-hours / wallet rules as the birthday automation. Additional rebooking-specific rules:
| Recipient state | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Future booking exists | Skipped, no charge. |
| Last appointment was a no-show | Skipped (a no-show is a different conversation — use the Concierge No-show follow-up action). |
| Last appointment was cancelled by the client | Sent (cancellations don't suppress the nudge; only future bookings do). |
| Nudge already sent within last 30 days | Skipped (recently-messaged dedup). |
Costs
- Birthday automation: 1 SMS or 1 email per recipient per year. SMS uses your monthly SMS allocation; email uses your monthly email allocation. Overage is billed from the wallet.
- Rebooking nudge: 1 SMS or 1 email per recipient per cadence cycle.
- Spark cost: zero — these run on the standard transactional templates, not on AI generation. (Concierge sibling actions cost ~3 Sparks per draft because they use AI.)
Common mistakes
| Problem | What to check |
|---|---|
| Automation is on but nothing's sending | Confirm Pro is active. Check SMS dedicated number is provisioned (AU/GB) or that the channel is set to Email (NZ). |
| Some clients get the message, others don't | The list above (opt-out, quiet hours, dedup, future booking) excludes recipients silently. Check Engage Activity Feed for the per-recipient outcome. |
| Birthday automation fired twice | Shouldn't — one-per-year dedup is enforced. If you're seeing duplicates, contact support with the recipient and timestamps. |
| Rebooking nudge keeps firing for someone who already rebooked | Future booking check runs at fire time. If they booked between your last view and the cron run, the nudge was suppressed. Check the client's bookings tab. |
| Mobile navigation looks different | Use More → Automations, not the main tabs. |
FAQ
Why isn't my birthday or rebooking automation triggering?
Confirm the automation is enabled, your venue is on an active Pro subscription, and (for SMS in AU or GB) a dedicated number is provisioned in Settings → SMS & Messaging. Also check the recipient hasn't opted out of marketing messages and isn't in your Quiet Hours window.
Can I use SMS for birthday automations in New Zealand?
No. New Zealand venues support email-only delivery for all automations, including birthday and rebooking nudges. Select the email channel when configuring the automation.
Where do I configure birthday and rebooking automations?
Go to Automations on web (Sidebar → Automations) or on mobile (More → Automations), then choose the Birthday or Rebooking automation to configure timing and channel.
Is the birthday Concierge action the same thing?
No, they complement each other. The automation runs on a daily schedule and sends to anyone with a birthday today (or your configured offset). The Concierge action lets you draft and send a birthday SMS to today's or this week's birthdays on demand. Use the automation for hands-off coverage; use the Concierge action when you want to review the wording or pick a subset.
Does the rebooking nudge work with the checkout rebook button?
Yes. The rebooking automation fires after the cadence window; the prebooking panel at checkout offers the same nudge in person at the end of the appointment. The two are independent — a client who rebooks at checkout won't receive the automated nudge later.