Use Twilio SMS notifications in Checkfront to deliver important messages directly to customers’ phones, improving engagement and enabling real-time updates.
Learn how to create an SMS notification in your Checkfront account, including selecting a booking status, setting a delivery schedule, choosing the recipient, applying it to inventory, naming the notification, and adding a message.
New to Twilio? Read the first article in this series for an introduction to the Twilio SMS notification feature.
Accessing the features mentioned in this article
Where can I find this feature using the top menu?
- Manage > Integrations > Communication
What more do I need to use this feature?
- Admin permissions to manage Integrations.
- You must have a Twilio account before enabling this integration.
Which Checkfront version supports this feature - classic items, classic products, or both?
- This feature is available in both our classic items version (Inventory > Items) and our classic products version (Inventory > Products). → Learn more about products
Creating SMS Notifications
You can manage Notifications in the Notifications area (Manage > Notifications) in your Checkfront account.
To create a new Twilio notification, navigate to the SMS tab and click the + New Notification button in the left sidebar.
You now see the edit screen for your notification. This page is where you define notification functions, schedules, and messages. Read the following sections for detailed information on each setting.
Choosing a booking status
The system triggers notifications based on the booking status, for example, PAID or CANCELLED.
You can use the Booking Status setting to specify the status or statuses that trigger the notification. Select one status, or select each status that should trigger the notification. When a booking changes to any of the selected statuses, the system sends the SMS to the same recipients, with the same delivery settings and items/products as set for that notification.
For example, to send an SMS only when a booking is marked RESERVED, select just that status.
To send the same SMS whether a booking is marked PAID or DEPOSIT, create one notification and select both statuses. You no longer need a separate copy of the notification for each status.
The Notifications list (Manage > Notifications > SMS tab) shows every status assigned to each notification.
Existing SMS notifications set to a single status continue to work as before; you don’t need to update them.
When Staff or the system changes an invoice's status, the appropriate notification is triggered.
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What is a booking status? A booking status serves as both a visual label and a functional state for each booking in your system. |
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Learn more about statuses For a detailed look at booking statuses, check out the following article series: |
Delivering immediately or as per a schedule
By default, the system sends notifications when the status event is triggered.
If you'd like to schedule the notification for later, follow these instructions:
- Select the Scheduled option from the Deliver setting.
- Choose a timeframe of X number of days, weeks, or months.
- Specify whether this notification is triggered before the booking start date or after the booking end date.
The above example configures the SMS to be sent 1 day after the booking ends.
The system delivers Scheduled SMS at the same hour as the booking was created. For instance, if the system creates the booking at 11 a.m. on Tuesday and the scheduled notification is two days before the booking, it is sent at 11 a.m. on the scheduled day.
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Delayed messages Occasionally, SMS notifications may arrive later than scheduled, but they generally follow the time frame above. If a message seems delayed or missing, check the booking’s Log tab or the Account Activity report for errors, and check Twilio’s status page. |
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Scheduled notifications with multiple statuses A scheduled SMS is sent once per booking. If the booking later changes to another status selected in the same notification, the system doesn’t resend it. |
Setting the notification recipient
With the Recipient setting, you can specify the recipient of SMS notifications.
- Select the Customer option to send the notification to the Customer.
- Select one of the listed accounts or All Staff to deliver the message to your Staff.
Applying the notification to specify item(s)/product(s)
The Apply to field allows you to set notifications for specific item(s)/product(s). This setting is convenient for businesses that need to send out different information depending on the item(s)/product(s) the Customer has booked.
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Example use case For example, when a tour booking has been completed and updated to PAID status, you may wish to send a notification with details on the tour, its meeting location, etc. You may have a different SMS for a hotel room booking that has been updated to PAID. You don't need any information about tour meeting places, etc., but rather directions to the hotel and information about the check-in process. |
You can select an entire category or click the arrow to the right of each category to slide out a list of individual items or products, as shown above.
You can choose items/products individually, allowing you to create notifications on a per-item/per-product basis.
Naming the notification
You can enter the Notification Name in the field provided. The Customer does not see this name; it is simply a way for you to identify your notification when making changes later.
Adding the notification message
You need to enter the notification Message here. You can also include booking details using variables.
Next Steps
In the next article, we examine what notification variables you can use.
< Setting up Twilio SMS notifications in Checkfront | Working with SMS notification variables >