This service is available to our hosted subscription clients only. Our other clients can set this automated service up for themselves using the Bp Allied Scheduler.
What is it?
It is a service that will automatically send your Client reminders (SMS and Email) out each day.
How much will it cost me?
Nothing except the usual SMS provider message cost. We are including this service free with your hosted subscription. We use your existing SMS account to send your SMS messages (this will need to be set-up prior to us setting up automation for you). We use our email servers to send your Email reminders.
How does it help me?
It helps you by taking away the need to remember to send your Reminders each day.
How does it work?
At 11 am, 2pm and 5pm (AEST) each day, Bp Allied will check your database to find any 'unsent' Reminders and send them for you. By default all messages will be sent at 11am for the next day, and for Saturday, Sunday and Monday appointments, reminders will be sent on Friday 10am. The 2pm and 5pm run is just in case you have added any 'new' appointments for the following day after the messages get sent at 11am. It does not send any reminders for any changes made to today's appointments. These need to be sent manually.
If you have specified that reminders get sent two days ahead, rather than one day ahead, then any changes made to appointments for the day of and the day before the appointment will need to have reminders manually sent for them.
Can I change how far in advance they are sent?
Yes. If you want your reminders to go out 2, 3 or more days prior to the Appointment date, just let us know and we will adjust the service to suit your needs. Each day of the week can be adjusted differently.
What if I manually send some Reminders, will my Clients get 2 notifications?
No. The Bp Allied Auto-Reminder Service will see that you have already sent a Client a reminder and will skip that Appointment.
What if a Client has asked for both an Email and an SMS? Will they both be delivered?
Yes. The Auto-Reminder Service will honour all Reminders set for delivery.
How will I know what has been sent?
Once the Reminders are sent, a Summary Report email is sent to one or more email addresses that you define. It includes a summary of what was sent including the Client Name, the Appointment Date and the Phone number or Email address.
Example:
Email to Mary Makebelieve - marypoppins@gmail.com - Appt: 6/05/2011 2:15 p.m. - Sent = True
Email to Fred Bloggs - fredbloggs@gmail.com - Appt: 6/05/2011 4:00 p.m. - Sent = True
Your Bp Allied database is also updated with the Reminder information and it will be visible to you within Bp Allied on your desktop.
NOTE As always, with SMS Messages you should always check the Status of your SMS Reminders. The Auto-Reminder service will advise you of what has been Sent, but this does not guarantee it was delivered. To check if messages have been Delivered to the Clients handset, you need to check the 'SMS Delivery Status' in the Reminders screen.
Can I get replies into BpAllied?
Yes. They will come into the Incoming Replies screen in the appointment book.
Sounds great. How do I get started?
Please call or email support so we can discuss this with you and gather some additional information. We will contact you once your service is in place.
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