Notifications overview

The Bookinda notification system runs on 5 channels at once. One event (e.g., a new online booking) can show up via email, push, and in-app at the same time, depending on what you've enabled.

The 5 channels

1. Email

The classic, reaches everyone. Booking confirmation, reminder, cancellation, follow-up. Transactional (always sent) vs marketing (opt-in) is the key distinction.

2. SMS

Via Twilio or SeeMe. Credit-based (purchased upfront). Booking confirmation, reminder, cancellation. Customer responds faster than email but it's more expensive.

3. Push (web + mobile)

Web push: in the browser (after subscription)
Mobile app push: Bookinda Customer and Staff apps (Expo SDK)
Quiet hours supported
Campaigns with A/B testing

4. In-app notifications

Sidebar 🔔 icon. Online booking, cancellation, payment, new customer, review, system message. Read/unread status.

5. Telegram

SuperAdmin alerts. Bot connection, critical events sent to the owner's Telegram account.

The 3 surfaces

Tenant (you)

/manager/notifications – inbox with all in-app notifications
/manager/connect/push – push subscription and trigger rules
/manager/automations – automated messages (gap killer, waitlist auto, etc.)
/manager/settings/automations – automation toggles
/manager/settings/sms-credits – SMS credit purchase

Customer

/myaccount/notifications – customer preferences (marketing email/SMS opt-in, per-category push toggles)

SuperAdmin

/superadmin/notifications – platform-level notifications
/superadmin/notifications/settings – global email/Telegram config
/superadmin/push-campaigns – push campaigns with scheduling and A/B testing

When to use it

Scenario 1, classic salon config Email confirmation (always), email reminder 24 hours before, SMS reminder 2 hours before (only if customer opted in), push for new bookings (so you see them at reception).

Scenario 2, premium salon, push-first Your customer downloads the Customer app, gets push for reminders, booking openings, loyalty rewards. Email is just backup.

Scenario 3, email-only Small simple salon. Configure email, skip SMS (expensive), don't bother with push. Everyone communicates by email.

Scenario 4, critical alert to SuperAdmin Telegram bot connected. If 3 SMS sends fail in a row, the owner gets a Telegram message.

Transactional vs marketing

Transactional (always sent)

Booking confirmation
Reminders
Cancellation notice
Payment confirmation
Password reset

Customer can't turn these off, business communication.

Marketing (opt-in)

Newsletter
Promotions, coupons
Birthday offer
Lapsed-customer reactivation

Customer must opt in (myaccount/notifications). GDPR requirement.

The 9 in-app notification types

Each with its own icon and color in the sidebar 🔔:

Online booking – customer booked
Cancellation – customer cancelled
Rescheduled – customer moved
Deposit – deposit received
Payment – payment received
New customer – new registration
Review – review submitted
Reminder – internal reminder (e.g., upcoming booking)
System – platform message, update

Tips

Don't enable every channel for every event, customer overload. Booking confirmation: 1 channel is enough (email or push).
Use SMS for reminders, that's where price-value works. Confirmation can stay email and stay cheap.
Push and in-app are salon-internal, customers are reached most by email/SMS.
Telegram is owner-only, don't send everything there, only critical alerts (e.g., SMS sending failing, waitlist over 50).
Marketing opt-in must be separate, don't assume from transactional. GDPR.
Enable quiet hours on push, so customers don't get noise at 22:00-08:00.

Notifications overview, the 5 channels