Automations are the messages Owneli sends for you without anyone pressing send: reminders, booking confirmations, review requests, birthday notes. Switch on the ones you want, choose how they're sent, and they run by themselves. They live under Growth → Automations.
Before you start
- Who can do it: admins and owners change automations. Other roles with access can view them.
- Texts cost credits. Email and app notifications are free; texts use your messaging balance. See SMS credits and your messaging balance.
Switch on an automation
Open automations
Go to Growth → Automations and find the message under Browse automations, or search for it.
Switch it on
Use the switch on its card. You see it's active.
Choose how it's sent
Open it and go to Details. Choose the channels: email, SMS and app notification. Not every automation can send texts or notifications; those that can show the options.
Check the message
Select Configure message to see and change what clients receive. See Set up appointment reminders for an example.
What's in the catalogue
| Group | Automations | On unless you change it |
|---|---|---|
| Reminders | 48-hour reminder, 24-hour reminder, 3-hour reminder | 24-hour reminder |
| Appointment updates | New appointment, Rescheduled, Cancelled, No-show follow-up, Thank you for visiting, Thank you for tipping, Aftercare | New appointment, Rescheduled, Cancelled, No-show follow-up, Aftercare |
| Feedback & reviews | Review request. See Collecting and managing reviews. | None |
| Increase bookings | Rebook reminder, Expiring benefits, Birthday, Win-back, Reward loyal clients | Rebook reminder, Expiring benefits |
| Waitlist updates | Added to waitlist, A slot opened up | Both |
| Lobby & queue | Checked in, First wait threshold, Second wait threshold, Next in line (texts to guests checked in at the kiosk) | None |
| Celebrate milestones | Welcome new clients | Welcome new clients |
| Client loyalty | Points earned, New tier reached, Reward available, Referral friend booked, Referral reward available, Referred friend welcome | The three referral messages |
Make your own rule
Under Custom rules, select Create automation. Give it an Automation Name, choose When this happens (such as Before an appointment or Form is completed), the action (Send an email or Send another form) and the Delay before action, then select Create.
Quiet hours
Reminders and marketing never go out in the middle of the night. They wait until your sending window opens, 9:00 to 20:00 in your business's time zone unless you change it under Settings → Clients & messages → Marketing guardrails.
Consent
Appointment messages and marketing need separate consent. Agreeing to appointment texts isn't agreeing to marketing. Clients can turn off appointment emails, appointment texts and birthday messages separately, from their profile or their account.
To stop a reminder for one booking only, use the automations panel on that appointment. See What's in the appointment detail panel.
See how it's doing
Open an automation and choose Stats for the last 30, 90 or 365 days: messages sent, clients reached, and, for marketing automations, the bookings and sales it's credited with. "Sent" means the provider accepted the message; delivery is shown separately. Custom rules also keep a History of every run, including failed and skipped ones.
Check it worked
The card shows it's on, and Messages sent at the top counts what went out in the last 30 days. Book a test visit for yourself with your own email to see the confirmation and reminder arrive.
If something goes wrong
Clients aren't getting texts
Check the automation has SMS switched on, the client has a mobile number and hasn't opted out, and your messaging balance isn't empty. When it runs out, texts stop and emails carry on.
Automation or campaign?
If your sentence has "when" in it ("when a client books"), it's an automation. If it has "everyone who", it's a campaign.