# How Etisia works: from calendar event to reminder text > Type a client’s name and number in a Google Calendar event. Etisia adds a status to the title and texts the client at the time you chose. See every step. Canonical: https://www.etisia.com/how-it-works Language: English (en-US) ## How Etisia works Type your client’s name and phone number in a Google Calendar event. Etisia adds (SMS ready ✅) to the title and texts your client at the time you chose. ## For every appointment Setup in Etisia takes under a minute. After that, this is the whole routine. It happens in Google Calendar, on your computer or on your phone. 1. **Click a free slot** - Open Google Calendar and click the time of the appointment, the way you already do. Your appointments stay in your own calendar. 2. **Type the name and number in the title** - For example, Mia Johnson (555) 123-456•. The number alone is enough for the text to go out. Add the client’s first and last name too, and Etisia saves them as a contact in Etisia. A number in the description or location works as well. 3. **Save, and Etisia adds (SMS ready ✅)** - Etisia reads the new event and adds (SMS ready ✅) to the end of the title. That means it found the number and the reminder is scheduled. If it finds a client name but no number, the title says (SMS: no number) instead. 4. **Your client gets the text** - At the reminder time you chose, for example 1 day before, your client gets this: > Beauty Studio: Hello, you have an appointment with us tomorrow, October 11, 2026 at 02:00 PM. Reply STOP to opt out. Texts are one-way. A client can text STOP to stop getting your texts. If you turn on the cancel link, the text also includes “Cancel at https://eti.is/m2lf4d.” Your client opens the link, enters their number and cancels. The appointment disappears from your calendar and you get an email. 5. **The title changes to (SMS sent ✅)** - Once the reminder has gone out, the title says (SMS sent ✅), so one look at your week shows who has been reminded. Next time Mia Johnson books, typing “Mia Johnson” is enough: Etisia finds the number in your Etisia contacts. ## What the brackets mean Etisia writes a status in brackets at the end of each event title, so your calendar shows what happened without opening anything. ### On track - **(SMS ready ✅)** - Etisia found a number. The reminder is scheduled. - **(SMS sent ✅)** - A reminder has gone out. (A text sent by “Immediately” changes the title only when that’s your only reminder time.) ### Needs a look - **(SMS: no number)** - Etisia found a client name but no number, in the event or in your Etisia contacts. Add the number and the status changes to (SMS ready ✅). - **(SMS missed ❌)** - The reminder time and its allowed delay passed before the text could go out, for example because the appointment was added too late. - **(SMS Error)** - Etisia couldn’t send to this number, for example because it isn’t a valid phone number. Check the number in the event. ### Not sent - **(no SMS)** - Nothing to text: no number and no client name. Normal for a lunch break or a team meeting. - **(SMS Opt-Out ⚠️)** - This client opted out with the opt-out link Etisia can send, or you marked them as opted out in Etisia. No text goes out. Some events get no status until you fix them: two numbers with nothing to show which one is the client’s, or a name and a number that belong to different contacts. Statuses appear for appointments in the next 90 days, in your account’s language, and you can turn them off. ## When the text goes out You choose up to three reminder times, on every plan. The default is 1 day before. Add an appointment after its reminder time and the text still goes out right away, as long as the allowed delay hasn’t run out. “1 day before” gets extra room: a booking added between 7:00 AM and 8:00 PM, at least 12 hours before the appointment, still gets its text. After that, Etisia skips it, so nobody gets a reminder that comes too late. If no other reminder is left, the title shows (SMS missed ❌). Quiet hours are on unless you turn them off: Etisia doesn’t text clients between 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM in the appointment’s time zone. A reminder that would land then is moved earlier, to about 8:00 PM. An “Immediately” text that falls in quiet hours is skipped instead. Each text goes out within about 15 minutes of its reminder time (within 5 minutes for “15 minutes before”). Reminder times you can choose, and how late a text can still go out: | Reminder time | Allowed delay | | --- | --- | | 1 month before | 2 days | | 10 days before | 1 day | | 1 week before | 12 hours | | 2 days before | 6 hours | | 1 day before (default) - Added later? Still sent between 7:00 AM and 8:00 PM if the appointment is at least 12 hours away | 3 hours | | Smart Morning - About 8:00 AM on the day, or about 8:00 PM the evening before for appointments before 10:00 AM | 1 hour | | 6 hours before | 2 hours | | 2 hours before | 1 hour | | 1 hour before | 30 minutes | | 15 minutes before | 10 minutes | | Immediately - About 2 minutes after you add a new appointment, outside quiet hours | 30 minutes | ## Common questions ### What exactly do I type in the event title? The client’s phone number, for example (555) 123-456•. Add their first and last name too (Mia Johnson (555) 123-456•) and Etisia saves them as a contact in Etisia. After that, the full name alone is enough. A first name on its own won’t find the contact. ### When does Etisia send the reminder? Up to three reminder times, anywhere from 1 month to 15 minutes before the appointment, or right after you add it. New accounts start with 1 day before. Unless you turn quiet hours off, a reminder due between 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM goes out earlier, at about 8:00 PM. ### What if I add an appointment at the last minute? Add “Immediately” as one of your reminder times: every new appointment with a number then gets a text about 2 minutes after you save it, outside quiet hours. Without it, a booking added after its reminder time still gets the text while the allowed delay lasts; with “1 day before”, also until 8:00 PM for appointments at least 12 hours away. Otherwise the title shows (SMS missed ❌). ### Do I have to do anything in Etisia for each appointment? No. You add appointments in Google Calendar as usual. Etisia reads them and sends the reminders. ### What does the text say? The date and time of the appointment and your business name. It never includes the client’s name. You pick the wording during setup, and you can turn on the cancel link. ### Can clients answer the text? Only to opt out: a client who texts STOP stops getting your texts. Etisia has no inbox for anything else, so a client who needs to change or cancel calls you, or uses the cancel link if you turn it on. ### Does Etisia change my appointments? It adds the status after your own title and doesn’t create or move appointments. If it finds a client name but can’t use the number at the end of the title, it removes that number when it writes (SMS: no number). The one other change is the optional cancel link: a cancellation through it deletes the event, and Etisia sends you an email. ### Do my clients need an app? No. They get a normal text message on their phone. ### Can I change the reminder times or the text later? Yes. Everything you chose during setup can be changed in your Etisia dashboard, and you can turn reminders off at any time. ## Guides and help - [Set up SMS reminders in Google Calendar](https://www.etisia.com/google-calendar/how-to-add-sms-reminders) - Connect your calendar and send the first reminder. - [Add a client’s phone number to an event](https://www.etisia.com/google-calendar/add-client-phone-number) - Every way Etisia finds the number. - [Choose when reminders go out](https://www.etisia.com/google-calendar/set-reminder-timing) - Reminder times, last-minute appointments and quiet hours. - [Help and answers](https://www.etisia.com/help) - Everything else about Etisia. ## Try it with your own calendar Connect Google Calendar, add your next appointment and watch the title change.