https://tradeyoke.net/blog/tag/messaging Reminders, on-the-way texts and replies that land in the customer's thread. en-gb https://tradeyoke.net/blog/stop-no-shows-appointment-reminder-texts https://tradeyoke.net/blog/stop-no-shows-appointment-reminder-texts Fri, 25 Sep 2026 03:33:16 GMT A missed appointment costs a trade business the travel time, the slot another customer could have had, and the awkward call to rebook. Here's what actually cuts no-shows, and how TradeYoke automates it. Carl Randall Messaging Guides Product https://tradeyoke.net/blog/invoices-and-texts-in-welsh https://tradeyoke.net/blog/invoices-and-texts-in-welsh Thu, 24 Sep 2026 02:33:16 GMT TradeYoke's message templates — every quote, invoice, receipt and text — now ship in English, Spanish, Welsh, German, Portuguese and French. Here's why that matters for a Welsh-speaking customer base, and exactly how the language your business posts in is chosen. TradeYoke team Messaging Product Guides https://tradeyoke.net/blog/we-are-coming-tomorrow-texts https://tradeyoke.net/blog/we-are-coming-tomorrow-texts Wed, 12 Aug 2026 07:15:11 GMT One text at 6 pm the day before, sent from tomorrow's plan, and the side gate is open, the car is off the drive and the money is ready. How reminder texts work and what to put in them. 💡 A version that works for most rounds: "Hi Sarah, it's Dan from Clearview. We'll be round to clean your windows tomorrow morning. Please leave the side gate unlocked. You can pay by the link below or leave it as usual. Thanks!" Then the pay link. ### What to do with the replies The reason to send from a real number rather than a no-reply service is that people answer. "We're away till Thursday", "the dog's out, can you do the back next time", "can you skip this month". Each reply is a decision that saves a wasted stop, so it needs to land somewhere you will see it in the morning rather than in a personal phone full of other messages. In the app replies land in the customer's own thread alongside the visit history, so when you open tomorrow's plan the reply is there against the job. A "we're away" reply becomes a skip and a carry-over in two taps, and the customer gets a receipt when the next clean is done. The same thread carries emails, so the story of that customer is in one place whichever way they wrote. ### Scheduled, not remembered The text has to go at the same time every evening or it does not work, and 6 pm on a Tuesday is when you are least likely to remember it. Schedule it. In the message wizard you choose email or SMS, write once, and pick "send now" or a time; the app sends it whether or not you are looking at your phone. If a plan changes after the message is scheduled, cancel and resend from the new plan in the same wizard. The same wizard sends the on-the-way text in the morning when the job before overruns, the receipt when a clean is paid, and the owing notice when it is not. One tool, four moments in the customer's day. It is part of Essentials and every plan above it on the pricing page and works for gardeners and every other trade on the trades page, not just window cleaners. [Image: Tomorrow on the phone: the plan the text was sent from, in the order you will drive it.] ### Keeping it on the right side of the rules A service message to an existing customer about a visit they are expecting is different from a marketing text, but the line blurs the moment you add an offer. Keep reminders as reminders, put marketing in a separate message people have agreed to receive, and honour a "please stop texting me" straight away. The ICO's guidance sets out the rules; if in doubt, keep the text about the visit and nothing else. See also: how to stop no-shows with the right reminder text [Direct marketing and privacy and electronic communications](https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/): The ICO's guidance on the rules for marketing by text and email, and what counts as a service message. > Plan the day, then text the plan. Never text the round as you wish it were. — TradeYoke ### Questions people ask **What time should the reminder text go out?** Early evening the day before, around 6 pm, works for most rounds: late enough that the day's plan is final, early enough that people can move a car or unlock a gate before bed. **Should I send by text or email?** Text for the day-before reminder because it is read within minutes. Email for invoices, receipts and anything with an attachment. The wizard sends either, and both land in the same customer thread. **What if the customer replies and I miss it?** Replies land in the customer's thread in the app, against the job, so they are in front of you when you open tomorrow's plan. Nothing sits in a personal inbox. See on-the-way texts and live monitoring for the morning side of the same conversation. **Does it cost money to send texts?** SMS is charged per message by the network, pence at a time. Set it against one unlocked gate and it pays for the month. The mechanics of the pay link in the text are in Direct Debit for window cleaners. ### Send tomorrow's text from tomorrow's plan Plan the day, order it, and the reminders go out at 6 pm to the right customers. Thirty days free, no card. [Start your free trial](https://app.tradeyoke.net/signup) ]]> TradeYoke team Window cleaning Messaging