Setting up re-engagement texts on Timely, step by step.

The short version: export your client list from Timely once, paste each practitioner's calendar link into Routiq, then check the first texts. Robyn reads your calendars every 15 minutes, so anyone already booked is left alone. Setup takes about 10 minutes.

Routiq isn't a Timely add-on, so setup uses two things every Timely account already has: the client export and each practitioner's calendar link. There's nothing to install in Timely, and Timely stays the place your bookings live.

Before you start

• A Timely login that can open Reports and Setup.
• A Routiq account. The 7-day free trial works: nothing to pay for 7 days, card up front and charged on day 8, cancel any time before then.

Step 1: Export your client list

1. In Timely, click Reports, then Client overview under Clients.
2. Click Edit columns and tick First name, Last name, Mobile, Last appt. date, Last appt. service, Last appt. staff, Next appt. date and # of appts. The last one is further down, under Status.
3. Click Update, then Export, then Export CSV. The file is called export and is usually in Downloads.

Step 2: Import it into Routiq

In Routiq, open Integrations, then Timely. Under Import your client list, choose the file, check the first client looks right and press Import. You only do this once. Clients who book in Timely later are added from their bookings.

Step 3: Add each practitioner's calendar link

1. In Timely, open Setup, then Staff, and click Edit on a practitioner.
2. Open Calendar sync and tick the box to sync Timely appointments with Outlook, Google or Apple calendars. Leave it one-way, and leave "Add the customer as an attendee" unticked.
3. Click Save and copy the link Timely shows.
4. Back in Routiq, under Add your calendars, paste the link. It shows a tick and the practitioner's name.
5. Do the same for every practitioner who takes bookings. Timely gives each practitioner their own link.

Step 4: Check the first texts

• Robyn works out who is due back and writes their texts. Approve them from your phone, or switch on automatic sending.
• Anyone booked in doesn't get a text. Robyn reads each calendar every 15 minutes.
• Clients marked No under Allow SMS marketing in Timely aren't sent marketing texts.
• Every outbound message is checked against AHPRA advertising guidance before it leaves.

Step 5: Switch off duplicate reminders

If you're on Timely's Innovate plan with rebooking reminders turned on, switch them off once Robyn starts, so nobody gets two texts about rebooking. Keep Timely's booking confirmations and appointment reminders running.

What happens when a client replies

Robyn answers the reply. She can't write bookings into Timely, so when a client wants to book she passes the conversation to your team and you get an alert. If you add your Timely booking link in Routiq, her texts can include it so clients can book themselves. A booking made within 14 days of her text counts as booked back.

The full setup is on the Timely instructions page. For why a few texts a day beat one big send, read Why an SMS blast fills one week and empties the next.