SMS & reminders
Automated appointment reminders, service check-in pings, direct client messaging, and inbound call answering.
Getting SMS enabled
SMS works out of the box: texts send from a shared Chartling number by default, so there's nothing to set up to start sending reminders. To have messages show your own clinic's identity, go to Settings → Text messaging and connect a toll-free number of your own. If you already have one verified in your own Twilio account, paste it in directly (with an optional Messaging Service SID) and it's usable right away. Buying and verifying a new number from inside Chartling is rolling out and may not be on every account yet. Contact support@chartling.io if you need help getting a number. Disconnecting a connected number simply falls back to the shared one; SMS never stops working.
Replies come back into Chartling's unified Inbox alongside email and portal messages. This isn't a one-way blast channel. Staff with inbox.reply can see and respond to a client's text from there.
Inbound calls
Also under Settings → Text messaging (permission settings.integrations.write), Inbound calls is a Practice-tier feature (comms.telephony) that answers calls placed to your clinic's number instead of dropping them. Turn on Answer inbound calls, then configure:
- Forward to a staff line: the number an answered call is bridged to. Leave it unset and callers go straight to voicemail instead.
- Main-line forwarding number: for clinics on the shared Chartling number (no dedicated Twilio number of their own): forward your clinic's own main line to the shared number and Chartling routes every caller (known client or not) back to you by matching the forwarded line.
Both numbers go through the same call-and-code verification as an outbound caller ID before they can be saved, and a verified number can't be claimed by a second clinic. This prevents a workspace from routing calls to a line it doesn't control.
A bridged or voicemail call uses the same consent and recording pipeline as click-to-call: it's recorded, transcribed, and filed to the client's record (linked to the matching owner when the caller's number is on file; unknown callers still record and file, just unlinked). With no staff line configured, callers hear a voicemail prompt and their message is recorded and transcribed the same way.
What triggers a message
Reminder timing is rule-based per event type and can be overridden per clinic; the shipped defaults are:
| Event | Channel | Default timing |
|---|---|---|
| Vet appointment reminder | Per client's preferred channel(s) | 1 day before |
| Boarding pre-stay reminder | Per client's preferred channel(s) | 1 day before check-in |
| Boarding post-stay follow-up | Per client's preferred channel(s) | 14 days after checkout |
| Grooming pre-appointment reminder | Per client's preferred channel(s) | 1 day before |
| Grooming rebook nudge | Per client's preferred channel(s) | 42 days after the last groom (6-week cycle) |
| Daycare pre-session reminder | Per client's preferred channel(s) | 1 day before |
| Daycare no-show rebook nudge | Per client's preferred channel(s) | 2 days after a no-show |
| Training program follow-up | Per client's preferred channel(s) | 30 days after program completion |
| Discharge notification (Practice tier) | When the discharge content exists, sent once per note | |
| Report card sent | Email and/or SMS, your choice at send time | When you click Send |
Client opt-out
Clients can opt out of SMS at any time by replying STOP to any message from your number. Chartling automatically records the opt-out and stops sending SMS to that client's phone number. Email reminders continue unless also opted out.
To manually manage a client's opt-in status, edit their client profile and toggle Email reminder / SMS reminder.
Per-client preferences
Each client profile has a Preferred channel setting (SMS, Email, Phone call, or Portal) plus separate Email reminder and SMS reminder opt-in toggles. The opt-ins are what actually gate whether a reminder goes out on each channel; the preferred channel is about which one to lead with, not a hard filter on its own.
Recall campaigns
Recall campaigns are a Practice-tier feature for reaching clients who are overdue for a wellness visit, vaccine, or other recurring care. It is a batch outreach on top of the individual reminders above. The Campaigns page isn't a permanent sidebar link. Search for Campaigns (Cmd/Ctrl-K) to open it. There you build a list (e.g. patients overdue for a rabies booster), write the message, and send it to everyone on the list at once by email and/or SMS.
Marketing emails
Go to Settings → Marketing campaigns (permission settings.emails.write) to send a one-off HTML newsletter through your connected Brevo account. It is separate from recall campaigns above and from the transactional reminders Chartling sends on your behalf. Write the subject, sender name/email, and HTML content, pick which Brevo contact list to send it to, and either send immediately or schedule it for later. This is a thin composer over your own Brevo audience, not a list-building tool. The contact lists themselves are managed in Brevo.
FAQ
Reminder cadence is rule-based per event type (pre-visit, post-stay, rebook, and so on) with clinic-level overrides, rather than one master on/off list. See your clinic's reminder rules for the actual set enabled today.
Automated reminders and system emails go out on Chartling's built-in wording. There's no template editor to rewrite that copy. Settings → Email delivery (permission settings.emails.write) shows send logs and per-template delivery stats, not an editor. The place you do write your own message is a recall campaign (see above) or a one-off manual reminder. Both let you compose the text yourself. Keep SMS messages under 160 characters to avoid splitting into multiple segments.
Chartling logs delivery failures against the client's record rather than silently dropping them, so a bounced email or an SMS-disabled number is visible on their history rather than a mystery no-show later.
Yes. Replies land in the unified Inbox next to email and portal threads, and staff with inbox.reply can respond from there. It's not a one-way blast number.
Voicemail is the fallback when no staff line is set, not a timeout after a bridged call rings out. If you leave the staff line unset, every caller goes straight to voicemail; the message is recorded, transcribed, and filed to the client's record just like a bridged call. If you do set a staff line, an unanswered ring currently just ends the call rather than dropping to voicemail. Staff a line you'll reliably pick up, or leave it unset.
If inbound calls are on and no staff line is set (or the staff line doesn't pick up), the caller is sent to voicemail. Chartling records it, transcribes it, and files it to the matching patient's chart automatically, with no separate step required.