How to use Twilio to send appointment notification and reminder SMS in Zoho Bookings

How to use Twilio to send appointment notification and reminder SMS in Zoho Bookings

Hit no-shows out of the ballpark by combining Zoho Bookings and SMS providers.

SMS notifications help you remind customers of their appointments and reduce no-shows by reaching out where they are.

In this guide, we'll configure an SMS provider called Twilio.

Prerequisites

  • A Twilio Subscription
    • You need at least one number to send messages from. It can be a short code, your personal number, a local number, or anything else. Twilio charges monthly for phone numbers. Check out Twilio's pricing page for more details.
    • Since Twilio uses a pay-as-you-go model, there are no monthly commitments (except the sender number). The minimum recharge value is $20, and you can use it until the credits expire - Learn more about Twilio's pricing model here.

Things to Know Before Using Twilio

  • You can share your Twilio subscription amongst multiple admins (if required).
  • Twilio is responsible for everything except configuring SMS text (You can configure this inside Zoho Bookings).
  • Both single and dual way communication is possible with Twilio
  • Using Twilio, you can send messages across borders.
    • Case 1: When you send messages from a US number to an Indian number, sender IDs might change. It ensures the deliverability of messages.
    • Case 2: SenderIDs don't change when the sender and the recipient numbers belong to the same country.
  • Twilio charges for text messages on a segment basis. (1 segment = 160 Characters). For instance, if you send an SMS with 200 characters, you'll be charged for two SMS credits - Learn more about it here.
  • To find the number of SMS you'll be able to send with your top-up, use this formula:
    • Number of SMS that can be sent = (Top Up Value - Phone Number Price)/ Message Per SMS
    • Let's assume you belong to the US and recharge for $20. You've also opted for a long code that costs $1.16 (with carrier fees), the equation would look like
    • Number of SMS that can be sent* = ($20 - $1.16)/ ($0.0079) = 2200.
    • You'll be able to send approximately 2200+ SMS with this. (If you don't buy additional phone numbers in the US)
    • Note - The calculation is only an approximate estimation of the number of messages that you can send. This is because factors like carrier fees, and per-message rate change often and vary widely across different service providers.
  • Twilio credits are one-off amounts that don't expire until you use them.
  • Your Twilio account will get suspended once your account balance reaches zero. To avoid this, Twilio sends a notification to your email requesting you to refill your funds when the balance hits $5.
  • Another way to prevent your account from hitting zero you can set up an auto-recharge trigger for a minimum of $10. When your balance hits $10, you can automatically set it up to top up your account. Check out this page for setting up automatic payment triggers.
     

A2P 10 DLC Registration (only if you wish to send messages to the US)

Note - This is only necessary if you send messages to the United States. (Regardless of where you send your messages from - inside or outside the US)
  • If you send messages to the US, you should register for A2P 10 DLC. (Application to Person 10 Digit Long Code messaging protocol)
  • A2P 10DLC is a secure way to communicate with businesses and ensures that the messages are relevant to the recipients. We highly advise you to register for A2P 10 DLC Protocol as numbers without it will incur higher fees and even service disruptions from June 1, 2023. This is to comply with US messaging regulations. You can learn more about it here.
  • A2P 10 DLC registration is only possible with a Twilio premium subscription and not for trial accounts.
  • To do this, navigate to Phone Numbers > Manage > Active Numbers > Click on a Number.

  • Under Messaging Configuration, click on 'Go to 10DLC registration.'



Note - You cannot integrate multiple SMS providers to Zoho Bookings simultaneously.



Configuring Twilio with Zoho Bookings

1. Sign in to your Twilio account. (Sign up here if you don't have one)



2. You'll be redirected to the following screen once you've signed up. Check your mail inbox.


3. Your email would look like this. Confirm your account.



4. Twilio asks you to secure your account with a phone number. Enter your number and click on Send verification code/Get code via phone call depending on your choice.



5. Once you've confirmed your phone number you can fill in the onboarding form and click on get started with Twilio.



6. You'll be redirected to the Twilio dashboard.


  • 'My first Twilio account' is the account name of your Twilio SMS account. If you have multiple Twilio SMS accounts you can navigate it from here
  • The Phone numbers tab helps you to
    • Manage all your Phone numbers
    • Buy new Numbers
    • Release a Phone number
  • When you sign up for a Twilio account, you'll get $15.50. You can get a trial number using this to test their configurations before opting for a premium plan.
7. Let's get a phone number from Twilio. Click on 'Get a Twilio Phone Number.'



8. Twilio will assign you a phone number. Now let's configure Twilio with Zoho Bookings.



Note - To get a premium number, navigate to Phone numbers > Manage > Buy a Number
 
Choose which country's number you wish to get, SMS (as capability), and click search. You can click on buy to obtain the number.



9. Scroll to the bottom of Twilio's main dashboard. You'll find three fields here, Auth Token, Account SID, and your Phone number. We'll paste all this data to integrate Zoho Bookings and Twilio.'



10. Now log in to your Zoho Bookings Dashboard. Navigate to Integrations > Others > Twilio. Hover over Twilio and click on Configure.



11. Copy and paste the details from Twilio to the corresponding fields in Zoho Bookings. Once you have pasted the details, click 'Configure.'
 
Note: While pasting the phone number, remove the country calling code. In this case, my phone number was +13203628918. '+1' is the country calling code. Remove it and paste the rest (i.e., 3203628918 without any spaces/symbols in between)



12. Hover over the created Twilio connection and click enable. Reload the page if the connection is still not active. You've successfully integrated Twilio with Zoho Bookings.


Editing Your Twilio Connection

To edit your Twilio connection, hover over the Twilio integration and click on edit. Once you've made the changes, click Configure.



If you wish to remove your Twilio connection, hover over the Twilio integration and click remove.



A pop-up appears asking you to confirm. Click 'Proceed' to delete your Twilio connection.



Note - While Editing or Removing your Twilio connections, if the changes don't reflect immediately, reload the page for the changes to reflect.

Configuring SMS Notifications

To configure SMS notifications for one on one bookings, navigate to services > service notification.



To configure SMS notifications for group/ resource bookings, navigate to settings > workspaces > notifications.


You'll see two tabs here. 'For Staff' and 'For Customers.' Zoho Bookings allows you to send eight different types of SMS under each tab.



You can configure Zoho Bookings to send SMS using Twilio when you change the appointment status to
  • Booked
  • Rescheduled
  • Canceled
  • Marked As Completed
  • Marked As No Show
Alternatively, you can set up to three reminders before your appointment time.



Illustration: Let's send SMS notifications to a customer when an appointment(one-on-one) is booked.

  1. Make sure that the checkbox is enabled corresponding to the booked notification in the customer tab. It ensures that the customer receives an SMS notification when an appointment is booked.


 2. To customize the messages that will be sent, click on customize. You can change the message and insert dynamic variables like meeting info, customer name, meeting date, and more into your outgoing messages. Click 'Save' once you are done with the changes.



The customer receives the following message when an appointment is made.


Note that the message is from the number '59039000' and not my original phone number. This is because the message is sent from a US number to an Indian Number. So the original long code is replaced with this number to ensure seamless deliverability.
 
If the sender and recipient belong to the same country, then the SenderID (i.e., your phone number) doesn't change.
 
There are cases where you might want to block incoming messages. For example, customers might reply to your SMS notifications requesting a reschedule or cancellation. This breaks the flow of Zoho Bookings and introduces unnecessary manual work. If that's the case, check out this document to block all incoming messaging.

SMS Customization Recommendations

  • Since each message can accommodate only 160 characters, we recommend keeping your message crisp. Include vital info like appointment date, time, and business name.
  • Avoid using emojis in your sms. As a single emoji consumes a lot of characters.
  • We recommend you have your entire message length from 160 to 320 characters (i.e., 1 to 2 messages per message) to avoid consuming too many message credits for a single SMS.

Zoho Bookings Plans supporting this feature

Applicable in
Premium

If you want to start a trial of the Zoho Bookings Premium plan, please send an email to support@zohobookings.com including the word 'Twilio' in the subject line.

I want to try this!

      • Recent Topics

      • 100 record view limitation

        I have just migrated from another CRM and am starting in ZOHOcrm with over 5000 contacts. It seems that my searches and sorts are limited to 100 live records....or am I missing something. This seems to be very limiting...in a lot of scenarios (mass email,

      • ZUG Meet-ups are back - Across India (December 2025)

        The Zoho User Group (ZUG) meet-ups are back, and this time, we’re travelling across India to reconnect with our amazing community! From Chennai to Delhi, Bengaluru to Mumbai, we can’t wait to meet you all in person and talk everything Zoho SalesIQ, automation,

      • Categorise Attachments

        We take ID, proof of address, right to work documentation and more.  I can upload a single file in to field, but we often receive multiple files for each category e.g. someone may send a separate file for the front and back of their national ID card.  My team don't have time to manipulate the files in order to upload them as a single file. The options, as far as I can tell, would be to create additional fields on attachments in order to categorise what the file is, or to be able to upload single

      • Send Whatsapp message from Whatsapp template with custom variables

        Hi, I'm trying to do some basic integration for sending WhatsApp messages from Zoho CRM using Zoho Desk whatsapp templates. When creating new whatsapp template in Zoho Desk we can choose ticket related fields as variables but it's not clear how to use

      • Scheduling a meeting for just a 1:1 phone call

        My business is B2C and many of my customer's don't want to engage in an online meeting for what can be handled in a regular phone call. I am trying to create a new meeting invitation, but there is no venue optoin for "phone call". How are other's handling

      • Need more details on API Usage Dashboard

        Hi Team, We have implemented Zoho Expense for a client and has done some integrations with well known third party ERP via api. Recently we have noticed a huge spike in the API consumption. But we couldn't get the root cause for the same. I accept there

      • Power of Automation:: Automating SLA Timelines for First Response & Resolution for Issues module.

        Hello Everyone, Ever wished SLAs could update automatically based on issue severity i.e no manual tracking, no missed timelines? That is exactly what one of our customers, Alex, wanted to achieve in the Issues module. So, we have setup a simple automation

      • Finding missing records

        I have a challenge and I am not really sure where to start with it. I can't find any similar threads on here, can anyone help: I have two forms, FormA and FormB. Both forms have records that contain a field called Job_Number. What I am trying to achieve

      • Power of Automation :: Quick way to associate your Projects with Zoho CRM

        A custom function is a software code that can be used to automate a process and this allows you to automate a notification, call a webhook, or perform logic immediately after a workflow rule is triggered. This feature helps to automate complex tasks and

      • Free webinar! Build smarter apps with Zoho Sign and Zoho Creator

        Hello, Bring the power of digital signatures to the apps you build in Zoho Creator! Connect Zoho Sign as a microservice and enable seamless e-signature workflows in your applications. This integration allows you to automate signing tasks using Deluge.

      • Tables improvement ideas / features

        Heya, I've been using Zoho Tables for a few months now and wanted to post some features that I think will be greatly beneficial for the tool: 1. Ability to delete a record in automation or move a record in automation. - Usecase: I move a record from one

      • Can I add Conditional merge tags on my Templates?

        Hi I was wondering if I can use Conditional Mail Merge tags inside my Email templates/Quotes etc within the CRM? In spanish and in our business we use gender and academic degree salutations , ie: Dr., Dra., Sr., Srta., so the beginning of an email / letter

      • Move orders scan ISBN

        Hi We have ISBN setup to be searched in items zoho but move orders dissent recognize the ISBN is there q missing configuration? regards, JS

      • What's New - October 2025 | Zoho Backstage

        Hey everyone! We’ve been busy rolling out a host of upgrades for Zoho Backstage. While some major features are still going through final rounds of testing to make your event experience smooth as butter, here’s what was new and improved in October 2025.

      • Zoho Analytics - Feature Request For Time Based Data Source Fetch

        Hi Analytics Team, I have a client using Zoho CRM and they want a weekly report at 4:30pm every Friday, emailed to the sales team showing a pie chart of Closed Won Deals for that week. This is easy to achieve in Analytics but not so easy to ensure the

      • Updating custom fields in Zoho Projects

        Hi I am wondering if anyone has experience with custom fields in Zoho Projects. I am struggling to update the field using either deluge or the api endpoint. My code is: //custom_Map = map(); custom_Map = {"UDF_DOUBLE_1":"0.27"}; update_Map = map(); update_Map.put("custom_fields",custom_Map.toList());

      • Issue in Zoho People Regularization – Incorrect Hour Calculation

        I have noticed that when applying attendance regularization in Zoho People for previous dates, the total working hours are not calculated correctly. For example, even if the check-in is 10:00 AM and check-out is 6:00 PM, the system shows an incorrect

      • Zoho People Attendance Regularization – Wrong Total Hours Displayed

        While using Zoho People, I observed that the attendance regularization is showing wrong total hours when applied to past dates. For example, if a check-in is added at 10:00 AM and check-out at 6:00 PM for a previous date, the system sometimes calculates

      • Add Flexible Recurrence Options for Meeting Scheduling in Zoho Cliq (e.g., Every 2 Weeks)

        Hello Zoho Cliq Team, We hope you are doing well. Currently, when scheduling a meeting inside Zoho Cliq, the recurrence options are limited to Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Yearly. There is no ability to set a meeting to occur every X weeks — for example,

      • How do I see the total leads during a certain period?

        I understand I can get the count of leads and potentials but the total number of leads in a certain period should be equal to Leads+potentials because when we convert a lead it gets moved to potentials and no longer exists there. is there a way i could

      • AI generated meeting notes associated to Account or Deal

        As our organization works to improve efficiency we are looking for a solution to leverage AI to generate meeting notes and then add those notes to a CRM record such as an Account or Deal. I see Zoho has a Notebook AI offering that talks about the ability

      • Subform Disabled Fields Should Remain Disabled on Edit/View

        Currently, when we disable a subform field using on user input or on add new row, it works perfectly during the initial data entry. However, when the record is saved and reopened for viewing or editing, these disabled fields become editable again. This

      • How do you print a refund check to customer?

        Maybe this is a dumb question, but how does anyone print a refund check to a customer? We cant find anywhere to either just print a check and pick a customer, or where to do so from a credit note.

      • Enable Screen Recording in Zoho WorkDrive Mobile Apps (Android & iOS)

        Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, How are you? We are enthusiastic Zoho One users and rely heavily on Zoho WorkDrive for internal collaboration and content sharing. The screen-recording feature in the WorkDrive web app (similar to Loom) is extremely useful- however,

      • What is Resolution Time in Business Hours

        HI, What is the formula used to find the total time spent by an agent on a particular ticket? How is Resolution Time in Business Hours calculated in Zohodesk? As we need to find out the time spent on the ticket's solution by an agent we seek your assistance

      • Good news! Calendar in Zoho CRM gets a face lift

        Dear Customers, We are delighted to unveil the revamped calendar UI in Zoho CRM. With a complete visual overhaul aligned with CRM for Everyone, the calendar now offers a more intuitive and flexible scheduling experience. What’s new? Distinguish activities

      • Empowered Custom Views: Cross-Module Criteria Now Supported in Zoho CRM

        Hello everyone, We’re excited to introduce cross-module criteria support in custom views! Custom views provide personalized perspectives on your data and that you can save for future use. You can share these views with all users or specific individuals

      • Change Currency symbol

        I would like to change the way our currency displays when printed on quotes, invoices and purchase orders. Currently, we have Australian Dollars AUD as our Home Currency. The only two symbol choices available for this currency are "AU $" or "AUD". I would

      • File Field Validation

        Hello all, We are tracking our customer NDA agreements in our CRM and have created 2 fields to do so, an execution date field and a file upload field. I want to create a validation rule to ensure that when the execution date field is populated that the

      • Hide "Section" headers when using a form as a subform in "List view"

        When using a form as a subform and setting the "View Type" to "List View" it is not possible to hide the section headers. This can become an issue if I have a section which is not applicable to this subform and I hide the fields within that section and

      • Super Admin Logging in as another User

        How can a Super Admin login as another user. For example, I have a sales rep that is having issues with their Accounts and I want to view their Zoho Account with out having to do a GTM and sharing screens. Moderation Update (8th Aug 2025): We are working

      • API 500 Error

        Hello amazing ZOHO Projects Community, I get this message. How can we solve this? { "error": { "status_code": "500", "method": "GET", "instance": "/api/v3/portal/2010147XXXX/projects/2679160000003XXXX/timesheet", "title": "INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR", "error_type":

      • Users Name & Email in Reports

        Hi, I would like to show the Users Name from their Zoho Acount in All Entries/Reports as well as the current Account Email. Thanks Dan

      • Add additional field to quick search results

        IN the advanced search, we can add any field to the columns. In the regular search results (before you press enter, there is no option to modify the results. It would be super useful to include a custom field where it currently displays the pipleine

      • Books API Receiving an Error that Doesn't Make Sense when Creating Credit Note - trying to use 'ignore_auto_number_generation' argument

        Hello, I'm working on a newly created routine and I'm getting an error that doesn't make sense when trying to create a new Credit Note. Here is my POST request. Endpoint: https://www.zohoapis.com/books/v3/creditnotes?organization_id=########## Body:     {

      • Bug Report and Suggestions for Improvement in Zoho Applications

        Hi Zoho Team, I’d like to report a few bugs and improvement suggestions I’ve noticed while using Zoho products: Zoho Cliq Video Call: The camera sometimes turns off automatically during video calls. This seems to be a bug — please check and fix it. Zoho

      • Audio/video quality issues with Zoho Meeting – Any roadmap for improvement?

        Hi Zoho Team, We’ve been using Zoho Meeting for both internal and external meetings, and unfortunately, the experience has been consistently poor. The video and audio quality are so unreliable that it often renders meetings ineffective—especially with

      • Need Help: Updating Related Records via Subform Entries in Zoho Creator

        Hi everyone, I’m trying to set up a workflow in Zoho Creator where each row in a subform updates related records in another form automatically. Here’s the situation: My main form (e.g., “Receipts”) contains a subform where each row selects a related record

      • Zoho Desk - Community - Customer Portal - Description Field UX Improvement

        Hi Zoho Desk Team, As a prolific user of Zoho Cares Community, I find it very frustrating that I cannot increase the size of the Description box (this one which I am typing this message). Many apps with multi line text fields have a small handle in the

      • Add the same FROM email to multiple department

        Hi, We have several agents who work with multiple departments and we'd like to be able to select their names on the FROM field (sender), but apparently it's not possible to add a FROM address to multiple departments. Is there any way around this? Thanks.

      • Next Page