NomNom can send two automatic texts to a guest’s mobile: a confirmation shortly after they book, and a reminder before their visit. Each has its own switch and its own wording. Both are off until you turn them on, unless your venue started with free trial SMS credits, when both start switched on. Every text uses SMS credits — see Texting guests and managing SMS credits for topping up.
Turn the texts on
1. Open SMS Service. In NomNom Web, open Settings from the account menu at the top right, then choose SMS Service. You’ll need to be an admin.
2. Switch on the confirmation. Under INSTANT SMS, turn on Enabled. Click Instant SMS template to check the wording.
3. Switch on the reminder. Under REMINDER SMS, turn on Enabled and check Reminder SMS template.
You can use either text on its own, or both.
In NomNom Web: Settings → SMS Service. In the phone app: Settings → SMS Service.
When the confirmation goes
About three minutes after the booking is saved, whether you took it or the guest booked online. The pause gives you time to fix a slip: change the booking in those few minutes and the clock starts again, so the text carries the corrected details. If you keep changing it, the text goes anyway about ten minutes after the booking was made.
It doesn’t matter how far ahead the booking is, although a booking for later today or tomorrow may get the reminder instead — see One text or two? below.
If the booking moves. When a booking’s date or time changes, even by a few minutes, NomNom texts the guest again with the new details, following the same rules as a new booking, and sets the reminder up again for the new date. Changing the table, the party size or anything else doesn’t send a new text.
When the reminder goes
As soon as the booking is less than 24 hours away, so for most bookings it arrives about a day before. It never goes later than 4 hours before, so a booking made less than 4 hours ahead gets no reminder.
One text or two?
- Booked more than a day ahead: with both switched on, the guest gets two texts, and each uses credits. Booked at 6pm for 7pm tomorrow, the confirmation arrives at about 6.03pm and the reminder at 7pm.
- Booked less than a day ahead: one text. With reminders on, the reminder goes almost straight away and takes the place of the confirmation. With only confirmations on, the confirmation goes.
- Booked less than 4 hours ahead: just the confirmation, if it’s switched on.
Only between 7am and 10pm
Automatic texts only go between 7am and 10pm, your venue’s time. Anything due overnight waits until 7am, so a booking taken at 10.30pm gets its text at 7am the next morning. A reminder due in the night goes at 7am, as long as the booking is still at least 4 hours away.
Sending the reminder yourself
1. Open the booking’s messages. Open the booking, go to Messages and click Send SMS.
2. Click Booking reminder. The box fills with your reminder text for this booking. Change it if you like.
3. Click Send. It goes straight away, at any time of day, and counts as the booking’s reminder, so the automatic one won’t follow.
In NomNom Web: open the booking → Messages → Send SMS. In the phone app: open the booking → Messages tab → Send SMS.
Good to know
- UK mobiles only. Texts only go to UK mobile numbers, starting 07 or +447.
- Bookings brought over from your old system when you moved to NomNom get reminders but no confirmation text, because your old system already confirmed them. Move one to a new date or time and it gets a fresh confirmation.
- Cancelled bookings get no texts, and nothing goes once the booking time has passed.
- Switching on part-way through. Turn on confirmations and guests who booked in the last 24 hours without getting a text get one then. Turn on reminders and bookings 4 to 24 hours away get theirs straight away.
- Moving a booking sends the email too. When your team moves a booking to a new date or time, the guest is also emailed an updated confirmation, if the booking has an email address.
- Reminders are by text only. NomNom doesn’t send a reminder email.
- Texts not arriving? See Texts aren’t reaching your guests: what to check.