Two-Way SMS Messaging & Email Campaigns
A dedicated phone number, a threaded two-way inbox, and one campaign flow for both channels — SMS for urgency, branded email for rich content. All from your Bella Booking dashboard.
What is two-way messaging?
Two-way messaging in salon software is a dedicated SMS inbox that lets you send and receive text messages with clients directly from your booking platform. Bella Booking's Messages Plus gives your salon its own phone number, threaded conversations that include automated appointment messages for full context, internal team notes, and auto-handling of common replies like YES to confirm. One campaign flow sends both SMS and branded email — promote offers or make announcements to your whole client list, with email campaigns unlimited (fair use).
Two-way messaging in salon software is a dedicated SMS inbox where you can send and receive text messages with clients directly from your booking platform — keeping all communication in one place alongside appointment history. Messages Plus gives your salon a dedicated phone number and a full two-way SMS inbox built into Bella Booking. Send messages to clients, receive their replies instantly, and see automated appointment messages in the same thread for complete context. Add internal notes for your team, auto-handle common replies (YES to confirm, STOP to unsubscribe), and send SMS and email campaigns to promote offers or make announcements — email campaigns are unlimited within Messages Plus (fair use), with branded emails in your colours, an optional hero image, a Book-now button, and open and click tracking. Bella helps you write the campaign and checks it is safe to send: describe an email in a sentence and Bella drafts a subject and body for you to edit, then a pre-send check reviews every campaign — SMS against anti-spam rules, email for spam-triggers and deliverability — so your messages land in the inbox, not the spam folder. SMS credits management lets you track usage, purchase credit packs, and configure auto-top-up. Messages Plus is an add-on subscription — the only add-on Bella Booking offers, priced to cover the real carrier costs of your dedicated number — while automated notifications (reminders, confirmations) remain on all plans.
What's included
Key capabilities of two-way messaging
Dedicated phone number
Your business gets its own local phone number for sending and receiving SMS. Clients reply directly to your number and responses appear in your inbox.
Threaded inbox
Three-panel layout: thread list on the left, conversation view in the centre, and contact info on the right. Search and filter by All, Conversations, Automated, Unread, Unanswered, Starred, or Archived.
Two-way messaging
Send messages to clients and receive their replies in real time. Delivery status indicators show whether each message is queued, sent, delivered, or failed.
Internal notes
Add private notes to any conversation — visible to your team only, never sent as SMS. Free of charge and useful for recording follow-up context.
Automated messages in context
Appointment reminders, confirmations, and other automated messages appear in the same thread as your manual messages. One conversation per client with complete communication history.
Auto-handling client replies
Bella automatically handles common replies: YES/Y confirms appointments, NO/CANCEL flags for follow-up, and STOP/UNSUBSCRIBE manages consent. Auto-replies keep clients informed.
SMS campaigns
Send a single message to multiple clients at once. Filter your audience, preview recipient count and estimated credit usage, then send now or schedule for later. Campaign history tracks delivery statistics.
Unlimited email campaigns
Branded emails in your colours with an optional hero image and a Book-now button that links straight to your online booking page. Track opens and clicks per campaign, schedule sends, and let Bella handle unsubscribes automatically. Unlimited within Messages Plus (fair use) — no per-send cost and no dedicated number required.
Generate with AI
Short on words? Describe the email in a sentence or two and Bella drafts a subject and body for you — grounded in what your salon actually does, in your country's spelling. It is a first draft you edit and make your own, never an auto-send.
Pre-send content check
Before a campaign goes out, Bella reviews it and returns a pass, a warning, or a fail. SMS is checked against anti-spam rules — an opt-out, your business named, nothing misleading or over-urgent. Email is checked for spam-trigger words and deliverability on the subject and body. Serious problems must be fixed before you can send; smaller suggestions appear as warnings you can act on.
SMS credits management
View your credit balance, purchase credit packs, configure auto-top-up, and review transaction history from a dedicated SMS Credits page.
Communication consent
Two-tier consent tracking per client: announcements (opt-out) and marketing (opt-in). Campaigns respect consent preferences. Clients can text STOP to unsubscribe or START to re-subscribe.
Segment counting and character tracking
The compose box shows a real-time character count and SMS segment indicator. Unicode detection alerts you when emoji or special characters double the segment cost.
How two-way messaging works
Subscribe to Messages Plus
Enable Messages Plus from Settings > Messaging. A dedicated phone number is provisioned for your business.
Send and receive messages
Compose new messages or reply to existing threads. Client replies appear in your inbox in real time alongside automated appointment messages.
Auto-handle common replies
Clients who reply YES to a reminder get their appointment auto-confirmed. STOP unsubscribes them. Everything else lands in your inbox for manual follow-up.
Send campaigns
Create SMS or email campaigns to promote offers, announce closures, or re-engage clients. Filter your audience, preview the recipient count, send now or schedule — and track delivery, with opens and clicks for email.
Plan availability
Feature
Starter
Professional
Prices shown in your local currency at checkout.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need Messages Plus to send appointment reminders?
No. Automated messages (reminders, confirmations, cancellation notices) are sent through your plan's included SMS allowance on all plans. Messages Plus adds the two-way inbox, dedicated phone number, manual messaging, and campaigns.
What happens when a client replies to a reminder?
If they reply YES (or Y, Yep, Confirm, etc.) within 48 hours, the appointment is auto-confirmed and they receive a confirmation auto-reply. Other single-word replies like NO or CANCEL are flagged for follow-up. Longer messages appear in your inbox for manual review.
Do campaigns respect client consent?
Yes. Clients who have opted out of announcements or marketing will not receive campaign messages, on either channel. Every campaign email also carries an unsubscribe link, and clients who use it are excluded from future email campaigns automatically. Consent status is visible in the contact info panel of each conversation.
Are email campaigns included in Messages Plus?
Yes — email campaigns are unlimited within Messages Plus (fair use) and never use SMS credits. They don't need a dedicated phone number either, so you can send your first email campaign the moment you subscribe. Each email is branded with your colours and can include a hero image and a Book-now button, with open and click tracking on every send.
Can Bella write my campaign email?
Bella can draft one for you. Describe the email in a sentence or two and Bella writes a subject and body grounded in your salon's own description and your country's spelling. It is a first draft you edit and make your own before sending — not the finished email, and never auto-sent. Generate with AI is part of email campaigns in Messages Plus.
Will my campaign land in spam?
Bella checks every campaign before it sends and returns a pass, a warning, or a fail. SMS is checked against anti-spam rules — a working opt-out, your business identified, nothing misleading or over-urgent. Email is checked for spam-trigger words and deliverability problems on the subject and body, like a misleading subject line, too many links, or thin text behind a big image. Serious issues must be fixed before you can send; softer suggestions are shown as warnings so you can decide.
How much do SMS credits cost?
Your plan includes a monthly SMS allowance (Solo: 50, Starter: 200, Professional: 500). Additional credit packs are available from the SMS Credits page. Auto-top-up can be configured to purchase credits automatically when your balance runs low.
Can I message clients who are not in my client list?
You can only compose new messages to existing clients. However, if an unknown number sends you an SMS, their messages appear in your inbox and you can reply. You will also see an option to create a new client record for them.
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