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Scheduling & meetings

Google Calendar appointment → day-before SMS reminder via Twilio

Tomorrow's appointments get a text reminder from your Google Calendar each morning.

Each morning the workflow reads tomorrow's appointments from one Google Calendar and texts each client a reminder through Twilio. Time, place or join link, and a number to call if they need to move it. Built for practitioners and solo operators who book in Google Calendar and do not want to move to a booking platform to get reminders.

How it works

  1. GC

    Trigger

    Schedule: at 07:00 each morning the workflow lists tomorrow's events on the chosen calendar (Google Calendar's event list, filtered by start time)

    Google Calendar

  2. if

    Step 1

    Keep the events that qualify

    Drops cancelled and all-day events and any event without a mobile number in its description, and skips events already stamped as reminded.

  3. if

    Step 2

    Build the message

    Fills the template with the event title, the start time in the calendar's timezone, the location or join link, and your callback number.

  4. Tw

    Step 3

    Send the text

    Sends one SMS per event from your Twilio number to the mobile in the event description, and records the message SID for the run log.

  5. GC

    Step 4

    Stamp the event

    Appends a 'Reminder sent' line with the time to the event description, so a second run the same day skips it.

What changes once it runs

  • Every client with a mobile number on tomorrow's event gets one text, at the hour you set.
  • Sent reminders are stamped on the calendar event, so a re-run never texts the same person twice.
  • Cancelled events, all-day events and events without a number are skipped and listed in the run log.
  • The message template lives in one node and takes the event title, time, location and your callback number.

What you get

  • n8n workflow export with the schedule, the calendar query, the template and the Twilio send
  • Make blueprint and a step list for the Zapier version
  • Setup guide covering Google OAuth in n8n, Twilio number setup and A2P 10DLC registration
  • Message template with every event field you can use, plus a one-line consent wording for intake forms
  • Walkthrough video of a test run against a sample calendar

Before you start

  • Google account with the calendar you book clients on, connected to n8n through Google OAuth
  • Twilio account with an SMS-capable number; US numbers need A2P 10DLC registration before messages are delivered
  • Client mobile numbers written into the event description in the one-line format the setup guide shows
  • Prior consent from clients to receive appointment texts; the guide includes a one-line intake wording

Built for

Questions before you buy

Where does the client's phone number come from?
From the event itself. When you book the appointment, add one line to the description in the format the guide shows, for example 'Mobile: +1 555 010 0199'. The workflow reads that line and ignores events without it. If you would rather pull the number from a CRM by the guest's email, that is a one-node change and the guide shows it for HubSpot.
Can I send the reminder the same day, or two days ahead?
The run time and the day offset are two settings at the top of the workflow. Run it at 17:00 for the following day, or at 07:00 for the same day. Two reminders means two copies of the workflow with different offsets, and each copy writes its own stamp so they do not collide.
Do I need consent to text clients?
In the US, yes: appointment reminders need the client's prior express consent, and Twilio will not deliver from a US long-code number until it is registered under A2P 10DLC. The guide includes a one-line consent wording for your intake form and walks through the registration. Other countries have their own rules; check before you send.
Is this suitable for a medical or therapy practice?
Nothing in the default template says why the client is coming in; it holds the time, the place and a callback number. Whether SMS reminders meet your practice's privacy obligations is a question for you and your compliance adviser; the workflow does not change the answer either way.
Can it run on Make or Zapier?
All three, and the Zapier version is the simplest: Google Calendar's Event Start trigger with a time-before offset, then a Twilio step. The package includes a Make blueprint and a step list for Zapier alongside the n8n export. The stamp-back step exists only in the n8n and Make versions.

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