Automatic Reminders send SMS texts to your customers for estimates awaiting approval, invoices that are due, and upcoming scheduled jobs. If reminders aren't behaving the way you expect, the sections below will help you find the cause. Most issues come down to a missing requirement, a customer opt-out, or how reminders are designed to start and stop automatically.
Before You Troubleshoot
Check these basics first — they resolve most reminder issues:
Your company has an approved toll-free number (available through Two-Way Messaging). All reminders are sent by SMS from this number.
Integrated Payments powered by CardConnect is set up — required for Invoice Due and Estimate Approval reminders.
You're signed in as a user with the "edit Company Settings" permission.
The customer has a valid mobile number on their contact record.
Common Issues
🚩 A reminder card is greyed out, and I can't turn it on
Why this happens: A requirement for that reminder type isn't met yet. The card shows the specific reason.
What to do:
Go to Company Settings → Automatic Reminders and read the message on the disabled card.
If it mentions a toll-free number, confirm your company has one set up.
If it mentions payments, confirm Integrated Payments (CardConnect) is set up — required for Invoice Due and Estimate Approval.
Once the requirement is in place, return to the page — the card becomes editable.
🚩 I don't have the Automatic Reminders option in Company Settings
Why this happens: Only users with the "edit Company Settings" permission can view and change these settings.
What to do: Ask an administrator at your company to grant you that permission, or to make the change for you.
🚩 My customer didn't receive a reminder
Why this happens: A reminder is skipped when the customer can't or shouldn't be texted, or when the record was already resolved.
What to do:
Confirm the customer's contact record has a valid mobile number.
Check whether Do Not Send Reminders is turned on, or whether they previously replied STOP.
Confirm the record was created after you turned reminders on — reminders don't apply retroactively.
Confirm the item wasn't already resolved (approved/declined, paid, on autopay, started/completed) before the reminder was due.
Open the record's Audit History to see whether the reminder was sent, stopped, or skipped.
🚩 A customer is still getting reminders after they paid or approved
Why this happens: Reminders stop as soon as the record is resolved, but the status needs to be updated in ServiceBridge first.
What to do: Confirm the invoice is marked Paid (or voided), the estimate is Approved/Declined, or the job is completed/cancelled/suspended. Once updated, no further reminders go out for that record.
🚩 A customer wants to stop receiving reminders
What to do:
Open the customer's contact record.
Turn on Do Not Send Reminders and save. That customer is skipped across all reminder types.
Customers can also opt out on their own by replying STOP to any reminder text, and opt back in with START.
🚩 Reminders aren't going out at the time I expected
Why this happens: Estimate and Invoice reminders send at your chosen "Send At" time (default 9:00 AM). Scheduled Job reminders count back from the appointment's date and time — "1 day before" a 1:00 PM job sends at 1:00 PM the day before.
What to do:
For estimate and invoice reminders, check the Send At time on the card in Company Settings → Automatic Reminders.
For job reminders, remember offsets count back from the start time — a job booked with too little lead time will skip a passed reminder rather than send it late.
If an appointment is rescheduled, reminders automatically recalculate to the new time.
🚩 I can't find a reminders column on my invoice, estimate, or job list
Why this happens: There are no reminder columns on list screens by design — a reminder is only visible after it's sent.
What to do: Open the specific estimate, invoice, or job and check its Audit History for reminder activity (also visible on the customer's contact record). To see the actual messages and replies, open the customer's Conversations thread.
🙋🏼 Still Need Help?
If reminders still aren't working after checking the above, contact ServiceBridge Support with the specific estimate, invoice, or work order number and the customer's contact record — our team can review the Audit History with you.