Confirm appointments in the booker's chat
The booker gets the date, time and service in a message they can find again later.
New Submission on your appointment request form
Send an approved WhatsApp template message confirming the requested date and service
One-directional. A submission triggers the action — nothing is written back into your form.
No-shows are usually not defiance — the appointment is simply somewhere the person cannot find. A WhatsApp message sits in a thread they already scroll past several times a day.
The Appointment Request Form asks for a preferred date and a backup, so word the confirmation carefully: what you are acknowledging is the request, not a slot you have committed to until someone confirms it.
Setting it up
- 1
Publish the Appointment Request Form template with Phone Number required.
- 2
Create an approved WhatsApp template that confirms receipt of a request rather than a booking — "we have your request for {{date}}" avoids promising a slot you have not checked.
- 3
In Zapier, trigger on formformform's "New Submission" for that form.
- 4
Add the WhatsApp Business Cloud Send Template Message action and select your approved template.
- 5
Map Phone Number as the recipient and the placeholders from the fields below, keeping Preferred Date and Service Type in the order your template defines.
- 6
Add a second step to your own number carrying Backup Date and Reason for Appointment, so whoever schedules has both options in front of them.
- 7
Test with your own number and read the message as a customer would before switching it on.
What maps where
Using the Appointment Request Form as the starting point. These are its real fields — swap in your own and the mapping works the same way.
| Form field | |
|---|---|
| Phone Number | Recipient number for the template message |
| Full Name | Template placeholder 1 — the greeting |
| Service Type | Template placeholder 2 |
| Preferred Date | Template placeholder 3 |
| Preferred Time of Day | Template placeholder 4 |
| Backup Date | Internal message to your own number only |
Variations worth knowing
Filter on "Have you been here before?" and send first-timers a template that includes parking, what to bring and how early to arrive. Returning clients do not need it.
Keep this message as an acknowledgement, then send a second approved template once a human has actually assigned the time. Two honest messages beat one that overpromises.
If something isn't arriving
Zapier passes the date field through as stored. Add a Formatter step to render it the way your customers read dates before it reaches the template placeholder.
They will, so say in the template where to actually do that. Replies land in your WhatsApp Business inbox and never reach the form.
Frequently asked questions
Can this send a reminder the day before?
Not from this Zap, which fires on submission. Add a Zapier Delay step or a scheduled Zap reading from wherever your calendar lives — the form's job ends when the request is captured.
Does it check availability?
No. The form collects a preferred date and a backup; nothing verifies either against a calendar. Word the confirmation as an acknowledgement of the request, not a booking.
Can I collect a deposit at the same time?
Yes. Add products and priced options to the form, then collect payment through secure hosted checkout with Stripe, PayPal, or Square. Payment status is tracked alongside the response.
Related automations
- Alert a recruiter to every new application
The recruiter gets a nudge for every applicant, with enough to decide who to call first.
- Confirm an order in the customer's WhatsApp
The buyer gets an instant order confirmation in the app they already have open.
- Push support requests to the on-call agent
The on-call agent gets each request as a chat instead of watching a shared inbox.
- Send new quote requests to your sales WhatsApp
Every quote request arrives as a WhatsApp message your rep can reply to from their phone.
- Send RSVP confirmations to guests
Guests get their RSVP details and the venue address in a thread they can find again.
- Broadcast every new order to a channel
New orders post to your orders channel with the product, quantity and buyer details, so packing can start straight away.
Build the form first
The automation needs somewhere to fire from. Publish a form, connect it once, and every submission from then on runs this flow.
Start free