SMS Notifications (Twilio)

Slotara can send outbound SMS to clients for booking events using each tenant's own Twilio account. SMS mirrors the existing email notification architecture and is fully opt-in at both the super-admin and tenant level.

How it works

Each tenant configures their own Twilio credentials in the Business Panel. Messages are sent via Twilio's REST API and billed directly to the tenant's Twilio account. Slotara never stores or proxies Twilio API keys in plain text — credentials are encrypted at rest.

Events

Super Admin setup

1. Go to Admin Panel → Settings → Notification Preferences
2. Enable the SMS event types you want to allow platform-wide
3. Tenants can only enable events that the super-admin has permitted

Tenant setup

1. Go to Manage → Communication → SMS
2. Enter your Twilio Account SID, Auth Token, and From Number
3. Enable the master Enable SMS switch
4. Toggle individual event types on or off

Note: Clients must have a phone number on their booking to receive SMS.

Guard chain

Each SMS job checks the following before sending:

1. The booking has a phone number
2. TenantSmsSettings::canSend() — master switch is on and Twilio credentials are valid
3. The per-event tenant toggle is enabled (e.g., sms_confirmation)
4. NotificationPreference::isSmsEnabled() — platform opt-in is active for this event
5. For reminders: sms_reminder_sent_at is not already set (idempotency guard)

Cron requirement

The appointment reminder job is dispatched by the Laravel scheduler. Ensure your cron is configured:

* * * * * cd /path-to-project && php artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

Architecture

Booking confirmed
    └─► SendBookingConfirmationSms (queued job)
            ├─► TenantSmsSettings::canSend()?
            ├─► NotificationPreference check
            └─► TwilioSmsService::send()

php artisan appointments:send-reminders (scheduled daily)
    └─► SendBookingReminderSms
            ├─► skip if sms_reminder_sent_at set
            └─► TwilioSmsService::send() → sets sms_reminder_sent_at

Booking cancelled / rescheduled
    └─► SendBookingCancellationSms / SendBookingRescheduledSms

Key files