Editorial disclosure: I work at Zellbox. Timely described from their Google Calendar sync docs as of August 2026.
Timely is a salon + spa + wellness booking platform popular in ANZ + UK. Zellbox adds WhatsApp reminders on top of Timely’s built-in SMS.
How it works
- In Timely → Staff → Google Calendar Integration → connect.
- In Zellbox → Onboarding step 2 → connect the same Google Calendar.
- Every Timely booking now appears on Google Calendar. Zellbox fires WhatsApp reminders at 24 h and 2 h.
What Zellbox adds beyond Timely’s built-in reminders
- WhatsApp channel for customers who prefer it over SMS. A saved WhatsApp business contact tends to get opened faster than an SMS from an unrecognized number, which matters most for the appointment slots most at risk of a no-show.
- Signed consent PDFs for aesthetic services. The signature is captured on a client’s first reply and stored on their record, removing the need for a paper waiver at check-in.
- Two-way replies land in your Zellbox inbox. A client’s “running 10 minutes late” or cancellation reply is visible to front-desk staff right away instead of sitting in an SMS thread nobody monitors.
Solo consultants who use Motion instead of a salon booking platform can follow our Connect WhatsApp to Motion guide for the same Google Calendar-based reminder bridge.
Setup notes for ANZ/UK salons
Per-staff sync, same as the built-in SMS setup
Timely’s Google Calendar Integration is configured per staff member, mirroring how its native SMS reminders are already scoped — so if your team already manages individual staff settings in Timely, adding the calendar connection follows the same pattern.
Where the WhatsApp gap shows up
Timely is strong across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the US for salon and spa bookings. WhatsApp reminders help most for the segment of your customer base — often younger or internationally-connected clients — who default to WhatsApp over SMS.
Feature summary
| Zellbox layer | Timely built-in | |
|---|---|---|
| Booking + POS + payments | via Timely | Native + strong |
| SMS + email reminders | Not the focus | Native |
| WhatsApp reminders | Native + free tier | Not available |
| Signed consent PDFs | Native | Custom intake form |
~10 min end-to-end; free tier covers 100 reminders/mo.
About the author: Nacho Coll is the founder of Zellbox. He writes about WhatsApp Business automation for appointment-driven small businesses.
