How To Tell if Your Client Received Their Email Reminder

Like most online schedulers, Bodywork Buddy sends automated email reminders to your clients for their upcoming appointments.

Unlike most online schedulers, Bodywork Buddy includes an email log so you can see when emails were sent and even when they were opened by each client.

To see if your client received their email reminder, go to dashboard > account > email services > scroll to bottom "sent email history". Here you will see the most recent emails sent from the system in your account.

If an email is labeled "sent", it hasn't been opened yet and the date/time stamp indicates the time it was sent. Once an email is opened, the status changes to "opened" and the date/time stamp indicates the time the client opened it. It also lists the type of email sent (appointment confirmation, appointment reminder, testimonial request, etc).

You can find the email logs for each client from within the client file as well.

This is handy if you've ever wondered if your client received their email reminder, or to find out when the email address you have for a client is not valid or undeliverable.

Email reminders cut down on no-shows and help enforce your policies. (Not to mention that they make you look like a rock star with their professionalism.) Bodywork Buddy emails include an area to add your own text as well as lists your cancellation policies.

Want to try it out yourself and eliminate no-shows and last minute cancellations? Sign up now for the free trial of Bodywork Buddy and we'll import your existing client list for you for free, so you can get started right away without needing to do a bunch of data entry!

How Do You Find Balance?

I've recently gotten back into doing yoga, and it's been amazing. Over the past few years with doing Bodywork Buddy, I've slowly started spending more and more time on the computer and less time doing the things that fill me back up and take care of myself - like yoga. I didn't realize how much I was really needing this until I started taking classes again.


It's helped me be more in the present, not only in class and other areas of my life, but specifically in my massage practice. I've found myself working more slowly, taking more time in each stroke, and watching the clock less. Even changing up my routines and techniques more while really listening to my client's bodies. Of course, I'd like to say that I alway do this ... but after 16 years of doing massage, the truth is sometimes I'm just on autopilot. 


It's been refreshing to see my work in a new light since doing yoga regularly. I wasn't expecting this result from starting up a yoga practice again, it's been a pleasant surprise. I'm really enjoying my massage work more lately, and I feel like I'm doing better work with my clients.


According to Karina Braun, Yoga will help you as a massage therapist to gain awareness in your body and help you to improve your posture and alignment while you work. Increasing flexibility while helping to prevent injury, yoga can help you do massage for years to come.

What other things do you do to help fill your cup and keep you balanced to be a better massage therapist?

*NEW FEATURES* Canceled and Missed Appointments Reports

You can now generate a report for canceled and missed appointments within Bodywork Buddy.

For missed appointments: from dashboard > reports > missed appointment > date range > generate report.

For canceled appointments: from dashboard > reports > canceled appointment > date range > generate report.

We're currently working to add in the ability to print these reports as well. This should be available soon!

Are you a solo massage therapist looking to make your life easier with your practice? Check out the FREE 15 day trial of Bodywork Buddy and see how we can help you get organized and have more control over your massage practice!

Member Spotlight: Jessie Zarling

Today's Bodywork Buddy Member Spotlight is Jessie Zarling from Sussex, Wisconsin. Jessie owns Relaxing Relief Massage.

Q: What inspired you to be a massage therapist? 

A: I've kind of been doing massage since I was about 9 years old. When I was a kid, my Dad would get a lot of back pain and I would rub his back with this pain relieving gel he had. Somehow I was able to relieve some of the pain he was having. Not exactly the way I would work now, but I think I had a natural knack for it. I also remember giving my cousins massages at my Grandparents' house on my Grandpa's recliner. I have no idea how I started doing it, but I did it all the time, because I wanted to. Going through middle and high school, I thought I wanted to go into PT, but then realized I wanted to go more manual therapy and less exercises. Massage just seemed to be the right path for me.

Q: How long have you been doing massage?

A: I graduated school in November of 2009, so almost 6 years. Self-employed for almost two.

Q: What is your favorite thing about being an MT?

A: I love working with my regulars, and seeing the continual progress we get from session to session. Working for myself is a close second ;)

Q: What do you feel is the most challenging issue for massage therapists?

A: I think the most challenging thing is the way the general public sees massage. There are a lot of people who see the truth and benefits, which is fantastic, but there's still a long way to go for the rest.

Q: What advice would you give to other MT’s to help build their business?

A: I'm still building myself, but taking care of my clients and getting their word-of-mouth has probably been the best thing for me. Don't cheapen yourself by advertising with daily deal sites. In my experience from past jobs, the clients that those attract are mostly deal-jumpers and people not willing to pay your regular prices. Have patience. Rome wasn't built in a day.

Product Review: Nirvana 2in1 Massage Table

I've been using the Nirvana 2in1 Massage Table from Got Your Back in my massage practice lately and am loving it.

I'm pretty spoiled with having a lot of different tables at my massage studio because I use many for teaching Ashiatsu DeepFeet Bar Therapy classes. I like to switch up the table I use in my everyday practice and here's what I like about the Nirvana 2in1 table:

• The removable breast recess, which can then be put back in place for supine work. Or you can leave it out for different access to neck area while working supine.
• There's a nice little dip for the neck area when laying prone.
• Arm sling that is easier to add or remove than some others I've tried.
• The table top is cushy and the black color looks super sleek.
• Weight capacity of 550 pounds makes this table a good choice for ashiatsu work as well. (Static capacity is 2750 pounds.)

The only thing I've been having issues with so far is removing the face cradle, but I think it's just because it is still new and hasn't been removed a lot. (And really, there's no need to remove it often, I can simply drop the face cradle down when working supine.)

Overall, this is a great table - especially for the price! 

$339.00-$369.00 gets you:

• Table with breast recess cutout and neck contour
• Adjustable face cradle
• Arm sling
• Carrying case
• Limited lifetime warranty
• Shiatsu release

Are you in the market for a new table and have a limited budget? You can get a lot of bang for your buck with this table from Got Your Back.

*NEW FEATURE* New Client Star

Over the weekend, we added a new feature that has been requested by our members. Now when there is a new client / client's first visit in your schedule, a star will appear next to their appointment in the calendar and on the dashboard in Today's Schedule.

How To Block Off Time In Your Calendar

In Bodywork Buddy, your open business hours are highlighted in green in the calendar day and week view.

Click into the day you want to block off time. A popup window will appear with options of General Event, Confirmed Appointment, or Completed Appointment (Session).

Click the General Event button. Fill in info with any details needed, including length of time if you're not choosing an all day event. (You'll also have the option to drag the event longer or to a different timeframe in the day once it's created.)
Be sure to have "busy" selected.
Click the green "save appointment" button.

The event will now show in the calendar in light gray with the title you gave it. (Shown here with title of "closed".)

You can click on the event and drag it to different days or times in the calendar, or you can grab the lines at the bottom of the event to drag it to last shorter or longer in the day.

You can still schedule appointments in this timeframe if you want by clicking into the green area to the sides of the gray general event. (But clients will not see these times available online if you've chosen "busy" for the event.)