Client messaging: direct messages and groups without WhatsApp
Message your clients and your team right in the Manager, one-on-one or as a group. Your clients reply in the client portal or the client app, and private phone numbers stay private.
- Free plan, free forever
- No demo call, start right away
- No credit card
Updated 25 September 2026
Messages and chat at a glance
- takes one add-on slot, even on the Free plan
- Add-on
- with clients and team
- 1:1 and group
- in the client app for new messages
- Notification
- no phone numbers needed
- Private
- servers, GDPR-compliant
- Frankfurt
- interface for you and your clients
- 7 languages
How do I message my participants in Bookicorn?
With the Messages & Course Chats add-on, you message your participants right in the Manager, one by one as a direct message or several at once in a group chat. In Bookicorn, your clients read and reply in the client portal or the client app and get a notification there if they've allowed notifications. On their own, they write to you via Message studio.
- Who it's for
- For studios, schools and instructors who no longer want to coordinate with clients and team through private messengers and phone numbers.
- What you get
- Direct messages and group chats in the Manager, chat in the client portal and the client app, notifications for new messages and permissions for the team.
- What it costs
- Messages & Course Chats is an add-on and takes one add-on slot in your plan, which already works on the Free plan. During the 14-day trial you can try it like all add-ons.
How to get Messages and chat
You turn on Messages and chat in the Add-on Store of your Manager with one tap and can switch it off at any time. It uses one of your plan's add-on slots. Once all slots are taken, you can add it on in the paid plans.
- Clients write from the client portal and the client app, but guests without an account can't
- Instructors use the chat with the Messages and Send messages permissions
- Clients get notifications in the client app if they've allowed them
- Without the add-on, the Messages area stays locked
- Free
- 1 slot
- Starter
- 3 slots
- Professional
- 8 slots
- Premium
- all add-ons
Client messages on your private phone?
- Is tomorrow's session still on?
- Can you send me the address again?
- I'll be 10 minutes late today.
Every client has your private number, messages come in the evening and on weekends, and after two weeks nobody knows what was said in which group.
Messages come together in the Manager, separate from your private phone. Your clients write from their client portal, and you reply when it suits you.
How a conversation works
From the first line to the reply in three steps.
- 1
Choose people
Tap New message and choose clients or instructors. One person makes a direct message, several make a group chat.
- 2
Write
Write your message. You can edit or delete your own messages later, and the history shows it.
- 3
The client gets notified
Your client sees the message in the client portal and gets a notification in the client app. One tap on it opens the messages.
What messages and chat can do
Everything you arrange with clients and team stays in Bookicorn, next to the bookings.
All featuresDirect messages
Message a client or instructor on their own. If there's already a conversation with the person, it continues there.
Group chats
Choose several people, such as the participants of an offering, and Bookicorn creates a group chat. You add more members later.
Clients write to you
In the client portal and the client app, clients write to you via Message studio. The message goes to your studio's main account.
Notification for new messages
Clients get a notification in the client app if they've allowed notifications. At most one per conversation every 15 minutes, so the phone doesn't ring for every line.
Search and filters
All conversations in one place, filtered by direct messages and groups, with search and a counter for unread direct messages.
Edit and delete
Your own messages can be changed or deleted afterwards. The history then shows “edited” or “Message was deleted”.
Permissions for your team
Instructors only see the Messages area with the menu permission for it and only write if you allow them to send messages. Direct messages are only visible to the two people involved.
From chat to client record
From a group's member list, you jump straight to the client record or the instructor profile.
Also included
- Chat in the client portal in the browser and in the client app
- Clients only see groups they're a member of
- Guests without an account can write once they've created one
- Clients can turn off message notifications separately
- Documents about clients with the Documentation add-on
Start for free, no demo call
Create your account and set everything up in a few minutes. The Free plan stays free forever, and for 14 days you can also try every feature.
- Start right away, no demo call
- No credit card needed
- Cancel monthly
BookicornFree planHow others use the chat
Three typical uses from different industries.
Dance school
A group chat for each class group with the instructor and the couples. Last-minute room changes go to everyone at once.
- Chat
- Group per dance class
- Members
- Couples and instructor
Personal training
Direct messages between trainer and client for questions about the plan, without a private number.
- Chat
- Direct message
- Permission
- Send messages
Dog training school
Clients ask via Message studio whether they can come with a different dog. The reply arrives on their phone as a notification.
- Channel
- Message studio
- Notification
- Client app
What others use together with the chat
Core features are included in every plan, add-ons you turn on when you need them.
Notifications and reminders
Reminders before the session, push in the client app, notifications in the Manager and emails about new bookings. You decide who hears about what.
Learn moreClient portal
Your studio's client portal: book and cancel sessions, buy credits, manage subscriptions, download invoices. In the browser and in the client app.
Learn moreEmail automation
Booking confirmation, reminder, cancellation, waitlist and payment: Bookicorn sends the emails automatically, in your studio's design and the client's language.
Learn moreTrainer Portal
Their own login for every instructor in the Manager, with a role and individually adjustable permissions for menus, actions and client data.
Learn moreDocumentation
Notes on every session right from the session and a private storage for intake forms, consents and contracts. Only your team sees them.
Learn moreFrequently asked questions about messages and chat
Answered briefly. The first sentence is always the answer.
Can't find your question?
Write to usYes, via Message studio in the client portal or the client app. The message goes to your studio's main account in the Manager.
Still have questions about messages and chat?
Write to us in two minutes. You get a personal reply from people, not from a bot, and we tell you honestly whether Bookicorn is right for you.
Hi, I'm Daniel. Tell me briefly what you offer, and I'll tell you how to set it up in Bookicorn.
Daniel Haenle · replies personally
Ready to get client messages off your private phone?
Create your account, add the Messages & Course Chats add-on and message your clients right from the Manager. The Free plan stays free.
- 14 days of every feature
- No credit card
- 0% commission
- No minimum term
Ready to go in minutes
- Create your account
- Add your first offering
- 3Share your booking page