How notifications work
Understand the notifications Fluent sends, the channels they reach you on, and what each one means.
At a glance
- Three channels: in-app (web), email, and mobile push.
- Two kinds of notifications: event-triggered (something happened) and scheduled (sent on a cadence, like daily summaries or availability reminders).
- Channel mix depends on the audience. Interpreters get the broadest set, including mobile push for time-sensitive offers and check-ins. Schedulers get most notifications in-app and a focused subset by email.
- Some notifications are actionable. Offers, check-in reminders, and availability reviews include accept/decline or confirmation buttons directly in the email or push.
This article covers appointment and availability notifications. For account, billing, invitation, and legal notifications, see the related articles at the bottom.
How notifications work
A notification in Fluent is sent in response to either:
- An event — an appointment is offered, accepted, declined, canceled, missed, etc. Most notifications work this way.
- A schedule — daily and weekly appointment summaries, monthly availability reviews, and check-in reminders timed to the start of an appointment.
Each notification has a defined audience (interpreters, agency staff, or organization users) and a defined channel mix (which combination of in-app, email, and push it appears on). Both are listed in the tables below.
Channels
In-app notifications appear in the bell menu on the Fluent web app. Every user sees in-app notifications for the events that concern them. This is the most comprehensive channel — if there’s a notification at all, you’ll see it here.
Email notifications are sent to the address on your Fluent account. Emails are the durable record — they live in your inbox even after the in-app notification is dismissed. Most appointment-related events that interpreters and organizations need to know about have a corresponding email.
Mobile push notifications are sent through the Fluent mobile app. They’re reserved for interpreters and for events that need attention in the moment — incoming offers, check-in reminders, voucher reminders. Tapping a push notification opens directly into the relevant appointment in the app.
Notifications for interpreters
Interpreters receive the broadest set of notifications. Most appointment events are sent on all three channels (in-app, email, and mobile push) so that an interpreter in the field doesn’t miss a time-sensitive offer or check-in.
| Notification | Trigger | In-app | Mobile push | Actionable | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New appointment offer | An offer is sent to you (Assign, Auto Assign, or Broadcast) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Accept or decline from email or push |
| Appointment confirmed (you accepted) | You accept an offer | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Appointment confirmed (assigned by scheduler) | A scheduler assigns you directly without an offer step | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Appointment declined | You decline an offer | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Appointment no longer available | An offer you received was claimed by someone else or withdrawn | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Appointment canceled (after you accepted) | An appointment you were assigned to is canceled | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Appointment canceled (before you accepted) | A pending offer is canceled before you respond | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Late cancellation | An appointment is canceled on short notice | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Unassigned from appointment | A scheduler removes you from an appointment | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Missed appointment | The system marks an appointment as missed | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Check-in reminder | An appointment is starting soon (5–10 min before, varies by service type) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Open Fluent to check in or mark arrived |
| Voucher reminder | An assigned appointment ended without a voucher submitted | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Submit voucher |
| Confirm today’s appointments | Daily — sent to interpreters with assignments today | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Confirm attendance |
| Daily appointment summary | Daily — your assignments for the day | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Weekly appointment summary | Weekly — your schedule for the upcoming week | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Review your availability | Sent when the agency requests an availability review (typically monthly or ad hoc) | ✓ | ✓ | — | Edit availability or confirm it’s the same |
About check-in reminders. The check-in reminder has different copy and timing depending on the service type — in-person reminders go 5 minutes before the appointment and prompt you to mark arrived; video and phone reminders go 10 minutes before and prompt you to check in or be ready for the call. The notification itself is the same concept regardless of service type.
Notifications for schedulers, managers, and admins (agency)
Agency staff get most of their notifications in-app, where they’re working day-to-day. Email is reserved for the events that benefit from a durable record — primarily acceptance, cancellation, and decline events that drive scheduler action.
| Notification | Trigger | In-app | Actionable | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New interpreter request | An organization submits a new request to your agency | — | ✓ | — |
| Pending assignment | An offer is sent to an interpreter | — | ✓ | — |
| Appointment confirmed | An interpreter accepts an offer | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Interpreter declined | An interpreter declines an offer | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Appointment declined | The agency declines a request from a customer | — | ✓ | — |
| Appointment completed | An appointment is marked complete | — | ✓ | — |
| Appointment canceled | A customer or scheduler cancels an appointment | ✓ | ✓ | Review whether to mark as Late Cancel |
| Late cancellation | An appointment is canceled on short notice | — | ✓ | — |
| Appointment missed | The system marks an appointment as missed | — | ✓ | — |
| Interpreter arrived late | An interpreter’s arrival time is after the scheduled start | — | ✓ | — |
| Interpreter added time off | An interpreter on your roster adds time off | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Interpreter updated availability | An interpreter changes their weekly availability | ✓ | ✓ | — |
The “Appointment canceled” email is the one most likely to require scheduler action — it’s sent so a scheduler can review the timing and decide whether to leave the status as Canceled or update it to Late Cancel based on the agency’s cancellation policy.
Notifications for organization users
Organization users receive notifications for the appointments their team has visibility into. Requesters see notifications only for the appointments they personally created; schedulers, managers, admins, and account owners see notifications for all appointments on the teams they belong to.
| Notification | Trigger | In-app | Actionable | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appointment requested | Confirmation that your request was received | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Interpreter assigned | The agency assigns an interpreter to your request | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Appointment declined | The agency is unable to fill the request | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Appointment completed | An appointment is marked complete | — | ✓ | — |
| Appointment canceled | An appointment is canceled | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Late cancellation | An appointment is canceled on short notice (a fee may apply) | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Appointment missed | The interpreter did not attend (no charges apply) | ✓ | ✓ | — |
Why the channel mix differs by audience
If you’re scanning the tables, you’ll notice that interpreters get the most channels, schedulers get fewer emails than in-app notifications, and organizations sit somewhere in between. This is intentional:
- Interpreters work in the field. Time-sensitive offers and check-ins need to reach them on their phone, not just in a tab they may not have open.
- Schedulers live in Fluent. A scheduler with the app open all day doesn’t need an email for every status change — that would flood their inbox. Email is reserved for events that warrant a durable record or scheduler action.
- Organizations need a paper trail. The customer who submitted the request wants confirmation in their inbox that it was received, assigned, canceled, or missed. The in-app notifications cover the same events for users actively working in Fluent.