Fresha: lapsed clients, segments and the win-back automation

Fresha doesn't have a report called "lapsed clients". It has three things that together do the job: a Client insights report with the two columns you need, client segments that can be built on booking history, and a win-back automation. Each has a gap the help centre either states plainly or leaves out, and the gaps are where clinics go wrong.

Menu labels below are quoted from Fresha's help centre (which moved from support.fresha.com to fresha.com/help-center; the old links redirect). Fresha's articles don't show a last-updated date, so these were checked in September 2026.

The spreadsheet: Client insights report

1. Reports → Client insights report. Fresha's description: "All of the customers listed in your Client list will appear in the Client insights report." Its columns include "Mobile number" and "Last appointment - The client's last appointment (not including cancelled or no show appointments)", plus first appointment, total appointments, total sales and the average interval between appointments (Client insights report).
2. Don't use the date picker to find lapsed clients. The report's date range filters by "the day a client was added to your account", not by last visit. Set it to 12 months and you get last year's new clients.
3. Use the Rebooked filter instead. Fresha defines it as "Clients who have an appointment scheduled in the future". You want the ones who aren't. The docs define the filter, not the negative use, so this part is inference: filter Rebooked off, or export everything and drop rows with a future appointment.
4. Export: "Open Reports", "Select the report you want to export", "Click on Customize if you need to make changes", then "Select Options and choose your preferred format" (PDF, CSV or XLSX). Team members need the "Access reporting and Access new reporting & insights" permission (Export reports).
5. In the spreadsheet, filter Last appointment to 3 to 24 months ago.

That's the verified route to a list with mobiles and last-visit dates. The other export, Clients → Clients list → Options → Excel or CSV, exists and is easy (Export your client list), but the docs don't list its columns beyond confirming it contains "Accepts marketing" and "Accepts SMS marketing", which are worth having for the consent question below.

Segments: the lapsed list Fresha can act on

Clients → Client segments. Two kinds: "Standard segments" (Fresha's examples: "new, returning, or high-value clients") and "Custom segments" you build with rules (Segment your clients). For a custom one: Add → choose a rule type → "+ Add condition" → Continue → name it → Save. Segments "update automatically", refresh "every hour", and can be used in blast campaigns straight away (Create custom client segments).

Here's the gap: Fresha's docs never name the rule types or conditions. The closest is a line in the blast-campaign article saying custom segments can target "clients who have purchased a particular service but not returned in the last 3 months" (Target clients with blast campaigns). So a "not returned in N months" segment exists, but the exact label you'll click isn't published, and whether you can export a segment's members directly isn't documented either.

The automation: Win back lapsed clients

Under Marketing → Automations, Fresha lists Win back lapsed clients: "Re-engage clients who haven't visited in a while by offering an incentive to return." Its sibling Reminder to rebook encourages clients "to schedule their next appointment if they haven't rebooked within a set timeframe", and isn't sent if an upcoming appointment exists (Types of automated messages).

To turn one on: Marketing → Automations → Enable → Edit under Trigger → Apply → choose channels under Actions → Save. Email is customisable; "Text message" is a standard message that isn't; WhatsApp is an option (Enable automated messages). The default trigger timing isn't in the docs.

Two things a clinic needs to read twice. The automation is described as "offering an incentive", and a discount on a Schedule 4 treatment is a TGA problem regardless of who sends it (why your recall text can't name the treatment). And the standard text isn't editable, so you can't put the practitioner's name or your own wording in it.

One-off text blasts, and why they can't get a reply

Marketing → Blast campaigns → text message, audience "All clients", "Standard client groups" or "Custom client segments", review the cost, pay upfront (Create text message blast campaigns). Fresha's own line on the limitation: "Text message blast campaigns are sent as no-reply messages, so any replies won't reach you."

That kills the best reactivation message, which is a question. "Want me to find you a time next week?" goes nowhere if the client can't answer it. On Fresha, a blast is a broadcast; if you want a conversation, the number has to be one a person watches.

Cost on the Australian pricing page: marketing text blasts "A$0.15 per text", automated texts "20 free monthly then A$0.06 per text" per bookable team member, emails "50 free monthly then A$0.03 per email", all ex GST (Fresha pricing).

Consent in Fresha

Fresha's consent article is written for GDPR: "you need explicit consent from clients before sending them marketing materials via SMS or email", recorded with per-client tick boxes for email and SMS marketing (Record marketing consent). Automations respect those boxes. Clients can change their own preference and "you won't be able to override their choices". The Partner Terms require an opt-out to be actioned "no later than 48 (forty-eight) hours from being so informed", which is tighter than the Spam Act's five working days.

The Australian Spam Act isn't named anywhere in the fetched Fresha docs. For a clinic, the tick box is the start, not the end: health information is sensitive under the Privacy Act, and a promotional blast to a segment needs consent you can point to, while a recall about the treatment the client had is on firmer ground. The rules, quoted from the regulators.

What to do on Fresha

Export the Client insights report, filter Last appointment, keep the "Accepts SMS marketing" column from the client list handy, and sort most-recent first. Send the first 50 as a personal text from a number that can take a reply, or as a Reminder to rebook if a standard message will do. Answer the replies the same hour. If nobody can, this is what done-for-you looks like.