Manage Online Bookings

Take control of your scheduling workflow by learning how to benefit from automated booking options and customized client policies. Empower your clients with 24/7 online booking self-service and create a hassle-free scheduling experience for everyone.

Manage Booking Options

Manage your booking options for all your services to ensure your calendar remains organized.

1. Open the platform.
2. Click Settings.
3. Click Booking Options.

Setting Booking Options

These settings give you control over how you accept appointments.

Accepting Appointments

Choose how the platform handles incoming requests:

• Manually: You must confirm the client's request.
• Automatically: The platform approves appointments when the client books.
• Combined: You must confirm appointments for new clients, while the platform automatically approves existing client appointments.

Once you confirm, the platform adds the appointment to your calendar and sends a confirmation email to the client.

Appointment Scheduling Restrictions

• Advance notification: Set how far in advance a client needs to book, from 15 minutes to 6 weeks.
• Limit future bookings: Control how far ahead a client can book, from 1 day in advance to 1 year.

Manage an Individual Service

You can manage booking options for individual services instead of using the default settings.

1. Open the platform.
2. Click Settings.
3. Click Services.
4. Next to the service, click the edit icon.
5. Under "Booking Options" or "Client Notifications," select Customize.
6. Enter the details.
7. Click Save.

Turn On Online Scheduling

When you turn on online scheduling, clients can book appointments right from your website, client portal, email, or social media pages.

1. Open the platform.
2. Click Settings.
3. Click Booking Options.
4. Check "I offer online scheduling through my client portal."

Service Menu and Booking Display Options

Customize how you display your service menu to clients to match your business needs.

• Display of Service Categories: Choose if the platform displays services by default, or if the platform only displays services when a client selects a category.
• Display or promote packages: Hide packages, or use a link or banner to promote them.
• Scheduling order: Choose whether clients first select a service and then the preferred staff member, or vice versa.

• Display time slots: Choose whether the platform splits time slots into sections for morning, afternoon, and evening, or displays them together at once.
• Group Events Display: Choose whether the platform displays upcoming events in calendar or list view.
• Service Menu Title: Enter a line of text for the platform to display above your services menu.

Setting Booking Policies

Your Online Booking Policy sets how far in advance clients can cancel or reschedule. The platform shows this to clients before they confirm their booking.

1. Open the platform.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Click Booking Options.
4. Click the Booking policies tab.

Policy Configurations

• Create a waitlist for fully booked events: Check this to create a waitlist for fully booked group events.

• Arrival window: Let your clients know you will arrive during a window of time instead of an exact time, from 15 minutes to 4 hours.
• Allow clients to reschedule appointments: Check this to set how long a client must wait to rebook after a cancellation, from always up to 4 weeks.
• Allow clients to cancel appointments or registration to events: Check this to set a time limit for cancellations, from always to 4 weeks notice.
• Booking Policy Text: Describe your policy for cancellations, rescheduling, or late arrivals. The platform displays this text before clients submit a request and on the "Appointment" client portal screen.
• Terms of service: Check this if you require clients to accept your terms of service before booking. You must enter your Terms of Service URL for clients to review.

Troubleshooting: No availability showing for your business

If your online booking system shows no available time slots, check these common causes before you contact support.

1. Verify that you turned on online scheduling: If you do not activate online scheduling, clients will see no availability. Follow the steps in the "Turn On Online Scheduling" section above to confirm you turned it on.

2. Check that you set up resources and connected them to services: You must assign at least staff member. If you select a resource but no staff member with availability to the service, no time slots will appear.

   To check resource assignments:

   • Open the platform.
   • Click Settings.
   • Click Services.
   • Next to the service, click the edit icon.
   • Confirm that you assigned at least one staff member with the resource.
   • Click Save if you make any changes.
3. Review your scheduling restrictions: Under Settings > Booking Options, check:
   • Advance notification: If you set this too far in advance, for example, 6 weeks, clients may see no near-term availability.
   • Limit future bookings: If you set a very short window, for example, 1 day, the platform only shows same-day slots.
4. Confirm you set your working hours: If you do not define working hours in your calendar, the system has no slots to offer. Configure your availability schedule in your calendar settings.
5. Still seeing no availability?: If the issue persists after you check all of the above, a technical problem may exist. Contact support with:
   • The name of the affected service
   • Screenshots of your booking options and resource settings
   • The URL of your booking page

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How can I make sure I have the final say before an appointment is booked?

Set your "Accepting Appointments" preference to Manually. This requires you to confirm every request before the platform adds it to your calendar and notifies the client.

Q: Can I set different booking rules for a specific service?

Yes, navigate to Settings and then Services to select a specific service. When you click the edit icon and select Customize under "Booking Options," you override default settings for that service.

Q: Where do my clients see my cancellation and rescheduling policies?

The platform displays your "Booking Policy Text" immediately before a client submits their appointment request. Clients can also view this information on the "Appointment" screen within the client portal.

Q: Why is the online booking system showing no availability?

Disabling online scheduling, missing resource assignments for a service, restrictive scheduling windows, or undefined working hours in your calendar usually cause this. Review the Troubleshooting section above for a step-by-step guide to resolve this.

Q: Can I require payment at the time of booking?

Yes, you can configure payment requirements within the individual service settings. This ensures that the platform only confirms an appointment once the client successfully completes the payment process.

Q: How do I prevent back-to-back appointments from being too close together?

You can add buffer time to your services by updating the Preparation Time setting. This is located under the individual service settings beneath the Duration & Availability section. This setting ensures the platform blocks off a set amount of time before or after an appointment, giving you time to prepare or travel between sessions.