Online booking setup

What this does

Online booking gives customers a public page where they pick a service, a date and time, enter their details, and land on your schedule as a Scheduled appointment without a phone call. Everything about that page is set under Settings → Booking.

Before you start

settings.booking — Owner and General Manager. You'll want at least one service option defined (next article) before you switch it on, or the page has nothing to offer.

Steps

1. Settings → Booking.
2. Enable Online Booking — the master switch. Off, the public page tells visitors booking isn't available.
3. Booking URL Slug — the last part of the page address. Your page is /book/<slug>. Keep it short and lowercase; it's what goes on your website and cards. Changing it breaks any link already published.
4. Business Hours — open and close per day, or closed. Slots are offered only inside these.
5. Slot Duration (min) — how long each bookable slot is. Sixty minutes is a normal starting point.
6. Advance Booking (days) — how far ahead customers may book. Beyond this the calendar shows nothing.
7. Max per Slot — how many appointments can share one slot. Set it to the number of cars you can take at once, typically your bay count or fewer.
8. Require Phone Number — on, and a customer can't book without one. Recommended; it's what texting and consent hang on.
9. Confirmation Message — the text customers see after booking.
10. Save.

Blocked Times — add a start, end, and reason (holiday, vacation) for any period customers shouldn't be able to book. Blocked periods disappear from the public calendar.

Common problems

Customers see no available times. Business hours are all closed, the day is blocked, every slot is at Max per Slot, or the date is past Advance Booking. Check in that order.

The booking page 404s. Online booking is off or the slug changed. Confirm both under Settings → Booking.

Bookings arrive with no phone. Turn on Require Phone Number.