The Appointment feature will easily allow you add an appointments booking engine to your App.
The App manager will be able to create multiple stores, categories, services and providers. It’s also possible to define store opening and closing times and create a specific schedule for the providers. Lastly, so that the App manager can also take appointments over the phone and from walk-ins, through the web front-end interface, it’s also possible to add appointments manually. The Appointment feature also sends push reminders before each appointment. The default reminder is set for 1hr before the appointment but the user is free to adjust according to the individual needs.
SETUP
You’ll need to access the Settings tab in order to begin this process.
1. Location
The first step is to create the location for your retail outlet. You can have more than one outlet on each App. If you only have 1 store location, the user will not be presented with the store selection during the booking process. You’ll need to add the Name of the location, the address, and set the business working hours. If you close for lunch, you won’t define it here. When you add the providers, you’ll be able to define the lunch period separately for each one of them. Lastly, you’ll be able to define if the store is closed on a specific day, like December 25, and save.
2. Services and Categories
The second step is to create categories of services. This will allow you to categorize the services and to show the user a more organized list of the services that are provided. If you only have 1 category, the category tab will not be shown during the booking process. The user will be taken to the services tab immediately.
Once you have created the categories, you can move on to creating the services. You’ll need to define a name, price – don’t worry about the currency symbol, it will be obtained from your App’s currency settings -, service and buffer times, and the category. The buffer time is the time that is required between appointments, it can be set to zero.
Once you’ve saved the service, you’ll need to define where that service is available. It could be there are multiple stores and the service is only available at one location. You’ll need to repeat this step for all the services that you create.
3. PROVIDERS
The first step is to add the providers and to associate the providers to the locations and services. You’ll need to create a name for the provider, add a phone number and an email address. Each time an appointment is made for a specific provider, an information email will be sent. You’ll also be able to add a picture for each provider, if it’s not added, a default avatar will be shown.
Once you’ve add the provider, you’ll need to assign the services to that provider. Please note that if you have more than one location and the provider works at both locations, you’ll need to assign the services to the provider at each location.
4. TIMINGS
The last step is to define when the provider will be available to work. In case the provider works are more than one location, you’ll need to define the timings for each location.
When defining when the provider is available to work, you’ll need to define the start and end times. You can also add a day break, for example, in case the provider doesn’t work on specific date due to a holiday or doctor’s appointment. The lunch or any other breaks can also be added from this screen. These breaks will be excluded from the availability on the user’s booking interface.
5. OPTIONS
From the options menu you’ll be able to adjust some module design options and customize the icons used.
6. Customization
The color of the active icon during the booking process can be customized individually by using the SCSS code below:
.tab-item-active > .icon, .
tab-item-active > span.tab-title {
color: #ff0000 !important;
}
MANAGING APPOINTMENTS
Appointments can be managed from the Calendar interface. The store manager will need to select the location and provider that needs to be managed. Once that is selected, the calendar can be loaded with that criteria. Should the store manager need to change location or provider, it can be done using the pull-down menus.
1. Adding an appointment
The store manager can add an appointment that is received over the phone or from a walk-in customer from the Calendar View. An appointment can be easily added by clicking on the desired date and time. A new window will appear where the store manager will be able to select the service, the customer and the desired time. If there any special appointment requirements or details, these can be added to the Notes field. Once the new appointment is saved, a confirmation email will be sent to the customer and to the provider.
2. Cancelling an appointment
The customer cannot currently cancel an appointment. This will be enabled in a future release when booking cancellation policy is supported. Currently, if the customer needs to cancel an appointment, the store owner will have to be contacted. Cancelling an appointment can be done by clicking on an appointment from the Calendar View and pressing the Void button. Voiding an appointment will maintain the appointment on the Calendar and on the customer’s front end. If you need to completely delete an appointment, the Delete button should be used instead.
3. Editing an appointment
An appointment can be changed in two ways. If only a change in date/time is required within the same week, the store owner can just drag the desired appointment and drop it on the new date/time. Please make sure that the destination date/time is available, i.e., store is open and the provider is available on that day/time. If any of the criteria before fail, the drag/drop functionality will not work. The second way to change an appointment is to click on it as if you are going to edit it. Once the appointment edit pop-up opens, you’ll be able to change the appointment details.
EXAMPLE IN THE APPLICATION