ERPat Appointments
The Appointments module is a complete booking system for spas, salons, and clinics — it takes a customer from a first request all the way through the visit, checkout, and follow-up. This page is your map of the whole module: what it does, who uses each part, and where to go next.
Book it. Serve it. Get paid. Bring them back.
One place for your calendar, your service menu, prepaid packages, a waitlist, reports, settings — plus a public page where customers book themselves online.
What is the Appointments module
The Appointments module runs online and front-desk bookings for the treatments your business offers — haircuts, massages, facials, consultations — performed by staff providers in your rooms or chairs. It answers the everyday questions a front desk faces: What's on today? Is this time free for this stylist? Did the client show up? What did we use or sell? Have we been paid?
It is built around a few connected ideas:
- A service menu — the treatments customers can book, each with a duration, price, colour, and the staff qualified to perform it. (See Services & Staff.)
- A calendar & lifecycle — every booking moves through clear stages, from a fresh request to a finished, paid visit. (See Calendar & Appointments.)
- An availability engine — the system works out real, bookable time slots from each provider's working hours, existing bookings, and service buffers. Times are never free-typed.
- A public booking portal — an optional web page where customers book themselves online without logging in. (See Online Booking Portal.)
- Money & retention — turn a finished visit into an invoice, take payment, apply prepaid packages, award loyalty points, and collect reviews. (See Checkout & Payments.)
What you can do here at a glance
Who uses it (roles)
Different people touch different parts of the module. Access is controlled by permissions, so a person only sees what their role grants — and an admin bypasses every permission check.
Front-desk / reception staff live in the Calendar. They create walk-in and phone bookings, check clients in, mark visits Completed or No Show, record products used or sold, run checkout, and add people to the Waitlist. They confirm online bookings that arrive as Pending.
Managers do everything the front desk does, plus build the service menu and packages, review a customer's spend and history, read the Workforce Monitor and reviews, and configure booking rules and automation in Settings (needs the Manage Appointment Settings permission).
Admins have unrestricted access — every permission gate is bypassed. Admins typically enable the module, turn on public booking, and set up the initial catalog and settings before handing day-to-day running to managers and the front desk.
Customers never see the admin screens. They interact only with the public pages: the online booking portal (book a service, join the waitlist when full) and the review page (rate a completed visit). No login is required for any of these.
Permissions at a glance
Each area is gated by its own permission. If a button or menu item is missing, it usually means the permission hasn't been granted.
| Area | Base permission | Who typically holds it |
|---|---|---|
| Calendar & appointments | appointments (+ create / update / delete) | Front desk, managers |
| Checkout & invoicing | appointment_checkout | Front desk (with checkout rights), managers |
| Services & categories | appointment_services (+ create / update / delete) | Managers |
| Packages & memberships | appointment_packages (+ create / update / delete / sell) | Managers, front desk (to sell) |
| Waitlist | appointment_waitlist (+ create / update / delete) | Front desk, managers |
| Reports & analytics | appointment_reports | Managers, team leads |
| Settings & reminders | manage_appointment_settings | Managers, admins |
| Online booking / review pages | None — fully public | Customers (no login) |
Module map (card grid)
The module is organized into six staff areas plus one public portal. Each card below opens its dedicated page in this guide.
The public online booking portal
The appointment life-cycle at a glance
Everything in the module is driven by an appointment's status. Status sets the calendar colour, decides which action buttons appear, and controls what business logic fires (stock, commission, and loyalty on completion; entitlement release and waitlist alerts on cancellation). A booking normally flows left-to-right, with Cancelled and No Show as off-ramps.
From request to review — the big picture
Here's how a single booking travels through the whole module, and which area handles each step.
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A booking is requested
A customer books on the online portal (landing as Confirmed), or the front desk creates it on the Calendar for a walk-in or phone enquiry. If nothing is free, the customer can join the Waitlist instead.
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It lands on the calendar
The booking appears colour-coded by status. A fresh online booking is already Confirmed and emails the customer; a Pending booking is confirmed with one click. The slot is guarded so two people can't take the same provider's time.
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The visit is delivered
When the client arrives, staff Check In, then mark In Progress as work starts. Along the way they record any back-bar use (products consumed) and retail sales via Manage Items.
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Completion & checkout
Marking the visit Completed fires one-time logic: commission is captured, back-bar stock is decremented, and loyalty is awarded. At Checkout, staff apply any prepaid package coverage, create the invoice, and take payment (in store or via an online pay link).
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Loyalty & review follow-up
Loyalty points accrue automatically on completion. A little later, an automated email invites the customer to leave a 1–5 star review, which feeds the averages on the Reports page.
Status legend
Status colours are consistent everywhere — the same colour appears on the calendar event and on the status chip. Keep this legend handy; the full definitions live in the Glossary.
Appointment statuses
#f0ad4e.
#1d97a6.
#5bc0de.
#5bc0de.
#5cb85c.
#d9534f.
#777777.
Waitlist statuses
The Waitlist has its own short lifecycle for customers who couldn't get a slot.
#f0ad4e.
#5bc0de.
#5cb85c.
#d9534f.
Appointment item lines
What each product or service line on an appointment represents — relevant at Checkout and in reports.
Where to start
Not sure where to begin? Pick the path that matches your role and what you need to do today.
Quick start by goal
| I want to… | Go to |
|---|---|
| Set up the module for the first time | Getting Started |
| Build my service menu & assign staff | Services & Staff |
| Book a walk-in or phone appointment | Calendar & Appointments |
| Let customers book themselves online | Online Booking Portal + Settings |
| Take payment after a visit | Checkout & Payments |
| Sell a prepaid package or membership | Packages & Memberships |
| Capture customers when I'm fully booked | Waitlist |
| See how the business is performing | Reports & Analytics |
| Configure reminders, loyalty & review emails | Settings & Reminders |
| Follow a full step-by-step procedure | End-to-End Workflows (SOP) |
| Troubleshoot something that isn't working | FAQ & Troubleshooting |
First-run checklist (managers & admins)
Actor: manager or admin. A minimal path to a live, bookable business. Each step links to its full page.
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Enable the module
In Settings → Manage Modules, turn on Appointments. Nothing else works until this is on.
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Build categories, then services
On Services & Staff, create your categories first (the service form only offers active ones), then add each service with its duration, price, and buffers.
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Assign staff to each service
Use the Assign Staff action so only qualified providers are offered. A service with zero assigned staff can't be booked — the Providers count staying at 0 is the tell.
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Tune the booking rules
On Settings & Reminders, set the slot interval, minimum lead time, and maximum advance days, then decide on deposits, commission, loyalty rate, and review requests.
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Turn on public booking (optional)
If you want online self-booking, tick Enable public booking page and share your public booking URL. Make sure each provider has an HR weekly schedule, or no slots will appear. See the Online Booking Portal.
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Do a test booking
Open your public booking URL (or use the Calendar) and book a real appointment end-to-end to confirm slots appear and confirmation emails send.
Common first questions
No. The online booking portal, waitlist join, and review pages are all fully public — no login required. When a customer books with a new email, a customer record is created automatically; if the email already exists, that account is reused.
Why can't I see the Appointments menu or settings?Two reasons are common: the module isn't enabled (Settings → Manage Modules), or your user doesn't hold the required permission for that area (for example manage_appointment_settings for the Settings page). Admins bypass all permission checks.
A service shows no available times — is it fully booked?Not necessarily. The Time list only shows slots the availability engine returns. Common causes: the provider has no HR weekly schedule that day, no staff is assigned to the service, the date is closer than the minimum lead time or beyond the maximum advance window, or large buffers are eating the free time. See FAQ & Troubleshooting.
What's the difference between cancelling and deleting a booking?Cancelling handles the business side — it captures a reason, releases package sessions (unless invoiced), and alerts matching waitlist customers. Deleting simply hides the record and does none of that. Prefer cancel when those effects matter.
When do loyalty points and reviews happen?Loyalty points are awarded automatically, once, when a visit is marked Completed (if a rate is set). A review-request email is sent automatically a configurable number of hours after completion, and the customer rates the visit on a public page. Details are on Checkout & Payments and Settings & Reminders.