Booking and Managing Appointments

15 minutes

Tutorial 2.2: Booking and Managing Appointments

Introduction

Learn how to book appointments for customers, assign staff and services, handle multi-service bookings, and manage appointment status. This tutorial covers creating, editing, and rescheduling appointments using Luminate's appointment system.

Who this is for: Owner, Admin, Manager, Staff, Receptionist What you'll learn:

Create new appointments from the calendar
Select customers, staff, and services
Book multi-service appointments
Reschedule using drag-and-drop and cut-and-paste
Edit and cancel appointments
Understand appointment statuses

Time to complete: 15 minutes

Prerequisites

Complete Tutorial 2.1 (understanding the calendar)
At least one active staff member in your salon
Services configured in the system
Customers added to the system (appointments require existing customers)

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Access the New Appointment Form

There are several ways to start booking an appointment:

Method 1: Click the New Appointment button

Navigate to Appointments in the sidebar
Click the New Appointment button in the top-right corner
The appointment creation form opens

Method 2: Drag on the calendar

In Today or Week view, click and drag on an empty time slot
A dialog appears asking whether to create an Appointment or Block Time
Select Appointment
The form opens with the date, time, and staff pre-filled

Method 3: From the waitlist

Navigate to Waitlist and select an entry
Click Convert to Appointment
The customer, preferred service, and staff are pre-selected in the form

Step 2: Select a Customer

The Customer section appears at the top of the form:

Click the Customer search field
Start typing the customer's name
Select the customer from the dropdown results

Customer Appointment History: Below the customer selection, you'll see a panel showing the customer's recent appointment history, including past services and dates. This helps you understand their preferences and history.

Note: You cannot create customers directly from the appointment form. If the customer doesn't exist, first add them via Customers > Add Customer, then return to book the appointment.

Step 3: Select a Staff Member

The Staff Member section allows you to assign who will perform the service:

Click the Staff Member search field
Select from the list of active staff

Roster Indicators:

Staff who are rostered on the selected date appear normally
Staff who are not rostered are marked with "(Not rostered)"
A warning appears if no staff are rostered: "No staff are rostered for this time. You can still create the appointment."

Step 4: Select Services

The Services section lets you choose one or more services:

For a single service:

Click in the services selection area
Search or browse for the service
Click to add it

For multiple services (multi-service booking):

Add the first service as above
Click to add additional services
Services stack sequentially with processing times automatically applied
A timeline shows how the services are arranged

Service Timeline: When you select multiple services, a Service Stack Timeline appears showing:

The order of services
Duration of each service
Processing time between services (e.g., for colour development)
Total appointment duration

Custom Duration: You can adjust the duration of individual services if needed (e.g., for a more complex cut that needs extra time).

Step 5: Set Date and Time

Use the Date picker to select the appointment date
Use the Start Time picker to set when the appointment begins
The End Time is calculated automatically based on:
- Service duration(s)
- Processing times between services

Note: If you dragged on the calendar to create the appointment, these fields are pre-filled.

Step 6: Add Notes (Optional)

Two types of notes are available:

Customer Notes:

Enter information that will appear on appointment confirmations
Use for arrival instructions, what to bring, etc.
The helper text notes these are "visible to the customer"

Internal Notes:

Enter information only staff can see
Use for preferences, allergies, special requirements
The helper text notes these are "visible only to staff"

Step 7: Configure Deposit (Optional)

If the service requires a deposit:

Enter the Deposit Amount

Deposits help reduce no-shows for high-value appointments like colour services.

Note: The Deposit Paid checkbox is only available when editing an existing appointment, not when creating a new one.

Step 8: Save the Appointment

Review all details are correct
Click Create Appointment
The appointment appears on the calendar
You're redirected back to the calendar view

Managing Existing Appointments

View Appointment Details

Click on any appointment in the calendar
A sidebar opens showing:
- Customer name and contact details
- Service and staff information
- Appointment status
- Notes
- Action buttons

Edit an Appointment

Click the appointment to open the sidebar
Click the Edit button
Modify the fields as needed
Click Update Appointment

Reschedule Using Drag-and-Drop

For quick rescheduling:

Click and hold on the appointment card
Drag it to a new time slot or staff column
Release to drop it in the new position
The appointment updates automatically

For linked appointments (multi-service bookings):

A dialog appears asking whether to move just this appointment or all linked appointments
Choose Move this appointment only or Move all linked appointments

On mobile devices: Tap an appointment to open a popup with View, Edit, and Cut options. Use Edit to change the date, time, or staff member directly. Use Cut to move the appointment via the clipboard (see Cut and Paste below). Drag-and-drop rescheduling is available on desktop and tablet devices.

Cancel an Appointment

Click the appointment to open the sidebar
Click the Cancel button
Confirm the cancellation

What happens when cancelled:

The appointment status changes to "Cancelled"
The time slot becomes available for new bookings
The appointment record is preserved for reporting

Cut and Paste Appointments

The clipboard holds items that can be placed on the calendar by clicking a time slot. There are two types of clipboard item:

Cut items (amber) — existing appointments you've cut for rescheduling
Rebook items (blue) — new appointments created from the rebook prompt after completing a transaction (see "Rebooking from a Transaction" below)

Cut-and-paste lets you move appointments to a different date, time, or staff member. Unlike drag-and-drop, cut-and-paste lets you navigate to a different day or week before choosing where to place the appointment.

Cutting an appointment:

On desktop: Hover over an appointment card on the calendar and click the scissors button that appears on the card.

On mobile: Tap the appointment card. A popup menu appears with View, Edit, and Cut options. Tap Cut.

The appointment moves to the Clipboard panel in the left sidebar.

Linked appointments: If the appointment is part of a multi-service booking, a dialog appears asking whether to cut all linked appointments or just the one you clicked. Choose Cut All N to move them together, or Cut Only This One to move a single appointment.

Pasting from the clipboard:

Open the Clipboard tab in the left sidebar to see your cut items
Click a clipboard item to select it -- the card highlights with an amber border and shows "Click calendar to paste"
Move your mouse over the calendar -- a ghost preview appears showing where the appointment would land
Click the desired time slot and staff column to paste the appointment there
The appointment moves to the new position

Overlap warning: If pasting would overlap with an existing appointment, a warning dialog appears listing the conflicting appointments. You can click Cancel to choose a different slot, or Paste Anyway to proceed with the double-booking.

Cancelling a cut: To cancel a cut and return the appointment to its original position, hover over the clipboard card and click the X button (on desktop), or tap the clipboard card and tap the X button (on mobile).

Rebooking from a Transaction

After completing a transaction in Quick POS, you're prompted to rebook the customer's next appointment (see Tutorial 2.4, Step 12). When you choose a rebook date, you're taken to the calendar with rebook items on the clipboard. Here's how to use them.

How rebook items appear:

Rebook items appear as blue cards on the Clipboard tab (the tab opens automatically)
Each service from the transaction becomes a separate rebook item
The first item is auto-selected, ready for booking

Rebook items vs cut items:

	Cut Items	Rebook Items
Colour	Amber border	Blue border
Icon	Scissors	Calendar
Hint text	"Click calendar to paste"	"Click calendar to book"
Action	Moves an existing appointment	Creates a new appointment
Overlap check	Warns about conflicts	No overlap warning

Booking a rebook item:

The clipboard opens with the first rebook item selected (blue highlight with "Click calendar to book")
Click a time slot on the calendar — the appointment is created directly, no form needed
If there are multiple services, the clipboard advances to the next rebook item automatically
Repeat until all services are booked

Multi-service rebooking:

Each service is booked as a separate appointment
All appointments from the same rebook are linked together (via a booking group) so they move as a set if rescheduled later
A "+X more services" indicator appears on the clipboard card when multiple services are queued

Dismissing a rebook item: If you don't want to book a particular service, hover over the rebook card and click the X button to dismiss it.

On mobile: A blue indicator bar appears at the bottom of the screen showing "Tap calendar to book [Customer Name]". Tap any time slot to create the appointment.

Tip: After completing a transaction in Quick POS, the rebook flow makes scheduling the next visit fast — just click the time slot you want. No need to fill in the appointment form.

Understanding Appointment Statuses

Appointments move through these statuses:

Status	Description
Scheduled	Default status when created
Confirmed	Appointment has been confirmed by the customer
Arrived	Customer has arrived at the salon
Completed	Service has been finished
Cancelled	Appointment was cancelled
No Show	Customer didn't arrive

Billing Status: Appointments also track billing status:

Unbilled - Not yet invoiced
Partial - Partially billed
Billed - Fully invoiced

Common Pitfalls

"The customer I want isn't appearing in the search"

Customers must exist in the system before booking. Add them via Customers > Add Customer first.

"The staff member shows (Not rostered)"

The staff member doesn't have a shift on the selected date. You can still book them, but consider checking the roster or selecting a different date.

"My multi-service booking times don't look right"

Processing times are automatically added between services. Check the Service Stack Timeline to see how the time is allocated. Adjust individual service durations if needed.

"I moved an appointment but the linked services didn't move"

For multi-service bookings, you're prompted whether to move all linked appointments. If you chose to move only one, the others remain in place. You may need to move them individually or cancel and rebook.

Tips and Best Practices

Check customer history - The appointment history panel shows what services they've had before
Use processing times wisely - For colour services, processing time allows you to book another client in between
Add internal notes for allergies - Record any sensitivities or preferences staff need to know
Take deposits for colour appointments - Reduces no-shows on high-value services
Use the clipboard for complex rescheduling - Cut the appointment, navigate to the target date, select the clipboard item, then click on the calendar to paste

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I create a customer while booking an appointment?

No, customers must be added to the system first via the Customers section. This ensures all required customer information is captured correctly.

How do I book the same staff member for the whole multi-service appointment?

When you select a staff member, they are assigned to all services in the appointment. You cannot assign different staff to different services within the same appointment.

What happens if I book during a time someone else is already booked?

Luminate checks for conflicts and warns you. You can choose to proceed anyway (double-booking) or adjust the time.

Can I resize an appointment to change its duration?

Yes, in the calendar view you can drag the bottom edge of an appointment card to extend or shorten its duration.

How do processing times work?

Processing times (e.g., for colour development) are set on each service. When booking multiple services, processing time is automatically added between services where the previous service has processing time configured.

Last Updated: February 2026 Verified against Luminate codebase: February 2026