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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
  • 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

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

Method 2: Drag on the calendar

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

Method 3: From the waitlist

  1. Navigate to Waitlist and select an entry
  2. Click Convert to Appointment
  3. 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:

  1. Click the Customer search field
  2. Start typing the customer's name
  3. 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:

  1. Click the Staff Member search field
  2. 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:

  1. Click in the services selection area
  2. Search or browse for the service
  3. Click to add it

For multiple services (multi-service booking):

  1. Add the first service as above
  2. Click to add additional services
  3. Services stack sequentially with processing times automatically applied
  4. 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

  1. Use the Date picker to select the appointment date
  2. Use the Start Time picker to set when the appointment begins
  3. 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:

  1. 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

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

Managing Existing Appointments

View Appointment Details

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

Edit an Appointment

  1. Click the appointment to open the sidebar
  2. Click the Edit button
  3. Modify the fields as needed
  4. Click Update Appointment

Reschedule Using Drag-and-Drop

For quick rescheduling:

  1. Click and hold on the appointment card
  2. Drag it to a new time slot or staff column
  3. Release to drop it in the new position
  4. 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

Cancel an Appointment

  1. Click the appointment to open the sidebar
  2. Click the Cancel button
  3. 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

To move appointments using the clipboard:

  1. Click the Cut button on the appointment card
  2. The appointment moves to the Clipboard panel
  3. Navigate to the target date/time
  4. Drag the appointment from the Clipboard to the calendar

This is useful when you need to see availability on a different date before deciding where to move the appointment.

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

  1. Check customer history - The appointment history panel shows what services they've had before
  2. Use processing times wisely - For colour services, processing time allows you to book another client in between
  3. Add internal notes for allergies - Record any sensitivities or preferences staff need to know
  4. Take deposits for colour appointments - Reduces no-shows on high-value services
  5. Use the clipboard for complex rescheduling - Cut the appointment, find availability, then paste

Related Tutorials

  • Tutorial 2.1: Managing Your Appointment Calendar - Understanding the calendar views
  • Tutorial 2.3: Working with the Waitlist - Managing customers waiting for appointments
  • Tutorial 2.4: Processing Transactions - Billing completed appointments

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: January 2026