Creating and Managing Your Service Menu

15 minutes

Tutorial 7.1: Creating and Managing Your Service Menu

Introduction

Your service menu is the foundation of your salon's booking system. Every appointment requires selecting a service, so having an accurate menu with correct pricing and durations is essential for smooth operations. This tutorial covers creating services, setting prices with staff level overrides, and managing your service list.

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

Create services with pricing and duration
Set up staff level pricing overrides
Configure processing time for colour services
Configure deposit requirements for services
Assign categories to organise services
Activate and deactivate services

Time to complete: 15 minutes

Prerequisites

Logged in as Owner or Admin with manage-services permission
Complete Tutorial 1.2 (Setting Up Your Salon Profile)
Optionally: Staff levels configured (Tutorial 4.3)

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Access Service Management

Click Services in the sidebar
The Services page displays your current services
Click Add Service in the top-right corner

Step 2: Enter Basic Information

The Basic Information section captures core service details:

Service Name (required): Enter a clear, descriptive name customers will recognise.

Example: "Cut & Blow Dry" rather than "CBD"
Be specific: "Ladies Cut" vs "Gents Cut"

Categories: Type to search existing categories or create new ones. Categories help organise your service menu. See Tutorial 7.3 for category management.

Description (optional): Add details about what's included in the service.

Example: "Includes consultation, wash, precision cut, and blow dry finish"

Service Color (optional): Click to select a colour from the palette. This colour appears on the calendar to help identify services at a glance.

Step 3: Set Pricing and Duration

The Pricing & Duration section uses an integrated table to configure the base price and optional staff level overrides:

The table displays a Base row at the top with editable fields:

Price: Enter the standard price for this service (required)
Duration (min): Enter how long the service takes in minutes (required, default is 30 minutes)
Commission (%): Enter the percentage staff earn when performing this service (optional - leave blank to use the staff member's default commission rate)

Staff Level Overrides: If your salon has staff levels configured (e.g., Junior, Senior, Director), additional rows appear below the Base row. For each level, you can set different prices, durations, and commission rates:

Level	Price Override	Duration Override	Commission Override
Junior	Lower than base	May be longer	May be lower
Senior	Base price	Base duration	Base commission
Director	Higher than base	May be shorter	May be higher

Leave level fields empty to inherit the base value. A clear button (×) appears next to levels with overrides, allowing you to reset them to inherit from base.

Step 4: Set Processing Time (Optional)

For services that require development time (e.g., colour services):

In the Processing Time section, enter the processing time in minutes
Or click a preset button: None, 15m, 30m, 45m, 60m

What is processing time? Processing time is the gap before the next service can begin. For example, colour development time where the stylist can attend to another client.

Step 5: Configure Settings

The Settings section contains service options:

Active (available for booking):

Checked (default): Service appears in booking options
Unchecked: Service hidden from new bookings

Service is taxable:

Check if tax should be applied to this service
Unchecked: No tax applied (e.g., gift voucher redemptions)

Requires consultation:

Check if clients must have a consultation before booking
A "Consultation Required" badge appears on the service

Requires skin test (patch test):

Check if clients need a valid skin test before booking
A "Skin Test Required" badge appears on the service
System can track skin test validity dates

Step 6: Configure Deposit Settings (Optional)

The Deposit Settings section allows you to require deposits for specific services:

Requires deposit: Check this option to require clients to pay a deposit when booking this service.

When enabled, additional fields appear:

Deposit Type:

Fixed amount: Clients pay a specific amount (e.g., £25)
Percentage of price: Clients pay a percentage of the service price (e.g., 25%)

Deposit Amount / Percentage: Enter the deposit value. For percentage deposits, the system shows a preview of the actual amount based on the service price.

Example: For a £100 service with a 25% deposit, the preview shows "deposit would be £25.00".

Step 7: Save the Service

Review all entered information
Click Create Service
You're redirected to the Services list
A success message confirms the service was created

Managing Existing Services

View Service Details

Click any row in the Services table
The service detail page shows:
- Pricing & Duration card with price, duration, processing time (if set), and commission rate (if set)
- Details card with colour, description, and timestamps
- Staff Level Pricing table (if staff levels are configured)
- Status badges showing Active/Inactive status and any requirements (Consultation Required, Skin Test Required)
- Category tags assigned to the service

Edit a Service

From the Services list, click Edit next to the service
Or from the service detail page, click Edit in the top-right corner
Make your changes
Click Update Service

Note: Changes affect future bookings only. Historical appointments retain their original service details.

Deactivate a Service

To hide a service from new bookings without deleting it:

From the Services list, click Deactivate next to the service
Or from the service detail page, click Deactivate

Deactivated services:

Don't appear when creating new appointments
Still show in historical records
Can be reactivated at any time

Activate a Service

To restore a deactivated service:

Filter the list to show Inactive Only
Click Activate next to the service

Filtering and Searching Services

Use the filters at the top of the Services page:

Search: Type to search by service name

Status Filter:

All Services
Active Only
Inactive Only

Categories: Select one or more categories to filter by (uses the "All Categories" dropdown)

The table can be sorted by clicking column headers:

Service (name)
Duration
Price

Common Pitfalls

"Service doesn't appear when booking appointments"

Check two things:

The service is marked as Active
The staff member you're booking for has this service enabled (if using service restrictions)

"Price shows differently in appointments"

If staff levels are configured, the price shown may be the level-specific price rather than the base price. Check the Staff Level Pricing section on the service detail page.

"I need different prices for different clients"

Prices can be adjusted when creating individual appointments. The service price is a default, not a fixed amount.

"I accidentally deactivated a service"

Filter to Inactive Only, find the service, and click Activate to restore it.

"Deposit amount seems wrong for percentage deposits"

For percentage deposits, the amount is calculated based on the service price. If you have staff level pricing, the deposit will be calculated from the level-specific price when booking.

Tips and Best Practices

Start with core services - Add your 5-10 most popular services first, then expand
Set accurate durations - Include buffer time for consultation and cleanup
Use categories - Organise services by type (Cutting, Colour, Styling, Treatments)
Be specific with names - "Ladies Cut & Blow Dry" is clearer than "Haircut"
Set processing time for colour - Allows the stylist to multitask during development
Review quarterly - Update prices and durations based on actual experience
Use deposits strategically - Consider requiring deposits for high-value services or services with high no-show rates
Keep tax settings consistent - Most services should be taxable; only disable for specific exceptions

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I delete a service instead of deactivating it?

Deleting is not recommended because it affects historical records. Deactivate services instead to preserve appointment history. The system returns "Method Not Allowed" if you attempt to delete a service.

How do I set different prices for different staff members?

Use staff levels. Create levels (Junior, Senior, Director) and set price overrides per level on each service using the Pricing & Duration table.

What if a service takes longer for some clients?

Set the duration to accommodate the longer scenario. It's better to finish early than to run late. You can also adjust duration when creating individual appointments.

Can I duplicate a service to create variations?

Currently, services must be created individually. However, the form retains your category selections, making it faster to create related services.

How do I handle services with variable pricing (e.g., "from £50")?

Create separate services for each price tier (e.g., "Balayage - Short", "Balayage - Long") or use the base price and adjust at booking time.

Do changes affect existing appointments?

No. Editing a service only affects future bookings. Existing appointments retain their original price and duration.

Should I require deposits for all services?

Generally, deposits work best for higher-value services (colour treatments, extensions) or appointments where no-shows are costly. For quick services like trims, deposits may deter bookings.

What's the difference between "Service is taxable" and other settings?

The taxable setting determines whether VAT/tax is calculated on this service. Most services should be taxable. Only disable this for specific cases like gift voucher redemptions or services that are VAT-exempt.

Last Updated: January 2026