How to start taking online bookings in an afternoon

To start taking online bookings you need three things ready: your list of services with length and price, who does each one and your opening hours. With that, setup takes about 15 minutes, and the same afternoon you can make a test booking and send the link to your clients. The first week is for fine-tuning details, not for changing everything.

Before you start: what to prepare

Give it half an hour with a pen and paper or the notes app on your phone. It’s the part that saves the most time later.

Your list of services

Write down each service with a name clients understand without asking, its length and its price. The length has to be the real one, on a normal day, not on the day everything goes perfectly. If it’s too short, the schedule runs late from the first appointment on.

Start with the services you sell most. You can add the rest later, at your own pace. The guide on how to put your service list online has examples for each type of business.

Who does what

If you work with a team, write down which services each professional does. Your colorist might not cut hair; the new barber might not do designs yet. Also note which days and hours each one works, with their breaks.

Your hours and your rules

Set your opening hours for each day and think about three rules:

• The minimum notice you’ll accept for an online booking. If someone books for half an hour from now, can you be ready?
• How many days ahead people can book.
• Whether you want to approve new bookings yourself or have them confirmed automatically.

Setup: about 15 minutes

Citauno is set up with a wizard that takes you screen by screen. Anything you’re unsure about you can skip and complete later.

1. On citauno.com, tap Sign up and choose For my business.
2. Say how many professionals work with you.
3. Choose your business category.
4. Enter your business name and web address (for example, citauno.com/your-business). Choose it carefully: after that, only the support team can change it.
5. Enter your hours. The Copy button repeats one day’s hours on the others.
6. Add your services with length and price.
7. Add your team and create your account.

When you finish, your 15-day trial starts, no card needed. The step-by-step guide with screenshots is in register your business, and every service field is explained in create your first service.

After the wizard, check two things in the dashboard: which services each professional does, and their hours. If a service needs cleanup or prep time, give it a buffer before or after so appointments aren’t packed back to back.

Make your first test booking

Before you tell anyone, book as if you were a client. It’s the only way to see what your clients see.

1. Tap Copy link in the dashboard. It copies your booking link.
2. Open it on your phone, in a private window or on the phone of someone you trust.
3. Choose the location, the service, a professional or “Anyone”, the day and the time.
4. Fill in the details with an email address other than the business’s, so you can see what the client receives.
5. Check that the confirmation email arrives with the calendar invitation.
6. Find the booking in the dashboard calendar. With the default settings, an online booking stays pending until you confirm it: confirm it to see the whole flow.
7. Cancel the test booking so it doesn’t skew your numbers.

While you book, look out for free times on days you’re closed, a missing service or a wrong price. The going-live checklist covers everything else.

Tell your clients

Your clients won’t find the link on their own. Let them know through the channels they already use:

• WhatsApp: send a personal message to your regulars from the business phone. Tell them it’s fine if they’d rather keep messaging you.
• Instagram: put the link in your bio and use the link sticker in your stories. The steps are in how to use your booking link on Instagram.
• WhatsApp Business: save a quick reply with the link for when someone asks about times.
• Google: if you have a Google Business Profile, paste your booking link there.
• In person: when clients pay, tell them they can book online next time.

A simple message works better than a long one:

Hi! You can now book your appointment straight from this link, choosing the day and time that suit you: [your link]. If you’d rather message me, I’m still answering here.

More ideas in share your booking link.

The first week

Confirm pending bookings

With the default settings, each new online booking stays pending until you confirm it. Check them in the dashboard several times a day: the client is waiting for your confirmation. If you’d rather they’re confirmed automatically, change the Confirmation mode to Auto in the business settings.

Turn on reminders

Check that reminders are on by email, WhatsApp or both. Citauno sends at most one reminder per booking, 24 hours ahead by default, and the plan includes 50 WhatsApp messages per professional per month. The WhatsApp reminders guide explains how it works.

Record what happened

When a client comes, mark the booking as completed. When they miss it without warning, mark it as a no-show. That way each client’s card shows who turns up and who doesn’t, and you know who to have a word with. That’s what the guide to reducing no-shows is for.

Note what to adjust

During the week, small things will come up: a service people ask for that isn’t online, a length that turned out too short, a time worth opening. Write them down and fix them all together at the weekend.

An example

Picture a nail technician who runs her studio on her own. Bookings reach her over WhatsApp at all hours, and at night she’s still answering messages to sort out the week.

One Sunday afternoon she writes her service list with how long each one really takes, completes the wizard and asks her sister to book from her phone. That’s how she finds out she forgot to add gel removal, and that Saturday showed as open later than she actually works.

On Monday she fixes that, puts the link on her Instagram and messages her regular clients. During the week she confirms pending bookings between appointments. She no longer spends her evenings arranging appointments by chat.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a website?

No. Your profile at citauno.com/your-business shows your services, your address and the button to book, and it works as your website.

Do my clients have to download an app?

No. They book with your link, from their phone’s browser, choosing the service, day and time.

What if a client prefers to keep messaging me?

Keep answering and add the appointment yourself: tap a free slot in the calendar and fill in the quick form with the client, service and professional.

How much does it cost after the trial?

The price is per active professional and it’s on pricing. We don’t charge a commission per booking.

If you run a nail studio, a hair salon or a barbershop, try Citauno’s online booking system for nail studios with your real schedule. It’s 15 days free, no card needed, and in one afternoon you can be taking your first bookings.