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How clients book appointments

Follow the client’s journey setting up an appointment with your business.

Learn about the steps your clients take to schedule, reschedule, and cancel appointments with you. Keep in mind some details, such as the exact wording on buttons, will vary based on your settings.

Testing the process on your own is also a great way to get to know how your online booking experience works. To learn more, visit Test your scheduler.

Tip: You and your staff can also book appointments for clients from your Acuity calendar.

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Where do clients book appointments?

Clients can book appointments in a few different places:

Bookmark the client scheduling page on mobile devices

Clients can add your scheduling page link to their mobile device's home screen to conveniently book and manage appointments on the go:

  • To bookmark the client scheduling page on iOS devices, visit Apple’s documentation for iPhone or iPad.
  • To add a shortcut to the client scheduling page on Android devices, visit Google’s documentation on creating shortcuts in Chrome.

How clients book appointments

To book appointments, clients follow this flow:

  • If you've grouped your appointment types into categories, clients start by choosing a category.
  • Clients choose an appointment type. Keep in mind, clients can't choose multiple appointment types to book in one transaction.
  • If you have more than one calendar, clients choose a calendar. For example, you might have a calendar for each hairstylist, or for each office location. You can also give clients the option to choose any available calendar, so they can pick from as many open appointment slots as possible. 
  • Clients are shown a list of available appointment slots and choose one. Depending on the options you've selected, they can also book multiple spots for the same time slot, add another date and time, or make the appointment recurring.
  • Clients enter their names, email addresses, and phone numbers. If you're on a free trial, the first name and last name fields have a 35-character limit. If clients enter phone numbers, Acuity validates them. They can also enter multiple email addresses by separating each email address with a comma.
  • If you've added extra questions using intake forms, they answer those as well.
  • If you're accepting payment at booking, clients enter their payment information. If you've set up a coupon or sold them a package, gift certificate, or subscription, they also enter that information.
  • Clients are taken to a confirmation page with their appointment details. They also receive a confirmation email with the appointment details and a calendar invite.

Note: Acuity Scheduling uses invisible Google reCAPTCHA on the client booking page to protect your scheduler and your clients. Your clients don't have to do anything extra when they book. When they begin to enter their personal information and payment details, the Google reCAPTCHA badge appears in the bottom-right corner of the page.

How clients reschedule appointments

To reschedule appointments, clients click Change/Cancel appointment in the initial confirmation email they receive after booking. This takes them back to their confirmation page, where they can click Reschedule. They’ll choose another available date and time, but their appointment type and calendar will stay the same.

When they finish rescheduling, they're taken to an updated confirmation page and receive an email with the details of their updated appointment.

Can my client change the appointment type or calendar?

To change the calendar or appointment type, you need to edit the appointment in your Acuity account. Clients can only change the appointment date and time when rescheduling. 

Why can't my client reschedule their appointment?

If your client can't reschedule their appointment, check your global and calendar scheduling limits. If you allow clients to reschedule, check the minimum hours set compared to the client’s appointment time. For example, you can prevent clients from rescheduling less than two hours before the appointment starts.

Can a client reschedule multiple appointments at the same time?

No. To reschedule more than one appointment, clients should click the confirmation page links for each appointment and reschedule each one separately. 

How clients cancel appointments

To cancel appointments, clients click Change/Cancel appointment in the initial confirmation email they receive after booking. This takes them back to their confirmation page, where they can cancel.

After they cancel, they're taken to the client scheduling page with a message confirming the cancellation and receive a cancellation email to confirm.

Why can't my client cancel their appointment?

If your client can't cancel their appointment, check your global and calendar scheduling limits. If you allow clients to cancel, check the minimum hours set compared to the client’s appointment time. For example, you can prevent clients from canceling less than two hours before the appointment starts.

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