Using group classes in Acuity Scheduling

Meet with several clients at the same time.

Use group classes to book multiple clients into one appointment.

While clients can book other appointment types for any time that you’re available, group classes happen at specific times. If you have automated notifications set up for yourself and clients, you’ll all receive reminder messages as you would for any other appointment.

Note: The instructions below include links to Acuity settings separated by the kind of account you use to log into Acuity. Which kind of account do I have?

Create a group class type

A group class type contains all the details of the group class you want to offer.

To create a new group class type:

1. Open the Appointment types panel: I log in with an Acuity account | I log in with a Squarespace account. 
2. Click New type of group class.
3. Fill out the group class settings.
4. Click Create appointment type.
5. Offer the class on your calendar so clients can book.

Tip: When there are no upcoming offerings of a group class type, Acuity moves the type to a Classes not offered category at the bottom of the appointment type list.

Offer a group class

After you create a group class type, offer the group class to put it on your calendar and open it to clients.

To offer a class:

1. Open the Appointment types panel: I log in with an Acuity account | I log in with a Squarespace account.
2. Click the group class you want to offer.
3. Click Offer class.
4. Choose the date and time of the group class. If you have more than one calendar, also choose which calendar should offer the group class.
5. If you want the class to recur, click Recurring… and choose how often and how many times the class should repeat.
6. Click Save class.
7. Repeat these steps for any other dates and times that you want to offer the class.

Keep in mind:

• Classes are only available at the times that you offer them. When you put a class on a calendar, clients can't book other appointments at the same time on that calendar.
• If you’ve set availability or scheduling limits by appointment type, classes always use the scheduling limits you set for Availability Group 1.
• Because you choose the date and time of each class, Acuity won’t stop you from offering a class during time you’ve blocked off on your calendar.

Class settings

Each group class you create has the following settings. Use them to customize your offerings.

Setting	Required?	Notes
Name	Yes	None
Duration	Yes	None
Price	No	If you leave the price blank or set it to zero, Acuity will make the class free to clients.
Category	No	None
Color	No	This controls how scheduled group classes appear on the Acuity calendar. If you’ve created categories, you can edit this setting as you create a new group class. If you don’t have any categories, Acuity assigns a color at random. To manually choose a color, edit the group class type.
Picture	No	This displays on your scheduler.
Access	Yes	Choose if the class is public or private. Set to public by default.
Group Class	Yes	This box is checked by default, and needs to remain checked to create the group class. This setting only appears when creating a new group class, but can't be edited after the class is created. Keep in mind that you can't turn an existing appointment type into a group class.
Max number of people	Yes	Set to eight by default. If left at zero or blank, Acuity converts the group class into a non-class appointment type.
Clients must sign up for all the times this is offered	No	Checking this box makes the class a series.
Forms	No	Choose which of your forms clients fill out when booking this group class.

Edit a group class

Edit a group class the same way you would any other appointment type. To edit a class:

1. Open the Appointment types panel: I log in with an Acuity account | I log in with a Squarespace account. 
2. Click Edit for the appointment type you want to update.
3. Make your changes.
4. Click Update appointment type.

Class series

If you check Clients must sign up for all the times this is offered when creating or editing a group class type, it becomes a series. When clients start booking this type of class, Acuity automatically loads all the class dates for them, rather than having them pick from the dates and times the group class is offered. When they complete booking, they’re signed up for all of the group classes in the series.

The price set for a group class series is the total cost for all sessions in the series, not the cost for each session.

Once the date and time of the first group class in a series passes, Acuity stops allowing clients to sign up for the series and removes it from your scheduler.

How clients see classes

Acuity shows your classes and all other active appointment types on your scheduler. You can also send clients a direct link to a list of all the classes you currently offer.

If a client tries to book a class they’ve already signed up for, Acuity shows them a warning, but lets them keep going if they wish. 

Acuity will assign spots in the class to clients after they complete the booking process and make a payment, if a payment is required. If you're using a video conferencing integration, the integration will not create a link until at least one client has signed up for the class. 

How classes appear in your Acuity calendar

Acuity shows group classes if you look at the calendar in daily or weekly view. If you open the Acuity calendar in monthly view, there's a note on each day that has a group class. Selecting the day brings up the group class details.

Tip: If you sync to a third-party calendar, every person who signs up to attend a group class shows up in the third-party calendar as an individual appointment. The class won't appear on your third-party calendar until the first client signs up for the class.

Have clients book multiple spots in a class

If you want clients to bring their friends to your class, give them the option of booking more than one spot when signing up. When clients click the group class name, a Quantity field appears so they can book multiple spots. When Acuity shows clients times the class is available, it includes the number of open spots.

Note: Clients won’t be able to book multiple spots if the group class they’re booking is part of a series.

To enable this feature:

1. Open the Customize appearance panel: I log in with an Acuity account | I log in with a Squarespace account. 
2. Click Scheduling page options.
3. Check the box for Classes: Allow clients to book multiple spots, then click Save changes.

Add attendees

You can add an attendee to a group class from your Acuity calendar:

1. Open the Calendar panel: I log in with an Acuity account | I log in with a Squarespace account. 
2. Navigate to the date of the class, then click the class event. 
3. In the group class details that appear, click Attendee. 
4. Enter your client’s contact information. Include an email address to send the client email notifications about the appointment.
5. Click Schedule Appointment or use the arrow to select Schedule, but don’t send confirmation email.

Email all group class attendees

To update everyone who's signed up for a group class, you can email all the attendees:

1. Open the Calendar panel: I log in with an Acuity account | I log in with a Squarespace account.
2. Navigate to the date of the class, then click the class event.
3. In the group class details that appear, click Email attendees.
4. A new message will open in your email program. The subject and message body is blank, and the email addresses of all group class attendees are entered in the To: field.

Note: If the class has more than 100 people booked, the Email attendees function won’t work. Instead, use the Export panel to export a list of all appointments on that day, then copy the email addresses from the spreadsheet that Acuity creates.

Delete and cancel group classes

Deleting a group class cancels the appointments of all clients signed up for that class. You can delete a single session, or delete many group classes of the same group class type at once.

If you delete a group class that’s upcoming or less than 24 hours in the past, Acuity notifies the affected clients. If the class is more than 24 hours in the past, Acuity doesn’t notify the clients.

Note: Once you delete a group class, it can’t be restored. If you accidentally delete a group class, you’ll need to offer a group class at that time again, then manually rebook your clients. After you offer the new class, you can do this by following the steps to book an appointment for a client, or by clicking the new class, then clicking +Attendee.

To delete one group class:

1. Open the Calendar panel: I log in with an Acuity account | I log in with a Squarespace account. 
2. Navigate to the date of the class, then click the class event. 
3. In the group class details that appear, click Delete class.
4. Type DELETE, then click OK.

To delete multiple group classes at once:

1. Open the Appointment types panel: I log in with an Acuity account | I log in with a Squarespace account. 
2. Click the name of a group class type.
3. Check the boxes for the group class sessions you’d like to delete, then click Delete selected classes.
4. Type Delete, then click OK.