Bookings: classes and appointments

Bookings covers two kinds of booking:

• Classes: a session at a set time with a number of places, such as HIIT at 6 pm with 20 places. People book a place, and when it's full they go on a waiting list.
• Appointments: one person booked with one member of your team, such as a consultation or a haircut, at a time that person is free.

You'll find it in the menu as Schedule, Trainers and Appointments. Your business may use its own names for these pages (for example “Timetable”), because the menu can be renamed.

Set up your classes

Classes are the things people book: HIIT, Yoga, Spin and so on.

1. Open Settings and choose Classes (or open Schedule and click Add classes if you have none yet).
2. Click Add a class.
3. Enter the Name, how many Minutes it lasts, how many Places it has, and pick a Color. Add a Description if you like.
4. Leave Offered (can be scheduled) ticked and click Save.

Changing a class only affects classes you schedule from then on. Classes already on the schedule keep their places and length.

Put classes on the schedule

1. Open Schedule and click Schedule a class.
2. Choose the Class, the Day and the Time.
3. To run it every week, tick Repeat every week, pick the days (Mon to Sun) and say For how many weeks (up to 52).
4. Choose the Trainer (any member of your team), and change Places if this session has a different number.
5. If you have branches, choose the Branch. Add a Room if you like.
6. Click Schedule.

You can create up to 200 sessions in one go. Times follow the branch's time zone, or your business's time zone if the branch has none.

The schedule shows one week at a time. Use Previous week, This week and Next week to move around, and the All staff and All branches filters to narrow it down. Each class shows how many places are taken, or Full with the number waiting.

Book someone into a class

1. Click the class on the schedule to open it.
2. Under Who's coming, start typing in Add someone: name, phone or email and pick the person.
3. Click Book. If the class is full, the button says Add to waiting list instead.

Each person can have one place per class. On the class page you'll see Places, Booked, Waiting list and Attended.

Waiting lists

When a class is full, new bookings go on the waiting list in order. When a place frees up (someone cancels, or you add places), the first person waiting gets it automatically.

Mark who came

From an hour before the class starts, click Attended or No-show next to each person. Click Undo if you make a mistake. Only people with a place can be marked.

Cancel a booking or a class

• To cancel one person, click Cancel next to them and confirm with Cancel booking. If people are waiting, the next one gets the place. Only upcoming bookings can be cancelled.
• To cancel the whole session, click Cancel class, add a reason if you like (for example “Trainer unwell”) and confirm. Everyone's booking is cancelled too, and it's noted on each person's timeline.
• To change one session's day, time, trainer, places or room, click Edit. Only that session changes. You can't set fewer places than people already booked.

Set up appointment types

Appointment types are what people book with your team: a consultation, a haircut, a site visit.

1. Open Appointments and click Types and working hours (or Set up appointments if you have none yet).
2. Click New type.
3. Fill in:
   • Name and Minutes (how long it takes).
   • Break after: minutes kept free after each appointment.
   • Price, if you want to show one (optional).
   • Who does it: tick the team members who can take it.
   • Book at least: how much notice you need (from No notice to 2 days ahead).
   • Up to (days ahead): how far ahead people can book.
4. Click Save.

To stop new bookings for a type, edit it and untick Offered. A type that already has appointments can't be deleted.

Set working hours and time off

People can only be booked inside their working hours, never during their time off or the classes they teach.

1. On Appointment settings, find the person under Working hours and time off and click Hours.
2. Click Add hours on each day they work. Add Another block for a split shift (for example 09:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00).
3. Use Copy Monday to Tue–Fri to save time, then click Save hours.
4. For holidays or training, click Time off, pick the dates and times, add a reason if you like and click Add time off.

Managers can set anyone's hours. Everyone else can see and set only their own.

Book an appointment

1. Open Appointments and click Book an appointment.
2. Under For, choose the appointment type.
3. Under Who, find the customer by name, phone or email.
4. Pick the Day, and under With choose a person or leave Anyone free.
5. Click one of the Free times. Only times someone can actually do it are shown.
6. Add Notes if you like and click Book.

To book outside working hours, tick Another time (outside working hours), type the time and choose who it's with. SmartDuke still never double-books anyone.

Move, finish or cancel an appointment

Open the … menu on the appointment:

• Move (before it starts): pick a new time and click Move.
• Mark done or Mark no-show (once it has started), or Undo mark.
• Cancel appointment.

The team member is notified when someone else books, moves or cancels their appointment.

Reminders

SmartDuke doesn't send booking reminders by itself. Set them up in Automations with triggers such as An appointment is coming up (choose how many days before), An appointment is booked, A class is booked or Someone misses a class.

Customers booking for themselves

Members can see the class schedule and book or cancel their own places in the customer app. If you use memberships, they can only book days their membership covers. Once a class has started, they need to ask at the front desk to cancel.

What Bookings doesn't do yet

Paid or deposit bookings, group appointments, rooms and equipment, recurring appointments, moving a whole series of classes at once, and syncing with Google or Outlook calendars aren't available today.