Creating Services in FlexBookz

Introduction

In FlexBookz, services represent the treatments, sessions, or offerings customers can book. Creating well-defined services is essential: they control pricing, duration, staff assignment, calendar appearance, and how customers interact with your online booking flow. This guide explains what service fields mean, how to create single services, combinations, and packages, and practical examples you can apply immediately.

How it Works

Each service in FlexBookz includes a set of attributes that determine how it appears to customers and how it behaves in scheduling logic:

• Service Name: The customer-facing name (e.g., Men’s Haircut).

• Duration: Time required for the service (minutes). This drives slot allocation in the calendar.

• Price: Base charge for the service. Can be overridden by promotions or packages.

• Category: Groups related services (e.g., Hair, Nails, Massage) for easier navigation.

• Service Color: Visual identifier in the calendar to quickly distinguish service types.

• Active/Inactive: Active services are visible to customers; inactive services are hidden but remain editable for admins.

• Assigned Staff: Which staff members can perform the service. Only assigned staff will be offered during booking for that service.

• Multi-Service Options: Configure a service as a standalone item, a combined service (sequential/parallel services during one appointment), or a package (multiple services sold together at a fixed price).

Booking behavior

When a customer selects a service, FlexBookz validates staff availability, considers any required setup/cleanup buffers, and reserves the appropriate calendar blocks. Multi-service combinations can extend the appointment duration and may reserve multiple staff members depending on settings.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Navigate to Services in the left-hand menu of your FlexBookz dashboard.

2. Click the + Add Service button (top-right).

3. Complete the service form fields. Typical fields and recommended entries:

   • Service Name: Clear and specific, e.g., Men’s Haircut or Deep Tissue Massage.

   • Duration: Enter minutes. Example: 30 for a 30-minute haircut.

   • Price: Enter the base price (e.g., 25.00).

   • Category: Select from existing categories or click Manage Categories to add a new one (see below).

   • Service Color: Pick a color to help visually separate this service in the calendar.

   • Active: Toggle on to make the service bookable by customers.

   • Assigned Staff: Check the staff members qualified to perform this service.

   • Multi-Service Options: Choose between Single Service, Service Combination, or Service Package.

4. If you need a new category, click Manage Categories and then:

   • Enter Category Name (e.g., Haircut).

   • Add an optional Description for internal clarity.

   • Choose a representative Color.

   • Click Create to save the category.

5. For Service Combination or Service Package:

   • Service Combination: Select which existing services to combine. Decide if services are scheduled back-to-back (sequential) or require multiple staff simultaneously (parallel).

   • Service Package: Choose included services and set a package price. Packages are sold as a single appointment or voucher depending on your configuration.

6. Click Save. The new service appears in the services list with columns for Duration, Price, Staff, and Status.

Example 1 — Creating a simple service

To create a 30-minute Men’s Haircut priced at $25:

1. Open Services > + Add Service.

2. Enter Men’s Haircut as the name, 30 minutes, 25.00 price.

3. Assign category Haircut, pick a blue color, assign qualifying barbers, toggle Active on, then Save.

Example 2 — Creating a service package

To create a relaxation package that includes a 60-minute Swedish Massage and a 30-minute Foot Massage at a bundled price:

1. Create or locate the individual services (Swedish Massage, Foot Massage).

2. Choose + Add Service, set name to Relax & Restore Package, choose Service Package.

3. Select both services and set the package price (for example, 85.00), then Save.

Tips & Best Practices

• Use clear, customer-friendly names: avoid internal jargon in the public-facing name.

• Group similar services into logical categories to help customers find what they need quickly.

• Use consistent duration increments (e.g., 15-minute steps) to simplify scheduling and reduce slot fragmentation.

• Assign services only to qualified staff to avoid booking errors and customer dissatisfaction.

• Pick contrasting colors for categories to make your daily calendar easy to scan.

• For service combinations, document whether the customer stays with one staff member or is transferred between staff to set expectations.

• When creating packages, ensure your combined price reflects cost and margin, and test package booking end-to-end in the calendar and POS.

• Regularly audit inactive services and archive any obsolete offerings to keep the booking palette tidy.

Tip: Run a monthly review of your top booked services. Use FlexBookz analytics to identify opportunities to create packages or streamline durations based on customer behavior.

Troubleshooting

• No categories available: Go to Manage Categories and create at least one; categories are optional, but many businesses rely on them for clarity.

• Service not appearing in booking widget: Confirm the service is set to Active, assigned to at least one staff member, and that the staff member's availability aligns with the service duration.

• Duration conflicts cause double bookings: Check staff buffers (setup/cleanup) and overlapping shifts. Adjust buffer settings or staff availability as needed.

• Multi-service combination not reserving expected time: Verify whether your combination is configured as sequential or parallel and that durations for each included service are correct.

• Price or package total is incorrect: Re-open the package and confirm each included service price and the package override price.

• Color or visual changes not reflecting: Clear your browser cache or refresh the calendar view; if the problem persists, log out and back in or contact support.

• Service visible only to admins: The service is likely set to Inactive. Toggle Active on to publish it to customers.

If you need hands-on assistance, contact FlexBookz Support or consult the Help Center for guided walkthroughs and video tutorials.