Setting Up Online Booking Options

Before You Start

• Read Getting Around the Bookings Page and Its Live Preview so you know where everything sits on the Bookings page.
• Set up your Service Options. Service options are the services customers choose when they order, such as Wash & Fold or Dry Cleaning.
• To offer home delivery at the POS (the counter app your staff use to take orders), switch on Home delivery for your business unit. A business unit is one line of service in your shop, for example Laundry & Dry Cleaning or Bag Repair. Without this switch, the POS doesn't show Home delivery at all, even if you have a home delivery option.

To switch on home delivery:

1. Click the ⚙️ Settings icon in the top-right corner.
2. Under Company & business structure, click Business Units.
3. At the top of the page, click your business unit, for example Laundry & Dry Cleaning.
4. Click the Pipeline tab.

5. Scroll down to Completion & Handover and turn on Home delivery.
6. Click the Save button at the bottom of the Home delivery box.
7. Close and reopen the POS so your staff see the change.

What Is an Online Booking Option?

An online booking option is one way a customer can book a visit from your shop. Each option has one booking type:

A driver is the staff member who goes out to do the job.

You can add several options of the same type. For example, a Standard Delivery that takes a few days, and an Express Delivery that arrives the same day for an extra charge.

Customers book these options on your Online Store, your Mobile App and through WhatsApp. Your staff use them too when they book a pickup, delivery or visit for a customer.

Why it is worth setting up:

• Customers pick a date themselves, so you stop calling them to agree on a day.
• Customers can only pick dates you can handle, so you never promise more than your team can do.
• The extra charge for a faster service is added to the order automatically, so staff never forget it.

If a business unit has no online booking options, the Bookings page says "Customers can't book this unit online yet." Customers can't book a pickup, delivery or visit for that unit.

Add an Online Booking Option

1. Click the ⚙️ Settings icon in the top-right corner.
2. Scroll down to the Scheduling & dispatch settings section and click Bookings.

3. Under Business Units, click the business unit customers will book, for example Laundry & Dry Cleaning.

4. Under Online booking options, click Add booking option.
5. Choose the booking type: Home pickup, Home delivery or Onsite service.

The new option opens. Fill in the settings below, then save.

Fill In the Option

Option name

Enter a short name your customers will understand, for example Standard Pickup or Express Delivery. Customers see this name on the days the option charges extra, and it stays on the order so your staff know which service was booked.

Lead time

Lead time is the preparation time you need before the earliest booking you can accept. Click the Lead time box and pick one:

When you pick Lead time by days, type the number of work days, and 2 more settings appear:

• Workdays: the days your team works, for example Monday to Saturday. Only these days count. Leave it empty to count all 7 days.
• Same day preparation cut-off time: the day the customer books normally doesn't count. If you set a cut-off time, for example 12:00 PM, a booking made before that time counts the booking day as 1 work day.

For example, with 1 work day, Monday to Saturday, a customer booking on Wednesday afternoon can book from Friday. Thursday is the work day you need to prepare.

Selectable days

This decides how far ahead customers can book.

• Selectable days range: how many days after the lead time customers can choose from. Leave it empty and customers get 21 days.
• Selectable weekdays: the days of the week customers can pick. Leave it empty for all 7 days, or pick only the days you run, for example Monday to Saturday.

Same day only: when you set Selectable days range to 1 and the lead time is No lead time or Lead time by hours, a switch appears next to it, for example Same day Home delivery only. Turn it on for a same-day service. Customers can then book this option only for the day they book. Once the lead time pushes the earliest time into the next day, for example a 4-hour lead time late in the evening, the option offers no days, and customers book one of your other options. Selectable weekdays can't be changed while this switch is on.

The Time windows section comes next on the same page. You set those in Setting Up Time Windows and Daily Limits.

Surcharge

A surcharge is an extra charge for this option, for example for a faster delivery. This section appears for Home delivery and Onsite service options only, not for pickups.

1. Turn on the switch so it reads Surcharge enabled.
2. The amount box starts as Percentage. To charge a fixed amount instead, click the word Percentage in the box. It changes to Flat amount.
3. Type the amount.

You can also charge a different amount at certain times:

• Different surcharge from a time of day: turn it on, choose the time in From, and enter the amount. It applies to time windows that start at or after that time, for example evening deliveries from 6:00 PM.
• Different surcharge on public holidays: turn it on and enter the amount. A calendar appears with your country's upcoming public holidays already ticked. Untick or add days as you like. On ticked days, this amount is charged instead of the ones above. When new holidays are announced, an Add Singapore public holidays button appears so you can add them.

Limitations

These settings narrow down who sees this option.

Limit to sales channels: a sales channel is a place where orders come in, for example a POS shop or your Online Store.

Limit to service options: leave it on No limit to offer this option for every service. Pick services, for example Dry Cleaning, and this option is offered only when the order includes one of them.

Customer reschedule: this is not the setting that decides whether customers can move their own booking on your Online Store, Mobile App or WhatsApp. That is decided once for the whole business unit, in Settings › Business Units › your unit › Cancel & reschedule tab › Customers can reschedule (Never, Until it starts, or until a number of hours before). See Setting Up Cancel and Reschedule.

This option's Customer reschedule only applies in two older cases: orders from the 2.0 customer apps, and a pickup or delivery that already failed or was completed, when the customer moves it through a WhatsApp reschedule mini app. If neither applies to your shop, leave it as it is.

• Leave the switch on and the hours box empty, and these customers can reschedule at any time.
• Type a number of hours, for example 24, and they can reschedule only until 24 hours before the booked time.
• Turn the switch off, and they can't reschedule this option themselves.
• In the message box, type what they see when rescheduling is no longer allowed. Leave it empty to use the standard message.

Save Your Option

1. Check the live preview on the right. It shows the dates and times customers can book with your changes.
2. Click Save at the top of the settings panel. You'll see "Booking settings saved".

Nothing changes for customers until you save.

How Options Work Together

When 2 options offer the same day. Customers get the option that takes longer, usually the cheaper one. This stops customers getting a faster turnaround than your team can deliver, and stops them paying extra for a day they could get anyway. In the example below, Express Delivery only shows on the days Standard Delivery can't reach yet.

When an order has several services. If some services in the order have their own options under Limit to service options, the booking uses the options of the slowest service.

Staff bookings. When your staff book a pickup, delivery or visit for a customer, they choose from these same options, with the same lead time, days and surcharge.

Home delivery at the POS. Your home delivery options also set the dates, time windows and surcharge your staff see when they choose Home delivery at the POS. The customer must have an account and a saved address. Otherwise, the POS shows "Select a customer account first" or "Add a delivery address first".

Remove an Option

Open the option and scroll to the bottom. You will see one of 2 boxes:

Click Remove, then click Save. Nothing is removed until you save.

Example Setup

CleanFast Laundry collects and returns laundry for its Laundry & Dry Cleaning unit. It sets up 3 options:

What customers see online: a customer booking on Wednesday afternoon can have their laundry collected from Friday. For the return, only Express Delivery is offered until Friday, and on Sundays when Standard Delivery doesn't run. It adds SGD 10, or SGD 15 for the 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM window. From Saturday, the other days get Standard Delivery at no extra charge.

What staff see at the POS: when a staff member chooses Home delivery for a customer with a saved address, the POS calendar shows the delivery dates, with the extra charge on the days that have one. After they tap a date, the time windows appear. Any surcharge is added to the order automatically.

FAQs

2 options offer the same day. Which one does the customer get?

The one that takes longer. If Standard Delivery and Express Delivery both offer Saturday, the customer gets Standard Delivery for Saturday, with no extra charge. Your team always has enough time to prepare.

I opened a new Online Store, but it doesn't show my option. Why?

The option is probably limited to certain sales channels. Open the option, go to Limit to sales channels and add your new Online Store, or set it back to No limit. Then click Save.

Do customers who book through WhatsApp use these options too?

Yes. Customers booking on WhatsApp, your Online Store and your Mobile App all see the same options, dates and surcharges.

Why don't my POS staff see Home delivery?

Check 3 things. Home delivery must be turned on in the unit's Pipeline tab under Completion & Handover. The home delivery option must not be limited to other sales channels. And the customer must have an account with a saved address.

Can staff book a home pickup at the POS?

No. At the POS, staff choose between Home delivery and Store pickup for returning the finished order. Customers book home pickups online, or your staff book them in the Console.

Is the surcharge refunded if the order is cancelled?

Cancelling an order cancels the whole order, surcharge included, so nothing is left to pay. Money the customer already paid is not returned automatically. Refund it the way you usually do.

A customer booked an evening delivery. Can they reschedule to a cheaper daytime window?

No. When an option charges a different surcharge by time of day or on public holidays, customers can only reschedule to times with the same charge. Your staff can still change it for them.

What's Next

You have now created the options customers use to book a home pickup, delivery or visit, with the right lead time, days and surcharge. Next, give each option the times customers can pick and the number of bookings you can take each day in Setting Up Time Windows and Daily Limits.