Take your first booking

There are two ways a booking gets into Nola: you add it yourself, for example for a phone call or a walk-in, or a customer books through your booking page. Try both once so you know what each looks like.

#Before you start

You need at least one active service and one resource with opening hours. The setup wizard walks you through them. See The setup wizard.

#Add a booking from the calendar

1. Open Bookings → Calendar in the sidebar.
2. Drag across an empty slot in a resource's column. On a phone or tablet, tap an empty slot instead. You can also click New booking in the toolbar, or press N: that starts at the next quarter hour (or the next opening time) and lets Nola pick the first free resource.
3. The New booking window opens with the date and Start time filled in, and the resource when you picked a slot.
4. Pick the Service. Its length and price show under it.
5. Under Client, search for an existing client by name, email, phone or member number. Leave it empty for a walk-in. For a new customer, choose Add “name” as a new client, fill in the Add client form (the name you typed is split into First name and Last name, which you can correct) and click Add client. The new client is picked for you.
6. Check the Start time and Party size. Change Length (min) only if this booking should be longer or shorter than the service normally is.
7. Check the Resource. First free (automatic) books the first free resource the service uses; a resource already taken at that time is marked booked. For a lesson or personal training session the field is called Coach (Trainer for gyms and fitness studios): pick them here. The price is their hourly rate, and the booking can't be saved until you pick one.
8. Add Add-ons (rentals) or Notes if you need them.
9. Click Create booking.

If something is missing, the message shows under that field. The booking appears on the calendar straight away.

Add-ons are charged at the price set on each rental item, and only while it is in stock for that time. The price in the window includes them, one line per item. For a service that books no resource, Nola checks that your own time is free. If it is full, you see "Everything is booked at this time. Pick another time."

#Add a booking from the bookings list

1. Open Bookings → List.
2. Click New booking at the top.
3. Fill in the same fields as above, including the date and Start time, and click Create booking.

#What happens after you add it

• The booking is confirmed, unless your confirmation mode is manual. Then it starts as pending. See Booking rules.
• The client gets the same message as for a booking they make themselves: by email if their card has an email address, by SMS with the SMS add-on, and in their Nola account if they have one. See Notifications and SMS.
• A booking you add by hand with a price stays Unpaid until you settle or waive it. Adding it does not ask the customer to pay. They can still pay from My bookings if you offer online payments. Take payment at the desk with Settle. See Cash and POS.

#What a customer booking looks like

When a customer books through your page, they choose a service, pick a time, add their details and sign in or create an account. What happens next depends on your settings:

The customer gets one message in their language that says where the booking stands: confirmed, awaiting your confirmation, or reserved until they pay. Once a pending booking is paid or you confirm it, they get Booking confirmed.

A booking fully covered by the customer's membership or pack skips the payment step and follows your confirmation setting. See Create membership plans and packs.

A customer can only book times you are open: the resource's own hours, or else your service's or business's weekly hours, and never a slot you closed. A time outside them is refused with "This time is outside opening hours. Pick another time." or "This time is not available. Pick another time." A booking you add yourself can be outside opening hours.

New customer bookings show up on the calendar, in Bookings → List and on Today. Customers who book online are added to your Clients automatically.

To accept a pending booking, open it from the calendar or click its row in the list, then click Confirm. Click Decline to cancel it instead.

#Try it yourself

Open your booking link in a private browser window and book a service as a customer. You see the whole flow, and the test booking lands on your calendar. Cancel it afterwards from the booking window.

#Related

• Use the calendar
• Bookings list
• How to book
• Online payments