1. Knowledge
  2. FluentBooking - Appointment Booking System

FluentBooking - Appointment Booking System 0 0

Last updated on Aug 04, 2025 00:45 in Website Builder » Plugins
Posted ByPixel Cloud Media

FluentBooking - Appointment Booking System

What FluentBooking Does

FluentBooking is a comprehensive appointment booking and scheduling system for your website. It allows customers to book appointments online, manages schedules, sends automated notifications, processes payments, and provides a complete booking management solution for service-based businesses.

Accessing FluentBooking

After installation and activation, access FluentBooking through your admin dashboard:

  1. Log into your admin panel
  2. Find "FluentBooking" in the left sidebar menu
  3. Click on "FluentBooking" to open the booking dashboard

Initial Setup

Basic Configuration

  1. Navigate to FluentBooking → Settings
  2. Complete the setup wizard:
    • Business information (name, address, timezone)
    • Default booking settings
    • Email notification preferences
    • Payment gateway setup (if needed)
  3. Save your initial settings

Setting Your Timezone

  1. Go to FluentBooking → Settings → General
  2. Select your business timezone
  3. Choose date and time formats
  4. Set your business currency
  5. Save settings

Creating Services

Adding Your First Service

  1. Navigate to FluentBooking → Services
  2. Click "Add New Service"
  3. Enter service details:
    • Service Name: e.g., "Hair Cut", "Consultation"
    • Description: Brief description of the service
    • Duration: How long the appointment takes
    • Price: Cost of the service (optional)
    • Buffer Time: Time between appointments
  4. Set availability settings
  5. Save the service

Service Categories

  1. Go to FluentBooking → Services → Categories
  2. Create categories to organize your services
  3. Assign services to appropriate categories
  4. This helps customers navigate your offerings

Managing Staff and Providers

Adding Staff Members

  1. Navigate to FluentBooking → Staff
  2. Click "Add New Staff Member"
  3. Enter staff information:
    • Name and contact details
    • Bio and photo
    • Services they can provide
    • Working hours and availability
  4. Set up their calendar integration
  5. Save staff member

Setting Staff Schedules

  1. Select a staff member from the list
  2. Click "Edit Schedule"
  3. Set working days and hours:
    • Define daily start and end times
    • Add breaks and lunch hours
    • Set days off
    • Configure special hours
  4. Save the schedule

Creating Booking Forms

Setting Up Your Booking Form

  1. Go to FluentBooking → Booking Forms
  2. Click "Create New Form"
  3. Choose form type:
    • Simple Form: Basic service and time selection
    • Multi-Step Form: Guided booking process
    • Service-Specific Form: Customized for particular services
  4. Customize form fields and layout
  5. Set booking rules and restrictions
  6. Preview and publish the form

Customizing Form Fields

  1. In the form builder, add/remove fields:
    • Customer information (name, email, phone)
    • Service selection
    • Date and time picker
    • Staff member selection
    • Special requests or notes
  2. Make fields required or optional
  3. Set field validation rules
  4. Customize field labels and descriptions

Embedding Booking Forms

Using Shortcodes

  1. Copy the shortcode provided for your form
  2. Paste it into any page or post: [fluent_booking id="123"]
  3. The booking form will display on that page
  4. Customize appearance with additional parameters

Widget Integration

  1. Go to Appearance → Widgets
  2. Add the FluentBooking widget to your sidebar
  3. Select which booking form to display
  4. Configure widget settings
  5. Save widget configuration

Managing Bookings

Viewing the Booking Calendar

  1. Navigate to FluentBooking → Calendar
  2. View appointments in different formats:
    • Day View: Detailed daily schedule
    • Week View: Weekly overview
    • Month View: Monthly calendar
    • List View: Chronological list
  3. Filter by staff member or service
  4. Color-code different types of appointments

Processing New Bookings

  1. Go to FluentBooking → Bookings
  2. Review pending bookings
  3. For each booking, you can:
    • Confirm: Accept the appointment
    • Reject: Decline with reason
    • Reschedule: Suggest alternative times
    • Edit: Modify booking details
  4. Send confirmation or update notifications

Manual Booking Creation

  1. Click "Add New Booking" in the bookings section
  2. Fill in booking details:
    • Customer information
    • Service and staff member
    • Date and time
    • Duration and pricing
    • Special notes
  3. Choose booking status (confirmed, pending, etc.)
  4. Send notification to customer
  5. Save the booking

Payment Integration

Setting Up Payment Gateways

  1. Navigate to FluentBooking → Settings → Payments
  2. Choose your payment providers:
    • PayPal: Enter PayPal account details
    • Stripe: Add Stripe API keys
    • Square: Connect Square account
  3. Configure payment settings:
    • Payment timing (full, deposit, or later)
    • Currency and tax settings
    • Refund policies
  4. Test payment processing

Managing Deposits and Payments

  1. Set deposit requirements per service
  2. Configure payment schedules
  3. Set up automatic payment reminders
  4. Handle refunds and cancellations
  5. Generate payment reports

Notification System

Email Notifications

  1. Go to FluentBooking → Settings → Notifications
  2. Configure automatic emails:
    • Booking Confirmation: Sent when booking is confirmed
    • Booking Reminder: Sent before appointment
    • Cancellation Notice: Sent when booking is cancelled
    • Staff Notifications: Alerts for staff members
  3. Customize email templates
  4. Set timing for reminders
  5. Test notification delivery

SMS Notifications (Pro Feature)

  1. Connect SMS provider (Twilio, etc.)
  2. Configure SMS templates
  3. Set SMS timing preferences
  4. Test SMS delivery

Customer Management

Viewing Customer Profiles

  1. Navigate to FluentBooking → Customers
  2. Click on any customer name
  3. Review customer information:
    • Contact details
    • Booking history
    • Payment records
    • Notes and preferences
  4. Edit information as needed

Customer Communication

  1. From the customer profile
  2. Send direct messages or emails
  3. Add internal notes
  4. Set customer preferences
  5. Track communication history

Reports and Analytics

Booking Reports

  1. Access FluentBooking → Reports
  2. Generate various reports:
    • Booking Volume: Number of bookings over time
    • Revenue Reports: Income from bookings
    • Staff Performance: Individual staff metrics
    • Service Popularity: Most/least booked services
    • Customer Reports: Customer behavior and retention
  3. Set date ranges and filters
  4. Export reports to CSV/PDF

Key Metrics to Track

  • Booking Conversion Rate: Visitors who complete bookings
  • No-Show Rate: Customers who don't attend appointments
  • Average Booking Value: Revenue per appointment
  • Peak Booking Times: Most popular days/hours
  • Customer Lifetime Value: Repeat customer statistics

Availability Management

Setting Business Hours

  1. Go to FluentBooking → Settings → Availability
  2. Define your standard business hours
  3. Set up break times and lunch hours
  4. Configure minimum advance booking time
  5. Set maximum booking window
  6. Save availability settings

Managing Special Dates

  1. Navigate to FluentBooking → Calendar → Special Dates
  2. Add holidays and closure dates
  3. Set up special operating hours
  4. Create recurring schedule exceptions
  5. Block out personal time or maintenance periods

Time Slot Configuration

  1. Configure appointment time slots:
    • Set slot duration (15 min, 30 min, 1 hour, etc.)
    • Define buffer time between appointments
    • Set maximum bookings per time slot
    • Configure overlapping appointment rules
  2. Test slot availability on the frontend

Customizing the Booking Experience

Form Appearance

  1. Go to FluentBooking → Settings → Appearance
  2. Customize booking form design:
    • Color scheme and branding
    • Font styles and sizes
    • Button styles
    • Layout options
  3. Preview changes in real-time
  4. Save your customizations

Confirmation Pages

  1. Create custom confirmation pages
  2. Design thank-you messages
  3. Add next steps or instructions
  4. Include calendar download links
  5. Set up redirect options

Integration Features

Calendar Integration

  1. Navigate to FluentBooking → Settings → Integrations
  2. Connect with external calendars:
    • Google Calendar: Two-way sync
    • Outlook Calendar: Import/export events
    • Apple Calendar: ICS file generation
  3. Configure sync settings
  4. Test calendar connections

CRM Integration

  1. Connect with FluentCRM or other CRM systems
  2. Map booking data to contact records
  3. Set up automated follow-up sequences
  4. Sync customer information

Handling Cancellations and Rescheduling

Customer Self-Service

  1. Enable customer cancellation/rescheduling
  2. Set cancellation policies:
    • Minimum notice required
    • Cancellation fees
    • Refund policies
  3. Provide booking management links in confirmations
  4. Set up automated waitlists

Admin Cancellation Process

  1. Find the booking in your calendar or booking list
  2. Click on the appointment
  3. Choose "Cancel" or "Reschedule"
  4. Select reason for cancellation
  5. Process any refunds if applicable
  6. Send notification to customer

Common Issues and Solutions

Booking Form Not Displaying

  • Check shortcode placement: Ensure shortcode is correctly inserted
  • Plugin conflicts: Deactivate other plugins to identify conflicts
  • Theme compatibility: Switch to default theme to test
  • JavaScript errors: Check browser console for errors

Time Zone Issues

  • Consistent settings: Ensure site timezone matches FluentBooking
  • Customer timezone: Display times in customer's local timezone
  • Staff coordination: Clearly communicate timezone to all staff

Email Delivery Problems

  • SMTP configuration: Use FluentSMTP for reliable delivery
  • Email templates: Ensure templates are properly formatted
  • Spam filters: Check customer spam folders
  • Notification settings: Verify notification triggers are enabled

Payment Processing Issues

  • Gateway configuration: Verify API keys and settings
  • SSL certificate: Ensure site has valid SSL
  • Test mode: Use test transactions before going live
  • Currency mismatch: Check currency settings match gateway

Best Practices

Booking Management

  • Clear policies: Set clear cancellation and rescheduling policies
  • Buffer times: Include buffer time between appointments
  • Confirmation process: Implement a confirmation system for bookings
  • Regular updates: Keep availability and pricing current

Customer Experience

  • Simple forms: Keep booking forms short and intuitive
  • Mobile optimization: Ensure forms work well on mobile devices
  • Clear communication: Provide clear next steps after booking
  • Reminder system: Send appointment reminders to reduce no-shows

Business Operations

  • Staff training: Ensure staff understand the booking system
  • Regular backups: Backup booking data regularly
  • Performance monitoring: Track booking conversion rates
  • Customer feedback: Collect and act on customer feedback

Advanced Features

Group Bookings

  1. Enable group booking options
  2. Set maximum participants per session
  3. Configure group pricing rules
  4. Manage group waitlists

Recurring Appointments

  1. Enable recurring booking options
  2. Set up subscription-based services
  3. Configure automatic renewals
  4. Manage recurring payment processing

Multi-Location Support

  1. Add multiple business locations
  2. Assign staff to specific locations
  3. Set location-specific availability
  4. Configure location-based pricing
Is it helpfull?
Views:32
Categories
Popular Knowledge
** The time is base on America/New_York timezone