Welcome to the Service Bookings manual. This guide will walk you through the end-to-end process of setting up and managing time-slot based services for your Malet.

1. Configuring Your Service

Before you can accept bookings, you must ensure your service is correctly configured:

• Enable "Requires Booking": Navigate to Manage → Services, edit your service, and toggle the "Requires Booking" checkbox.
• Service Duration: Set the standard duration (in minutes). This determines how large each time slot is on your storefront calendar.
• Base Price: This is the starting price for the booking, which can be modified by customer-selected add-ons.

2. Setting Your Availability

Availability is managed via a weekly template and specific date exceptions.

Weekly Schedule

In the Service Editor, define your standard operating hours for each day of the week (e.g., Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM). You can add multiple time windows per day to account for breaks or shifts.

Date Exceptions

Use the Exceptions manager to handle one-off changes to your schedule:

• Closures: Mark specific dates (like holidays) as "Closed" to prevent any bookings on those days.
• Custom Hours: Override your weekly template for a specific date (e.g., staying open late for a special event).

3. Understanding Reservation States

When a customer interacts with your booking picker, the reservation moves through several automated states:

• HELD: The slot is temporarily reserved for 15 minutes while the customer completes checkout. If payment is not received, the slot is automatically released.
• PENDING: The booking has been paid for but requires your manual approval (if configured).
• CONFIRMED: The booking is finalized and added to your schedule.
• COMPLETED: The service has been provided.
• CANCELLED: The booking was voided by either you or the customer.

4. The Bookings Dashboard

The Bookings Dashboard (/manage/bookings) is your central hub for daily operations.

• Upcoming View: A chronological list of all confirmed reservations for the coming days.
• Quick Actions: Approve or Reject pending requests with a single click.
• Customer Details: Access contact information and specific notes provided by the client during checkout.

5. Refunds and Cancellations

If you need to cancel a booking:

1. Locate the booking in your dashboard.
2. Select Cancel Booking.
3. Provide a reason (this will be sent to the customer).
4. Our system automatically calculates the refund based on your Malet's policy and the proximity to the service date.