Frequently asked questions

These are the questions business owners and their teams ask us most often — from the first steps and plans, through the calendar and online booking, to clients, notifications and invoices. Each answer is short and takes you to the manual page with the full procedure.

Can't find your question? Type it to the assistant in the bottom right corner or send a ticket to the Appointa team — the Support page explains how.

Getting started

Do I need a card to get started?

No. A new business starts on the free Starter plan, with no card and no time limit. You only enter a card when you decide to move to Pro or Premium. What each plan includes is described in Starter, Pro and Premium plans.

Can I try Appointa without entering my own details?

Yes. After you sign in for the first time, on the Welcome to Appointa screen click Open demo business and choose your industry — you get a ready-made business with services, employees and appointments. The demo runs on the Pro plan, lasts 14 days and then deletes itself, and nothing from it carries over to your real business. See Demo business.

How much work is the setup?

A wizard takes you through five steps: identity, contact, working hours, services and staff. Only identity, working hours and at least one service are required, and for most industries the services come as ready-made suggestions with a duration and price. Anything you enter you can change later in the settings. See Business setup.

I don't have time to set everything up myself. Do you help?

We do, and it's free. Get in touch through the contact form on the appointa.hr home page or at [email protected], and in a half-hour call we'll go through your services, employees and booking rules together. See Free setup help.

Is Appointa right for my type of business?

Appointa is for any business that works by appointment — from hairdressers, beauty and massage, through physiotherapy and dentistry, to personal trainers, yoga, dance schools, tennis, vets and car services. For 29 industries the wizard offers ready-made service suggestions, and if you don't find yours, you choose Other and enter your own services. Individual appointments are supported, as are group sessions with a limited number of seats and appointments that take up a room, a device or a vehicle in addition to an employee (see Resources).

Can I change the address of my public page later?

No. You choose the public link in the first step of the wizard, and once the business is launched it stays the same, so that all the links and QR codes you've already shared keep working. Choose it carefully — see Step 1 — Identity.

Plans and subscription

Which plan do I need?

Starter is free: the calendar, online booking, clients, messages and reminders for one employee and up to 30 appointments a month. Pro adds unlimited appointments, three included employees, recurring appointments, calendar sync, intake forms and fiscalised invoices. Premium adds promotions, a loyalty program, a waitlist, gift vouchers, packages and multiple locations on top of that. The full table is in Feature comparison.

What happens when I use up 30 appointments in a month on Starter?

Until the new month begins, no new appointment can be added — neither online nor in the calendar — unless you move to Pro or Premium. The count includes appointments that take place in that month; cancelled appointments and no-shows don't count. See The 30-appointment monthly limit on Starter.

Does Appointa take a commission on bookings?

No. You only pay for your plan and, if you want them, add-ons such as extra employee seats and SMS credits. Appointa doesn't charge your clients: you receive the money for services, vouchers and packages in your business, just as before.

Can I cancel my subscription whenever I want?

Yes, on the Billing page with the Cancel subscription button. The subscription stays active until the end of the period you've already paid for, and then the business moves to Starter; your appointments, clients and reports stay. There's no refund for a period that has already started. See Cancelling your subscription.

I have more employees than my plan includes. What now?

Starter includes one employee, Pro three and Premium five. On Pro and Premium you buy extra seats on the Billing page, and on Starter you move to a higher plan to add more employees. Archived employees don't take up a seat. See Employee seats.

Are SMS messages included in my plan?

No. SMS notifications are an add-on on every plan: you turn them on in Settings → Bookings, and you pay for them with prepaid credits that the owner buys in advance on the Billing page. When you turn them on for the first time, you get 20 free credits to try them out, used before any purchased ones. Clients with the Appointa app get free push notifications anyway, and everyone else gets email. See SMS notifications.

Calendar and appointments

A client has called me. How do I book them in?

Open Clients, find the client and, on their profile, click New appointment. Choose the service, the employee, the date and the time, and click Save. That way the appointment is linked to the client, so they get a reminder about 24 hours beforehand — in the Appointa app if they have it, by email or, with SMS notifications turned on, on their mobile number. The online booking rules (e.g. the earliest online booking or how far ahead clients can book) don't apply to appointments your team enters. See Adding an appointment for an existing client.

A client walked in without booking. How do I record it?

In the Calendar, click an empty slot for the employee who's taking them, choose the service and click Save. The appointment is labeled Walk-in: it takes up the employee's time and counts in the reports, but it isn't linked to a person. If you want to keep the client in your client list for next time, add them as a new client and add the appointment from their profile. See Walk-ins.

How do I move an appointment?

On a computer, in the calendar's day view, grab the appointment with the mouse and drag it to a new time or to another employee. On a phone or tablet, open the appointment and click Reschedule. A client linked to the appointment is notified of the new time. See Moving an appointment by dragging.

What do the colors of appointments in the calendar mean?

The background color shows the status: gold is Pending, a light shade of your brand color is Confirmed, green is Completed, reddish with struck-through text is Cancelled, and grey is No-show. The colored left edge shows which employee the appointment belongs to. See Colors and labels.

How do I close the business for a public holiday or enter someone's annual leave?

Closures of the whole business (a renovation, a team-wide holiday) go in Settings → Availability. Public holidays are there too: by default the business is closed on them, and you use a switch to mark a holiday you work on. Annual leave, sick leave and other absences of an individual employee are entered with the Time off button in Employees. During those periods clients aren't offered any free slots. See Closures and holidays and Holidays, sick leave and other absences.

I have to cancel a whole day. Do I have to call every client?

No. In the Calendar, click Bulk actions and choose Whole day, Date range or Specific staff member. While Notify clients is checked, every client gets a notification as soon as you confirm the cancellation. Cancelling can't be undone, and it's carried out by the owner or a manager. See Cancelling a whole day.

A client comes every four weeks. Can I book that once and for all?

Yes, on the Pro and Premium plans. In the appointment details, click Make recurring, choose the frequency (Every week, Every 2 weeks or Every 4 weeks) and click Set up. Appointa enters the future appointments straight away and keeps adding new ones as time goes by. See Recurring appointments.

Online booking

Do clients have to install an app to book?

No. Your public page works in any browser, on a phone or a computer. The Appointa app is an extra convenience for clients — push reminders and all their appointments in one place — and for those who'd rather call, you still enter the appointment yourself. See Public business page.

Where's my booking link and QR code?

In Settings → Sharing & app, in the Public booking link & QR section. The Copy button copies the link, and right below it is a QR code that leads to the same page. Put the link on Instagram, your Google Business Profile and your website, and the QR code in your shop window or on your business card. See Sharing and the QR code.

I want to confirm every online booking myself. Is that possible?

Yes. In Settings → Bookings, turn off Direct booking: new bookings then arrive as Pending and wait for your confirmation. A request you neither confirm nor cancel expires on its own after 24 hours or when the appointment starts, whichever comes first. See Direct booking.

How do I prevent last-minute bookings?

In Settings → Bookings, set Earliest online booking, e.g. to 2 hours. A client then can't book an appointment online that starts in less time than that, while you can still enter an appointment for them in the calendar. See Earliest online booking.

Can I accept online bookings only from my regular clients?

Yes — that's actually the default. While the Anonymous bookings card in Settings → Bookings is turned off, only clients you've approved can book. A new client sends a request that you accept in Clients, and a client who scans your client verification QR becomes your client straight away while Auto-approve on scan is turned on (the default). See Anonymous bookings.

A client says they can't see any free slots. What should I check?

Check that the service is assigned to at least one employee, that the employee has a shift that day and isn't on leave, and that the business isn't closed that day. Also check that the date falls within How far ahead clients can book and that Earliest online booking doesn't require more hours' notice. If the client can see slots but the booking doesn't go through, with a message about the monthly quota, the business is on Starter and has used up its 30 appointments for the month. See Frequently asked questions about the public page.

Clients

How do I bring my existing clients over from Excel?

In Clients, click Import and upload a CSV or Excel file (up to 5 MB and 2,000 rows); Appointa recognizes the columns on its own, and before importing you check the mapping and confirm the GDPR statement. Import is available on every plan, it's started by the owner or a manager, and you can undo it within 24 hours as long as none of the imported clients has an appointment or messages. See Importing clients from Excel.

A client is asking me to delete their data. What do I do?

Open their profile and, at the bottom, click Anonymize client — the owner and managers can do this. The name, contact details, notes, chart and intake form answers are deleted, and the appointments stay in the statistics without a name. This can't be undone, and it doesn't cancel future appointments — cancel those in the calendar first. See Anonymizing a client.

What happens when an archived client books again?

Online booking doesn't recognize an archived profile, not by Appointa account, mobile number or email, so the client counts as new. If you take anonymous bookings, a new profile is created and the archived one stays untouched with its entire history. If only members can book, the client has to ask for access again, and you approve them like any new request. See Archived clients.

How do I protect myself against no-shows?

Appointa sends every client linked to an appointment a reminder about a day beforehand. On top of that, in Settings → Bookings you can set a cancellation deadline and Block after no-shows, which stops a client with too many no-shows from booking online. You record a no-show with the Mark no-show button in the appointment details. See Protection against no-shows.

Notifications and messages

When and how does a client get a reminder?

About 24 hours before the appointment, through one channel: push if they have the Appointa app, and without the app SMS (if SMS notifications are turned on, there are credits left and the client has a mobile number on file) or email. Only appointments linked to a client get a reminder. See Appointment reminder.

Where do I see messages from clients?

Under Messages in the menu — the number on the item shows unread messages. You reply to clients in the same conversation, and your team is also notified of new messages in the Appointa Pro app. See Messages.

Team

How does an employee get their own access?

In Employees, on the employee's card, click Invite to app, enter their email address, choose a role (Staff or Manager) and click Send invitation; the invitation is valid for seven days. On a phone, the employee activates the Appointa Pro app by scanning a QR code they generate themselves on their dashboard on the web. You can enter appointments for them even if they never sign in. See Invitations and roles and Activating with a QR code.

What does an employee see in Appointa?

The Staff role sees the Dashboard with a personal overview, the Calendar, Messages, Clients and, on the Pro and Premium plans, Invoices. Services, employees, analytics and settings are seen only by the Owner and Manager, and billing only by the owner. See Roles: who sees what.

Can I see appointments in Google or Apple Calendar on my phone?

Yes, on the Pro and Premium plans. The owner or a manager opens the employee in Employees with the Edit button and, in the Calendar section, clicks Connect calendar — this creates a secret ICS link that you add to Google, Apple or Outlook Calendar. The other way round, if you enter the address of the employee's private calendar, the busy times in it block their availability in Appointa; it syncs every 15 minutes. See Calendar sync.

Discounts, vouchers and invoices

Can a client use a promo code and a loyalty reward on the same appointment?

No. One discount applies per appointment — a promotion or loyalty — and the price never drops below zero. See Only one discount per appointment.

Does Appointa take payment for gift vouchers and packages online?

No. You take payment for a voucher or package in your business, just as before, and Appointa keeps the records: the voucher code, the remaining balance and the visits used. Both are part of the Premium plan. See Gift vouchers and Packages and memberships.

Can Appointa issue fiscalised invoices?

Yes, for businesses in Croatia on the Pro and Premium plans, either with an appointment or as a standalone invoice. If you'd rather stick with your own cash register, Appointa works alongside it, with no integration needed. See How fiscalisation works in Appointa.

Can I export my appointments for my accountant?

Yes. In Analytics, choose the period and click Export CSV — you get a list of all appointments with the date, status, service, employee, client and price. If you issue invoices through Appointa, there are also invoice exports for your accountant. See Exporting to CSV and Exports for your accountant.

Account and security

I forgot my password.

On the Log in page, click Forgot password?, enter your email address and open the link in the email; it's valid for 24 hours. If you sign in with Google or Apple, you don't have an Appointa password and don't need one. See Forgotten password.

How can I protect my account further?

Turn on two-factor sign-in in Settings → Security (the owner and managers can see this tab): in addition to your password, you then enter a code from an authenticator app or a code sent by email. 2FA is turned on separately for each account and doesn't affect the Appointa Pro app. See Security and two-factor sign-in.

Are there mobile apps?

There are two, for iPhone and Android. Appointa Pro is for you and your team — today's appointments, new appointments, messages and booking notifications. Appointa is for your clients — booking, reminders, messages, loyalty cards and vouchers. See Appointa Pro (the team app) and The Appointa app for clients.