Anna Lewis
Mon
1
Online Booking
Booking widget: services, specialists, fields and confirmation
The booking widget lives on the "Booking" tab of your Multilink page and is set up in three tabs: "Details", "Booking" and "Settings". That is where you choose services and specialists, form fields, manual or automatic approval and double-booking protection.
4 min read
In this article
The booking widget lives on the “Booking” tab of your Multilink page and is set up in three tabs: “Details”, “Booking” and “Settings”. That is where you choose services and specialists, form fields, manual or automatic approval and double-booking protection.
The widget takes services, specialists, schedules and bookings from the CRM, so add a service, a specialist and working hours there first. The CRM checks every booking from the widget once more before saving it.
How to do it
- Open your page in Multilink and click “+” to the right of the page tabs.
- In the “Add new page” window, turn on “Booking”. A “Booking” tab appears, and the widget is already on it.
- Click “Settings” on the widget card.
- Go through the “Details”, “Booking” and “Settings” tabs — each is described below. Changes save on their own.
On a phone
- In the page editor, tap “+” in the row of tabs and turn on “Booking”.
- Tap the gear “Settings” on the widget card.
“Details”: services and specialists
- “Appointment name” — up to 120 characters, for example “English lessons” or “Book a session”.
- “Services” — which CRM services clients can book, up to 50.
- “Staff members” — who clients can book with, up to 50. Until a service is chosen, this field says “Select a service first to see available staff”.
The list shows only specialists who have “Make available for online booking” and “Show in the timetable” on in the CRM, who aren’t archived and aren’t over your plan’s limit. A service with “Available for booking” switched off in the CRM disappears from the widget.
“Booking”: form, policy and messages
- “Client form”: “Name”, “Number” and “Note”. You can drag the fields into another order, rename them (up to 40 characters) and mark them “Required”. The phone number is always required. A field can’t be removed, but clients can skip a field that isn’t required. There is no email field.
- “Booking policy” — up to 300 characters about your terms: cancellations, lateness, prepayment. Clients see it before booking, and under the “Confirm booking” button it says “By confirming, you agree to the booking policy”.
- “Communication” — which messages the client gets: “Send booking confirmation”, “Send visit reminder”, “Reschedule notice”, “Review request” and “Cancellation notice”. Only the confirmation is on at first. Each can use a template: “Default”, “Ukrainian” or “English”.
“Settings”: taking bookings and approval
- “Accept bookings” — the main switch. When it is off, clients see “Online booking is paused — contact the salon directly”.
- “Booking approval”: “Require manual approval (recommended)” — the booking arrives as “New” and you confirm it in the CRM; “Automatically confirm bookings” — the booking is “Confirmed” at once.
- “Booking type”: “Single service per booking” or “Multiple services per booking” — then a client can pick up to 10 services, booked as one visit back to back.
- “Show first”: “Services” or “Specialists” — which list the widget opens on.
- “Prevent double booking” — see the next section.
When you choose automatic approval, Bookly asks “Confirm bookings automatically?” and warns that anyone on your page will take a slot in your calendar without your review, including accidental and fake bookings. To switch it on, click “Turn on anyway”; “Keep manual” keeps manual approval.
“New” bookings that nobody confirms are declined automatically — see Why unconfirmed bookings are declined automatically.
Double-booking protection
“Prevent double booking” is on from the start: booked time is closed, and clients can’t pick it. If you switch it off, online bookings go through even for booked time. Such an overlap is on you, and the specialist will have to see both clients. We recommend leaving it on.
Booking step and language
- The widget shows free time in steps set in the CRM: “Workspace” → “General” → “Booking Step Interval” — 5, 10, 15, 20 or 30 minutes, or 1 hour. It starts at 30 minutes.
- The widget’s texts follow the page language: Ukrainian or English.
If something goes wrong
“This page already has a booking widget.”
A page can have only one booking widget. Open the “Booking” tab and change the settings of the widget that is already there.
The “Booking” tab has no widget
If the widget was deleted, the “Booking” tab shows an “Add Booking Widget” button. Click it and the widget comes back.
A specialist or a service is missing
Check the CRM switches described under “Details”. All the reasons are in A client can’t book online.
The widget shows “Sample services — booking is not connected yet.”
The widget can’t see your services in the CRM. What to do: What “Sample services — booking is not connected yet” means.
Related articles
Still have a question? Write any time — we reply during working hours.
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What “Sample services — booking is not connected yet” means
This message means the widget is showing a sample: your CRM has no active service yet, or the CRM didn't respond. Add a service in the CRM and assign a specialist to it — your own services will appear in the widget within a few minutes.
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Why unconfirmed bookings are declined automatically
A "New" booking holds its time only until a deadline: by default 60 minutes before the start, or 20 minutes after it if the booking was made later. Then it becomes "Declined" and the time is free again. Change the deadlines in the CRM: "Workspace" → "Rules".
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How a client books online and what they see
The client opens your page, picks a service, a specialist and a time, enters a name and a phone number, and confirms the number with a code from an SMS. They then see "Booking request sent" or "Booking confirmed", depending on your settings.
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