Try the journey a new client takes before putting your booking link on your website or social profile. The public booking page works in a phone browser without an account or an app download.
Before you start
- Who can do it: anyone with the public link can try the guest journey. Changing booking settings needs the owner's or an admin's access.
- Turn on online booking and set up a location, an online service and staff working hours.
- Decide whether you are only reviewing the screens or making a real booking. A live booking can send confirmations, reserve staff time and take the payment shown.
Walk through as a new client
Copy the public link
Open Settings → Booking → Online booking. Select Copy beside Your public link. Use the location or service link you actually plan to share.
Open it on your phone
Paste the link into a private browser window on your phone. Check the business name, logo and location before choosing a service. A private window helps you see the new-client journey without your saved sign-in details.
Choose the visit
On Choose your services, add a service and select Continue. Check that its name, duration and price make sense without an explanation from reception. Repeat later with a longer service or a combination clients commonly book.
Choose a professional
When more than one person can do the visit, Choose a professional opens next. Try both a named professional and Any professional.
Find a suitable time
On Pick a time, choose a day and an available time. Confirm that the selected location and time are the ones you expected.
Review the details and policy
On Your details, check the visit summary, contact fields and cancellation terms. Look for the amount due now or the card requirement. Try the fields with the phone keyboard open and make sure the next action stays reachable.
Choose where the test stops
For a screen review, stop before Confirm booking, Pay & confirm or Save card & confirm. You have checked the journey but have not proved that a booking, payment or email succeeds. Close the page when finished; a temporary time hold expires under your booking rules.
If you complete a live test booking
Use your own contact details and a time you have agreed with the team. Read the payment amount and cancellation terms first. A production checkout is real, and cancelling a visit does not by itself prove a payment was refunded.
Check all of these after confirmation:
| Check | What success looks like |
|---|---|
| On the phone | You're booked appears with your name and the correct date, time, services, location and Booking reference. |
| At the front desk | The appointment is on Calendar for the correct professional and location. Ask the person covering reception to find it. |
| In your inbox | The confirmation arrives at the address you entered. Open its private booking link and check the visit details. |
| Forms | If the visit has forms, open them under Fill out before your visit. The confirmation page offers these after booking; do not assume the booking itself means they are completed. |
| Changing the visit | View or change your booking shows the options allowed by your settings and cancellation cutoff. |
Cancel the test visit when you finish so it does not keep the slot occupied. If money moved, check its payment and refund status separately using Deposits and cancellation fees.
Keep the private booking-management link to yourself. Share the business's public link with clients, not your test appointment's link.
Check it worked
You can explain each step using what is on the phone, without extra instructions. The location, service, price and policy are clear. If you completed a booking, the phone confirmation and staff calendar agree.
If something goes wrong
A service or time is missing
Check the service's Available for online booking setting, its location and the working hours of someone who offers it. Check Minimum notice, Booking window and any required resources. See Set up online booking.
Reception did not notice the test booking
First check whether it exists on the correct calendar. A saved appointment and a delivered notification are separate checks. Review who should see new bookings and their notification settings before relying on an email alert.
The confirmation page appeared but no email arrived
Check the address you entered and the spam folder. Confirm the appointment on Calendar before trying again, so you do not create a second visit. See System emails to review the business's email setup.