Best practices to set up and launch your booking site

This guide provides an overview of best practices to consider to set up and launch your booking site. 

Your Aionic account settings

• Create your Aionic Subscription
• Follow the steps outlined in the Quick Start Guide to complete the minimum requirements before publishing your booking site.

Activate your Stripe payments

• Ensure you have completed all the necessary documentation and ID verification in Stripe. 
• Activate your Stripe payments through the Stripe Dashboard to ensure you are able to receive the funds processed through Aionic.

Plan ahead

• If you have upcoming holidays, planned days off or exceptions to your booking hours its best to block these times out of your calendar so that your clients cannot make bookings during these times. Use calendar notes to block out the day and time.
• Make sure that you also add any existing bookings into your calendar before publishing your booking site, you can find more information about how to do this in the Quick Start Guide. 

Publish your Body Mind Spirit marketplace page (if applicable)

• Sign up for a Body Mind Spirit profile.
• Complete your profile including your service details, qualifications, specialisations and locations.
• Publish your profile.

Notify your clients

It's important that you give your clients a heads up that you are introducing a new booking system so they understand any changes that may impact them and when it is taking effect.

Below are some items to consider when communicating to your clients.

• Are you moving from a manual booking process to a self-service booking process? E.g. Changing from calling/text/email to booking online.
• Will your clients be changing the way they pay for your services? E.g. moving from cash payments to online payments.
• Are your clients tech savvy or will they require some assistance when booking online for the first time?
• The date the change will occur, normally it would be best to provide at least one weeks notice and try to avoid any holiday periods.
• Any changes to your refund and cancellation process or policy, remember that in the event of a cancellation the customer won't be refunded the booking fee. Read more about refunds and cancellations.
• If you have made any service, opening hours and/or pricing changes, it would be best to communicate these changes at the same time.

Promote your booking site

• Once you have published your booking site, you'll need to update any existing links on your website, social media or other places that may exist with your current booking system (if applicable). 
• Add Book Now buttons to Instagram and Facebook using your booking site URL.