Policies and Preferences
Super admins and admins can view and edit this information. Managers can only view this information. Staff will not have access to this information.
The Policies & Preferences section contains settings which control how customers interact with the booking page. This includes allowing customers to choose the preferred staff for a booking, setting a prefix for the booking ID, defining the opening and closing schedule for bookings, and setting up cancelation & rescheduling windows.
Note: The policies and preferences set here are just templates. They will be used by services created newly. But these preferences can be overridden for one-on-one services under the Service Preferences section only. Service Preferences are not applicable to group bookings and resources.To access this section:
- Click the Settings icon
on the top right of the menu panel, then click Workspaces.
- Click the required workspace on the left side and then click Policies & Preferences.
Policies and Preferences comprise of the below sections:
General
Let Customers Select Staff
When this setting is 'Enabled', it allows the customers to choose their preferred staff from the available list on the booking page. When the Include 'auto-assign staff' in the staff list box is checked, it will display 'Auto-assign staff' as the first item in the staff list.
The image below displays "Auto-assign staff" displayed as a default value on the booking page.
Note: When 'Auto-assign staff' is selected, scheduling follows a load balancing algorithm while assigning a staff for a booking.When the Include 'auto-assign staff' in the staff list box is unchecked, the Auto-assign staff option is removed and only the Staff List shows up on the booking page.
The image below shows the 'Auto-assign staff' option removed on the booking page.
Setting Let Customers Select Staff to 'Disabled' will restrict staff selection by customers, and staff will be assigned automatically based on their availability. And all appointments are distributed equally among allocated staff.
The image below shows the staff selection dropdown being removed from the booking page.
Scheduling Interval
Scheduling interval determines how start time is divided on the booking page. This interval is independent of the appointment duration and can be in any multiple of 5 minutes.
For example, if your service typically lasts two hours and your slots are fixed (e.g., 8-10, 10-12), a customer needing an appointment at 9 might be missed. Setting the scheduling interval to one hour (8:00, 9:00, 10:00, etc.) allows for more flexibility. This way, customers can book for any hour within your service duration, reducing missed opportunities and accommodating various customer time requirements.
- Scheduling interval can be set in any multiples of five.
- The default scheduling interval is 15 minutes.
- Each service can have a separate scheduling interval.
- To have a scheduling interval same as service duration, you can set the interval similarly.
To set a scheduling interval:
Click Settings icon on the menu bar and select Workspaces.
Click Policies & Preferences in the middle pane.
Under the Scheduling Interval section, hover over and click the edit icon. Choose one of the two options in the drop-down.
Fixed slots: This option ensures the time slots remain unchanged. That is, it won't be adjusted according to other existing appointments or external events.
Adjusted slots: This option automatically modifies the time slots based on any other existing appointments or external calendar events. This will be the default option.
Info: If scheduling interval is 30 mins, the time slots will be 9:00, 9:30, 10:00, 10:30, 11:00 and so on. Say you are booked for another appointment from 10:00 to 10:15, then the time slots for both options will be as shown below.
Fixed slots: The time slots would show as 9:00, 9:30, 10:30, 11:00, 11:30 and so on.
Adjusted slots: The time slots would be shown as 9:00, 9:30, 10:15, 10:45, 11:15 and so on.Set the time for the scheduling interval. You can choose time in any multiple of five. Then click Save.
On the booking page, you can see that your time slots are divided accordingly.
Language
This setting lets you choose the language for your booking page. There are 15 languages, users get to choose from – English, French, German, Spanish, Nederlands, Portuguese, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Romanian, Hebrew, Swedish, Swahili, and Russian. The option "Based on user location" is selected by default. However, users can choose from any of the languages provided.
Note: 1. The choice "Based on user location" considers the language set in the user's browser locale. Further, the language in the browser locale is considered for translation only when it is one of the 15 languages mentioned above. When the language in the locale is not supported, the translation defaults to English.
2. Language selection applies only to the Booking Page from which Customers book Appointments.
- To choose or change a language:
- Click the edit icon.
- Choose the required language and click Save. Note: If a particular language is chosen, then all users will see only the chosen language (provided it is supported), irrespective of their location.
Time Zone Presets
This setting lets you customize how the time zone of your Booking Page should be made available for your Customers. It also deals with the visibility and editability of the time zone field in the Booking Page. The time zone in the Booking Page can be set to any of the following presets - Customer's local time, Business time zone and Specific time zone.
- Note: The Customer's local time preset is selected by default.
To change the Time zone preset:
- Click the edit icon against the selected preset.
- A pop-up containing the different presets and their preferences opens up once the edit icon is clicked.
Show time zone in Booking Page - When this option is checked, the time zone field shows up in the Booking Page. Unchecking this option will remove the time zone field from the Booking Page.Lock time zone in Booking Page - When this option is checked, the time zone field shows up in the Booking Page but is disabled for further updates. Unchecking this option will remove the time zone field from the Booking Page. This option is disabled when Show time zone in Booking Page is unchecked.
- Below are the available Time Zone Presets:
- Customer's local time - This preset automatically detects the time zone of the customer and displays the booking slots based on the Customer's local time.
- Business time zone - This preset allows you to enforce the business time zone as the only available time zone on the Booking Page, irrespective of the Customer's location.
- Specific time zone - This preset allows you to enforce a specific time zone as the only available time zone on the Booking Page, irrespective of the Customer's location.You can choose a required time zone from the list of available timezones.
3. Choose the required preferences for each time zone preset and click Save. The changes will reflect in the booking page.
Booking Confirmation Page
This is the page that will be displayed to customers once an appointment is booked or rescheduled.
The Appointment Summary page
This is displayed to customers by default with a Book another appointment button.
The Appointment Summary page
This is displayed to customers by default with a Book another appointment button.
To remove the button or edit the text on it:
1. Click the edit icon.
2. A pop-up appears, containing options to display or remove the Book another appointment button. It also provides a text box to customize the button text. Edit the button text and click Save.
3. The custom button text is reflected on the booking summary page.
Note: Unchecking Show 'Book another appointment' button on booking page removes it from the booking page.Custom URL Redirection
Note: Redirecting customers to a custom URL on booking confirmation is available with all paid plans of Zoho Bookings.You can override the default Booking Summary page and redirect customers to a custom URL or page when they book or reschedule appointments.
1. Click the edit icon and select Show your own confirmation page.
2. Enter the URL of the page you want to redirect customers.
3. Additionally check the Pass booking details to confirmation page option to pass booking details and UTM parameters to your page.
Note: UTM parameters can help gauge your booking page's effectiveness. Learn how.Assume that you have embedded the booking page on a website (say, Twitter). And you would want to track the source for your campaign (say, 'user-adoption'), you can append UTM parameters to your page (say https://www.zylker.com.thankyoupage) like the below.
https://www.zylker.com.thankyoupage?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-adoption
List of supported UTM parameters
These parameters can trace aid performance-tracking and analytics.
1. utm_source
1. utm_source
2. utm_medium
3. utm_content
4. utm_campaign
5. utm_term
List of supported Booking parameters
These parameters can pass booking details along with your custom URL.
https://www.zylker.com.thankyoupage?booking_id=ZO-12345&assigned_to=John%20Doe
Booking details
1. booking_id=<value>
2. workspace_uuid=<value>
3. workspace_name=<value>
4. assigned_to=<value> (staff or resource name)
5. service_uuid=<value>
6. service_name=<value>
7. booking_start_time=<value>
8. booking_end_time=<value>
9. booking_cost=<value>
10. booking_cost_paid=<value>
11. booking_currency=<value>
Customer details
12. customer_name=<value>
13. customer_first_name =<value> (if applicable)
14. customer_last_name=<value> (if applicable)
15. customer_contact_no=<value>
16. customer_email=<value>
Custom fields
17. customer_<custom_field_name>=<value>
Appointment Title Customization
Zoho Bookings let you have a customized appointment title by including variables according to your preferences. This will be applied to the event title in calendar invites. It will also be used as titles of online meetings(Zoho Meeting, Google Meet, Zoom Meeting, Microsoft Teams, Zoho CRM Calendar), Zoho Assist sessions, and ICS files.
To customize appointment title:
- Under the General section, you can see the Appointment Title Customization option. In the text box, add the required text.
- Click Insert Variable to the right of the text box to include variables in the title.
- Click Save.
Auto-generate Booking ID
- Set Prefix — Set a prefix for the booking IDs. A maximum of five characters can be set. The default value is "NE".To edit this value:
- Maximum Digits Allowed — The maximum number of digits in a Booking ID. The default value is 5.
To edit this value:
Booking Notice
Avoid last-minute bookings by setting minimum booking notice. (eg. two hours from booking time)
Avoid too far bookings by setting maximum booking notice. (eg. 24 hours from booking time)
Minimum Booking Notice
Kevin, the Super Admin of Zylker Consultations needs at least two hours of notice before any appointment is booked so that he gets time to prepare. Therefore, he sets the Minimum Booking Notice to two hours. Now, customers can only see the slots after two hours from the current time. This prevents last-minute booking.
Maximum Booking Notice
In the same way, Kevin doesn't want the appointments that are too far in the future. So he sets the Maximum Booking Notice to 20 days. Now, only the slots for 20 days will be available to book. This prevents bookings too far out.
To edit this value, select the required values from the dropdown. Changes are auto-saved. The setting period can be in days/hours/minutes.
Let's assume the time now is 2.00 pm and we want to set the minimum booking notice to two hours. Now, the booking page will not show the slots of the next two hours. The below image shows the slots that are available after two hours (4.00 pm in this case).
Let's assume that today is February 2nd and we want to set the maximum booking notice to 20 days. Now, the booking page will only show slots for the next 20 days. The below image only shows the dates of the next 20 days.
Info: This duration between the two times should be sufficient, as it is the open window for accepting appointments. In the above case, from any given time, 2 hours to 20 days will be the scheduling window.
If the maximum and minimum booking notices are set to 0, appointment slots are open always.
Terms and Conditions
To enable terms and conditions:
- Set toggle to Enabled.
- Specify the required text in the editor. For example, include a link in your message and redirect customers to read your privacy policy or terms and conditions.
- Click Save.
Cancelations & Reschedules
This allows you to define a period of time before the appointment during which customers are allowed to cancel or reschedule their appointments. For example, if the value is set to "6 hours", an appointment at 6 pm can be canceled or rescheduled by customers as long as they do so before 12 pm on the appointment date.
To edit this value, select the required values from the dropdown. Changes are autosaved.
This setting does not restrict the staff from canceling or rescheduling bookings from the admin interface.
Note: The number of workspaces that can be added is governed by the subscription plan that users hold with Zoho Bookings.Access your files securely from anywhere
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