Appointments Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about setting up, managing, and booking appointments in Zipper. Find answers to questions about provider schedules, appointment types, booking, payments, cancellations, and more.

Product Capabilities and What It Can Do

Q: What can I do with appointments?

A: Appointments allow you to:

• Set up provider schedules with customizable availability
• Create different appointment types (consultations, private sessions, intro classes)
• Allow customers to book appointments online
• Accept multiple payment methods (free, credit card, punch cards, subscriptions)
• Manage appointments with cancellations and refunds
• Track appointment history and customer bookings
• Generate calendar files for appointments

Q: Can customers book appointments without creating an account?

A: Yes! You can configure appointment types to allow guest booking, which means customers can book appointments without creating an account. This reduces friction for first-time customers. However, you can also require customers to be logged in if you prefer.

Q: Can I create different types of appointments with different pricing?

A: Yes! You can create multiple appointment types, each with its own:

• Duration (30 minutes, 60 minutes, custom lengths)
• Pricing (free, fixed price, or variable pricing)
• Payment options (credit card, punch card, subscription, or free)
• Form requirements
• Location assignment
• Provider assignment

Q: What payment options can I offer for appointments?

A: You can offer multiple payment options per appointment type:

• Free: No payment required
• Credit Card: One-time payment at booking time
• Punch Card: Customers use credits from purchased passes
• Subscription: Customers with active subscriptions can book free or at a discount

You can enable multiple payment options, giving customers flexibility in how they pay.

Q: Can I set up recurring availability schedules?

A: Yes! You can set up weekly recurring availability patterns for each provider. Define which days and times each provider is available, and the system will automatically show those time slots as available for booking. You can also add date overrides to block out specific dates or temporarily adjust availability.

Q: What happens when a customer cancels an appointment?

A: When a customer cancels an appointment, you can choose whether to issue a refund:

• With Refund: Automatically process a refund if the appointment was paid
• Without Refund: Cancel the appointment but keep the payment
• Punch Card Credits: If a punch card was used, the credit is automatically restored

You can also set up automatic refund policies based on how far in advance the cancellation happens.

Q: Can I block out specific dates or times?

A: Yes! You can use date overrides to:

• Block out specific dates (holidays, vacations, special events)
• Temporarily adjust availability for specific date ranges
• Change availability without affecting your whole schedule

Date overrides are flexible and can be added or removed anytime.

Q: How many appointment types can I create?

A: There's no limit on the number of appointment types you can create. Each provider can have multiple appointment types, and you can create different types for different services, durations, or pricing structures.

Q: Can I assign appointment types to specific locations?

A: Yes! You can create multiple locations (physical addresses, virtual meeting links, or hybrid) and assign appointment types to specific locations. This helps you organize home visits, studio sessions, and online appointments.

How to Use the Product

Getting Started

Q: What do I need before I can set up appointments?

A: Before setting up appointments, you should have:

• An active organization account at https://app.joinzipper.com
• Organization owner or admin permissions (you need the "manage-schedule" permission)
• At least one provider/instructor added to your organization
• At least one location set up (if appointments take place at physical locations)
• A form created with first name, last name, and email fields (required for appointment types)

You can set up appointments without locations initially, but you'll need them to complete the full configuration.

Q: How do I get started setting up appointments?

A: To set up appointments:

1. Log in to https://app.joinzipper.com
2. Click Calendar in the left sidebar
3. Click Scheduling in the calendar navigation
4. Select a provider from the dropdown
5. Set up their availability schedule
6. Create appointment types for that provider
7. Configure payment options and form requirements

Once set up, customers can book appointments through your site or customer app.

Common Tasks

Q: How do I create an appointment type?

A: To create an appointment type:

1. Go to Calendar → Scheduling
2. Select a provider
3. Click Add appointment type or edit an existing type
4. Fill in the details:
   • Label: Name of the appointment type (e.g., "Consultation", "Private Session")
   • Duration: How long the appointment lasts
   • Form: Select a form with first name, last name, and email fields
   • Schedule: Select which availability schedule to use
5. Configure payment options (free, paid, punch card, subscription)
6. Assign to a location if applicable
7. Click Save

Q: How do I set up a provider's availability schedule?

A: To set up availability:

1. Go to Calendar → Scheduling
2. Select a provider from the dropdown
3. Click Edit schedule or Add schedule
4. Add availability windows:
   • Select days of the week
   • Set start and end times
   • Set date range (when this schedule applies)
5. Add multiple availability windows if needed (e.g., mornings Monday-Friday, afternoons Tuesday-Thursday)
6. Click Save

The system will automatically show available time slots based on your schedule and existing appointments.

Q: How do I book an appointment for a customer?

A: To book an appointment for a customer:

1. Go to Calendar → Appointments
2. Click Create appointment (or use the + button)
3. Select the appointment type
4. Select the provider
5. Choose a date and time from available slots
6. Select the customer (or enter guest information)
7. Choose payment method if applicable
8. Click Create appointment

The customer and provider will receive confirmation notifications.

Q: How do I cancel an appointment?

A: To cancel an appointment:

1. Go to Calendar → Appointments
2. Find the appointment you want to cancel
3. Click on the appointment to open details
4. Click Cancel appointment
5. Choose whether to issue a refund:
   • Cancel with refund: Automatically refunds if payment was made
   • Cancel without refund: Cancels but keeps payment
6. Confirm the cancellation

You can also cancel multiple appointments at once using bulk cancellation.

Q: How do I block out specific dates or times?

A: To block out dates:

1. Go to Calendar → Scheduling
2. Select a provider
3. Click Add date override or Edit schedule
4. Set the date range you want to block
5. Choose to block all availability or adjust specific times
6. Save the override

Date overrides temporarily modify availability without changing your regular schedule.

Configuration and Settings

Q: How do I configure payment options for an appointment type?

A: To configure payment options:

1. Go to Calendar → Scheduling
2. Select a provider and appointment type
3. Edit the appointment type
4. In the payment section, enable the options you want:
   • Free: No payment required
   • Paid: Set a price for credit card payment
   • Punch Card: Allow customers to use credits
   • Subscription: Grant access to subscription holders
5. You can enable multiple options
6. Click Save

Customers will see all enabled payment options when booking.

Q: How do I require a form to be completed during booking?

A: To require a form:

1. Create a form with first name, last name, and email fields (required)
2. Go to Calendar → Scheduling
3. Select a provider and appointment type
4. Edit the appointment type
5. Select the form from the Form dropdown
6. Click Save

Customers will be required to complete the form before booking.

Q: How do I assign an appointment type to a location?

A: To assign a location:

1. Create a location first (if you haven't already):
   • Go to Calendar → Scheduling → Locations
   • Click Add location
   • Enter location details
2. Go to Calendar → Scheduling
3. Select a provider and appointment type
4. Edit the appointment type
5. Select the location from the Location dropdown
6. Click Save

Troubleshooting

Q: Why don't I see any available time slots when trying to book?

A: This could happen if:

• The provider doesn't have an availability schedule set up
• All time slots are already booked
• Date overrides are blocking availability
• The appointment type isn't assigned to the provider's schedule

Solution: Check the provider's schedule configuration and make sure availability windows are set up correctly.

Q: Why can't I create an appointment type?

A: You might see errors if:

• "A label is required": You need to enter a name for the appointment type
• "A form with a required first name, last name, and email field must be selected": You need to select a form that has these required fields
• "A schedule must be selected": You need to select an availability schedule

Solution: Make sure all required fields are filled in and a valid form is selected.

Q: Why do I get "Start date cannot be after end date" when setting up availability?

A: This error means the start time of your availability window is set after the end time.

Solution: Make sure the start time is earlier than the end time. For example, if you want availability from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, set start time to 9:00 AM and end time to 5:00 PM.

Q: Why don't customers see my appointment types when booking?

A: Check:

• Is the appointment type assigned to a provider's schedule?
• Is the provider's availability schedule set up correctly?
• Are there available time slots?
• Is the appointment type active?

Solution: Make sure the appointment type is properly configured and the provider has availability set up.

Q: Why can't I cancel an appointment?

A: You might not be able to cancel if:

• You don't have permission (need "manage-schedule" permission)
• The appointment is in the past
• The appointment has already been canceled

Solution: Check your permissions and make sure the appointment is in the future and not already canceled.

Edge Cases and Advanced Usage

Q: What happens if I change a provider's schedule after appointments are booked?

A: Changing a provider's schedule doesn't affect existing appointments. However:

• New bookings will use the updated schedule
• Existing appointments remain at their original times
• You can use date overrides to handle specific date ranges without changing the whole schedule

Q: Can I have different availability for different appointment types?

A: Yes! Each appointment type can be assigned to a different schedule. This allows you to:

• Offer some appointment types only on certain days
• Have different availability windows for different services
• Create appointment types with limited availability

Q: How do I handle provider substitutions?

A: While you can't directly change the provider for an existing appointment, you can:

• Cancel the original appointment
• Create a new appointment with the substitute provider
• Issue a refund for the original if needed

Alternatively, you can use date overrides to temporarily adjust availability and book with the substitute provider.

Q: Can customers reschedule their own appointments?

A: Currently, customers cannot directly reschedule appointments themselves. They would need to:

1. Cancel their existing appointment
2. Book a new appointment at the desired time

Or you can reschedule for them by canceling the old appointment and creating a new one.

Q: What happens to punch card credits when an appointment is canceled?

A: If a punch card credit was used for an appointment and you cancel it:

• The credit is automatically restored to the customer's account
• The credit becomes available for use again
• This happens automatically—no manual action needed

Q: Can I set different prices for different customers?

A: While you can't set customer-specific prices directly, you can:

• Create multiple appointment types with different pricing
• Offer subscription access that grants free or discounted appointments
• Use punch cards that effectively provide different pricing

Q: How far in advance can customers book appointments?

A: There's no hard limit on how far in advance customers can book. However, you control this by:

• Setting the end date of your availability schedules
• Using date overrides to block future dates
• Managing your schedule configuration

You can set availability schedules to extend months or even years into the future.

Family Payment Methods

Q: Can parents pay for their children's appointments?

A: Yes! With family accounts configured:

1. Parent's saved payment methods appear during checkout
2. When booking an appointment for a child, parents can use their own payment method
3. Payment receipts are linked to both parent and child accounts

This simplifies family billing by allowing one parent to manage payments for the entire family.

Q: How do cancellation fees work for children's appointments?

A: When a child's appointment is cancelled and a cancellation fee applies:

1. The system looks for parent payment methods
2. Cancellation fees can be charged to the parent's saved payment method
3. Both parent and child receive notification of the charge

This works automatically once guardian relationships are properly configured.

Cancellation Notifications

Q: Do customers get notified when I cancel their appointment?

A: Yes! When you cancel an appointment, the customer automatically receives:

1. An email notification about the cancellation
2. Information about any refund being processed
3. Details about rescheduling options if applicable

You can customize the cancellation message or choose to not send a notification when cancelling.

Q: Can I customize the cancellation notification?

A: The cancellation notification includes:

• Appointment details (date, time, service)
• Reason for cancellation (optional)
• Refund information (if applicable)
• Contact information for questions

Configure notification templates in your organization's email settings.