Services
Service Booking Options
Configure optional or required services that customers can add to another service at booking, including finish choices, treatments, and true option-only extras.
Last updated 16 July 2026
Booking options let one service recommend or require another service during booking. Use them for colour finishes, treatments, toners, upgrades, and true add-on-only extras.
The important model: the linked option can still be a normal standalone service. A Blow Dry can appear in the main service menu and also be required as one of the finish choices for Balayage.
Where to find it - Web: Services -> add or edit a service -> Service type. Choose Booking option only when it should not appear in the main service picker. Use Available with to attach it to standard services. Mobile uses the same service type and attachment flow.
TL;DR
- Link any active service as an optional or required option for another service.
- Choose Standard service for normal standalone services.
- Choose Booking option only only for services that should never appear in the main service picker.
- Use Choose exactly 1 for finish choices such as Dry Off, Blow Dry, or Haircut & Blow Dry.
- Select multiple primary services and use Apply booking option rule to add or remove the same option rule in bulk.
- PRO owners on web can request suggested links from service-menu compatibility and aggregate booking patterns.
Creating an Option-Only Service
- Open Services -> Add service.
- Fill in the name, price, and duration as normal.
- Under Service type, choose Booking option only.
- Under Available with, select the standard services that should offer it. New links are optional by default.
- Save.
The service is excluded from the storefront's main service list and the operator service picker. If you save it without selecting Available with, it remains hidden until you attach it to a service.
Linking Booking Options
- Open Services -> [service name].
- Scroll to Booking options.
- Select the services that should appear with this service.
- Choose the rule:
- Optional: customer may skip them.
- Choose at least 1: customer must choose one or more.
- Choose exactly 1: best for finish choices.
- Select Save options.
For category-style setup, filter or select services on the Services page, then use Apply booking option rule from the bulk action bar.
Applying Booking Options In Bulk
Use bulk rules when several primary services should share the same booking options. For example, multiple colour services might all require a finish choice.
- Open Services on web.
- Select the primary services you want to update.
- Choose Apply booking option rule....
- Choose the rule:
- Optional: customers may skip these.
- Choose at least 1: customers must choose at least the number you set.
- Choose exactly 1: customers must choose one option.
- Remove choices: clears linked options and required choices from the selected services.
- For required rules, set the Selection label.
- Choose the Booking options.
- Select Apply to [number] services.
The bulk action applies one shared rule to each selected primary service. It replaces existing linked options and required-choice rules on those selected services.
Option-only services cannot have their own booking options. If you select option-only services in the bulk selection, the dialog says they will be skipped.
Bulk Rule Limits
| Rule | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Selected services | Must be primary services that are bookable on their own. |
| Booking options | Must be active services from the same venue. |
| Self-linking | A selected primary service cannot also be one of its own booking options. |
| Required label | Required rules need a Selection label, such as Finish choice. |
| Minimum selection | For Choose at least 1, the minimum cannot be higher than the selected option count. |
Customer Experience
After the customer picks a service, required options appear before staff/time selection because they can change appointment length. Optional services may appear as "Often booked with this" or in the options step.
Each selected option becomes its own booking line item with its own price and duration. The booking total and slot length include all selected services.
If no options are linked, the step is skipped.
Suggested Booking Options (PRO)
When editing a service on web, PRO owners can choose Find suggestions. The current engine is deterministic: it checks whether active services look like credible complements in the venue's service menu and adds aggregate booking-pattern evidence from the last 180 days of completed, confirmed, and arrived appointments when it is available. It does not send the service menu to a generative model and does not use Sparks.
Sparse history does not block a credible menu suggestion, and there is no fixed 20-booking or 30% eligibility threshold. A result can still honestly return no suggestion when no credible complement exists, all candidates are already linked or suppressed, or the analysis cannot complete.
Each result explains its source as Menu match, Booking pattern, or Both. Booking-pattern support is shown as an aggregate count, not as customer or appointment details.
Suggestions are never applied automatically. Choose Link to create one optional booking-option relationship, Dismiss to suppress a suggestion, or Undo immediately after a dismissal. The recommender never infers required groups, selection limits, pricing, duration, availability, or customer booking changes.
Manual linking remains available on all plans and in the mobile app. The suggestion panel is PRO-only on web.
Common Mistakes
| Problem | What to check |
|---|---|
| Option does not appear in the customer flow | Confirm the option service is active and linked to the selected primary service. It does not need to be option-only. |
| A service should not appear in the main service list | Change its Service type to Booking option only. |
| Required finish choice blocks availability | Confirm the required group has active linked options and a valid min/max rule. |
| Appointment time is longer than expected | Each selected option adds its own duration to the booking. |
| Linked the wrong option | Untick it in Booking options and select Save options. |
| Bulk rule changed existing options | Bulk rules replace the option rule on each selected primary service. Reapply the previous rule manually if needed. |
FAQ
What's a booking option?
A booking option is a service linked to another service for booking. It can be a normal standalone service, such as Blow Dry, or an option-only service that cannot be booked by itself.
Does a service need to be option-only before I can link it?
No. Any active service can be linked as an optional or required booking option. Choose Booking option only only when the service should never appear in the main service picker.
How do I require a finish choice?
Edit the primary service, open Booking options, choose the finish services, then set the rule to Choose exactly 1. Customers must choose one option before available times are shown.
Can I apply the same booking option rule to multiple services?
Yes. On web, select multiple primary services from Services, choose Apply booking option rule..., then choose Optional, Choose at least 1, Choose exactly 1, or Remove choices.
What's a suggested booking option?
PRO owners on web can request suggested links based on deterministic service-menu compatibility and aggregate booking patterns. Review each suggestion, then choose Link or Dismiss. Manual booking-option linking remains available on every plan.