Getting Started
Day One Mode
Day One mode gives new venues access to Today immediately and shows what still blocks public online booking.
Last updated 28 June 2026
Day One mode is the first-day experience after creating a venue. It now separates two states:
- Today-ready: you can open the operational Today page and see calendar, booking, and setup status.
- Public-booking-ready: customers can book at least one real future slot online.
You do not have to finish every optional setup task before using Today.
TL;DR
- Today opens for owners and managers as soon as the venue exists.
- Public booking readiness is shown in the readiness rail at the top of Today.
- Payments are optional by default. They only block public booking if you choose an online-payment or deposit-required booking mode.
- The true blockers are service, provider, service-provider link, hours, provider availability, and a future bookable slot.
- Optional improvements stay visible after activation: payments, logo, photos, brand voice, storefront polish, calendar sync, and team invites.
Today Before Public Booking
While your venue is not public-booking-ready, Today still renders normally. Cards that need setup show their own empty, blocked, loading, or error state instead of replacing the whole page.
The readiness rail shows:
- Blocking items that prevent customers from booking online.
- Enhancements that improve conversion or operations but do not block pay-at-appointment bookings.
- A link to the exact place to repair each blocker.
Public Booking Blockers
Your booking page becomes public-booking-ready when OpenChair can verify all of these:
| Requirement | What it means |
|---|---|
| Bookable service | At least one active service can be booked online |
| Bookable provider | At least one active provider can take bookings |
| Service assignment | That provider is assigned to the service |
| Operating hours | The venue has open days and times |
| Provider availability | The provider has working hours |
| Future slot | OpenChair can find at least one upcoming slot a customer can book |
If no future slot exists, Today explains the blocker so you can adjust services, hours, or provider availability.
Payments
New venues start in pay at appointment mode. In this mode, customers can book online without Stripe being connected.
Payments become a public-booking blocker only if you choose online payments or deposits as your booking mode. You can still set up Stripe later from Payouts as an enhancement.
Team Venues
Team venues only need one bookable provider to activate online booking. You can invite or configure the rest of the team later from Team settings.
Managed Import
If you are switching from another platform, you can submit your current booking page URL for managed import. That request does not trap you in setup. You can continue with the starter service menu, edit it, or add services manually while support handles the import.
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Common questions
- Why can I open Today before my booking page is ready?
- Today is available as soon as your venue exists. The readiness rail at the top shows what still blocks public online booking.
- Do I need Stripe to finish setup?
- No. New venues default to pay-at-appointment mode, so card payments are an optional improvement unless you choose a booking mode that requires online payments or deposits.
- What makes my booking page public-booking-ready?
- You need at least one online-bookable service, one bookable provider, a provider-service assignment, open hours, provider availability, and one future slot that customers can book.
- When does Day One mode end?
- Day One shifts from setup to operations once your first public-booking-ready slot exists. Optional improvements such as payments, logo, photos, calendar sync, and team invites remain available from Today.