Services
Managing Your Services
Last updated 30 June 2026
Managing Your Services
Build your service menu, the catalogue of everything your venue offers, so customers can browse and book online, and your team knows exactly what each appointment involves.
Where to find it. Web: Sidebar → Services. Mobile: Services tab (or Service in navigation).
TL;DR
- The service menu is the catalogue your customers browse to book, manage it from Services in the sidebar
- Free accounts are limited to 5 active services: PRO removes this limit
- Deactivating a service hides it from customers without losing booking history; deleting is blocked if bookings exist
- Staff can only be booked for services they're assigned to, always assign team members to new services
Overview
Your service menu lets you:
- Create services with a name, price, duration, category, and description
- Set fixed or range pricing ("from $110") for variable-cost services
- Assign staff to each service and optionally set per-staff pricing or duration overrides
- Link services as optional or required booking options for another service
- Combine multiple services into a bookable service combo with one customer-facing price
- Organise services into categories and drag to reorder them
- Deactivate services you no longer offer without losing booking history
- Import services from an existing booking platform
- Run an AI-powered menu audit to find duplicates and pricing issues (PRO)
Note
Free accounts can have up to 5 active services. PRO accounts have unlimited services.
The services dashboard
The services page shows all your services (active and inactive) in a table on web or a card list on mobile.
Health indicators
A banner at the top flags potential issues:
- Missing descriptions: services without descriptions show poorly on your storefront
- No staff assigned: services that no team member is assigned to perform
Toolbar actions
| Action | Icon | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Search | - | Filter services by name (text input: "Search services...") |
| Select | CheckSquare | Enter multi-select mode for bulk actions |
| Reorder | ArrowUpDown | Enter drag-to-reorder mode |
| Import | - | Import services from another platform |
| Add Service | Plus | Open the create service sheet |
| Audit (PRO) | Sparkles | Run an AI audit of your service menu |
Creating a service
Step 1: Open the create form
- Go to Services in the sidebar.
- Click Add Service.
Step 2: Fill in the core fields
| Field | Required | Validation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes | 2 to 100 characters | What customers see when booking (e.g. "Full Balayage") |
| Category | No | - | Default: "General". Choose from built-in categories or type a custom name |
| Description | No | - | Storefront copy. Click Write with AI to generate from the service name |
| Price | Yes | Whole number, minimum $0 | In your local currency. See Pricing options |
| Duration | Yes | 15 to 480 minutes | How long the service takes |
Step 3: Configure advanced settings (optional)
Expand the Advanced section to access:
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Bookable on its own | On | Turn off when the service should only appear as a booking option for another service |
| Processing gap (minutes) | 0 | Gap after the service for colour processing, drying, etc. Blocks the time slot but doesn't require the staff member |
| Cleanup buffer (minutes) | 0 | Cleanup time after the service ends |
| Self-service | Off | Reserved for future resource-led setups. In Phase 1, resources still work as internal scheduling controls for staff-led bookings |
| Requires patch test | Off | Clients without a valid passed patch test are warned during booking and before the appointment |
| Requires consultation | Off | Blocks booking if the client hasn't had a prior consultation |
| Smart Pricing | On | Allows dynamic pricing rules to adjust this service's price |
| Deposit rule | No deposit required | Link a deposit policy to require payment upfront |
| Promote upsells | Off | Suggest products during booking |
| Physical resources | - | Assign rooms, chairs, or equipment the service requires (with quantity) |
| Required forms | - | Link consultation or intake forms the client must complete before booking |
Step 4: Save
Click Save (web) or Create Service (mobile). The service appears in your menu.
Tip
Solo operators, when you create a service, OpenChair automatically assigns you as the staff member. You don't need to assign yourself manually.
Pricing options
Choose a pricing type when creating or editing a service:
| Type | How it works | Display |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed | Single price | "$40" |
| Range | Minimum and maximum price | "$110 to $140" |
| Free | Price set to $0 | "Free" |
For range-priced services, enter both a Price (minimum) and Max Price. The storefront and booking form show the range. The actual amount is set at checkout.
Tax label varies by country: "Price including GST" (AU/NZ) or "Price including VAT" (UK).
Service chips at-a-glance
Each service row in the services dashboard surfaces small chips for context — visible without opening the service detail:
- Deposit required — service has a deposit rule attached
- Form required — service has a consultation form marked required
- Option-only — service is not bookable on its own and only appears as a booking option
- Consultation — service has
isConsultationflag set (treated specially in booking flow and reporting)
Chips help triage a long service list at a glance: "which services need a form attached?", "which are deposit-required?"
On the FREE plan
FREE caps the venue at 5 active services. Excess services are flagged hidden (Above plan limit badge) and excluded from the storefront, but not deleted. The Make active action lets you swap one service in for one out without upgrading. See Free and Pro Plans for the full cap matrix.
Categories
Categories group related services on your storefront and in the service list.
Built-in categories
| Category | Icon |
|---|---|
| General | - |
| Hair & Grooming | Users |
| Barbering | Users |
| Face, Skin & Brows | Zap |
| Injectables | Stethoscope |
| Body, Wellness & Recovery | Bot |
| Nails | Puzzle |
| Tattoo & Piercing | Gem |
| Other | Clock |
You can also type a custom category name when creating or editing a service. Custom categories appear alongside built-in ones.
Reordering categories
On web, drag the category tabs at the top of the services dashboard to change the order they appear on your storefront. The order is saved automatically.
Booking options
Booking options are services that appear with another service during booking. They can be normal standalone services, such as Blow Dry, or option-only services that cannot be booked independently.
Creating an option-only service
- Create the service normally.
- Turn Bookable on its own off in Scheduling & Pricing Rules.
Linking options to a primary service
After creating the services:
- Open the primary service (e.g. "Balayage") for editing.
- Scroll to Booking options.
- Select the services to link.
- Choose whether they are optional, Choose at least 1, or Choose exactly 1.
- Save.
When a customer books the primary service, linked options can appear as optional extras or required choices before time selection.
Bookable service combos
Use a service combo when the customer should book two or more services together as one appointment. The combo appears in the storefront Services section, shows the normal menu value and savings, and opens the normal booking flow.
Bookable service combos are different from Prepaid Packages:
- Service combo: customer books now; the appointment is created immediately.
- Prepaid service combo: customer buys upfront; they redeem the entitlement later.
On web, create and manage combos from Services. Select at least two active services, set the combo price, choose whether the component services should remain visible online, and save. Booking creation keeps the included services as ordered line items while applying the combo price.
Assigning staff
Control which team members can perform each service.
Assigning staff to a single service
- Open the service for editing.
- In the Assigned Staff section, select team members.
- Save.
Only assigned staff appear as options when a customer books this service.
Bulk-assigning staff
- On the services dashboard, click Select in the toolbar.
- Select multiple services.
- In the bulk action bar, choose Assign Staff.
- Select team members to assign.
- Confirm. Staff are added to all selected services (existing assignments are preserved).
Per-staff overrides
Each staff-service assignment can have individual overrides:
| Override | What it does |
|---|---|
| Proficiency level | Junior, Senior, or Master, affects availability and scheduling |
| Duration override | Custom duration for this staff member (e.g. a junior may take longer) |
| Price override | Price difference for this staff member (e.g. a master charges more) |
Deactivating and deleting services
Deactivating a service
Toggle the Active switch off on any service (in the table on web, or on the card on mobile). The service is hidden from the storefront and booking form but all historical bookings are preserved.
Re-activating a service on a free account is blocked if you already have 5 active services.
Deleting a service
- Open the service for editing.
- Click Delete.
- Confirm in the "Are you sure you want to delete this service?" dialog.
Warning
A service cannot be deleted if it has existing bookings, line items, recurring series, or waitlist entries. Deactivate it instead.
Reordering services
Services appear in sortOrder on your storefront and in the service list.
To reorder
- Click Reorder (ArrowUpDown icon) in the toolbar.
- Drag services into the desired order, or use the up/down arrow buttons.
- Click Done reordering. The order is saved automatically.
Importing services
Import services from an existing booking platform to avoid manual data entry.
- Click the Import button in the toolbar.
- Paste the URL of your booking page from another platform.
- OpenChair scrapes the page and extracts services using AI.
- Review the imported services, edit names, prices, and durations as needed.
- Confirm the import.
Imported services respect the free tier limit (5 active services maximum).
For full details, see Importing From Another Platform.
AI service menu audit (PRO)
The audit analyses your service list for duplicates, near-duplicates, and pricing inconsistencies.
- Click the Audit button (Sparkles icon) in the toolbar.
- Wait for the AI analysis (up to 30 seconds).
- Review findings, each shows the affected services and an explanation.
Finding types
| Type | What it means |
|---|---|
| Duplicate | Two services with the same or nearly identical names |
| Near duplicate | Semantically similar services (e.g. "Haircut" and "Hair Cut") |
| Pricing issue | Inconsistent pricing for similar services |
Resolving findings
- Duplicates: Choose which service to keep. The other is deactivated (not deleted).
- Pricing issues: Enter a corrected price directly from the audit card.
- Dismiss: Hide a finding you don't want to act on.
The audit requires at least 5 active services to run.
Bulk actions
Select multiple services to perform batch operations:
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Assign staff | Add staff members to all selected services (additive, existing assignments preserved) |
| Update prices | Set new prices for multiple services at once |
| Update properties | Batch-change category, active status, deposit rule, or smart pricing |
| Delete | Delete all selected services (blocked if any have linked bookings) |
To enter selection mode, click Select in the toolbar, then tick the services you want.
Physical resources
If your venue has rooms, chairs, or equipment, you can link them to services to prevent double-booking.
- Set up resources in Settings → Resources.
- When creating or editing a service, expand Advanced → Physical Resources.
- Toggle each required resource on and set the quantity needed.
OpenChair checks resource availability when scheduling, if all units of a required resource are booked, the time slot is unavailable.
Platform differences
| Feature | Web | Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Service list display | Table with columns (name, price, duration, staff, category, active toggle) | Card list with badges |
| Create/edit form | Sheet (side panel) | Full-screen form |
| Drag-to-reorder | Drag handles in table + arrow buttons | Drag handles with haptic feedback + move buttons |
| Bulk actions | Bulk action bar (assign, price, properties, delete) | Bulk action bar |
| AI description | "Write with AI" / "Rewrite" button in form | "Write with AI" button in form |
| AI audit (PRO) | Sparkles button in toolbar | Sparkles button in toolbar |
| Category reorder | Drag category tabs on dashboard | Not available |
| Duration input | Number input (minutes) | Preset buttons (15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180) + custom input |
| Deposit rule selector | Dropdown in form | Dropdown in form |
| Resource assignment | Checkboxes + quantity spinners | Checkboxes + quantity spinners |
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Service not showing on the storefront | Check that the service is marked as Active (toggle on). Inactive services are hidden from customers. |
| Cannot create more services | Free accounts are limited to 5 active services. Deactivate a service you no longer need, or upgrade to PRO for unlimited services. |
| Cannot assign staff to a service | You need to have team members added first. Go to Team → Add Team Member. Once added, they appear in the staff assignment list. |
| Price shows as $0 | Edit the service and set a price. If you chose "Free" as the price type, the price is intentionally $0. |
| Cannot delete a service | The service has existing bookings, recurring series, or waitlist entries linked to it. Deactivate the service instead to hide it from the booking form. |
| Category not appearing on storefront | Categories appear automatically when at least one active service uses them. Check that the service using the category is active. |
| Audit button not visible | The AI audit requires a PRO subscription and at least 5 active services. |
| Duration options on mobile are limited | Mobile shows preset duration buttons (15 to 180 minutes). Tap the custom input field to enter any value between 15 and 480 minutes. |
FAQ
What is the service menu?
The service menu is the catalogue of everything your venue offers. Customers browse it to book appointments, and your team uses it to understand each appointment's requirements.
How many services can I have on the free plan?
Free accounts are limited to 5 active services. Upgrade to PRO for unlimited services.
How do I hide a service without losing booking history?
Toggle the Active switch off on the service. Inactive services are hidden from customers but all historical bookings are preserved.
Can I update multiple services at once?
Yes, click Select in the toolbar, choose multiple services, then use the bulk action bar to assign staff, update prices, change properties, or delete.