If you want to offer a routine schedule of classes/sessions outside of your regular group classes that customers can easily locate and book, you can now do this with Appointments!
Getting Started with Appointments
Appointments are an additional schedule that Punchpass allows you to have! Your students will find the appointments listed in the main navigation.
The Appointments feature is ideal for:
booking a private 1-1 session from your schedule
offering personal training
open gym booking
creating online reservations for any recurring class or offering
Turn on the Appointments feature for your business
Navigate to the Public Schedule section of your account settings.
Select the checkbox to Enable the Appointments Schedule
Choose a name for your Appointments. This will be the name that appears in the public navigation for your Appointments.
Press Save
When the Appointments feature is enabled, an additional link in your public navigation is created to access the appointments.
Creating an Appointment
Appointments live in the Manage > Classes section of Punchpass. They are created by defining a class and then turning that class into an appointment.
Once they're created you'll see them listed alongside your Active Classes list in the Active Appointments section. And they'll appear on your public Appointments schedule too.
1. Define the class
From Manage > Classes, click "+ Set Up A New Class," to define your class and choose your reservation settings: the number of attendees, the length of the classes, all the usual class settings.
You can also edit an existing class and turn it into an Appointment! Once you have the class configured, you can go back into the class details and click on the Actions menu to move it to the Appointments calendar (see below).
2. Turn the class into an Appointment
Now we need to turn the class into an appointment. Here's what we do:
From the Active Classes list, click on a class name to open the overview page, and in the Actions menu, select the option to Show on Appointments Schedule.
You'll then be asked to confirm. Press the Click to Enable Appointments button to continue.
And you'll return to the overview page. There is now a flag that indicates this class is now an appointment and the appointment appears in the Active Appointments section.
When Appointments are enabled on your account, any class times set up for this type of class will be an Appointment. This will separate from your regular class schedule too.
3. Set up your recurring schedule for these sessions
From the overview page, press Manage the Schedule to set up the sessions.
If you need a walk-through of setting up weekly class times, click here!
4. Don't forget to set your Pass/Class Eligibility for these sessions
From the overview page, press the Eligible Passes button.
Viewing the Appointments Schedule
From the public side, the Appointments schedule link appears in the navigation, labeled with the name you've chosen and the direct link to the Appointments schedule is https://[yourbusiness].punchpass.com/timeslot.
From the Punchpass admin view, click Schedule > Appointments to view the appointments schedule.
Once they are on your calendar, Appointments act like any other class in terms of booking, limits around reservations, etc.
Customizing the Appointments Schedule
Change the Navigation Link
If you want to change the term "Appointments" to something more specific to your offerings, head into Manage > Settings, select the Public Schedule option, and scroll to the "What text do you want on the Appointment Button" field. Enter your preferred name and click Save.
As a customer, the schedule of appointments will appear with your preferred name.
The Appointments feature is great for having a separate calendar your customers can use to book.
Clients have used Appointments to let customers book time in their training recovery room, limit the # of hourly reservations for open gym due to Covid regulations, and even reserve time on treadmills!
Adding Custom Messaging
You can add a message to the top of the Appointments schedule by visiting Manage > Settings > Public Schedule. Enter your custom text and press Save.
Turning an Appointment Back into a Class
You can also turn an appointment back into a class at any time.
Navigate to Manage > Classes, and in the Active Appointments section, click on the class name to open the overview page.
In the Actions menu, select Show on Default Schedule, to turn the Appointment back into a class.
Frequently Asked Questions About Appointments
Can Appointments sync with my calendar?
There is an option for each Instructor to share their upcoming appointments via a calendar feed, and perhaps this option will work for you! Here's our guide on calendar feeds.
Can I embed my Appointments schedule on my website?
Yes! And when embedding your Appointments schedule, you can also filter the embedded schedule display to show only one type of appointment offering! Here's our guide to getting started with embedding Punchpass on your website.
Can Appointments show only my available spots?
No - we do not sync with your calendar to only show 'open' spots. This feature is designed for regularly scheduled classes, appointments, or sessions. (See below for some examples!)
My schedule is very different each week - is this a good fit for me?
It probably is not - because you'll need to create a repeating schedule (just like you do for your group classes). You can delete specific appointments from week to week if you need to of course.
Can we create a Standing Reservation for a customer for an Appointment?
Yes! Punchpass treats Appointments just like a regular class. You can have standing reservations, a waitlist, limits on size, etc.
Why would we use this instead of just putting these on the regular calendar?
If you have lots of options for appointments, they can overwhelm your group class schedule, making it hard for customers to book. Appointments let you create a separate dedicated schedule to keep the process easier for your customers. Here are a few examples!
You have a gym that can only fit 10 people at a time (due to Covid or just space). You can create a 'Book Open Gym' schedule with 1-hour appointments, with each hour having a limit of 10 reservations.
You teach group classes in the morning and are open for private sessions in the afternoon. Now you could create a 'Book Private Sessions' calendar that JUST has those options.
Let us know how you start using Appointments!