Getting started for any other kind of business

"Something else" is for any business that takes bookings and is not one of the others: a tattoo studio, a pet groomer, a tutor, meeting rooms, a consultant. Every part of the app is on offer, so start small and switch parts on as you need them. Follow these steps in order.

1. Create the business

1. Choose Start free on BookNovi's site, or Create an account on the sign-in page, and make your account. The guided setup starts on its own.
2. Type the business's name under The business’s name, pick Something else under Other kinds of business, and choose Next. A kind of business under Beauty, Wellness or Fitness sets more up for you: the words on your booking page, the register's tip tiles and a starter menu, rooms and forms (see Settings, Menu).
3. Check the Time zone, type the address and phone (or leave them for later), and choose Next.
4. Under What do you sell and book?, answer only what you need now. Every question can be answered again later, in Settings, under Menu. Choose Next.
5. Say how many people work there, how you heard of us and, if a rep or a partner gave you a code, type it in. Choose Start my business.

The business opens with What to do next: the steps of this walkthrough as a list that ticks itself as each gets done, under the top bar and in your menu at the top right. Your free trial starts the same day; see Plans and billing.

2. Use your own words

Open Settings, Business. Under What You Call Things, name the four things the app talks about: who you book (Client, Patient, Visitor, Owner), what you book them for (Service, Session, Booking type), who performs it (Staff member, Artist, Host) and what gets booked with it (Resource, Room, Station). Fill from… offers ready-made sets. Every screen, message and report uses your words.

If you do not take payment (meeting rooms, for instance), switch off Takes payment: prices are hidden and the register goes away. Choose Save, then fill in Location and Tax.

3. The menu, the team and the hours

1. In Services (or your word for them), add categories and what you offer, with lengths and prices. See Your menu of services.
2. In Staff, add each person who performs them, tick what they do, and set their Work hours. See Your team and their schedules.
3. If rooms, stations or equipment are booked with a visit, switch on Rooms and equipment in Settings, Menu, add them, and tick what each service needs.

4. Clients, booking and reminders

1. Bring clients over from your old system in Settings, Records (owners), or add them in Clients. See Clients.
2. Switch on Take bookings online in Settings, Online booking, and share the link.
3. Switch on the confirmation and the Reminder in Settings, Messages.
4. To take cards, an owner chooses Set up card payments in Settings, Card payments.

5. Switch on what else you need

Open Settings, Menu, and choose See what else you can add. Some you might want:

• Classes and events for group sessions with a limit on places.
• Forms for intake questions and consent signed on the tablet.
• Inventory for products and stock, and the online store.
• Time and pay for the time clock, the punch clock, pay and rent (a room, a booth, a station: whatever you rent out).
• Workflows for reminders and follow-ups that queue themselves.
• Sales CRM and map if you sell to other businesses.

Each part has its own page in Help.

Best practices

• Name things your way before you add anything. The words carry into every message clients get.
• Start with the calendar, clients and the register. Add a part when you feel its absence, not before.
• If a part does not fit, switch it off. Nothing in it is lost, and the screens get simpler.