Salon step 5: appointments, walk-ins and checkout

This is the daily work at the front desk: booking clients, greeting walk-ins, moving each visit from Confirmed to Completed, and billing it in the POS so revenue, commission and the client’s history all line up. It is for receptionists, managers and stylists who bill their own clients.

Before you start

• Services, staff and hours are set up (steps 2–3).
• The cashier has opened their cash register (it opens the first time they open the POS each day).

Book an appointment

1. Click New appointment on Services › Overview (or New booking on Bookings).
2. Search the client by name or phone, or type a new name and mobile number.
3. Choose a service. Click Add another service for more, for example a cut and a blow-dry.
4. For each service pick a stylist or Any available staff. The form shows Total time and Total.
5. Pick the day and a free time. Set the Source (Phone, Walk-in, Online, POS or Other), add a customer note (for example “Prefers a quiet room”) and save.

The appointment appears on Bookings in Calendar, Timeline and List views, and on Services › Staff calendar in the stylist’s row. Drag an appointment in the calendar to move it.

/bookings

Bookings: the week at a glance, and today's arrivals with a Check in button.

/services/staff-calendar

Services › Staff calendar: one row per stylist, so gaps for walk-ins are easy to see.

Walk-in clients

You have two ways to serve a client without an appointment:

Way	When to use it	What you get
New appointment with source Walk-in, starting now, then Check in, Start, Checkout	Any service a stylist earns commission on	Commission, the client’s visit history, the Walk-in count in reports
Sell the service straight from the POS and pick the stylist in Select service staff	Quick extras like a fringe trim when nobody tracks commission	The sale, with the stylist in Reports › Service Staff Report (needs the Service staff switch)

Move the visit along

Click an appointment (or Check in in Today’s arrivals) to open it. The top buttons follow the visit:

1. Check in when the client arrives.
2. Start when the service begins.
3. Checkout when it is finished, to bill it (next section).
4. No-show or Cancel booking if the client does not come. Reminder and Confirmation send the email again; Edit changes services, staff or time.

/bookings

An appointment: status buttons on top, deposit panel, services with staff, notes, history and Checkout.

Check out in the POS

1. Click Checkout on the appointment. The POS opens with a banner Checkout appointment and the client, services, prices and stylist already filled in.
2. Add retail products the client is buying, a discount, or another service.
3. If the banner shows Deposit paid, take that amount with the Advance payment method (see advances).
4. Take payment with Cash, Card or Multiple Pay. Regular clients on account can use Credit Sale (see credit and part payments).
5. The receipt prints. If Mark the appointment completed when its sale is paid in the POS is on, the appointment becomes Completed, and commission is recorded for each stylist.

/pos/create

Checkout from an appointment: client, service, price and stylist are already in the POS.

Note

Tips: SmartPOS Hub has no tip amount in the POS. The Salon & spa receipt design in the Invoice Designer prints the stylist for each service, the next appointment and blank Tip and Total with tip lines.

On a phone

The Services and Bookings pages work in a phone browser, and stylists can use My day in the SmartPOS Business app to mark Client arrived and Finish.

The Services overview at phone width.

Mistakes to avoid

• Billing an appointment by opening the POS directly. Always use Checkout, or commission and the appointment link are lost.
• Leaving yesterday’s appointments as Confirmed. Mark them Completed or No-show so reports are right.
• Giving a walk-in to “Any available staff” when you know who did it. Pick the person, so their commission counts.

POS overview

Next: retail products