ServiceBook
Online booking, a shared calendar and a client list for businesses that run on appointments: barbers, salons, nail techs, makeup artists, spas, massage therapists, trainers and clinics. Built first for small businesses in Nigeria that currently run on WhatsApp, paper diaries and spreadsheets. It works in any currency and time zone.
Contents
- What it does
- How it fits together
- Every page in the app
- Architecture
- Running it locally
- Deploying
What it does
There are three kinds of people in ServiceBook. Each one sees something different.
Customers (no account, no app to install)
| They can | Where |
|---|
| Open the business's booking link from Instagram, WhatsApp or a printed QR poster | /book/:slug |
| Browse tabs: Book, Team, Our work (photos of finished styles), Reviews, Info (hours, directions, contact) | /book/:slug?tab=… |
| Book: pick a service, optionally a person, a day and a free time, then enter name and phone | /book/:slug |
| Join a waitlist when a day is fully booked | booking page |
| Chat with the business about a booking, cancel it, add it to their calendar, and rate the visit afterwards | /my-booking/:token |
| See all their appointments (past and upcoming) and book again without retyping their details | /c/:token |
| Join the business's client list (name, number, optional birthday) | /join/:slug |
| Ask to chat on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, X, Telegram or Snapchat. Their details are saved first, so every chat reaches the Inbox | booking page → "Chat with us" |
Payment happens at the appointment. Nothing is paid online yet.
Owners
| Area | What's there |
|---|
Home (/dashboard) | Today's schedule, what's next, setup checklist, this week's birthdays with a ready-to-send WhatsApp wish |
| Inbox | Booking chats with customers, and chat requests from social apps |
Bookings (/bookings) | List with search and filters. Each booking opens on its own page with confirm, mark done, no-show, move, cancel, notes and chat |
New booking (/bookings/new) | Search or quick-add a customer, then service, person, day and time |
| Calendar | Day, week and month views, time off shaded. Front desk view (/front-desk) is a full-screen version for a tablet at reception |
Calendar sync (/calendar/sync) | Subscribe from Google, Apple or Outlook, for the whole business or one person |
| Customers | Client list with history; each profile has a private link to send them (their own page) |
| Services, Staff | Prices, durations and who does what. Staff have hours, a bio, a location, ratings and an App access card to invite them |
| Showcase | Photos of finished work tagged by person and service, and the reviews customers leave |
| Time off | Block days or hours for one person or the whole business. Nobody can book those times, and clashes are listed |
| Waitlist | People waiting for a full day. You're notified when a spot opens |
| Settings | Business details, opening hours, chat apps, booking page on/off, your colour, emails, and a printable QR poster (/poster) |
| Notifications | A bell plus push alerts to the owner's phone or computer, even with the site closed |
| Roadmap & ideas | Vote on what gets built next and suggest ideas |
Staff (their own login, by invite)
The owner invites someone from their staff page. The staff member opens a one-time link (/join-team/:token) and picks an email and password. After that they see only:
- their own bookings
- their calendar
- their booking chats
- their own time off
They can book customers in with themselves. Everything else is owner-only, and the server enforces it (see Security).
How it fits together
A typical week, end to end:
- Set up. The owner signs up, creates the business (hours, time zone, currency), and adds services and staff.
- Share. They copy the booking link into their Instagram bio and WhatsApp status, and print the QR poster for the counter.
- A customer books. They see only times that are really free. Free times come from opening hours, the person's weekly hours, their time off and existing bookings, and are checked again at the moment of booking. The customer gets their own booking page with a chat that has already said hello.
- The owner hears about it. They get a bell notification and a push to their phone. The booking appears on the calendar, in any synced Google, Apple or Outlook calendar, and on the front desk screen.
- Before the visit. The customer can message, cancel or add it to their calendar, and gets an email reminder a day before if they gave an email. If they cancel and people are on the waitlist for that day, the owner is told a spot opened.
- After the visit. Staff mark it done. The customer is asked to rate it, and the rating appears on the booking page under that person's profile.
- Next time. The customer opens their own page, taps Book again, and only has to pick a time.
Customers are added to the client list automatically when they book. They're matched by phone number within each business.
This is the beginning of the README. Read the rest at the original. Read the full README ↗
