How to Publish a Public Booking Page
A public link that ignores hours and policy creates bookings you cannot keep
A form on the website that only emails the shop still needs someone to retype the time. Two guests can request the same slot before staff notice.
If cancel rules live in a PDF, guests move themselves inside the fee window and argue about the deposit. The policy has to be the same rule the public page uses.
A shared inbox address becomes a customer record even when the person only wanted a haircut, which clutters customer lists.
Why this happens
- The public slug is empty, so there is no /book address.
- Hours or the offering are missing, so the page has no times.
- The embed is copied before the slug is saved.
- Staff expect the guest pay link to collect a card, but the guest only marks that they have paid.
Biznsbook addresses this through Public page, embed snippet, self-service link when Booking Management is licensed — locations, resources, offerings, and hours sit on the same company as parties, sales, and the public booking page.
Finance teams lose days each month reconciling versions that should never have diverged. Naming Biznsbook screens as the system of record — and closing periods when agreed — prevents silent edits that auditors flag immediately.
Step-by-step: Publish a Public Booking Page
Built for front desks and owners taking appointments, rentals, classes, and stays in Biznsbook Booking Management.
- Set the public slug. In Bookings, then Settings, choose the public address. The company on the public page comes only from that slug.
- Confirm hours and offerings. The guest can only pick offerings and times your hours and resources allow.
- Share the page or the embed. Share /book/{slug} or the embed snippet from Settings. The embed loads the same page in a frame.
- Let the guest choose. They pick an offering, an optional resource, and a time. A hold lasts for the hold time you set in settings.
- Send the manage link. They get a link to view, move, or cancel inside your policy, and a calendar file by email when email is sent.
- Apply the cancel rule. Cancelling inside the free window does not keep a fee. Cancelling inside the fee window keeps the policy percent of the deposit, unless someone with override permission waives it.
- Keep restaurant reservations separate. Table reservations stay on Restaurant screens. Do not point the dining room at this page for tables.
Review results after the first full weekly cycle. Adjust roles, mappings, or approvals where the same exception repeats.
Screen names in this guide match Bookings in the product: Calendar, Bookings, Front desk, Waitlist, Reports, and Settings.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Mistake 1: The public slug is empty, so there is no /book address. Repeating this each month usually shows up first in today's booking list or the no-show rate.
- Mistake 2: Hours or the offering are missing, so the page has no times. Repeating this each month usually shows up first in today's booking list or the no-show rate.
- Mistake 3: The embed is copied before the slug is saved. Repeating this each month usually shows up first in today's booking list or the no-show rate.
- Mistake 4: Staff expect the guest pay link to collect a card, but the guest only marks that they have paid. Repeating this each month usually shows up first in today's booking list or the no-show rate.
Track recurring exceptions in month-end notes; each should map to a control above.
Best practices that hold up as you scale
- Set the public slug — In Bookings, then Settings, choose the public address.
- Confirm hours and offerings — The guest can only pick offerings and times your hours and resources allow.
- Share the page or the embed — Share /book/{slug} or the embed snippet from Settings.
- Let the guest choose — They pick an offering, an optional resource, and a time.
- Send the manage link — They get a link to view, move, or cancel inside your policy, and a calendar file by email when email is sent.
Teams that set weekly hours before sharing links, take card deposits into their Stripe account, and keep personal calendars synced as busy blocks avoid double-books and missing Meet links.
How Biznsbook supports this workflow
Public page is documented in Biznsbook Booking Management capabilities. Use it as part of a controlled finance process — posting, review, and period close — not as an isolated export. When Sales, Purchase, Inventory, Taxation, Expense, or Finance Management modules are enabled, related documents can post through the central accounting posting service with double-entry validation.
embed snippet is documented in Biznsbook Booking Management capabilities. Use it as part of a controlled finance process — posting, review, and period close — not as an isolated export. When Sales, Purchase, Inventory, Taxation, Expense, or Finance Management modules are enabled, related documents can post through the central accounting posting service with double-entry validation.
self-service link is documented in Biznsbook Booking Management capabilities. Use it as part of a controlled finance process — posting, review, and period close — not as an isolated export. When Sales, Purchase, Inventory, Taxation, Expense, or Finance Management modules are enabled, related documents can post through the central accounting posting service with double-entry validation.
Booking permissions cover view, manage, setup, policy override, refund, reports, and sensitive intake answers. Sales, POS, and Accounting are used only when those modules are licensed.
Suggested implementation timeline
- Week 1: Document current process gaps and configure Public page with finance owner sign-off.
- Weeks 2–3: Pilot on one month or one entity; post all test transactions through Biznsbook; freeze parallel spreadsheet journals.
- Week 4: Run first trial balance or report tie-out; fix mapping and permission issues.
- Month 2–3: Roll out to full team; add approvals and period close cadence from this guide.
- Ongoing: Monthly review using what the guest can do alone and leadership dashboard.
Slug, embed, and manage link
The slug is the public address. Share it as /book/ and the slug, or paste the embed from Settings. Both paths show the same offerings. A hold uses the hold length from settings so a half-finished choice does not sit on the calendar all day.
After they book, the manage link is theirs. View, move, and cancel stay inside the policy you saved: lead time, how far ahead, and the cancel window. The email confirmation can include the calendar file. WhatsApp uses the booking update template when that channel is configured.
Policy the public page actually enforces
Cancelling inside the free window does not keep a fee. Cancelling inside the fee window keeps the policy percent of the deposit. Someone with override permission can waive that fee and should record why.
The pay link is not a card checkout. The guest marks that they have paid. You still record the deposit or the balance in Biznsbook before it is treated as collected.
Sensitive intake answers stay hidden unless the person has the sensitive permission. Peak, weekend, seasonal, and length-of-stay prices apply on top of the offering price. The guest still gets a manage link to view, move, or cancel inside the policy, and a calendar file when the confirmation email is sent. Share the embed only after the slug and weekly hours are saved, or the frame will show the same empty times as the public page. A request-type offering has no slot grid: the guest can ask, and staff confirm it later from the booking list.
Metrics to track monthly
- Today's booking count
- Utilisation (booked time over open time)
- Stay occupancy
- Revenue booked versus revenue collected
- No-show rate and deposits held
Start with three metrics; trend direction matters more than a single point-in-time snapshot.
Spreadsheet / manual books vs integrated ERP
Compare typical manual finance work with Biznsbook Public page and related capabilities.
| Capability | Manual / Spreadsheet | Biznsbook |
|---|---|---|
| Address | ❌ A new website form | ✅ /book/{slug} from settings |
| Website embed | ❌ A copied HTML form | ✅ Embed snippet from Settings |
| Guest changes | ❌ Email the shop | ✅ Manage link to view, move, or cancel |
| Calendar | ❌ A manual invite | ✅ Calendar file on the confirmation email |
| Cancel fee | ❌ A policy in a drawer | ✅ Free window versus fee window on the policy |
| Who is created | ❌ Always a customer | ✅ Booker unless email or phone already matches |
What the guest can do alone
They can pick a time, open the manage link, move or cancel inside the policy, download the calendar file, and open a pay link to say they have paid. Staff still record the money. The same slug is the only company selector on that page, so do not reuse a slug across companies. Closures on the location remove those days from the times the guest can pick. Do that before you advertise the link to the public.
Document this in your finance SOP and revisit each quarter as transaction volume or entity structure changes.
Frequently asked questions
Does the public page need a staff login?
No. /book/{slug} is anonymous. The company is chosen only from the public slug on Booking settings.
Can the guest reschedule?
Yes, from their manage link, inside your policy. Staff can still reschedule from the booking detail.
Does the embed use a different calendar?
No. The embed snippet and /book/{slug} use the same offerings, hours, and resources.
Will a new guest show up as a customer?
Only if that email or phone already belongs to a customer. Otherwise the party type is Booker.
How this differs by industry
Retail
A salon website can embed the snippet and still keep the Booker list out of customer accounts until someone edits the party.
Wholesale & distribution
A counter page can publish a time-range offering for will-call slots without opening the whole sales order screen to the public.
Manufacturing
A service page can offer bay appointments during weekly hours and leave request types for jobs that staff must approve first.