How to Set Up Group & Class Appointments ?

Who is this article for?

If you run classes, workshops or group sessions, you can let several clients attend the same appointment, up to a maximum you set. You can add the participants yourself, or let your clients join a class online until it is full.

This article explains how to turn an appointment type into a group or class, how to schedule the sessions, and what your clients see when they book.

Before you start: you need access to the practice settings. To let clients book classes online, online booking must be turned on (Settings > Booking Page, www.colib.io/settings?show=bookingpage).

1Make the appointment type a group or class

1. Go to Settings > Appointments (www.colib.io/settings?show=appointments).
2. Click the pencil icon of an appointment type, or create a new type.
3. Open the Group/class appointment section.
4. Turn on Group Appointment.
5. Enter the Maximum number of participants.
6. To let clients book the sessions online, turn on Allow direct booking only for existing group appointments that have not yet reached the maximum number of participants (see Step 3).
7. Click Save at the bottom of the window.

2Schedule the sessions

1. Go to the Scheduler (www.colib.io/scheduler) and click Add appointment (or click a time in the calendar).
2. Choose the group appointment type, the practitioner, the date and the time. The title is filled in automatically with the category and the name of the type.
3. Add the clients you already know in the Clients section, or leave it empty if clients will book online.
4. For a weekly class, use Repeat this appointment to create all the sessions at once.
5. Save.

In the appointment window, Booked clients shows the number of participants and the maximum (for example 1/8). The same counter appears on the appointment in the calendar.

3Let clients book the sessions online

When the class option is on, your booking page works differently for this type:

• Your clients can only book the sessions you created in the scheduler. They are offered at their own start time.
• A session stays available until the maximum number of participants is reached. Each client who books is added to the session.
• When the session is full, it is no longer offered online.

For a session to be offered, the type must be bookable online (Available for client booking and waitlist, in the Direct booking section of the type), the practitioner must offer this type, and the session must fall within the practitioner's online availability and the booking window of the type. If you use availability groups, the session must also be inside an availability group selected for the type.

Important: without the class option, a client booking this type online gets their own new appointment, like for any other type. Your team can then add other clients to it from the scheduler.

Good to know

• Invoicing — each participant is billed as if they had an individual appointment: create an invoice for each client from the appointment window.
• The maximum only limits online bookings — from the scheduler, you can still add clients beyond the maximum; the counter then shows it (for example 9/8).
• Buffers — the buffers before and after the appointment are not used for classes: the time fields disappear when the class option is on.
• Appointment limits per practitioner — the daily or weekly maximum number of appointments per practitioner does not block class bookings.
• Time between slots — the interval set for your booking page does not apply to classes. See Time intervals for my online calendar availability.

Still have a question?

Write to us at support@colib.io, we will be happy to help.