This guide walks you through Smart Appointments the way a real studio uses it — not as a feature list, but as one continuous journey from setup through bookings, checkout, and day-end visibility.
Real-world scenario: A full Saturday at Bloom Nail Studio. The team needs a clear service menu, reliable appointments, stock that doesn't surprise them mid-service, and a clean path from chair to till — without WhatsApp chaos and sticky notes.
Four people, one Saturday: Maya (owner), Priya (front desk), Lina (technician), and Aisha (client).
Meet the team
Maya (Owner / Admin) — Sets company details, services, staff, and watches revenue and expenses on the Dashboard.
Priya (Front desk / Manager) — Owns the booking board, confirms and reschedules, checks clients in, and rings POS.
Lina (Technician / Staff) — Sees her appointments, starts and completes services, and uses inventory tied to the menu.
Aisha (Client) — Books publicly via /book, receives SMS, and can view a shared booking link.
What Smart Appointments is (and isn't)
Smart Appointments is the studio OS for appointments businesses: services, staff, inventory, customers, bookings, POS, sales, expenses, and admin settings — plus public booking and a digital price chart. It is not a self-serve staff signup app inside the product; accounts are provisioned separately via marketing signup, then people sign in with email and password.
Bookings and POS sit at the center; settings, menu, team, stock, and clients feed the day.
Stage 1 — Entry
Sign in, land, and learn the map
Metaphor: Smart Appointments is the studio's front desk and back office in one building. Sign-in is the door; the sidebar is the hallway to every room you're allowed to enter.
Why this stage exists
Access is role-based (Staff, Manager, Admin). After login you work from the app shell — Operations for day-to-day work, Administration for people, audit, and settings.
Maya's moment: She signs in with email and password at appointments.codeclutch.tools. There is no in-app self-signup for staff — marketing signup provisions the business; daily use is always login.
Go to the app login. Enter email and password. Staff do not create their own accounts inside the product — an Admin adds people under Employees. Marketing Sign up starts business provisioning separately.
Use Operations for the Saturday run (bookings, POS, stock, clients). Use Administration when you need Employees, Audit logs, or Settings.
Glance at revenue charts and any low-stock signals before the day gets busy — you'll return here after expenses and sales start flowing.
What comes next
Maya configures the business identity and hours in Settings before the menu and team are useful.
Stage 2 — Foundation
Settings — make the studio yours
Why it exists: every booking link, price chart, and receipt should look and behave like Bloom Nail Studio — not a blank template.
What this section is for
Settings that save and stick:
Company Details — business identity clients and staff recognize
Appearance — how the product presents for your team
Localization — language/region-facing preferences for the tenant
Availability — when the studio can take work
Advanced Options — custom note forms used on bookings and client records
Do not treat placeholder or non-persisted panels as live configuration. Billing & Plan and Help destinations are not claimed as in-product destinations in this guide.
Maya's moment: She fills Company Details for Bloom Nail Studio, sets Availability for Saturday hours, and adds a simple nail-allergy note form under Advanced Options before Priya opens the books.
Open Administration ? Settings ? Company Details. Save the studio name and contact identity so public booking and internal screens stay consistent.
Adjust Appearance for the team experience and Localization for how the tenant presents. Save each section after changes.
Set when Bloom can accept appointments. Staff weekly availability (later under Employees) sits on top of this studio baseline.
Under Advanced Options, create custom note forms for intake (e.g. allergy / preference notes) so Priya and Lina capture the same fields every time.
What comes next
Build the service menu — duration and price are what clients book against.
Stage 3 — Catalog
Services — the studio menu
Metaphor: every treatment is a labeled menu item — group, price, duration, who can perform it, and which supplies it consumes.
Before: WhatsApp price debates. After: grouped services with duration, staff, and stock dependencies.
What this section is for
Organize services into groups
Set price and duration
Mark popular services; hide from public booking when needed
Assign which staff can perform each service
Link inventory dependencies so stock moves with real work
Maya's moment: She creates groups for Manicure, Pedicure, and Gel. —Gel manicure— gets 60 minutes, a price, Lina as staff, popular on, and a gel-polish inventory dependency. —Staff training only— is hidden from public.
Open Operations ? Services. Add groups that match how Bloom talks about the menu, then add each service with price and duration.
Attach the technicians who can perform each service. Mark popular items for emphasis; use hide-from-public for internal-only offerings.
Link supplies that a service consumes so Dashboard low-stock and Inventory stay honest after busy days.
What comes next
Employees turn the menu into real capacity — roles and weekly hours.
Stage 4 — People
Employees — who can do what
Why it exists: bookings need real people with roles, services, and weekly availability — not a shared login.
What this section is for
Add team members under Administration ? Employees
Assign role: Staff, Manager, or Admin
Map which services each person can perform
Set weekly availability so the calendar offers honest slots
Maya's moment: Priya is Manager (front desk + POS). Lina is Staff with gel and manicure services and Saturday 10:00—18:00 availability. Maya remains Admin.
Create employee records with login credentials as your provisioning flow requires. Choose Manager for Priya and Staff for Lina.
Only assign services they actually perform. Public and internal booking respect who can take which work.
Enter weekly hours so Calendar and public /book time slots stay realistic.
What comes next
Stock the cupboard — low polish mid-service is a Saturday killer.
Stage 5 — Supplies
Inventory — the supply cupboard
Metaphor: every bottle and pack has a shelf count. Purchase orders refill the cupboard; Dashboard warns when the shelf runs thin.
Before: mid-service surprises. After: stock levels, categories, POs, and low-stock on Dashboard.
What this section is for
Track stock quantities for supplies and retail
Organize with categories
Create and manage purchase orders
Watch low stock on the Dashboard
Maya's moment: She receives a gel-polish delivery, updates Inventory (or closes a purchase order), and confirms Dashboard no longer flags the shade Lina needs for Aisha's gel set.
Open Operations ? Inventory. Create categories (e.g. Gel, Tools, Retail) and items with starting stock.
Raise a PO when suppliers deliver. Keep counts accurate so service inventory dependencies and retail POS lines don't oversell.
After busy days, open Dashboard and act on low-stock signals before the next rush.
What comes next
Clients need profiles — visits, points, notes, and history live here.
Stage 6 — Clients
Customers — the client book
Why it exists: a booking without a client profile is a one-off. Profiles carry visits, points, and the History / SMS / Photos / Notes trail Priya and Lina need.
One profile per client — not three phones and a paper card.
What this section is for
Customer profile with contact identity
Visit history and points
Tabs for History, SMS, Photos, and Notes
Priya's moment: Aisha walks in as a returning client. Priya opens Customers, confirms the profile, checks Notes for —prefers soft pink,— and starts a New Booking already attached to Aisha.
Search by name or phone. Create Aisha if she's new so bookings, SMS, and POS have one identity.
Open the profile to see visit rhythm and points before suggesting add-ons or rebooking.
Capture preferences in Notes, keep Photos for color reference, review SMS trail, and use History when a dispute or rebook question appears.
What comes next
Bookings turn the menu, team, and clients into a Saturday calendar.
Stage 7 — Appointments
Bookings — fill the chairs
Metaphor: Calendar / Today / List are three views of the same appointment board. Statuses move work from request to done — or to cancelled / no-show when plans change.
Before: missed messages. After: Confirmed ? In Progress ? Completed, with SMS and shareable client links.
What this section is for
Views: Calendar, Today, List
New Booking from the board
Statuses: Confirmed, In Progress, Completed, Pending, Cancelled, No Show
Confirm, reschedule, cancel; send SMS
Copy customer-view link
Checkout into POS when the service is done
ConfirmedIn ProgressCompletedPendingCancelledNo Show
Priya's moment: She creates Aisha's gel manicure with Lina for 14:00, sets Confirmed, sends SMS, and copies the customer-view link when Aisha asks for proof of time.
Use Calendar for the week shape, Today for the floor run, List when searching or filtering status.
Attach the client, service, staff, and time. Confirm so the board is trustworthy for Lina.
Update status when plans change. Send SMS so Aisha isn't guessing. Use Cancelled / No Show honestly for the day's truth.
Copy the customer-view link when the client needs a shareable confirmation without staff login.
Happy path ends at Completed ? checkout in POS.
What comes next
Run the floor: Today view, status moves, and chair-side discipline.
Stage 8 — Floor
Run the day — from waiting room to chair
Why it exists: a full calendar is useless if statuses stay frozen. Today is the operational board for Priya and Lina.
Live Today board beats a wall of unread chats.
What this section is for
Work primarily from Bookings ? Today
Move Confirmed ? In Progress when Lina starts
Mark Completed when the service finishes
Handle Pending, Cancelled, and No Show without rewriting history
Hand off to POS for payment (services + optional retail)
Lina's moment: Aisha arrives. Priya marks the booking In Progress. Lina works from the appointment detail and notes. When done, status becomes Completed and Priya opens checkout with the booking linked.
Scan the ordered list. Confirm anything still Pending. Spot gaps before they become empty chairs.
Update status as the real floor changes. The board is the shared truth for front desk and technicians.
When Completed (or ready to pay), continue into POS with the bookingId deep link so the sale stays attached to the appointment.
What comes next
POS captures money — services, retail, and payment method.
Stage 9 — Till
POS — the checkout loop
Metaphor: a continuous loop — booking (optional) ? cart ? pay ? next client. Services and retail share one till.
Priya's rush-hour moment: She opens POS from Aisha's completed booking, adds a retail cuticle oil, takes card, and moves to the next client. Later she finds the sale under Sales if a refund question appears.
Prefer checkout from the booking so the sale carries bookingId. Walk-in retail can start directly in POS.
Confirm service lines, then add any retail add-ons from Inventory-backed products.
Choose the method that matches the till. Complete the sale so Dashboard revenue and Sales History update.
Open Sales to find the bill and refund when a correction is required — don't invent a second silent sale.
What comes next
Expenses and Dashboard charts turn cashflow into performance visibility.
Stage 10 — Performance
Expenses & Dashboard — see the real numbers
Why it exists: bookings fill chairs; POS rings sales; Expenses and Dashboard tell Maya whether Saturday was actually profitable.
Revenue charts on Dashboard + Expenses for supplier and studio costs.
What this section is for
Record costs under Operations ? Expenses
Read revenue charts and pulse on Dashboard
Connect low-stock and sales reality in one morning brief
Maya's evening: She logs the polish supplier invoice in Expenses, opens Dashboard revenue charts, and compares the busy chair count to actual take — then plans next week's staffing.
Open Expenses and capture the cost while the receipt is still in hand — supplier, rent share, or studio overhead.
Use Dashboard as the morning and evening brief: revenue trends, activity, and low-stock signals in one place.
What comes next
Share the public book link and digital price chart so Aisha books without a phone call.
Stage 11 — Public
Public booking & price chart
Metaphor: two storefront windows — /book for appointments and /price for the digital menu — both keyed to your tenant.
What this section is for
Public booking at /book?tenant=— — Services ? Date ? Time ? Book on WhatsApp
Digital Price Chart at /price
SMS from bookings and the customer profile trail
Customer-view booking links for confirmations
Aisha's moment: She opens Bloom's public book link, picks Gel manicure ? Saturday ? 14:00, and finishes on WhatsApp. Later she browses /price before recommending Bloom to a friend.
Send /book?tenant=— (your tenant) on Instagram bio, WhatsApp status, or the studio site. Hidden services stay off the public list.
Share /price so clients can browse the menu without calling Priya for every price check.
From Bookings, send SMS and copy the customer-view link when clients need confirmation without logging into the staff app.
What comes next
Audit logs and advanced note forms keep the studio accountable as it grows.
Stage 12 — Governance
Advanced options & audit logs
Why it exists: custom note forms standardize intake; Audit logs show who changed what when questions arise.
What this section is for
Advanced Options in Settings — custom note forms for bookings / client context
Audit logs under Administration — a trail of meaningful actions
Maya's governance moment: After a pricing dispute, she opens Audit logs to see when a service price changed. Separately, the allergy note form she built under Advanced Options keeps every new client intake consistent.
Settings ? Advanced Options. Keep forms short and operational — fields Priya will actually fill.
Administration ? Audit logs. Use when a refund, price, or booking change needs an accountable answer.
What comes next
Run the end-to-end checklist once — then every Saturday feels familiar.
Wrap-up
Full Saturday checklist
Use this as Bloom Nail Studio's open-to-close runbook. Check items off — they save with your guide progress.
Short answers grounded in how Smart Appointments actually works.
Signup vs login — what's the difference?
Marketing Sign up starts business provisioning with codeclutch. Day-to-day use is always Log in with email and password. There is no in-app self-signup for staff; Admins add people under Employees.
How does public booking work?
Share /book?tenant=—. Clients pick Services ? Date ? Time, then Book on WhatsApp. Only services that are not hidden from public appear.
Where does WhatsApp fit?
Public booking finishes on WhatsApp so the request lands in a channel the studio already monitors. Staff still run the official board inside Bookings (confirm, reschedule, cancel, SMS).
How do I open POS from a booking?
From the booking, use checkout so POS opens with the bookingId deep link. That keeps the sale tied to the appointment instead of a disconnected walk-in cart.
What is the Digital Price Chart?
The public /price page — a browsable menu for clients. Pair it with /book when you want browse-then-book.
When should I send SMS?
From Bookings when confirming, rescheduling, or cancelling — and review the SMS trail on the customer profile. Use customer-view links when the client needs a shareable confirmation without staff credentials.
Why don't I see every nav item?
Access follows Staff / Manager / Admin. Ask an Admin to adjust your employee role if you need more of Operations or Administration.