Configure the global defaults and integrations that every Booking workflow builds on.
Configure Booking-wide behavior before building the provider, service and appointment workflow around it.
Booking Settings define the module-wide defaults used when a more specific Service or Booking Form has not overridden a behavior. They cover whether booking is enabled, booking/cancellation notice, deposits, tax-location basis, refund policy, customer-facing design, notification behavior and integrations.
Think of these as the policy layer. Staff, Services and Forms then describe the specific offering. When an option exists at both levels, the service/form-specific value is the first place to check when one service behaves differently from the rest.
Core Mail settings affect Booking email delivery. TruPayments supplies payment methods and transaction/refund processing. Services can expose more specific policy options. Booking Forms determine how the configured behavior is presented to customers.
Global changes can affect many services at once. Before changing cancellation, deposits or refunds on a live site, review existing appointments and communicate policy changes to staff so the admin workflow and customer-facing wording stay aligned.
Booking Settings define global behavior. Individual Services can expose more specific cancellation/refund/notice choices, while Booking Forms decide how the customer-facing wizard presents the booking fields. Think of this page as the module-wide baseline rather than the place where every service is configured.
Other settings also affect Booking
Public Booking destinations can be replaced under Core Settings → Page Setup. Online payment choices come from TruPayments Payment Methods.
Controls whether public booking is available and the global notice/cancellation behavior used by Booking.
| Setting | Purpose / effect | When it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Enable Booking | Turn the booking system on or off. When disabled, frontend booking forms and booking actions should be hidden or blocked, but existing appointments remain available in admin. | |
| Minimum Notice | Minimum time, in minutes, required before a customer can book an appointment. Example: 60 means customers cannot book slots starting within the next hour. | |
| Cancel Notice | Minimum time, in minutes, required before a customer can cancel. Example: 120 means cancellation is blocked within two hours of appointment start time. | |
| Show cancellation reason | Display a cancellation reason text area on the public cancellation page. | |
| Require cancellation reason | Require customers to enter a reason before cancelling when the reason field is shown. | |
| Confirm Cancellation | Button text used for confirming a booking cancellation. | |
| Do not cancel | Button text used when the customer chooses not to cancel. | |
| Do not cancel message | Message shown when the customer clicks the do not cancel button. |
Sets default deposit behavior and decides which location is used when matching Booking tax rules.
| Setting | Purpose / effect | When it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit Payments | When enabled, services can collect only a partial deposit during booking and leave the remaining balance due on site or later. | |
| Deposit Percent | Default deposit percentage used when deposit payments are enabled. Individual services may override this if your service form supports it. | |
| Minimum Deposit Amount | Minimum amount required when partial/deposit payments are enabled. | |
| Tax location basis | Choose whether booking taxes should be matched using the customer location or the service/provider location. | Available choices: Select One, Customer location, Provider/service location. |
Service-level deposit defaults
Deposit Percent is the module default. A service can override it where the service form exposes a service-specific deposit value.
Defines the default amount eligible for refund and whether supported gateway refunds are processed automatically or left for staff approval/action.
| Setting | Purpose / effect | When it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Refund Type | Choose whether the default eligible refund is full or partial. Partial refunds use the percentage below. | Available choices: Select One, Full, Partial. |
| Partial Refund Percentage | Percentage of the amount actually paid that is eligible for refund. | Used only when Refund Type is partial. |
| Refund Processing | Automatic refunds will be processed immediately when supported by the payment provider. Payments that cannot be refunded electronically will require manual processing. | Available choices: Select One, Automatic, Manual. |
Automatic does not mean every payment can be refunded electronically
Automatic refunds are attempted only when the payment provider supports them. Offline/manual payments still require staff to complete the money movement.
Chooses how each public and customer-facing Booking page looks. These settings change presentation only, not appointments, prices or rules. The five designs and how to preview them are explained in Frontend Designs.
| Setting | Page it styles | Choices |
|---|---|---|
| Services listing layout | The page listing all services. | Photo, List (default), Split, Schedule or Ticket — the same five choices for every setting in this table. |
| Service detail layout | One service. | |
| Categories layout | The list of service categories. | |
| Category detail layout | One category. | |
| Packages layout | The list of packages. | |
| Package detail layout | One package. | |
| Locations layout | The list of locations. | |
| Location detail layout | One location. | |
| Providers layout | The list of staff. | |
| Provider detail layout | One staff profile. | |
| My Booking layout | The customer’s bookings. | |
| Staff bookings layout | The staff member’s bookings. | |
| Calendar layout | The staff calendar page. | |
| Payment layout | The payment step. | |
| Confirmation layout | The confirmation screen after booking. | |
| Form layout / theme | The booking form. | |
| Calendar default view | The calendar view that opens first. | Month, Week (default), Day, List or Timeline. |
Preview before saving
Add ?booking_design=photo (or list, split, schedule, ticket) to a Booking page address to see it in that design without changing settings.
Sets the administration destinations and SMS provider configuration used by Booking notification templates.
| Setting | Purpose / effect | When it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Admin notification email | Destination for Booking administration email notifications. | |
| Admin notification phone | Destination for Booking administration SMS/phone notifications. | |
| SMS provider | Choose Disabled, Twilio, Vonage or the custom provider option exposed by the form. Provider-specific credentials become relevant only for the selected provider. | Available choices: Select One, Disabled, Twilio, Vonage, Custom SMS API. |
| SMS sender | Sender identity/number used for outgoing Booking SMS where the provider supports it. | |
| Twilio account SID | Controls the Booking twilio account sid option. | Required only when Twilio is selected as SMS provider. Keep credentials private. |
| Twilio auth token | Controls the Booking twilio auth token option. | Required only when Twilio is selected as SMS provider. Keep credentials private. |
| Vonage API key | Controls the Booking vonage api key option. | Required only when Vonage is selected as SMS provider. Keep credentials private. |
| Vonage API secret | Controls the Booking vonage api secret option. | Required only when Vonage is selected as SMS provider. Keep credentials private. |
| Custom SMS API URL | Controls the Booking custom sms api url option. | |
| Custom API authorization header | Controls the Booking custom api authorization header option. |
Connects Booking to external calendars, maps and Mailchimp. Enable only the services you have configured credentials for.
| Setting | Purpose / effect | When it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Google Calendar | Synchronizes Booking appointments with Google Calendar. Changes to synchronized Google events update Booking, and external busy events block staff availability. | |
| Google OAuth client ID | Controls the Booking google oauth client id option. | Used only when Google Calendar synchronization is enabled. |
| Google OAuth client secret | Controls the Booking google oauth client secret option. | Used only when Google Calendar synchronization is enabled. |
| Google OAuth refresh token | Controls the Booking google oauth refresh token option. | Used only when Google Calendar synchronization is enabled. |
| Google Calendar ID | Controls the Booking google calendar id option. | Used only when Google Calendar synchronization is enabled. |
| Outlook Calendar | Synchronizes Booking appointments to the configured Outlook calendar using Microsoft Graph. | |
| Microsoft tenant ID | Controls the Booking microsoft tenant id option. | Used only when Outlook Calendar synchronization is enabled. |
| Microsoft OAuth client ID | Controls the Booking microsoft oauth client id option. | Used only when Outlook Calendar synchronization is enabled. |
| Microsoft OAuth client secret | Controls the Booking microsoft oauth client secret option. | Used only when Outlook Calendar synchronization is enabled. |
| Microsoft OAuth refresh token | Controls the Booking microsoft oauth refresh token option. | Used only when Outlook Calendar synchronization is enabled. |
| Outlook Calendar ID | Controls the Booking outlook calendar id option. | Used only when Outlook Calendar synchronization is enabled. |
| Google Maps Address | Shows directions/map links on booking confirmations and notifications when the selected location has an address or map URL. | |
| Google Maps Embed API key | Controls the Booking google maps embed api key option. | |
| Mailchimp | Adds or updates the booking customer in the configured Mailchimp audience after each new appointment and applies the configured tags. | Used only when Mailchimp is enabled. |
| Mailchimp API key | Controls the Booking mailchimp api key option. | Used only when Mailchimp is enabled. |
| Mailchimp server prefix | Controls the Booking mailchimp server prefix option. | Used only when Mailchimp is enabled. |
| Mailchimp audience ID | Controls the Booking mailchimp audience id option. | Used only when Mailchimp is enabled. |
| New contact status | Controls the Booking new contact status option. | Used only when Mailchimp is enabled. |
| Mailchimp tags | Controls the Booking mailchimp tags option. | Used only when Mailchimp is enabled. |
Calendar synchronization affects availability
Google Calendar synchronization can also treat external busy events as unavailable time for staff. Test each staff calendar before relying on it for live availability.
Services · Booking Forms · Page Setup · Overview
Booking SMS is separate from core email delivery. Choose the provider only after you have an account/endpoint that can actually send messages from your server, then use a test customer/phone number before relying on SMS for live appointments.
| Provider | What to prepare | Setup approach |
|---|---|---|
| Disabled | Nothing. | No Booking SMS is sent. Email can still work through core Mail settings. |
| Twilio | Twilio account, SMS-capable sender, Account SID and Auth Token. | Select Twilio, enter the sender/SID/token, save, then test with a non-customer number. |
| Vonage | Vonage account, sender, API Key and API Secret. | Select Vonage, enter the credentials/sender, save, and perform a safe test. |
| Custom SMS API | An HTTP SMS endpoint and the authorization value required by that endpoint. | Enter the Custom SMS API URL and Authorization Header exactly as provided by the service that will receive TruCMS requests; coordinate any provider-specific request handling with the service owner. |
SMS credentials are production secrets
Do not place account tokens, API secrets or authorization headers in screenshots, support tickets, or shared documentation. Rotate a credential if it has been exposed.