Yatoon Salon Booking & Appointments vs Bookster – Appointment Booking Management System

Managing appointments through phone calls, texts, and emails is chaotic. You lose track of bookings, double-book appointments, and spend hours on scheduling instead of serving customers. Bookster turns your WordPress site into a 24/7 booking system. 🌐 View All Demos Customers book appointments themselves, see real-time availability, and receive automatic confirmations. Accept online or in-person payments seamlessly on your WordPress site. You manage everything from one dashboard. 📌 Documentation | Core Pro vs All Access 💫 Perfect For Hair salons and barbershops Spas and beauty clinics Massage therapists and wellness centers Personal trainers and fitness coaches Consultants and coaches Tutors and education services Medical and dental practices Any service business that takes appointments 💙 How It Works Customers visit your booking page, choose a service, pick their preferred staff member, select an available time slot, and book instantly. You receive an email notification and can view all appointments in your calendar dashboard. No more back-and-forth scheduling. 🔥 Key Features (100% Free) Unlimited Bookings & Services Create unlimited services with custom names, descriptions, and photos Set individual duration and pricing for each service Add taxes, fees and discounts to bookings No limits on number of appointments per month Offer service add-ons and upsell options Smart Scheduling Set your working hours for each day of the week Configure different availability for different services Add buffer time between appointments (e.g., 15-minute cleanup) Block off days for vacations or holidays Set minimum advance notice for bookings (e.g., require 24-hour notice) Customer Booking Experience Clean, mobile-friendly booking form that works on all devices Multi-step process: choose service → select staff → pick time → enter details → confirm Customers see only available time slots (no double-booking) Optional customer account dashboard to view and manage their bookings Customers can cancel or reschedule appointments themselves Payment Options Accept cash/check for in-person payment Accept PayPal payments online (customers pay when booking) Stripe integration available via premium addon for credit card payments Mark bookings as paid or unpaid manually Track revenue in the analytics dashboard Automatic Notifications Email confirmation sent to customers immediately after booking Reminder emails sent before appointment Email notifications sent to admin when new bookings arrive Customize email templates with your branding All emails sent automatically – no manual work required Admin Dashboard View all appointments in Bookster → Calendar menu Switch between day, week, and month calendar views Click any appointment to view or edit details instantly Filter appointments by status (confirmed, pending, cancelled) Search for specific customers or appointments Drag appointments to different dates to reschedule Color-coded by service or staff member for quick overview Analytics & Reports Track total bookings and revenue right from dashboard View performance by service (which services are most popular) Monitor individual agent performance Make data-driven decisions about staffing and services Premium Addons (Optional) Upgrade your booking system with these customizable options: Staff Management Add unlimited team members from Bookster → Agents menu Set individual working hours for each staff member Assign specific services to specific team members Let customers choose their preferred agent or assign automatically Track performance and bookings per agent Booking Form Customize booking form steps (reorder, add, or remove steps) Add custom fields to collect specific information Enable recaptcha, brand logo, timezone selector, and more for your booking system. Advanced Features (coming in future addons) Group bookings and classes Recurring appointments Multiple locations management SMS notifications via Twilio Design Toolkit for Block Editor and Elementor Getting Started Adding the Booking Calendar to Your Site Method 1: Shortcode (Works Anywhere) Add [bookster_booking_form] to any page, post, or widget area. Method 2: Block Editor 1. Edit the page where you want the booking form 2. Click the + button to add a block 3. Search for “Bookster” 4. Select the Bookster Booking Form block 5. Publish the page Method 3: Classic Editor Paste [bookster_booking_form] directly into your content. Viewing and Managing Appointments Go to Bookster → Calendar in your WordPress dashboard You’ll see all appointments in calendar format Click any appointment to view details or make changes Use the view buttons at top to switch between day/week/month views Use filters to show appointments based on agents or booking status Creating a Manual Booking (For Walk-Ins or Phone Bookings) Go to Bookster → Calendar Click the + New Appointment button (or click an empty time slot) Select the service and staff member Choose date and time Enter customer information (name, email, phone) Select payment method Click Create Appointment Customer automatically receives confirmation email Troubleshooting Booking calendar not showing on my page Check 1: Verify the shortcode Make sure you added [bookster_booking_form] exactly (with square brackets). Check 2: Clear cache If using a caching plugin, clear your cache: WP Rocket → Clear Cache or similar. Check 3: Theme conflict Temporarily switch to a default WordPress theme (Twenty Twenty-Five) to test. If it works, there’s a theme conflict. Customers not receiving email confirmations Check 1: Email settings Go to Bookster → Integrations → Email tab and confirm email notifications are enabled. Check 2: Check spam folders Ask customers to check spam/junk folders. Add your domain to their contacts. Check 3: WordPress email issues WordPress email can be unreliable. Install an SMTP plugin like YaySMTP to improve email delivery: 1. Install YaySMTP plugin 2. Connect it to Gmail, SendGrid, or Mailgun 3. Send a test email to verify Check 4: Test with yourself Create a test booking using your own email to confirm emails are sending. Time slots not showing as available Check 1: Working hours configured Go to Bookster → Settings → Schedule and verify hours are set for the day in question. Check 2: Agent availability If using staff members, check Bookster → Agents and verify the agent works on that day. Check 3: Minimum advance notice Check Bookster → Settings → General → Restrictions, if you require 24-hour notice, today’s appointments won’t show. Check 4: Service duration If your service is 2 hours but only 1 hour remains before closing time, that slot won’t appear. Double bookings happening This shouldn’t happen with Bookster. If it does: Check 1: Multiple admin users If multiple people manage bookings, ensure everyone refreshes the calendar before creating appointments. Check 2: Contact support If this persists, contact Bookster support with specific examples. PayPal payments not working Go to Bookster → Settings → Payments tab Verify your PayPal email address is correct Confirm PayPal is enabled (toggle should be blue/on) Test in PayPal sandbox mode first Check if PayPal account is verified and can accept payments Review PayPal transaction logs for error messages Calendar showing wrong timezone Go to Settings → General in WordPress Set your city timezone correctly (e.g., “New York” or “Berlin”) Save changes Go to Bookster → Settings and verify timezone matches Clear browser cache and reload Third-Party Services Bookster uses these external services to provide full functionality: FullCalendar.io Purpose: Renders the interactive booking calendar Privacy: No personal data sent to FullCalendar Terms: https://fullcalendar.io/license Stripe.com (Optional – only if using Stripe addon) Purpose: Process credit card payments Data shared: Customer name, email, payment amount Privacy: https://stripe.com/privacy PayPal.com Purpose: Process PayPal payments Data shared: Customer name, email, payment amount Privacy: https://www.paypal.com/privacy When customers make payments, they’re redirected to Stripe or PayPal’s secure servers. Bookster does not store credit card numbers. Support Need help? We’re here for you: Documentation: Visit Bookster’s detailed guides Support Forum: Post questions in the WordPress.org support forum Email & Live Chat Support: Contact us through the Bookster website Video Tutorials: Watch setup videos on our YouTube channel Response time: We typically respond within 4 hours on business days and 12 hours on weekends. We’d Love Your Feedback ❣️ If Bookster helps your business, please leave us a review on WordPress.org! It takes 60 seconds and brightens our day. Click here ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to share your experience. Have a feature request? We’re actively developing new features based on user feedback. Submit your ideas here. Compatibility Works With All Major WordPress Themes: Brandy WP Shadcn GeneratePress OceanWP Divi Avada And thousands more Page Builders: Elementor Gutenberg (Block Editor) Classic Editor Beaver Builder WPBakery What’s Next? After installing Bookster: Run the setup wizard Add the booking calendar to a page Create a test booking to see the customer experience Customize email templates with your branding Share your booking page link with customers Start accepting appointments 24/7! Your new booking system is ready to help you grow your business. Welcome to Bookster! 🚀

Run your salon’s bookings, schedules, payments, and customer relationships from WordPress. Yatoon gives salons a polished booking experience for clients and a practical local booking toolkit for the team. Clients choose services, add-ons, professionals, dates, and times on mobile; staff manage the day from WordPress. Try the live booking demo – no account or installation required. Watch the complete mobile booking demo: Built for nail salons, hair salons, barbershops, spas, beauty studios, and other appointment-based businesses. Yatoon has also been used for daily bookings at a real nail salon for more than a year. Local-first workflow: Free keeps scheduling, availability, customer records, and bookings inside WordPress. External payment, calendar, messaging, and platform connections are Pro features. What Free includes Local WordPress scheduling, availability checks, customer records, notifications, and booking management Mobile booking for services, options, professionals, dates, times, customer details, and confirmation Customer self-service for reviewing, rescheduling, cancelling, and rebooking appointments Staff calendar workflows with mobile rescheduling, temporary breaks, shared-resource checks, and capability-based Yatoon roles Services, categories, images, variations, add-ons, pricing, staff qualifications, schedules, breaks, and closed dates Waitlist, service menu, customer portal, staff portal, booking blocks, Elementor, and shortcode integrations Customer-facing AI Chat when WordPress AI Client and a provider are connected and Chat is enabled by an administrator Third-party integrations are optional and require their own accounts, credentials, supported regions, and provider terms. Local mode continues to work inside WordPress when an external provider is unavailable. What customers experience A mobile booking flow for services, variations, add-ons, professionals, date, time, customer details, and confirmation Several services or guests in one booking journey, with separate staff choices and reference photos where enabled Clear service durations, prices, appointment summaries, directions, and calendar actions Secure self-service for viewing, rescheduling, cancelling, rebooking, and eligible service changes A branded service menu, discovery storefront, portfolio, favorites, quick rebooking, and lightweight installable customer app What your team manages Services, categories, images, variations, add-ons, pricing, staff qualifications, and schedules Business hours, staff schedules, breaks, time off, closed dates, and availability rules Appointment calendar, client records, notes, reports, notifications, and waitlist Mobile-friendly rescheduling, temporary break controls, shared-resource checks, and role-specific staff workspaces Before a booking or sensitive change is saved, Yatoon rechecks staff qualification, schedules, breaks, closed dates, existing appointments, shared resources, and relevant external availability. If a time is taken during checkout, the customer keeps their details and gets a clear recovery path. Add it to any WordPress page Use the native block, Elementor widget, or one of these shortcodes: [yatoon_booking] – complete booking form [yatoon_service_menu] – visual service menu with Book buttons [yatoon_customer_portal] – customer self-service portal [yatoon_staff_portal] – mobile staff schedule portal [yatoon_discovery] – discovery storefront and booking entry points External Services and Privacy Google Maps – www.google.com/maps. The confirmation page displays a lazy-loaded map when a business address is configured. The preview sends the public business address and normal browser connection information to Google; it does not include customer names, email, appointment details, or manage tokens. Clicking the map opens Google Maps directions to that address. See Google Privacy and Google Terms. Free Local mode performs booking and availability inside WordPress and does not require Square, Vagaro, Stripe, PayPal, Twilio, Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, or Meta WhatsApp. Every external service Yatoon can contact is listed below with what is sent, when it is sent, and the provider’s own policies. Nothing in this list is contacted unless the corresponding feature is switched on by an administrator. Fonts. Yatoon does not download fonts from any remote host, and does not bundle font files either. Choosing a font family under Brand & Colors only adds that family name to the CSS font stack; otherwise the system font is used. Yatoon push relay (Cloudflare Worker) – https://yatoon-api.yatoon.workers.dev. Optional and disabled by default. When explicitly enabled, Yatoon sends a signed, pseudonymous browser push subscription endpoint and a generic event type to this Cloudflare Worker. Customer names, contact details, services, appointment times, and notes are never sent. See Yatoon and the Cloudflare Privacy Policy. Freemius – https://api.freemius.com. Used for optional account connection, licensing, plugin updates, and upgrade screens. It is contacted only when an administrator opts in or uses one of those features. See Freemius Privacy Policy and Freemius Terms. Provider integrations. Each service below is contacted only when an administrator has configured its credentials and switched the corresponding feature on, and only while performing the action that needs it. Provider credentials are stored encrypted in WordPress; Yatoon diagnostics must not include them. Free package providers. Free can use the following optional services when the site owner enables them: Google Maps – www.google.com/maps (confirmation-page directions map) OpenAI – api.openai.com (optional AI assistant) Anthropic – api.anthropic.com (optional AI assistant) Google Gemini – generativelanguage.googleapis.com (optional AI assistant) Cloudflare Turnstile – challenges.cloudflare.com (optional booking-form bot check) Before any customer text can reach an AI provider, an administrator must enable the relevant AI feature, and Yatoon requires explicit one-time customer consent and screens the message for sensitive data. Customer-facing AI is off by default on new installations, and connecting a provider alone does not publish it. Site owners are responsible for obtaining required consent, publishing an accurate privacy notice, configuring retention, and complying with the rules of their region and chosen providers.