Skip to main content

Set Up a Services Calendar

Samantha from Ivorey™ avatar
Written by Samantha from Ivorey™
Updated over 2 weeks ago

Before You Dive In

This article is one step from our Master Help Guide: All About Calendars. We recommend starting with the visual walkthrough video and examples inside the Master Help Guide before diving into the technical setup below.

Each Master Help Guide acts as your project plan – teaching you the feature, laying out the steps in the right order, and linking to every resource you’ll need along the way.

This guide is perfect if you want to:

  • Create a Services Calendar for booking appointments

  • Customize your booking page with variations, add-ons, and staff-specific details

  • Streamline scheduling across locations and teams

Important: If your business primarily offers online services or requires dynamic Zoom/Google Meet links for each appointment, we suggest using a Meeting Calendar instead. Meeting Calendars provide dynamic links and are better suited for one-on-one or simpler online bookings.​

Step 1: Create a New Services Calendar

Service Calendars are ideal for businesses with multiple services, locations, team members, in-person resources, or multi-service bookings. Each service should have its own setup, but all services are managed under one calendar for a streamlined client experience.


Once your services are created, they are displayed together so clients can easily browse all your offerings in a single place. You can configure:

  • Staff-specific pricing for each service

  • Service variations (e.g., duration, add-ons, or packages)

  • Upsells or optional extras tailored to the unique needs of each service

This setup ensures your clients can make informed choices, book exactly what they need, and have a clear view of availability across your team or locations - helping reduce confusion and improve the booking experience.

Click here for the written steps to: Create a new services calendar

  1. From the main Ivorey™ menu, select [Calendars] then > [Calendar Settings] then > [Services] > [New Service]
    ​

  2. Add Basic Details – Upload a service image (recommended for your booking page), give your service a name, choose a service colour (this is not client facing), write a description, assign staff members, set the price, and select the duration. You may also choose to mark the service as Private if you want it hidden from the main booking page and shared only via direct link., then click Confirm.
    ​

  3. Advanced Settings – Expand Advanced Settings to configure optional service features:

    • Set Team Availability -

    • Processing Time - Breaks the service into active and passive segments so staff become available during processing.

    • Pre/Post Buffer Time - Blocks extra minutes before or after the appointment for room resets, preparation, or follow-up.

    • Payment Options - Configure tax, adjust the service price, enable full or partial payments, and confirm your payment processors.

    • Service-Level Form - Attach a specific intake form that applies only when this service is booked alone.
      ​Note: If multiple services are booked in one session, Ivorey™ reverts to your standard form.
      ​

  4. Variations (Optional) - Add variations of the service such as different durations, tiers, or price points (e.g., 60-minute vs 90-minute sessions).
    Adjust each variation’s duration, description, or price as needed.
    ​

  5. Add-Ons (Optional) - Create or assign add-ons such as upgrades, extra services, or product add-ons.
    Upload an image, set a price and quantity limits, and write a description.
    These will appear as optional upsells during the booking flow.
    ​

  6. Resources (Optional) - Assign physical resources such as rooms, equipment, tables, or shared spaces. Create a resource, set its location, and define its capacity to prevent overbooking. (Example: Two massage rooms = 2.)

  7. Share Your Booking Links - Use the three dots beside your service to choose:

    • Share Booking - Link to this single service OR

    • View Booking Page - Link to your full booking page showing all services and allowing multi-service bookings

    Your clients can now select their preferred service(s), choose variations, add upsells, and book seamlessly.

Step 2: Configure Your Global Service Calendar Settings

You only need to configure Global Settings once when setting up your Services Calendar booking system. If you've already completed this setup, you can safely skip this section unless you need to update or change your global preferences later.
​

Click here for the written steps to: Configure your service calendar settings

  1. From the main Ivorey™ menu, select [Calendars] > [Calendar Settings] > [Services] > [Global Settings]
    ​
    Global Settings control your entire Services Calendar booking system. Once configured, these settings apply to all Services, Locations, and Booking Pages - so you only need to set this up once.
    ​

  2. In-App Settings - Configure how clients view and select appointments

    Choose how dates display (week starting Saturday, Sunday, or Monday).
    Toggle on options that apply to your business, including:

    • Multiple Locations –-Enable if you operate from more than one physical location.

    • Resources - Enable if you manage rooms, equipment, or shared spaces that need to be booked.

    • Add-Ons - Enable if you want to offer service upgrades or upsells during booking.

      Be sure to Save Changes as you go.
      ​

  3. Booking Page Appearance - Customise your client-facing booking experience
    Update your business name, upload your company logo, and customise your booking URL.
    Choose how your services are displayed by adjusting:

    • Booking Order – Drag to show Services first or Locations first.

    • Page Layout – Card View, List View, or Allow Bookers to Choose.

    • Theme – Light, Dark, or Custom (with custom background colour).

    • Time Format – 12-hour or 24-hour.

    • Service Button Labels – Update the button text shown during booking.

    • Menu Layout – Horizontal or left-side navigation.

    Preview changes anytime using Preview Booking Page, and save as you move through the options.
    ​
    ​Additional Display Options

    Scroll down to enable or disable:

    • Allow customers to pick their team member

    • Auto-Assign settings

    • Allow customers to book more than one service in a single booking

    Save changes once updated.
    ​

  4. Form Settings – Choose what information you collect

    Your form defaults to First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone Number, and Notes.
    If you want to customise this form:

    • Go to Sites > Forms > Builder to create a new form

    • Then select your custom form from the dropdown

    Additional options include:

    • Sticky Contacts – Prefills client details if they’ve booked previously on the same browser

    • Consent Checkbox – Add a marketing consent checkbox and custom wording

    • Confirmation Page – Show the default thank-you message or redirect to a custom URL

    Remember to Save Changes.
    ​

  5. Payment Settings – Configure global payment rules for all services

    Set Payment Mode to Live Mode before publishing your calendars.
    Choose your:

    • Currency

    • Payment Provider (defaults to Stripe if connected)

    Then configure your Payment Options:

    • Online Payment / Pay in Person / Card on File Only
      ​Note: Whatever you choose applies to ALL services in your Services Calendars.

    • Hide Payment Amount (optional for in-person or card-on-file bookings)

    • Taxes – Managed at the individual service level

    Save your changes when complete.
    ​

  6. Service Settings – Control scheduling rules across all service calendars

    Set your default scheduling rules, including:

    • Appointment Interval (e.g., every 30 minutes, every hour)

    • Minimum Scheduling Notice (e.g., 24 hours in advance)

    • Date Range for how far in advance clients can book

    • Rescheduling & Cancellation Cut-Offs (e.g., rescheduling allowed until 2 hours prior)

    • Auto-Confirmation – Automatically approve bookings or review manually

    Save changes after each update.

    Additional Settings

    Optional global controls, including:

    • Assigning new contacts to the staff member they book with

    • Time zone settings (recommended OFF if you use online locations)

    Save changes before moving on.
    ​

  7. Notification Settings – Configure email, SMS, and in-app alerts

    For each notification type (booking confirmation, cancellation, reschedule, reminders):

    1. Select the pencil icon

    2. Toggle Enable Email Notification, Enable In-App, or Enable SMS

    3. Select your email template (e.g., Appointment Confirmation)

    4. Edit subject lines, content, sender details as needed

    5. Set reminder intervals (e.g., 24 hours and 1 hour before)

    Save each notification and add as many reminder intervals as you wish.

    Once all updates are complete, click Save Changes to finalise your Global Settings.

Step 3: Set Your Service Calendar Meeting Locations

You only need to configure meeting locations once when setting up your Services Calendar booking system. If you’ve already completed this setup above, you can safely skip this section unless you need to add, update, or change locations later.

Important: Locations must be assigned individually to each staff member. Even after creating a location, it will not appear on the booking calendar until each staff member’s availability includes that location.

Click here for the written steps to: Set your service calendar meeting locations

  1. From the main Ivorey™ menu, select [Calendars] > [Calendar Settings] > [Services] > [Locations]
    ​

  2. Click New Location to create a meeting location.

    • Primarily for in-person meetings, but virtual rooms can also be created using static Zoom/Google Meet links.
      ​

    Optional details to include:

    • Location image (visual representation on booking page)

    • Location name

    • Phone number

    • Address

    • Custom URL to showcase services available at this location

    Custom URLs are helpful if you offer different services at different locations.
    ​

  3. Assign Locations to Staff Members

    1. Go to Staff → select staff member → click pencil icon (or add a new staff member).

    2. Scroll to Weekly Working Hours.

    3. Select the location for each relevant day.

      • Remove locations that no longer apply.

    4. Click Save.

    ✅ This step ensures that the staff member’s availability at the new location will now appear on the booking calendar. Repeat for each individual team member who works at this location.
    ​

  4. Configure Date-Specific Hours (Optional)

    If a staff member will only be available at a certain location on specific dates:

    1. Go to Date-Specific Hours → select date → add/remove location(s).

    2. Adjust available services if only certain services are offered at this location.

    3. Click Save to apply changes.
      ​

Step 4: Set Staff Availability for Service Calendars

Click here for the written steps to: Set staff availability for service calendars

  1. From the main Ivorey™ menu, select [Calendars] > [Calendar Settings] > [Services] > [Locations]
    ​

  2. Add or Edit a Staff Member

    Click Add Staff to create a new staff profile, or click the pencil icon next to an existing staff member.
    ​

    • It’s extremely important to note that availability for Service Calendars must be configured per staff member. You can set this on their behalf, or they can log in and update their own availability.
      ​

  3. Set Default Availability

    Inside the staff profile:

    1. Scroll to Basic Details

    2. Set the default working days (e.g., Monday–Friday)

    3. Enter the start and end times

    4. Add a split shift if needed (e.g., 9:00–12:00 PM and 1:00–5:00 PM)

    Click Save.

    Default availability applies across all assigned working days unless further customised in Weekly Hours.
    ​

  4. Configure Weekly Working Hours

    Go to Weekly Working Hours to drill into day-by-day settings.

    For each day of the week:

    • Set the specific hours (e.g., Monday 9:00 AM–5:00 PM)

    • Select all relevant locations the staff member works from on that day

    • Remove any locations that shouldn’t apply

    • Review the services available for that day and adjust if needed

    Click Save.

    Examples:

    • If a staff member only works virtually on Fridays, select only the virtual meeting location for that day.

    • If a staff member works from a different physical location on Thursdays, select that location only.
      ​

  5. Configure Date-Specific Hours (Optional)

    Use this setting for:

    • Leave

    • Public holidays

    • Shortened shifts

    • Location changes on specific dates

    Steps:

    1. Go to Date-Specific Hours

    2. Select the date

    3. Add new availability or mark as Unavailable

    4. Adjust start/end times if working a reduced shift

    5. Add or remove locations for that specific date

    6. Add/remove services if availability differs on that day

    Click Save.

    Examples:

    • Mark Christmas Day as Unavailable

    • On December 26th, make the staff member virtual-only by removing all physical locations and selecting their virtual meeting room
      ​

  6. Repeat for Each Team Member

    Each staff member must have:

    • Their own default availability

    • Assigned locations

    • Weekly working hours

    • Any date-specific adjustments

    This ensures accurate booking visibility and prevents scheduling conflicts.

Next Steps

If you’ve completed the steps above, head back to the Master Help Guide on Calendars to explore other scheduling features like Meeting Calendars, calendar integrations, and reporting.

Each Master Help Guide acts as your project plan – teaching you the feature, laying out the steps in the right order, and linking to every resource you’ll need along the way.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use both services and meetings calendars at the same time?

Yes! You can run both side by side or choose to use only one.

Can I set different hours for different staff members?

Yes. Services support staff-specific availability and pricing.

Can clients book multiple services at once?

Yes. The Services booking flow allows multi-service booking in a single checkout.
​

How do reminders work for multi-service bookings?

Service Calendars include a Service Booking workflow trigger that applies to the entire multi-service booking. This means your client will receive just one confirmation and one set of reminders for the overall booking, based on the start time of the first service.
​
​Important: To make this work, you must set up a workflow in your Ivorey™ account. The workflow should use the “Service Booking” trigger rather than standard appointment-level triggers, and include the confirmation and reminder emails you want your clients to receive. Once the workflow is published, it automatically handles notifications for multi-service bookings, so you don’t need to send individual reminders for each service.

Can I use dynamic Zoom or Google Meet links for service calendars?

Dynamic booking links are not available for Service Calendars. However, you can add a static link if you need to provide a virtual meeting location.

Can I use multiple payment options for different services within a Service Calendar?


​

No, within a Service Calendar, you must select a single payment method for all services (e.g., full payment or deposit), even if the individual services have different prices. You can still set staff-specific pricing, coupon codes, and prepayment options, but the chosen payment method applies across all services in that calendar.
​
​Tip: If you need different payment methods for individual services, a Meeting Calendar might be a better option for simpler, one-on-one appointments.
​

Can I hide a service from the public booking page?

Yes. Enable "This is a private service" for the service and share the direct link instead. When this is turned on, the service will not be shown on the public booking page.

Why is my service calendar not showing availability?

If your service calendar isn’t displaying available booking times, it’s usually because availability is not yet assigned to the staff member. For Service Calendars, availability is configured per staff member, not globally for the calendar.
​

How to check and fix:

  1. Go to Calendars in the left-hand menu → Calendar Settings → Services → Staff.

  2. Select the staff member (or add a new one).

  3. Scroll to Basic Details and set the default start and end times for their workdays. You can also split shifts (e.g., 9 AM–12 PM, then 1 PM–5 PM).

  4. Adjust weekly working hours for specific days if needed.

  5. Save your changes.

You can also set date-specific hours for days off, leave, or shortened shifts. Once availability is assigned and saved, those times will display correctly on the service calendar.
​

Why is my service calendar not showing the right locations?

Service locations also need to be assigned per staff member. If a calendar shows the wrong location, it usually means the staff member hasn’t been linked to the correct location for that day or service.

How to check and fix:

  1. Go to Calendars → Calendar Settings → Services → Staff.

  2. Select the staff member → scroll to their weekly hours.

  3. Check the locations assigned for each day and service.

    • You can adjust locations for specific days (e.g., Friday virtual only, Thursday at Massage Room).

  4. Save your changes.

Tip: You can also assign date-specific locations for special events or exceptions (e.g., holiday shifts, working from home).
​

How do I add a staff member to my service calendar?

If you want to allow a new team member to be bookable through your Services Calendar, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Staff Settings

Go to Calendars → Calendar Settings → Services → Staff in your Ivorey account.

  1. Select Staff from the menu.

  2. Click Add New Staff Member.

  3. Enter their basic details, such as name and email.

If the staff member already exists, you can click the pencil icon to edit their profile and availability.

Assign Availability

  1. Scroll to Weekly Working Hours.

  2. Set their standard availability for each day they work.

  3. Assign them to the locations where they will be available for appointments.

Important: A staff member will only show as available for booking if their schedule includes both availability and the assigned location.

Save Changes

  • Click Save to apply weekly and date-specific settings.

  • Repeat for any other staff members who need to appear in the service calendar.

How do I manage leave or time off in the service calendar?

  1. Go to Calendars → Calendar Settings → Services → Staff in your Ivorey account.

  2. Select the pencil icon next to the relevant staff member to edit.

  3. Select Date-Specific Hours

  4. Select the date(s) you’ll be on leave

  5. Mark as Unavailable or adjust the start/end times if working a partial day

  6. Remove or adjust locations and services as needed

  7. Click Save

✅ This ensures that no appointments can be booked during your leave and that your availability is accurately reflected.
​

Can a staff member work from different locations on different days?

Yes inside service calendars, you can you can assign specific locations for each day:

  1. From the main Ivorey™ menu, select [Calendars] > [Calendar Settings] > [Services] > [Staff]

  2. Click Add Staff to create a new staff profile, or select the pencil icon next to an existing staff member to edit.

  3. Go to Weekly Working Hours

  4. Assign the relevant locations for that staff member each day and remove locations that do not apply. (Example: Working virtually on Fridays, in the office Monday–Thursday).

  5. Adjust available services per location if needed

  6. Click Save and repeat for others people as required

Why aren't my service calendar payments working?

If payments are not processing for your Service Calendar bookings, it’s usually because the payment mode is still in Test Mode.

To fix this:

  1. From the main Ivorey™ menu, go to [Calendars] > [Calendar Settings] > [Services] > [Global Settings] > [Payment Settings]

  2. Ensure Payment Mode is set to Live (Test Mode will not process real transactions)

  3. Select your currency and verify your payment provider (Stripe or another provider)

  4. Configure taxes and payment options if needed (these apply across all services in your service calendars)

  5. Click Save

✅ Once Payment Mode is in Live, your Service Calendar bookings will process real payments correctly.

How can I add an upsell offer to my service calendar?

You can add upsell offers by creating Add-ons inside your Service Calendar. Add-ons allow you to offer optional extras - such as premium upgrades, extended sessions, or additional products, that customers can select during booking or that staff can apply internally to personalise their service.

To set them up:

  1. Go to Calendars > Calendar Settings > Services

  2. Open the service you want to modify (⋮ three-dot menu > Edit)

  3. Select the Add-ons tab

  4. Create or edit add-ons (including Price, Duration, and Maximum Quantity)

Add-ons can either be customer-facing (shown as optional checkboxes on the booking page) or hidden for internal staff use when creating appointments.

  1. View, edit, or create add-ons, including Price, Duration, and Maximum Quantity

How do add-ons appear on the booking page?

Inside Service Calendars customer-facing add-ons appear as optional checkboxes during booking. Any add-on price and/or duration is automatically added to the total. Hidden add-ons do not appear publicly but can be applied internally by staff inside the appointment modal.

What are resources in my Service Calendar?

Resources are shared assets - such as rooms, chairs, stations, or tools, that must be available for a service to occur. Assigning resources to your services prevents double-bookings and ensures accurate capacity management. Each resource can be linked to one or more services and configured by location and capacity, so you can control exactly where it’s available and how many appointments or people it can accommodate.

To access and manage Resources:

  1. Go to Calendar > Calendar Settings > Services

  2. Open the Service Editor for your chosen service (⋮ three-dot menu > Edit)

  3. Select the Resources tab

From here, you can view all existing resources - including capacity, linked services, and locations, or create and edit resources for more precise scheduling control.

Still Need Help?

Hit the support chat widget inside Ivorey – we can:

  • Walk you through any of the steps

  • Troubleshoot anything that’s not working

We’re here and ready to help via the chat widget in the bottom right of your Ivorey™ account. Or if you are looking for done-for-you support, you can browse our current services here 🤍


​

Related Articles
All About Calendars: A Master Help Guide
Why isn't my calendar showing the right availability?
Create a New Calendar and Groups
Understanding How Calendar Availability Works
Meetings vs. Services Calendars
Did this answer your question?