---
url: https://docs.oakmega.com/en/guide/marketing-tools/booking-center.md
description: >-
  Create booking items in Booking Center, set their duration, bookable times and
  cutoff, then add them to a form so members can book online. This article
  explains how to create a booking item, what each time setting does, how
  service staff and booking records work, and how to copy, move and delete
  booking items.
---

By the end of this article you'll be able to create a booking item (for example, an in-store experience), set how long each booking lasts and which times are open, and add it to a form so members can pick a time and book right in LINE.

## Before you start

* You need the **Enterprise plan**, and Booking Center must be activated for your workspace; if it isn't, you'll be asked to contact OakMega sales.
* You need **Booking Center** permission. **View Only** lets you browse; to create, edit, copy, move or delete booking items you need **Editable**, otherwise the buttons show **No Edit Permission**.
* Members book through a **form**. The form needs **Login via Communication Platform** turned on, and the workspace must be connected to a **LINE Official Account**. See [Create a form](https://docs.oakmega.com/en/guide/marketing-tools/oakmega-form.md).

## Booking Center at a glance

In the navigation bar, click **Web-based Tool** and choose **Booking Center**.

The screenshot below shows Booking Center. On the left are **All Booking Items** and **Folder**. In the middle are the booking items in the current folder, each showing its **Booking Item Name**, **Open for Booking** and **Duration**. Click an item to see its settings on the right. **Bookings** and **Staff Settings** in the top-right open two separate pages.

![Booking Center: the Anniversary bookings folder is selected on the left; the middle list has one booking item, Anniversary in-store experience, open for booking with a 60-minute duration; Booking Item Info on the right shows its name and duration; Bookings and Staff Settings buttons are in the top-right](https://docs.oakmega.com/en/guide/marketing-tools/images/booking-center-01-list.png)

Click the **+** next to Folder to create a folder. Hover over a folder and use "⋯" to **Rename** or **Delete** it. You can drag folders to reorder or nest them, up to three levels. **Deleting a folder also deletes the booking items in it.**

## Create a booking item

1. On the left, click the folder you want the item in, then click **Add New**. If All Booking Items is selected, you'll be asked to choose a folder first.
2. Under **Basic Settings**, enter a **Booking Item Name** (up to 100 characters). **Open for Booking** is on by default.
3. Under **Time Settings**, choose the **Booking Duration**, **Open Slot Interval** and **Booking Cutoff Time**.
4. Under **Restriction Conditions**, set the **Booking Period**. To open only certain hours, turn on **Weekly Effective Time Slots** (see the next section).
5. If needed, choose tags to add or remove when a booking is completed or cancelled under **Tag Settings**, and bind a staff member in the **Staff Settings** section.
6. Click **Save** in the top-right. You'll see **Created successfully** and return to the folder list.

The animation below clicks **Add New** in the Anniversary bookings folder, enters the name "Anniversary in-store experience" and sets the duration to 60 minutes.

[Animation（MP4）](https://docs.oakmega.com/en/guide/marketing-tools/images/booking-center-02-create.mp4)

The screenshot below shows all the settings on the create page:

![The create booking item page: Basic Settings has the name and Open for Booking (on); Time Settings has Booking Duration 60 minutes, Open Slot Interval 30 minutes and Booking Cutoff Time No limit; Restriction Conditions has Booking Period No limit and Weekly Effective Time Slots off; below are four tag settings and Bind Staff](https://docs.oakmega.com/en/guide/marketing-tools/images/booking-center-03-settings.png)

| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Open for Booking** | When off, every form that uses this item stops taking bookings |
| **Booking Duration** | How long one booking lasts: 30, 60 or 120 minutes, or a custom duration |
| **Open Slot Interval** | How far apart the start times are. For example, a 60-minute duration with a 30-minute interval offers 10:00, 10:30, 11:00… |
| **Booking Cutoff Time** | How many hours before each slot bookings close: No limit, 24 hours, 48 hours or a custom time |
| **Booking Period** | Which dates can be booked: No limit, Earlier (inclusive), Later (inclusive), Between (inclusive), or **Within N days** (rolls forward every day and ends at 23:59 on the last day) |
| **Weekly Effective Time Slots** | Limit booking to certain hours on certain days of the week |
| **Tags to apply / remove upon booking completion** | Tags added to or removed from a member when their booking succeeds, up to 3 each |
| **Tags to apply / remove upon booking cancellation** | Tags added or removed when a booking is cancelled, up to 3 each |
| **Bind Staff** | Assign a staff member to receive booking notifications; if their calendar is connected, their busy times are excluded too |

## Set weekly effective time slots

**If Weekly Effective Time Slots is off, every time from 00:00 to 24:00 can be booked**, so set it if your store has opening hours.

1. Turn on **Weekly Effective Time Slots**; Monday to Sunday appear below.
2. Click a day you want to open, click **Add Time Range**, and set the start and end times. You can add several ranges to one day, but they can't overlap.
3. Use **Copy** to apply a day's ranges to other days instead of setting each day by hand.

![Weekly Effective Time Slots turned on: Time Slot Settings lists Monday to Friday (and the weekend), each currently showing No Trigger Time Range; click a day to add ranges](https://docs.oakmega.com/en/guide/marketing-tools/images/booking-center-04-weekly.png)

Days showing **No Trigger Time Range** aren't open for booking.

## Let members book

Once the booking item is ready, add it to a form:

1. Open or create a form and make sure **Login via Communication Platform** is on.
2. On **Question Settings**, click **+** and choose your booking item under **Booking Items**.
3. Save the form and share its link with your members.

When members open the form, they only see times that are still available. Past times, times beyond the cutoff or booking period, and **times someone else has already booked** don't appear. If a staff member is bound, their other bookings and busy calendar times are excluded too.

## Service staff and booking records

* **Staff Settings**: click **Add New** and pick a member of your OakMega workspace as a staff member; connecting a calendar (Google or Outlook) is optional. With a calendar connected, busy times are excluded automatically and an event is created when a booking is made. A staff member who links their LINE account in Settings / My Account gets booking notifications in LINE right away.
* **Bookings**: lists every booking and can be filtered by status. Click a booking to see the member's details and **Form Response**, or use **Change booking** or **Cancel**. Changes and cancellations send a notification to the booker, and a cancellation can't be undone.

| Booking status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **Scheduled** | The booking time hasn't arrived yet |
| **Completed** | The booking time has passed |
| **Cancelled** | The booking was cancelled before it started |

## Copy, move and delete booking items

Click "⋯" at the end of a booking item's row:

![The "⋯" menu on a booking item: Copy, Move, Download Bookings (up to 10,000 records) and Delete](https://docs.oakmega.com/en/guide/marketing-tools/images/booking-center-05-menu.png)

* **Copy**: create an identical booking item.
* **Move**: move it to another folder.
* **Download Bookings**: download the item's most recent 10,000 booking records.
* **Delete**: this can't be undone. **The booking question in any form is removed**, so no one can book or change bookings; existing booking records aren't affected.

To change the settings, click the pencil icon at the end of the row and click **Save** when you're done.

The animation below clicks "⋯" on Anniversary in-store experience, chooses **Delete** and confirms with **Delete**; the booking item disappears from the list.

[Animation（MP4）](https://docs.oakmega.com/en/guide/marketing-tools/images/booking-center-06-delete.mp4)

## How it works

* **Why book through a form?** A booking needs to know who made it. With login turned on, each booking is linked to a member, and booking records show the member's contact details and form responses.
* **Each time slot can be booked only once.** Once a slot on a booking item is taken, nobody else sees it. To serve several customers at the same time, copy the item into several booking items.
* **Turning off Open for Booking doesn't cancel existing bookings.** They stay in Bookings, but they can't be changed while the item is closed; reopen it first to reschedule.

## FAQ

### A member says there are no available times

Check **Open for Booking**, the Booking Period and Booking Cutoff Time, weekly slots, existing bookings, and staff availability. Follow the checks in [Why members cannot see booking time slots](https://docs.oakmega.com/en/troubleshooting/booking-no-available-slots.md).

### I can't find the booking item in the form

The form needs **Login via Communication Platform** turned on before you can add booking items, and each booking item can be added to a form only once.

### I can't change a booking

If the record says **Booking item has been closed. Record can be changed after adjusting to open status.**, turn Open for Booking back on and try again. Bookings can't be changed if the item was deleted or the booking was cancelled or completed.

## Next steps

* [Create a form](https://docs.oakmega.com/en/guide/marketing-tools/oakmega-form.md)
* [Create and manage tags](https://docs.oakmega.com/en/guide/members/tag-management.md)
* [Glossary](https://docs.oakmega.com/en/glossary.md)