How to organise a nail salon's agenda

In a nail salon, a manicure does not take the same time as a gel set with removal and a new set. If the notebook treats every appointment the same, the morning looks free when it is not, and at six two long services overlap. Meanwhile the phone rings, someone walks in, and a client asks for the same person as always.

This guide is for whoever runs the salon. By the end you will have five moves: services at their real length with a margin to clean up, one shared agenda where each professional has their own hours, clients who pick a professional or anyone available, walk-ins in the same slot as online bookings, and an alert for when the day is full.

1 · Services at their real length

A gel set is not a manicure. If every service takes the same slot, the agenda looks full when it is not, or it breaks at midday when a long service lands on top of two short ones. The nail catalogue starts with three reference lengths: 45, 60 and 75 minutes, with example names such as manicure, pedicure and gel nails. Adjust them to how long you actually take.

Add the cleanup time of each service too: the margin to clear the work table and prepare the space for the next person. That margin sits after each appointment. It is not added to the length the client sees, but the page does not offer that slot. That time stays reserved for preparing the table.

In Reserrva: the service catalogue keeps the duration, the price (or "Free") and the cleanup time of each service. Cleanup time is set in Services, inside each service's options. The booking page shows the name, the duration and the price, and changing a service does not rewrite past appointments. If you have not set up your page yet, the setup guide walks you through that step.

2 · One agenda for the whole salon

An agenda per person looks tidy until you need to see the whole Saturday. Put the whole team in one view. Appointments that overlap are arranged in lanes, each with its professional's initials, and the day reads from top to bottom: you can see at a glance where there are gaps and where things overlap.

Each person also has their own hours. Whoever opens at nine does not work the same shift as whoever closes, and one person's holidays should not block everyone else. Before the week starts, enter each person's breaks and time off: a free day that is not entered is a gap someone can book.

In Reserrva: the team agenda shows the day on one shared timeline, with the whole team's appointments in lanes where they overlap and each professional's initials, and it has a week view. The team view is for whoever manages the salon; each professional sees their own agenda. Each person has their own hours and time off: a weekly schedule, breaks and holidays. The booking page respects them immediately.

3 · Clients pick a professional or anyone

Some clients always come back to the same person and want to book with them. Let them. Others only want the time that suits them. For them, "anyone available" lets them pick a free time without choosing a professional first. That avoids the back-and-forth message: "who can I book with?".

Each professional can also have their own link. Put it in their Instagram bio or send it to their regular clients, and they book straight with that person. The page only offers real openings: each professional's hours and time off, booked appointments, the minimum notice you have set and the cleanup time.

In Reserrva: the booking page asks for service, professional, day and time, and offers anyone available: a free time without choosing a professional first. Each person on the team has a link per professional, in the form reserrva.app/en/con/your-handle, which opens their page to book with them. To get it ready, follow the setup guide.

4 · Walk-ins in the same agenda

Someone who calls or walks in also wants a time. If their appointment lives on a scrap of paper, the slot looks free and you end up giving it to someone else. Write it in the agenda the moment it is agreed, in the same slot a client would see online. The agenda then has one version of the truth, and the booking page stops offering that slot.

Visits become completed automatically after their reserved time, including any cleanup buffer, has passed. Cancelled appointments, no-shows and bookings still awaiting a deposit keep their status. Review the exceptions: if someone did not attend, record a no-show. If the visit already completed automatically, use Return to confirmed, then mark it No-show or cancel it. You can correct an automatic completion after midnight too, unless the client has reviewed it.

In Reserrva: manual appointments from the panel take the slot just like an online booking. A database constraint rejects two appointments for the same professional at the same time, wherever they come from. Visits complete automatically after their reserved time; record no-shows and cancellations so the stats reflect what happened. Try it: enter a walk-in now and check that the time can no longer be booked from your page.

5 · Alert when a slot frees up

When the day is full, whoever is looking for a time often goes to another salon. To keep them, let them ask for an alert. The person leaves their contact and gets the notice if a time opens up. They do not have to keep checking the page, and a slot that frees up has a chance to be filled again.

In Reserrva: the alert when a slot frees up appears when the day is full. Your client leaves their contact and gets the notice if a time opens.

If reception is working blind, start with 1 and 4: services at their real length and walk-ins inside the agenda. Moves 2, 3 and 5 put the rest of the week in order. The full list of what Reserrva does is on features, and if you want to see how it all fits together, read how Reserrva works.

• ✓Every service has its real duration and its cleanup time.
• ✓Every professional has their weekly hours, breaks and holidays entered.
• ✓Every professional has their link, and you know which clients you give it to.
• ✓Today's walk-ins are in the agenda before the salon closes.
• ✓Completed visits are automatic; no-shows and cancellations are recorded or corrected.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if two people try to book the same slot at the same time?

The database accepts one of the appointments and rejects the other for that professional at that time, whether it comes from the page or the panel. Two appointments for the same professional never overlap.

Can a client book without choosing a professional?

Yes. With "anyone available" they pick a free time without choosing a professional first.

If I change the price or duration of a service, do booked appointments change too?

No. Catalogue edits never rewrite past appointments, because the name, duration and price are copied when the booking is made.