Create an appointment with a customer, an employee, start and end times, notes, and a category. View bookings on a calendar or list, check today's schedule at a glance, and let PHP Point Of Sale email customers automatically.

Services, fittings, consultations, repair drop-offs — anything where a customer needs a slot of someone's time belongs in the Appointments module. Each appointment ties a customer to an employee for a specific window, so the schedule lives in the same system as the sale that usually follows it. Appointments do not sync with outside scheduling platforms; they are booked and managed inside PHP Point Of Sale.

Set up appointment categories first

Every appointment is assigned a category (a type of appointment — "Haircut", "Fitting", "Repair drop-off"), and at least one category must exist before you can book your first appointment.

1. Open Appointments in the left menu.
2. Click the ellipsis (...) in the top right and choose Manage Appointment Categories.
3. Click Add Category, enter the Category Name, and click OK.
4. Use Edit next to a name to rename it — the change applies to every appointment already in that category. Use Delete to remove it; deleting cannot be undone and strips the category from all appointments that had it.
5. Click Done to return to the appointments list.

Creating and editing categories requires the Add Appointments permission; deleting them requires Delete Appointments.

Book an appointment

1. Open Appointments and click + New Appointment in the top right.
2. Fill in the form — fields marked in red are required:
   • Appointment Start — click the field to pick the date and time. The calendar picker opens on the current day; use the left and right arrows to move between months, click the month-and-year heading to jump between years, and click the clock icon at the bottom to set the time (up and down arrows adjust hours and minutes; the blue box toggles AM/PM).
   • Appointment End — the end time. The appointment is assumed to end on the same calendar day it starts, so you only pick the time.
   • Appointment For Person — the customer attending. Start typing their name and pick them from the suggestions; see customer profiles.
   • Employee — the staff member the appointment is with. Click the dropdown or start typing a name.
   • Category — pick one of the appointment categories you created.
   • Notes — anything the employee should know beforehand.
3. Click Save. The appointment is recorded at the store location you are signed in to, and a confirmation email can go out automatically (see below).

Because every appointment names an employee, each staff member can see their own bookings, and you can tell at a glance who is free when a customer calls to schedule.

See the schedule your way

The main Appointments page is a list of bookings you can search and sort. Two other views cover planning and the day-of rush:

• Calendar — click Calendar in the top right. It opens on the current month; buttons in the top right switch between Month, Week, and Day views, and the left and right arrows in the top left move through time. Each appointment shows its start and end times on its day — click the times to open and edit the appointment. Click the back arrow in the top right to return to the list.
• Today's Appointments — click the ellipsis (...) and choose Today's Appointments to jump straight to the calendar's day view for today, showing each appointment's time, category, employee, and customer. This is the screen to keep open at the counter each morning.

Edit an appointment

1. Open Appointments and find the booking in the list (or click it on the calendar).
2. Click Edit next to it.
3. Change any field — times, customer, employee, category, notes — and click Save. Saving sends the appointment email again unless appointment emails are disabled.

Editing requires the Edit Appointments permission.

Delete and recover appointments

• Delete — on the Appointments page, tick the checkbox on one or more rows, click Delete in the menu that appears above the list, and confirm. Requires the Delete Appointments permission.
• Undelete — click the ellipsis (...) and choose Manage Deleted Appointments. Select the rows to restore and click Undelete, then Done to return to the list. Deleted appointments remain recoverable this way — they aren't purged when you delete them.

Automatic appointment emails

When an appointment is saved and the customer's profile has an email address, PHP Point Of Sale emails them automatically:

• The subject includes your company name and the appointment's start date and time.
• The From address is the location's email (set in the location's settings), falling back to a no-reply address.
• The assigned employee is CC'd when their profile has an email address, along with the location's CC address; the location's BCC address is blind-copied. See locations and registers for the per-location email fields.
• The body lists the appointment details, and can include an extra note (below).

Two settings control the emails:

• Disable Appointment Emails (Store Config → Application Settings, off by default) — turns appointment emails off entirely if you'd rather confirm bookings another way.
• Additional Appointment Note — free text appended to every appointment email. Set it store-wide in Store Config → Application Settings, or per location in the location's settings; the location's note wins when both are set. Use it for parking instructions, entrances, or drop-off procedures that differ by store.

For how store email sending is configured in general, see email and SMS notifications. Appointment status changes do not send SMS messages — email is the only automatic channel for appointments.

Reports

Two reports cover appointments, both under Reports → Appointments (visible to employees with the reports permission View Appointments — see running reports):

• Summary Reports — appointment volume for the period, the big picture of which services fill your calendar.
• Detailed Reports — one line per appointment with its start and end dates, customer, employee, category, and notes. Use it to see which employees carry the most bookings and how volume trends over time.

Permissions

Appointment access is controlled per employee — see permissions and templates:

• Appointments module permission — shows or hides the module in the left menu.
• Add Appointments — create appointments and manage categories.
• Edit Appointments — change existing appointments.
• Delete Appointments — delete appointments and categories.
• Search Appointments — view and search the appointments list and calendar.

Pair appointments with repairs

For repair shops, appointments and work orders work as a pair: the customer books a drop-off slot as an appointment, and when they arrive with the device, you open a work order to track the repair itself. The appointment gets them in the door on schedule; the work order carries the job from intake to pickup.

Common questions

Why can't I pick a category when booking? No categories exist yet. Click the ellipsis (...) on the Appointments page, choose Manage Appointment Categories, and add at least one.

Why didn't my customer get a confirmation email? Check three things: the customer's profile has an email address, Disable Appointment Emails is off in Store Config → Application Settings, and your store's email sending works (see email and SMS notifications).

Can an appointment span two days? No. The end time is assumed to fall on the same calendar day as the start. Book a second appointment for the following day if a booking genuinely crosses midnight.

Can I text customers appointment reminders? Appointments send email only. To text a customer, use the messaging tools described in email and SMS notifications.

How do I see just one employee's schedule? Open the Detailed Reports under Reports → Appointments filtered to that employee, or scan the calendar views — each entry names its employee.

I deleted an appointment by mistake — is it gone? No. Click the ellipsis (...) and choose Manage Deleted Appointments, select it, and click Undelete.

Does an appointment book the sale too? No — an appointment only reserves the time. Ring the sale as usual when the customer arrives; see ringing up a sale.