# SpaSphere Help Docs

> The complete SpaSphere help center: how spa owners and estheticians set up and use SpaSphere, spa and salon management software.

Index: https://spasphere.ai/docs


# How to Use the Analytics Dashboard in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/analytics/analytics-dashboard
Section: analytics
Updated: 2026-10-20

Track bookings, revenue, and client retention from SpaSphere's analytics dashboard with time filters, PDF exports, and AI-powered chart explanations.

SpaSphere's analytics dashboard, called **SpaSphere Intelligence**, puts every performance metric your spa needs into a single, interactive view. You can access it from **Reports > Analytics** in the sidebar of your [SpaSphere admin dashboard](https://spasphere.ai/). The **Reports > Add-on results** page covers add-on attach rates and revenue; see [Service Add-Ons](https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/service-add-ons).

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Running a spa without analytics is like driving without a speedometer. Studies show that data-driven beauty businesses grow revenue 15-25% faster than competitors who rely on gut feeling alone. SpaSphere Intelligence gives you real-time visibility into bookings, revenue, and client behavior so you can spot problems before they cost you money. For example, catching a 5% increase in no-shows early could save a mid-size spa $500-$1,200 per month in lost revenue. The dashboard also surfaces AI-powered smart suggestions that identify untapped opportunities, from schedule gaps you could fill to services you should promote more heavily.

## Key Capabilities

- **Six tabs**: Performance, Breakdown, Orders & Sales, Clients, Channels, and Upcoming
- **Adjustable time ranges**: the last 7, 14, 30, or 90 days, this month, last month, or your own dates
- **PDF export**: download any tab as a PDF report
- **AI chart explanations**: click **Analyze with Sophie** on a chart for a plain-language analysis
- **Expand any chart**: open a chart in a larger view, which makes 90-day ranges and the booking heatmap easier to read
- **Bookings and revenue charts** with period-over-period change percentages
- **Client retention rate** displayed as a headline metric
- **Saved in the web address**: your selected tab and time filter are saved in the URL so you can bookmark or share a specific view

## Navigating the Dashboard

**Step 1: Open Analytics**
In the sidebar, open **Reports** and click **Analytics**. The dashboard opens to the **Performance** tab by default, showing the last 30 days of data.

**Step 2: Choose a time range**
Use the dropdown in the top-right corner to select **Last 7 days**, **Last 14 days**, **Last 30 days**, **Last 90 days**, **This month**, **Last month**, or your own start and end dates. Most charts and metrics update to the selected period. A few always show a fixed view: client growth always covers the last 12 months, and churn, retention, and at-risk clients are a snapshot as of today.

**Step 3: Switch between tabs**
Click any tab across the top to switch views:

- **Performance**: Business Overview with bookings, sales, and client retention
- **Breakdown**: popular services, booking heatmap, bookings per day, and revenue and bookings trends
- **Orders & Sales**: order funnel, staff performance, discount analytics, popular products, cross-sell analytics, tax analytics, and service material costs
- **Clients**: client growth, lifetime value, retention metrics, no-shows, churn rate, churn by service, and at-risk clients
- **Channels**: where money and bookings come from: payment methods, gift cards, where bookings come from, texting, and coupons
- **Upcoming**: what's already booked, clients due for their next treatment, and Smart Suggestions

**Step 4: Ask Sophie to explain a chart**
Most chart cards have an **Analyze with Sophie** button in their top-right corner (on a phone, just the sparkle icon). Click it to open a window where Sophie, SpaSphere's AI assistant, streams a plain-language explanation of what the data means and what you should do about it. This is especially useful when you notice unexpected spikes or dips and want context without digging through raw numbers.

**Step 5: Expand a chart**
Click the expand icon in the top-right corner of any chart card to open it in a larger window. The chart redraws to fit, which helps with dense charts such as a 90-day range or the booking heatmap, especially on a small screen.

**Step 6: Export a tab to PDF**
Click the **Export PDF** button next to the time range dropdown. SpaSphere captures the active tab's content, including all charts and cards, into a multi-page A4 PDF. The file downloads automatically with a descriptive name like `SpaSphere-Analytics-High-Level-Performance-2026-02-21.pdf`.

**Have a question the charts don't answer?**
The chart button explains one chart at a time. To ask your own question across your whole business, such as "Which services are underperforming?", click the **Sophie** button in the top bar to open [Ask Sophie](https://spasphere.ai/docs/analytics/ask-sophie).

**Bookmark your favorite view**
SpaSphere saves your selected tab and time filter in the URL. Bookmark `analytics?tab=clients&time=30` to jump straight to your 30-day client analytics every morning. This simple habit takes five seconds and can help you catch churn risk before it becomes lost revenue.

## Understanding the Performance Tab

The Performance tab is your daily health check. It displays three primary cards:

- **My Bookings**: total bookings in the selected period with a percentage change compared to the prior period and a daily chart of booking counts
- **My Sales**: each sale on the day it was paid, after discounts and less refunds, split into deposits and final payments, with a change percentage and daily bar chart
- **My Client Retention**: retention rate, at-risk client count, average time between visits, and reactivated clients count

**What deposits and final payments mean**
Revenue is broken into two categories. **Deposits** are collected at the time of booking (if you have deposit collection enabled). **Final payments** are collected at or after the appointment. Understanding the ratio helps you gauge cash flow predictability: a higher deposit ratio means more predictable revenue and fewer no-show losses.

## Understanding the Upcoming Tab

The Upcoming tab shows what's already booked and what to act on. These are real bookings, not a forecast:

- **On the calendar**: **Appointments booked** and the amount **Expected at checkout** for the days ahead. The expected amount uses each booking's quoted total (or its service price), before tips.
- **Due for their next treatment**: clients who are due soon and have nothing booked, with a **Follow up** button for each client who has an email address.
- **Smart Suggestions**: cards with specific actions you can take, drawn from your own booking patterns.

## Frequently asked questions

**How often does analytics data refresh?**
Analytics reads your live booking and payment records; there is no overnight batch. Each tab loads its charts when you first open it and reuses them for about five minutes, and a page left open refreshes itself every ten minutes. Changing the time filter loads fresh numbers. If you just completed a checkout and don't see it yet, reload the page after a few minutes.

**Can I export analytics as a CSV?**
The analytics page supports PDF export for visual reports. For CSV exports of raw data, navigate to **Reports > Financial reports**, on the **Operational Reports** tab, where you can download revenue, payments, clients, appointments, and other data sets as CSV files. This gives you clean, tabular data that you can import directly into Excel, Google Sheets, or your accounting software.

**What is the difference between Analytics and Financial reports?**
Both live under **Reports** in the sidebar. **Analytics** focuses on visual charts, trends, and AI-powered insights designed for quick decision-making. **Financial reports** provides structured tabular data and AI-generated intelligent reports with specific action items. Think of Analytics as your daily dashboard and Financial reports as the detailed reference you share with your accountant or business partner. Both pull from the same underlying data.

**Do I need a paid plan to access analytics?**
SpaSphere Pro is one complete plan at $139 per month with up to four team members included, and analytics comes with it: the core charts (bookings, revenue, popular services, client retention), Smart Suggestions, and Sophie's plain-language chart explanations.

**Why is Expected at checkout different from what I end up collecting?**
Expected at checkout adds up each upcoming booking's quoted total, or its service price when it has none, before tips. Visits a client will pay for with a plan, package, or gift card count at full price. Tips, add-ons sold on the day, cancellations, and no-shows all change what you actually collect.


# How to Track Revenue and Booking Trends in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/analytics/revenue-insights
Section: analytics
Updated: 2026-10-20

Analyze revenue breakdown by service, track deposits vs. final payments, monitor booking heatmaps, and measure staff performance with SpaSphere analytics.

Understanding where your revenue comes from -- and where it could grow -- is the foundation of a profitable spa. SpaSphere's analytics give you a complete revenue picture across the **Performance**, **Breakdown**, and **Orders & Sales** tabs in your [analytics dashboard](https://spasphere.ai/docs/analytics/analytics-dashboard).

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Most spa owners know their monthly revenue total, but few can answer questions like "Which service generates the most revenue per hour?" or "Are my discounts eating into margin?" SpaSphere answers these questions automatically. Spas that actively monitor revenue by service and adjust pricing accordingly see an average 10-20% revenue increase within the first quarter. Knowing your deposit-to-final-payment ratio also helps you forecast cash flow. If 70% of your revenue comes at the time of service, you are exposed to no-show losses. Shifting that ratio toward deposits can protect $200-$800 per month for a typical 2-3 chair operation.

## Revenue Metrics at a Glance

- **Total revenue** with period-over-period percentage change
- **Deposits vs. final payments** breakdown with daily bar chart
- **Average booking value** and average daily revenue
- **Revenue and bookings per day**: combo chart showing daily net revenue and booking count
- **Staff performance**: revenue, tips, and discounts per team member
- **Discount analytics**: total discounts, usage rate, average discount amount, and revenue impact
- **Tax analytics**: total tax collected, effective tax rate, and daily tax trends

## Analyzing Your Revenue

**Step 1: Check revenue totals on the Performance tab**
Open **Reports > Analytics** and look at the **My Sales** card on the Performance tab. This shows each sale on the day it was paid, after discounts and less refunds, for the selected period, broken into deposits and final payments. The percentage badge tells you whether revenue grew or shrank compared to the prior equivalent period.

**Step 2: Dig into the Breakdown tab**
Switch to the **Breakdown** tab for detailed analysis. Here you will find four charts:

- **My Popular Services**: A bar chart ranking your services by both bookings and revenue, helping you identify which services are in demand vs. which generate the most dollars
- **My Booking Heatmap**: A grid showing booking volume by day of week and hour, with the busiest slot highlighted. Use this to optimize staff scheduling.
- **Bookings Per Day**: a daily bar chart of booking counts, so you can spot peak days and low days
- **Revenue & Bookings Trends**: a combo chart with daily bookings as bars and daily net revenue as a line, across all services

**Step 3: Review Orders and Sales analytics**
Click the **Orders & Sales** tab for order-based insights. This tab was built on the Orders table as a single source of truth and includes:

- **Order Funnel**: follows orders from **Total Orders** to **Paid** to **Kept in full**, with a breakdown of pending, paid, partially refunded, refunded, and canceled orders. Shows conversion rate, cancellation rate, refund rate, and pending orders.
- **Staff Performance**: revenue per staff member, plus totals for the team including **Total Discounts**. A leaderboard lists each person's revenue, tips, orders, and tip rate to help you identify top performers.
- **Discount Analytics**: Total discounts, discount usage rate, average discount amount, and a daily trend chart. The by-staff breakdown shows which team members are giving the most discounts.
- **Popular Products**: Top products by revenue and quantity sold, with average price and revenue share per product.
- **Cross-Sell Analytics**: Compare single-item vs. multi-item orders, product attachment rate, and revenue lift from upselling. Shows the top service-and-product combinations.
- **Tax Analytics**: Total tax collected, effective tax rate, orders with and without tax, and breakdown by tax rate.

**Step 4: Identify your busiest time slots**
On the Breakdown tab, the **Booking Heatmap** visualizes booking density across every combination of day and hour. SpaSphere automatically highlights your busiest slot -- for example, "Saturday 11 AM." Use this data to ensure you have adequate staff coverage during peak hours and consider promotions during low-traffic times.

**Step 5: Evaluate staff revenue contribution**
On the Orders & Sales tab, the **Staff Performance** chart breaks down each team member's revenue, tips, and orders. The leaderboard surfaces your top earners and team members who may need coaching. Pay attention to the **Tip Rate** column: consistently low tips might point to a service quality issue.

**Use the booking heatmap to fill gaps**
If your heatmap shows low bookings on Tuesday mornings, consider offering a "Slow Day Special" discount for those hours. Spas that run targeted slow-hour promotions typically fill 30-50% of those empty slots, converting dead time into revenue. Even a 15% discount on a $100 service is better than an empty chair.

## Understanding the Revenue Breakdown

SpaSphere's revenue breakdown separates your income into distinct categories so you can see exactly how money flows through your business:

| Metric | What It Tells You |
|---|---|
| **Deposits** | Cash collected at booking time -- your "guaranteed" revenue |
| **Final Payments** | Payments collected at or after the appointment |
| **Deposit-to-Final Ratio** | How much of your revenue is secured upfront |
| **Average Transaction Size** | The typical amount a client spends per visit |
| **Growth Percentage** | Revenue change compared to the previous period |

**Net revenue and card fees**
The Revenue & Bookings Trends chart on the Breakdown tab plots net revenue for each day (after refunds), alongside your bookings. Card processing fees aren't subtracted, so if fees seem high relative to revenue, consider adjusting your service prices to account for the standard 2.9% + $0.30 card rate.

## Cross-Sell Insights

The Cross-Sell Analytics chart on the Orders & Sales tab reveals how often clients purchase multiple items in a single transaction. Key metrics include:

- **Multi-item rate**: Percentage of orders containing more than one item
- **Average items per order**: Typical order composition
- **Product attachment rate**: How often a product is added alongside a service
- **Upsell revenue lift**: The dollar difference between multi-item and single-item average orders
- **Top combinations**: Most popular service-and-product pairings

A low product attachment rate indicates an opportunity to train your team on recommending take-home products during service delivery.

**Ask Sophie instead of hunting through charts**
For a direct answer such as "Which services drove my revenue last month?" or "What's my average ticket?", ask on the [Ask Sophie](https://spasphere.ai/docs/analytics/ask-sophie) page. Revenue questions there are available to owners, admins, and managers.

## Frequently asked questions

**How is revenue calculated in SpaSphere?**
Revenue is calculated from successful payments: card payments once they go through, and cash, check, Venmo, Zelle, bank transfer, and other payments you record as soon as you record them. Deposits are recorded at booking time, and final payments are recorded at checkout. Refunded amounts are subtracted from the totals. Card processing fees are not subtracted, so your bank deposits for card sales will be a little lower than the revenue shown.

**Can I see revenue for a specific service?**
Yes. The **Popular Services** chart on the Breakdown tab shows revenue per service, and the **Revenue & Bookings Trends** combo chart shows daily bookings and net revenue across all services. The **Services Revenue** operational report under Reports also provides a tabular view with revenue, bookings, average price, and revenue per hour for each service. You can use the time filter to focus on any 7, 14, 30, or 90 day window.

**What does the order funnel show me?**
The order funnel tracks every order through its lifecycle: pending, paid, fulfilled, canceled, and refunded (including partial refunds). It calculates your conversion rate (orders that made it to paid or fulfilled), cancellation rate, refund rate, and the financial impact of lost orders. If your cancellation rate is climbing, it is a signal to review your cancellation policy or enable deposit collection to reduce frivolous bookings.

**How do I reduce my discount rate?**
Start by reviewing the Discount Analytics chart to understand who is giving discounts and how often. If specific team members have disproportionately high discount rates, they may be applying discounts that are not part of your official promotions. Set clear discount policies, use SpaSphere's built-in discount codes for authorized promotions, and review the daily discount trend to see whether the issue is concentrated on certain days.

**Can I track tips by staff member?**
Absolutely. The **Staff Performance** chart on the Orders & Sales tab shows total tips and tip rate per staff member. For a detailed tabular view, visit **Reports > Operational Reports > Tips Report**, which breaks down tips by staff member and payment method. You can export this data as CSV for payroll processing.


# How to Analyze Client Retention and Growth in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/analytics/client-analytics
Section: analytics
Updated: 2026-10-21

Track client lifetime value, churn rate, at-risk clients, and growth trends using SpaSphere's client analytics to improve retention and reduce lost revenue.

Your clients are your spa's most valuable asset. SpaSphere's **Clients** and **Upcoming** tabs on the [analytics dashboard](https://spasphere.ai/docs/analytics/analytics-dashboard) help you understand who is coming back, who is drifting away, and where your next growth will come from.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Acquiring a new spa client costs 5-7 times more than retaining an existing one. A mere 5% improvement in retention can increase profits by 25-95%, according to Harvard Business Review research. Yet most spa owners do not know their churn rate until clients have already left. SpaSphere surfaces at-risk clients before they churn, giving you time to re-engage them with a follow-up email or a special offer. If your average client lifetime value is $800 and you prevent just 3 clients per month from churning, that is $2,400 in protected annual revenue per client -- potentially $28,800 per year.

## Client Analytics at a Glance

- **Client Growth**: Monthly new clients, cumulative total, and growth rate percentage
- **Client Lifetime Value (LTV)**: Average LTV, top clients by total spend, and LTV distribution
- **Client Retention Metrics**: Retention rate, average time between visits, at-risk client count, and reactivated clients
- **No-Shows**: No-show rate, no-show count, cancellation count, and total appointments
- **Churn Rate**: a snapshot, as of today, of how many clients are retained, at risk, or lost
- **Churn by Service**: Which services have the highest churn rates
- **At-Risk Clients**: A table of specific clients who have not booked in a while, with days since last visit and total visit count

## Reviewing Client Analytics

**Step 1: Open the Clients tab**
Navigate to **Reports > Analytics** and click the **Clients** tab. The top section, labeled **Client Analytics**, shows client growth and value. The bottom section, **Retention & Risk**, focuses on churn and at-risk behavior.

**Step 2: Review client growth trends**
The **Client Growth** chart shows how many new clients had their first visit each month over the last 12 months, along with the cumulative total. SpaSphere calculates your growth rate percentage and average clients per month automatically. If the trend is flat or declining, it may be time to invest in marketing or referral programs.

**Step 3: Analyze lifetime value distribution**
The **My Client Lifetime Value** card displays your average LTV and your two top clients by total spend, under **Top clients, all time**. The LTV distribution shows how your clients fall across spending tiers. A healthy distribution has a mix of high-value regulars and a growing base of newer clients moving up in value.

**Step 4: Check retention metrics**
The **My Client Retention Metrics** card shows four key numbers:

- **Retention Rate**: the share of your clients (seen in the last 12 months) who are still on track, as of today. Each client is measured against their own usual time between visits
- **Average Time Between Visits**: How many days, on average, clients wait between appointments
- **At-Risk Clients**: Number of clients who have not booked recently and may be drifting away (click **View clients** for the list)
- **Reactivated**: Clients who returned after an extended absence

A retention rate above 60% is solid for most spas. Below 50% signals a problem worth investigating.

**Step 5: Identify and act on at-risk clients**
Scroll down to the **My At-Risk Clients** table in the Retention & Risk section. This table lists individual clients with their name, days since their last visit, and total visit count, plus an **Email** button for clients with an email address. These are clients who historically visited regularly but have gone unusually long without booking.

**Step 6: Investigate churn by service**
The **Churn by Service** chart shows which services have the highest client dropout rates. If a particular service has significantly higher churn than others, investigate the client experience -- it could indicate pricing issues, quality inconsistency, or that clients only needed the service once.

## Emailing an At-Risk Client

You don't have to write the email from scratch. Click **Email** next to a client on the **My At-Risk Clients** list, and Sophie drafts a message for you, in your own writing voice if you've set up [Writing Voice](https://spasphere.ai/docs/analytics/sophie-voice-profile), using what the list knows about the client: how long it's been and how many visits they've had.

**Step 1: Click Email next to the client**
The **Send Message** window opens and shows **Generating personalized message...** for a few seconds while Sophie writes.

**Step 2: Read and edit the draft**
The **Subject** and **Message** are filled in for you. Change anything you like, or click **Regenerate** for a fresh draft.

**Step 3: Add a discount code (optional)**
Open **Include a discount code** to add a code that can be used once. A code is filled in for you (click **New code** for a different one). Choose the **Type** and **Value** and when it **Expires in** (7, 14 or 30 days). The coupon is saved only when you send the email, and the email shows the offer and the code.

**Step 4: Click Send Email**
The email goes out from your business name, with a **Book Your Next Visit** button that opens your services page. Replies come to your business email.

**Counts toward your marketing emails**
These emails count toward your 500 monthly marketing emails, like newsletters and marketing automations. Clients who unsubscribed from email, or whose email bounced, are skipped, and you see **Not sent** with the reason. The Email button only shows for clients with an email address.

**Re-engage at-risk clients with a personal email**
A short, personal note with a small reason to come back, like a discount or a complimentary add-on, is often the nudge that brings a regular client back. Even reactivating 2-3 at-risk clients per month can add up over a year.

## Understanding No-Shows and Cancellations

The **No-Shows** card in the Retention & Risk section provides a clear picture of missed appointments:

- **No-Show Rate**: Percentage of appointments where the client did not show up
- **No-Show Count**: Absolute number of no-shows in the period
- **Cancellations Count**: number of cancelled appointments
- **Total Appointments**: Total booked appointments for context

SpaSphere displays this as a donut chart so you can see the split between kept appointments, no-shows, and cancellations. Industry benchmarks put a healthy no-show rate under 10%. If yours is higher, consider enabling deposit collection to create a financial incentive for clients to honor their bookings.

**High no-show rates eat your revenue silently**
A 15% no-show rate on a spa averaging 20 appointments per day means 3 empty slots daily. At an average service price of $80, that is $240 per day or roughly $5,000 per month in lost revenue. SpaSphere's no-show analytics make this hidden cost visible so you can take corrective action -- such as requiring deposits or sending appointment reminder emails.

## Using the Upcoming Tab for Client Growth

The **Upcoming** tab complements client analytics with what's already on the books and who to reach next:

- **Due for their next treatment** lists clients who are due soon and have nothing booked, with a **Follow up** button for each client who has an email address.
- **Smart Suggestions** look at your own no-show patterns and recommend specific actions, for example **Implement a Deposit Policy** when many clients miss appointments, or extra reminders for the time of day with the most no-shows. A **Why:** line shows the numbers behind each one.

**Ask Sophie who needs attention**
On the [Ask Sophie](https://spasphere.ai/docs/analytics/ask-sophie) page you can ask questions such as "Who hasn't been back recently?" or "Which of these clients are at risk?" and get a list of names back.

## Frequently asked questions

**Do emails to at-risk clients count toward my monthly marketing emails?**
Yes. Each one counts toward your 500 monthly marketing emails, the same as newsletters and marketing automations. The Unlimited Email Marketing add-on removes the monthly limit.

**How does SpaSphere determine which clients are at risk?**
SpaSphere analyzes each client's historical visit frequency and compares their current gap between visits to their personal average. If a client who typically books every 3 weeks has gone 6 weeks without an appointment, they are flagged as at-risk. The algorithm also considers total visit count -- a one-time visitor who has not returned in 90 days is treated differently from a regular who suddenly stopped coming. This approach avoids false positives and surfaces only the clients who genuinely need attention.

**What is a good client retention rate for a spa?**
Industry benchmarks vary, but most successful spas maintain a retention rate between 55% and 75%. A rate above 65% is generally considered strong. SpaSphere calculates retention as of today: each client seen in the last 12 months counts as retained if they have booked again or are not yet overdue for their usual next visit. If your rate is below 50%, focus on the fundamentals: consistent service quality, follow-up communication, and making rebooking easy through your online booking page.

**Can I see client lifetime value for individual clients?**
Yes. The Client Lifetime Value chart lists your top clients by total spend. For individual client details beyond the top list, visit the **Clients** section of the admin dashboard and open a specific client profile. The profile shows total spend, visit history, and preferred services. You can also run a **Client List** report under Reports for a full CSV export of all clients with their lifetime values.

**How are smart suggestions generated?**
Smart Suggestions come from your own appointment history, specifically your no-shows. When the numbers call for it, you'll see suggestions such as **Implement a Deposit Policy** (when your no-show rate is high), extra reminders for the time of day with the most no-shows, or **Add Mid-Point Reminders** (when clients book far ahead and then miss). A **Why:** line shows the numbers behind each one. If your no-shows are low, you may see no suggestions at all, which is good news.

**What does churn by service tell me?**
The Churn by Service chart looks at clients whose last visit was a particular service and shows the percentage of them who are now lost (well past their usual time between visits), as of today. A high churn rate on one service might mean the service is a "one-and-done" treatment (like a bridal facial), the pricing does not match perceived value, or clients had an inconsistent experience. Compare churn rates across services to spot outliers and investigate the root cause.


# How to Use Sophie's Insights

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/analytics/sophies-insights
Section: analytics
Updated: 2026-10-20

Get a prioritized list of suggestions drawn from your client, revenue, and inventory reports, with the reason behind each one and a link to act on it.

Sophie's Insights gathers the most important findings from your reports into a single list, so you don't have to open each report to find what needs attention. It's the **Insights** tab in Sophie's panel, which opens from the **Sophie** button in the top bar. Every insight tells you what's happening, how much it matters, and why it was flagged, with a button that takes you straight to the details or the next step.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Reports are only useful if someone reads them. Between clients, you don't have time to dig through client retention, revenue, and stock reports looking for problems. Sophie's Insights does the digging and shows you the handful of things worth your attention today.

## Key Capabilities

- One prioritized list of suggestions for your business
- Each insight shows its impact and the reason it was flagged
- Draws on your Client Momentum, Growth Opportunities, Revenue at Risk, and Inventory Intelligence reports
- One click to the underlying report or the related action
- Dismiss insights you've handled
- Refreshed daily

## Where Insights Come From

Sophie's Insights looks across four reports:

- **Client Momentum**: clients who are overdue or visiting less often
- **Growth Opportunities**: areas where your business could grow
- **Revenue at Risk**: revenue that may be slipping away
- **Inventory Intelligence**: products that need attention

Insights are ordered so the most reliable, highest-impact suggestions come first.

## Using Your Insights

**Step 1: Open Sophie's Insights**
Click the **Sophie** button (the purple sparkles) in the top bar, then the **Insights** tab. A dot on the button and on the tab means there are suggestions you haven't seen yet. The panel opens over the right side of the page you're on, and the top of the tab shows how many suggestions are waiting for you. The **Insights** tab is shown to owners and managers; service providers see only **Ask**.

**Step 2: Review each suggestion**
Each card shows the insight, an impact badge, and a line explaining why it was flagged. Start at the top: the list is already prioritized.

**Step 3: Take action**
For insights about clients at risk of leaving, click **Reach out** to open [Churn Prevention](https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/churn-prevention), where you can review those clients and send a win-back email. For other insights, click **See details** to open the report behind it.

**Step 4: Dismiss what you've handled**
Click the **X** on a card ("Hide this suggestion") to dismiss it and keep your list focused on what's still open.

When there's nothing to review, you'll see **All caught up**. The tab shows the top suggestions; when there are more, a note at the bottom says how many, and you can open a report to see the rest.

**How often insights update**
Insights are recalculated once a day, so today's list reflects your business as of the latest overnight refresh. For up-to-the-minute client risk, click **Check again** on the Churn Prevention page.

## Frequently asked questions

**How is this different from the analytics dashboard?**
The analytics dashboard shows your numbers: revenue, appointments, clients, and trends. Sophie's Insights tells you which of those findings need attention and links you to act on them.

**Why don't I see any insights?**
Insights are built from your booking, client, and inventory history. A new account, or one with little recent activity, may not have enough data yet. When everything looks healthy, you'll see All caught up.

**Does dismissing an insight change anything in my account?**
No. Dismissing only removes the card from your list. It doesn't change your reports, clients, or settings.


# How to Ask Sophie About Your Business Numbers

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/analytics/ask-sophie
Section: analytics
Updated: 2026-10-20

Use Ask Sophie to ask plain-English questions about your appointments, revenue, clients, services, and retail, and get answers drawn from your own SpaSphere data.

**Ask Sophie** is a chat where you ask questions about your business in plain English, such as "Am I making more money than last month?" or "Who hasn't been back recently?", and Sophie answers with your real numbers. She looks the numbers up in your SpaSphere data each time you ask, so you don't have to know which report to open. To open it, click the **Sophie** button in the top bar of any page: a panel slides in over the right side of the page, on the **Ask** tab.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Most owners don't have time to learn a reporting tool. You know what you want to ask: which services are slowing down, who to call to fill tomorrow's gap, what to reorder. Ask Sophie lets you ask it the way you'd ask a business partner, between clients, and get a specific answer back.

## Key Capabilities

- **Plain-English questions** about appointments, revenue, clients, services, products, and your team
- **Answers from your live data**, with figures looked up each time you ask
- **Follow-up questions** in the same conversation, such as "How does that compare to last month?"
- **Ready-made questions** grouped into six topics, so you don't have to start from a blank box
- **Guided goals** that work through a bigger question step by step, such as "Find my revenue leaks"
- **A this-month summary** of appointments and revenue when you open the page

## Asking Sophie a Question

**Step 1: Open Ask Sophie**
Click the **Sophie** button (the purple sparkles) in the top bar, then the **Ask** tab if another tab is showing. Sophie's panel opens over the right side of the page you're on, so that page stays in view. It starts with a summary of this month's appointments and revenue, and two sets of starting points: **Questions** and **Goals**. On a computer, click the expand icon to make the panel larger.

**Step 2: Type a question or pick a starting point**
Type your question in the box at the bottom ("Ask about your appointments, revenue, services…") and press send. Or, on the **Questions** tab, pick one of six topics:

- **What's happening today?**
- **How is my business doing?**
- **How can I make more money?**
- **Who needs attention?**
- **What's working, and what isn't?**
- **What should I reorder?**

Each topic lists a few questions to tap. Click **Show all** to see more.

**Step 3: Watch Sophie look it up**
While Sophie works, a short label shows what she's checking, such as "Adding up your revenue…" or "Finding your busiest times…". Her answer then appears word by word. You can stop an answer partway through.

**Step 4: Ask a follow-up**
Under each answer, Sophie suggests follow-up questions based on what she just looked at, for example "Break that down by service". Tap one or type your own. Sophie remembers the earlier questions in the conversation, so "What about last month?" works.

**Step 5: Start over**
Click **Back to questions** to clear the conversation and return to the starting topics.

## Working Through a Goal

The **Goals** tab is for bigger questions that need more than one answer. Pick an outcome and Sophie works through it a step at a time, suggesting the next question after each answer. The goals are:

- **Find my revenue leaks**
- **Win back the clients I'm losing**
- **Fill my empty hours**
- **Decide if I should raise my prices**
- **Make my retail work harder**
- **Cut my cancellation rate**

## What Sophie Can Look Up

Sophie reads your SpaSphere data through a fixed set of read-only lookups. She can answer questions about:

- **Business health** -- how this period compares with the last one, average ticket, rebooking and new-client rates
- **Revenue** -- totals, tips, discounts, refunds, revenue by service and by product, and month-by-month trends
- **Appointments** -- today's and upcoming appointments, counts by status, cancellations by service, and your busiest and quietest days and hours
- **Clients** -- newest clients, birthdays this month, clients who haven't been back, frequent clients, top spenders, and clients who are overdue or at risk
- **Treatment plans and memberships** -- plan progress, plans that are behind or expiring, and membership health
- **Services and products** -- service performance and margins, best-selling products, low stock, and dead stock
- **Your team** -- performance by team member
- **Payments** -- outstanding balances and collections

For "how do I grow" questions, Sophie pulls the relevant numbers first, then gives a few specific recommendations based on them.

**What Sophie can't do**
Sophie only answers. She can't change anything in your account: she won't book appointments, edit client records, send messages, or change prices. She is text only, with no voice or dictation. She sticks to your business data, so questions outside it (like skin or treatment advice) are outside what she can answer here. Your conversation stays while you close the panel and move between pages, but it isn't saved: refreshing the browser or signing out starts fresh.

## Who Sees What

Anyone on your team can use Ask Sophie. Money and team questions are limited to **owners and managers**: revenue, tips, margins, client lifetime value, memberships, product sales, staff performance, and outstanding payments. Service providers can ask about appointments, clients, services, treatment plans, and inventory. For them, the opening summary shows appointments but not revenue, there is no **Goals** tab, and the starting topics are **What's happening today?**, **Which clients should I see about?**, and **Which treatment plans need a nudge?**

Ask Sophie requires an active SpaSphere subscription.

## Frequently asked questions

**How is Ask Sophie different from Sophie's Insights?**
Sophie's Insights, the **Insights** tab next to **Ask** in Sophie's panel, is a list Sophie prepares for you: the findings from your reports that most need attention. Ask Sophie answers the question you ask, when you ask it.

**How is it different from the Ask Sophie button on Analytics charts?**
The button on each Analytics chart explains that one chart. Ask Sophie in the Sophie panel can answer questions across your whole business, and you can ask follow-ups.

**Where do Sophie's numbers come from?**
Sophie is built to look up every figure in your SpaSphere data rather than estimate. If a lookup comes back empty, she says so and suggests something to try, such as a wider date range. Sophie is an AI assistant, so for figures you'll file or pay taxes on, confirm them in Reports.

**What period does Sophie use if I don't say one?**
She picks a sensible default, usually this month or the last 30 days, and tells you which one she used. Say the period in your question (for example, "last month" or "last 90 days") to get exactly what you want.

**How does Sophie count no-shows?**
SpaSphere has no separate no-show status, so Sophie counts appointments that are still marked booked after their start time. Some of those may be visits your team forgot to mark complete.

**Can Sophie see another business's data?**
No. Sophie can only read the data of the business you're signed in to.


# How to Set Up Sophie's Voice Profile

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/analytics/sophie-voice-profile
Section: analytics
Updated: 2026-10-20

Teach Sophie how you write, with a preset or your own client messages, so the win-back messages and service descriptions she drafts sound like you.

Sophie's Voice Profile is where you teach Sophie how you talk to your clients. Pick a starting style, or paste in a few messages you've actually sent, and Sophie uses them whenever she drafts something for you: win-back messages for clients who are drifting away, and names and descriptions for your services and treatment plans. You'll find it under **Settings > Writing Voice**, or behind the gear icon (**Sophie's settings**) in Sophie's panel.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Your clients book with you because of you. A message that sounds like a generic marketing department ("Dear valued client, we miss you!") reads like spam, and clients can tell. A message that sounds like the text you'd send yourself gets opened, read, and answered. Setting up your voice once means every draft Sophie hands you needs less editing before it goes out.

## Key Capabilities

- **Three ready-made presets** (Luxury Spa, Results-Driven Specialist, and Chill Solo Esthetician), or start from scratch
- **Up to five writing samples**, real messages you've sent clients, that Sophie copies closely
- **Business background**: your vibe, your ideal client, and what makes you different
- **Phrase preferences**: phrases you naturally use, and words that don't sound like you
- **A preview** of three sample messages before you save anything
- **One profile for your whole business**, used by every Sophie draft that supports it

## Setting Up Your Voice

**Step 1: Open Writing Voice**
In the sidebar, go to **Settings > Writing Voice**. Or click the **Sophie** button in the top bar and then the gear icon (**Sophie's settings**). Sophie's panel opens on **Writing Voice**, titled **Make Sophie sound like you**. Click the back arrow to return to Ask or Insights. Unsaved changes stay while you close the panel or move between pages.

**Step 2: Pick a starting point**
Under **Start with a preset**, choose the one closest to how you sound:

- **Luxury Spa**: elevated, serene, attention to detail
- **Results-Driven Specialist**: clinical expertise, outcome-focused
- **Chill Solo Esthetician**: casual, personal, like texting a friend
- **Start from scratch**: build your voice from zero

Picking a preset fills in the settings below. Nothing is saved yet, so you can try each one.

**Step 3: Add your own writing samples**
This is the step that makes the biggest difference. Click **Start from scratch** (or **Add writing samples** after picking a preset) to open the **Your voice** card, then paste a real message you've sent a client into the box. Click **Add sample** to add more, up to five. Use the **X** next to a sample to remove it.

Once a sample is filled in, you'll see **Your voice is on. Sophie will now match your writing style.**

**Step 4: Tell Sophie about your business (optional)**
Click **Refine your voice** to open the extra settings. Under **About your business**, fill in:

- **Your vibe**: for example, "Relaxed luxury, holistic wellness"
- **Your ideal client**: for example, "Busy professionals, brides-to-be"
- **What makes you different**: a sentence or two about your specialty and approach

Under **Phrase preferences**, you can also list **Phrases you naturally use** and **Words that don't sound like you**, or tap a suggestion to add it. These help most when you have few writing samples.

**Step 5: Preview your voice**
In **Preview your voice**, click **Write a sample message**. Sophie writes three sample messages with your current settings, even unsaved ones: an **Appointment Confirmation**, a **Post-Visit Follow-up**, and a **Rebooking Nudge**. Switch between the tabs to read each one. Not quite right? Change a sample or setting and generate again.

**Step 6: Save**
Click **Save** at the bottom of the panel. You'll see **Saved** ("Sophie will write in this voice from now on."), and Sophie uses your voice from her next draft on.

**Switching presets replaces your samples**
If you've written your own samples and then click a preset, SpaSphere asks **Replace current settings?** first. Choosing **Replace settings** swaps your samples and settings for the preset's. Choose **Cancel** to keep yours. Either way, nothing changes for real until you click **Save**.

## How Sophie Uses Your Settings

Sophie follows the strongest thing you've given her:

1. **Writing samples come first.** If you've saved any, Sophie writes to match them closely (same words, same energy) and sets the preset style and business background aside.
2. **No samples? She uses your preset and business background.** The preset sets her tone (for example, polished and serene, or casual and friendly), and your vibe, ideal client, and what makes you different give her context.
3. **Nothing saved yet?** Sophie writes in a friendly, concise, warm style, like a caring esthetician rather than a marketing department.

**Replace the preset's example with your own messages**
Each preset comes with one example message, and it's saved as a writing sample when you save the preset. Since writing samples come first, Sophie will copy that example until you replace it. Click **Add writing samples** and paste two or three ordinary messages you've already sent: a follow-up text, a reminder, a "we miss you" note. Paste them as you wrote them, casual phrasing and all. That's exactly what Sophie will copy.

## Where Sophie Uses Your Voice

Your voice profile shapes these drafts today:

- **Churn Prevention suggested messages.** When Churn Prevention flags a client as medium or high risk, Sophie writes a suggested win-back message in your voice. It shows on the client's card under **Marketing > Churn Prevention**.
- **Churn Prevention emails.** When you click **Send Email** on a flagged client, the message is pre-filled with Sophie's suggestion, or Sophie writes one while you see "Sophie is using your voice profile to craft the perfect message". Click **Regenerate** for a fresh version. You can edit the message before you click **Send Email**.
- **Service names and descriptions.** **Not sure what to write?** in a service's **Description** section suggests a name and description in your voice.
- **Treatment plan names and descriptions.** **Generate with Sophie** on a treatment plan does the same.

**What your voice profile doesn't change**
Your regular automatic emails and texts, like appointment confirmations, reminders, and the messages your marketing automations send, use their own templates, which you can edit in your own words. Ask Sophie answers and Sophie's Insights don't use your voice profile either. Sophie never sends a message on her own: you review every Churn Prevention email before it goes out.

## Who Can Use It

Owners and managers can change Writing Voice. Service providers can open it and read it, but can't save changes. There's one voice profile for the whole business, so a change affects every team member's drafts. Writing Voice requires an active SpaSphere subscription.

## Frequently asked questions

**Do I have to use a preset?**
No. Click Start from scratch and paste your own writing samples. If you've saved samples, Sophie follows them over any preset.

**How many writing samples should I add?**
You can add up to five. Two or three real client messages that show how you normally write are usually enough. Pick different kinds, like a follow-up and a reminder, so Sophie sees your range.

**Does the preview use my saved settings?**
It uses whatever is on the page right now, saved or not. That lets you try changes before saving them. Remember to click Save when you're happy.

**Will Sophie send messages to my clients automatically?**
No. Sophie drafts. In Churn Prevention, the message goes out only when you click Send Email, and you can edit it first. Service and treatment plan suggestions only fill in the form when you choose to use them.

**Does changing my voice update messages Sophie already wrote?**
No. New drafts use your new voice. For a Churn Prevention client who already has a suggested message, open Send Email and click Regenerate to get a version in your updated voice.

**Does my voice profile change my appointment confirmations and reminders?**
No. Those use your message templates, not Sophie's voice. Today the voice profile shapes Churn Prevention messages and the service and treatment plan descriptions Sophie suggests.


# How to Schedule Spa Appointments in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/appointments/scheduling-appointments
Section: appointments
Updated: 2026-10-20

Learn how to create, edit, and manage appointments for your clients in SpaSphere, including add-ons and block times.

SpaSphere makes it easy to book appointments for your clients directly from the [admin dashboard](https://spasphere.ai/). Whether a client calls in or walks through the door, you can schedule a new appointment in seconds and keep your entire team organized.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Efficient appointment scheduling is the single biggest lever for spa revenue. Spas that use structured scheduling software reduce no-shows by up to 30%, and each missed appointment costs the average solo esthetician $85-150 in lost revenue. Beyond no-shows, a streamlined booking process means your front desk spends less time on the phone and more time creating great client experiences. SpaSphere's conflict detection and automatic end-time calculation eliminate double-bookings and scheduling errors that frustrate clients and cost you money. Over the course of a year, even preventing two scheduling mistakes per week can save a small spa over $15,000 in lost appointments and rework.

## Key Capabilities

- Book client appointments with a specific service, provider, and time slot
- Create block times to reserve periods when a provider is unavailable
- Quick-add new clients directly from the appointment form
- Attach add-ons when booking, and add or cancel add-ons on an existing appointment
- Send the client a deposit or card-on-file request with a new appointment
- Add internal notes to any appointment for your team
- Receive conflict warnings when a time slot overlaps with an existing booking
- Automatically calculate appointment end times based on service duration

## Creating a New Appointment

**Step 1: Open the appointment form**
Navigate to **Calendar** in the sidebar (formerly **Appointments**). Click the **New appointment** button in the calendar toolbar. On mobile, tap the purple round **+** button in the bottom-right corner. The form opens as **Add Appointment**.

**Step 2: Pick the location (more than one location only)**
If you have more than one location, a **Location** dropdown sits at the top of the form. It starts on your primary location; choose where this visit takes place. Single-location businesses don't see it. Once an appointment is saved, its location can't be changed from this form.

**Step 3: Choose the appointment type**
At the top of the form, select the appointment type. Choose **Client Appointment** for a standard booking, or **Block Time** if you need to reserve a time slot for non-client activities like breaks, training, or meetings.

**Step 4: Select a client**
Use the searchable client dropdown to find the client by name. If the client is not yet in your system, click the **New** button next to the Client label to open the quick-add client form. The new client is created instantly and pre-selected for the appointment.

**Step 5: Assign a provider and service**
Select the **Team Member** (provider) who will perform the service. Once a provider is selected, the **Service** dropdown updates to show only the services that provider offers. Choose the appropriate service for the appointment.

**Step 6: Pick a date and time**
Use the date picker to choose the appointment day. Then select a start time from the time picker. The time picker respects your configured time granularity (15, 30, 45, 60, 75, or 90-minute intervals). SpaSphere automatically calculates and displays the appointment end time based on the selected service's duration.

**Step 7: Attach add-ons (optional)**
If the service has add-ons, an **Add-ons** section appears (*Optional: select services to attach to this appointment.*). Select any add-ons the client wants. The appointment's end time grows to include them.

**Step 8: Request a deposit or card on file (optional)**
Under **Payment**, check **Send request for deposit** (or **Collect card on file**, depending on your deposit settings) to email the client a secure payment link after you save. The client needs an email address on file. See [Deposit and Card Requests](https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/deposit-and-card-requests) for how this works.

**Step 9: Add notes and save**
Optionally, enter any internal notes for the appointment. These notes are visible to your team and can include special instructions or client preferences. Click **Book appointment** to confirm the booking.

**Click directly on the calendar to save time**
You can also create an appointment by clicking or dragging on a time slot directly in the calendar. The form will open with the date and time pre-filled for you. This shortcut is especially valuable during busy periods: it cuts booking time roughly in half compared to manually selecting the date and time, helping your front desk handle walk-ins and phone calls faster.

## Editing an Existing Appointment

To edit an appointment, click on the event in the calendar. The appointment modal opens with all details pre-filled. From this view, you can:

- Change the client, provider, or service
- Move the appointment to a different date or time
- Update the internal notes
- View the client's contact information (email and phone)

When editing an existing appointment, SpaSphere also gives you the client's whole profile without leaving the appointment. The tab bar shows **Appointment**, **Client** (the profile's header, details, switches, and progress cards, with a **Full profile** button to open the client page), **Notes**, **Orders**, **Intake Forms**, **Messages** (with Business Texting), and **History**. The **More** menu opens the rest, such as **SOAP Notes**, **Files**, **Packages**, **Gift Cards**, **Treatment Plans**, **Membership**, **Skin Assessments**, and **Cards on File**, plus this visit's **Treatment Chart** when charting is available. Click **Save Changes** on the **Appointment** tab to save edits.

**Conflict detection protects your revenue**
If the new time overlaps with another appointment or block time, SpaSphere warns you and asks for confirmation before saving. You can choose to allow the overlap or pick a different time. This prevents accidental double-bookings that lead to client frustration, negative reviews, and lost repeat business.

## Adding or Cancelling Add-ons on a Booked Appointment

Clients often decide on an extra once they're in the chair. You can change an appointment's add-ons without rebooking it.

**Step 1: Open the appointment**
Click the appointment on the calendar. If it already has add-ons, the **Add-ons** section lists them with their price and the total appointment time.

**Step 2: Add an add-on**
In the **Add an add-on** section (*Upsell an extra. It's added to this appointment and billed at checkout.*), click **Add** next to the add-on. Use the quantity controls where offered; when you reach an add-on's limit, its button shows **Max added**. The appointment is lengthened to fit, and the add-on is charged when you check the client out.

**Step 3: Cancel an add-on**
Click the cancel icon next to an add-on in the **Add-ons** list, then confirm with **Cancel add-on**. The appointment is shortened. If the appointment was already paid, SpaSphere refunds up to the add-on's price to the original payment method, and the dialog tells you the amount before you confirm. The refund may be lower if the appointment was already partly refunded.

Add-ons can be changed while an appointment is booked, pending payment, or pending approval. Completed and cancelled appointments can't take new add-ons.

**Clients blocked from online booking**
If you pick a client who is blocked from booking on your website, the form shows a **Blocked from online booking** notice with any internal note your team left. It's only a reminder: you can still book for them here. See [Approving Online Bookings](https://spasphere.ai/docs/appointments/approving-online-bookings#blocking-a-client-from-online-booking).

## Creating Block Times

Block times let you mark periods when a provider is unavailable for bookings. This is useful for lunch breaks, staff meetings, or personal time.

**Step 1: Select Block Time as the type**
Open the appointment form and change the appointment type to **Block Time**.

**Step 2: Choose a provider and time range**
Select the team member, then set both the **Start Time** and **End Time** for the blocked period.

**Step 3: Add an optional reason and save**
Enter a reason for the block (e.g., "Lunch break" or "Staff training"). Click **Save Block Time** to confirm.

**Block times prevent bookings and protect your schedule**
Block times appear on the calendar as gray hatched blocks. Clients cannot book appointments during blocked periods on your public booking page. Using block times consistently for breaks and prep periods ensures your providers avoid burnout and deliver a higher quality of service throughout the day.

## Blocking an Entire Day

You can block an entire day for one or more providers at once. Click the menu icon on any day column header in the calendar and select **Block Day**. In the Block Day modal, you can:

- Select one or multiple team members (or use Select All)
- Set the start and end times for the block
- Optionally repeat the block daily, weekly, or monthly under **Recurrence**
- Turn on **Allow overlapping existing appointments** if the block should be created even where appointments already exist (otherwise those times are skipped)

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I book an appointment in the past?**
Yes, SpaSphere allows past-date bookings but will ask you to confirm before saving. This is especially useful for recording walk-in appointments that were not booked in advance, or for catching up on data entry at the end of a busy day. Past-date bookings go through the same conflict detection and validation as future bookings, so your records stay accurate. They also appear in your reporting and revenue analytics just like any other appointment.

**What happens if two appointments overlap?**
SpaSphere detects scheduling conflicts in real time and displays a clear warning before you save. You can choose to proceed with the overlapping booking if your provider can handle it (for example, a multi-step service where the provider is free during a processing period), or you can select a different time slot. The conflict warning shows you exactly which existing appointment would overlap, including the client name, service, and time range, so you can make an informed decision.

**Can I add a new client while booking an appointment?**
Yes. Click the **New** button next to the Client label in the appointment form. A quick-add modal lets you enter the client's name, email, and phone number without leaving the booking flow. The new client is created instantly and pre-selected for the appointment. You can fill in additional client details later from the Clients section. This is particularly useful for walk-ins and phone bookings where you want to get the appointment on the calendar quickly.

**How does the time granularity setting work?**
Your business can configure time intervals (15, 30, 45, 60, 75, or 90 minutes) with the **Time slot interval** setting in **Settings > Appointments**. The time picker in the appointment form only shows start times that align with your chosen interval. For example, if you set 15-minute granularity, available start times include 9:00, 9:15, 9:30, and so on. Choosing the right granularity depends on your shortest service -- if your quickest treatment is 30 minutes, 15-minute intervals give you the most scheduling flexibility without creating awkward gaps.

**Can I set up recurring block times?**
Yes. In the Block Day modal, open **Recurrence** and turn on **Enable recurrence**. Choose **Daily**, **Weekly**, or **Monthly**, set how often it repeats with **Every**, and pick an end condition: **For** a number of occurrences or **Until** a date. This is ideal for regular events like weekly staff meetings, recurring training sessions, or a provider's fixed day off. Each recurring instance is created as a separate block time, so you can edit or delete individual occurrences without affecting the rest of the series.


# How to Manage Your Spa Calendar (Views, Filters & Blocks)

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/appointments/managing-calendar
Section: appointments
Updated: 2026-10-21

Navigate and customize the SpaSphere calendar with day, week, and month views, provider and location filtering, drag-and-drop rescheduling, and closures.

The SpaSphere calendar is the central hub for your daily operations. It gives you a visual overview of every appointment, block time, and provider's availability in one place. Open it from **Calendar** in the sidebar (this item used to be called Appointments). Learn how to navigate between views, filter by provider or location, and find the [Daily Brief](https://spasphere.ai/features/ai-daily-brief) details that help you prepare for each day.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Your calendar is the operational heartbeat of your spa. A cluttered or hard-to-read schedule leads to missed appointments, underbooked providers, and wasted revenue. With SpaSphere's provider filtering, color-coded availability, and closure badges, you can spot open slots at a glance, and the Daily Brief details on your dashboard help you prepare for each client and deliver a more personalized experience.

## Key Capabilities

- Switch between Day, 3-Day, Week, and Month calendar views
- Filter the calendar to show one provider or all providers at once
- Filter by location when you run more than one
- See non-working hours shaded per provider with color-coded availability
- View appointment details, payment status, and client info on hover
- See holidays and closures as badges on the days they apply to
- See add-on and buffer time as separate bands on each appointment
- Opens at the current time of day, so you land on what's happening now
- Appointment cards filled with each service's own color
- Navigate quickly between dates with Today, Previous, and Next controls
- Drag an appointment to a new time to reschedule it, with a conflict warning before it saves
- A warning that shows the block when you book or move an appointment over time you blocked off

## Calendar Views

SpaSphere offers four calendar views to match how you prefer to manage your schedule.

**Step 1: Choose your view**
Use the view selector dropdown in the calendar toolbar to switch between views:

- **Day** -- Shows a single day with 15-minute time slots from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM
- **3 Days** -- Displays three consecutive days side by side (default on mobile)
- **Week** -- Shows a full Monday-through-Sunday week view (default on desktop)
- **Month** -- A high-level overview of the entire month with appointment counts per day

**Step 2: Navigate between dates**
Use the left and right arrow buttons to move backward or forward through dates. Click the **Today** button to jump back to the current date at any time. It also scrolls the calendar back to the current time of day.

**Step 3: Start at the current time**
When you open the calendar and today is on screen in the Day, 3 Days, or Week view, it scrolls so the hour before now sits at the top. At 2:30 PM, for example, it opens at 1:00 PM instead of 7:00 AM. Early in the morning it simply starts at the top of the day.

**Step 4: Add an appointment on the day you're viewing**
Click **New appointment** in the toolbar. The new appointment starts on the date the calendar is showing, not always today, at 9:00 AM. If you've moved ahead to next Thursday, the form opens on next Thursday. Change the time in the form before you save.

**Step 5: View appointment details**
Hover over any appointment on the calendar to see a tooltip with full details: client name, service, provider (with avatar), date, time range, duration, internal notes, appointment status, and payment status.

## Rescheduling by Drag and Drop

You can reschedule an appointment by dragging it to a new time on the calendar, without opening the appointment form.

**Step 1: Drag the appointment**
Click and hold an appointment, then drag it to the time you want. While you drag, SpaSphere shows the new start time along with the client and service, so you can see exactly where the appointment will land before you let go.

**Step 2: Confirm the move**
When you let go, an **Are you sure?** window shows the new time (and the old one under **Was**). Click **Yes** to move the appointment, or **No** to leave it where it was.

**Step 3: Confirm if there is a conflict**
If the new time overlaps another booking, SpaSphere pauses and shows a **Time Conflict Detected** warning. This is a warning, not a block: choose **Update Appointment Anyway** to keep the change, or cancel to leave the appointment where it was.

**Step 4: Confirm if the new time is blocked off**
If the new time overlaps time you blocked off for that provider (a lunch break, a training, a Google Calendar event), a **Confirmation Required** window shows a **Calendar Block** warning with the block's reason and its times. Click **Update Appointment Anyway** to keep the move, or **Cancel** to leave the appointment where it was. Buffer time counts too: an appointment whose cleanup time runs into a block gets the same warning.

**Step 5: Nothing moves unless it saves**
If you cancel, or the change cannot be saved, the appointment returns to its original position immediately. The calendar never shows a time the server did not accept.

The same warning appears when you book a new appointment over blocked time from **New appointment**: the button then reads **Create Appointment Anyway**. Blocks never stop you from booking. They make sure it's on purpose. Clients booking online can't pick a blocked time at all.

**Dragging changes the time only**
Drag and drop moves an appointment to a new time. To change the service, the provider, or anything else about the booking, open the appointment and edit it in the appointment form.

## Filtering by Provider

When your spa has multiple team members, filtering helps you focus on one provider's schedule at a time.

**Step 1: Open the provider filter**
Click the provider dropdown in the calendar toolbar. It appears automatically when your team has more than one bookable provider.

**Step 2: Select a provider**
Choose a specific provider to see only their appointments and block times. Select **Whole team** to return to the full team view.

**Step 3: Filter by location (multi-location only)**
If you have two or more locations, a location dropdown appears in the toolbar. Choose a location to see only its appointments, or **All locations** to see everything.

**Step 4: Read the availability legend**
When viewing the whole team, a color-coded legend labeled **Not working:** appears below the toolbar. Each provider has a unique color that shades their non-working hours on the calendar. This helps you quickly identify when each team member is available.

**Visual cues help you spot revenue opportunities**
Each appointment displays the provider's avatar in the top-right corner. Status indicators appear as small icons: a yellow clock for pending approval, a green checkmark for completed, and dollar-sign badges for payment status (blue for deposit paid, green for fully paid, orange for payment due). Use these cues to quickly identify appointments that still need payment collection -- recovering even a few unpaid appointments per week directly protects your bottom line.

## Understanding Calendar Events

The calendar displays several types of events, each with a distinct visual style:

- **Client appointments** -- Cards filled with the service's color, showing the client name, service name, and start time. A provider avatar appears in the top-right corner. The text switches between dark and white so it stays readable on any color, and canceled appointments turn light gray.
- **Add-on and buffer bands**: when an appointment includes add-ons or buffer time, the appointment block is split into bands. A legend above the calendar (**On each card:**) shows which is the **Service**, the **Add-on** time, and the **Buffer**.
- **Block times** -- Gray hatched blocks with a "no entry" icon and the provider name. Hover to see the block reason and time range.
- **Google Calendar busy times** -- With [two-way Google Calendar sync](https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/google-calendar-sync), a team member's Google events show as lighter gray blocks with a calendar icon and their name. Hover to see **Unavailable** and the time range (the event title only for the team member themselves, or if they share details). These blocks are read-only: change them in Google Calendar.
- **Non-working hours** -- Shaded background areas indicating when a provider is off-duty, based on their configured availability schedule.
- **Closures** -- Days with a holiday or closure show a badge in the day header, such as **Closed all day**, a partial-day window, or **Bookings still open** for informational closures. Manage closures under [Settings > Business > Closures](https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/closures).

### Service Colors

Each service has its own color, and every appointment card on the calendar is filled with it. Give your facials one color and your peels another, and you can read the shape of the day at a glance. To change a color, open the service under **Offerings > Services** and pick one under **Calendar color**.

**Buffer time prevents rushed service and protects quality**
If a service has buffer time set (e.g., 5 minutes for room cleanup), SpaSphere shows it as its own band at the end of the appointment. Buffer time prevents back-to-back bookings, giving your providers the space to sanitize equipment, reset the treatment room, and greet the next client without feeling rushed. This small gap has a big impact on client satisfaction and review scores.

## Pending Approval

The **Calendar** item in the sidebar opens a short menu: **Calendar**, **Daily Brief**, and **Pending Approval**. If you've turned on **Require approval for new online bookings**, **Pending Approval** is where you approve or decline online booking requests. Requests also appear on the calendar with a yellow clock icon while they wait. See [Approving Online Bookings](https://spasphere.ai/docs/appointments/approving-online-bookings).

## Your Daily Brief

The Daily Brief gets you ready for the day's clients before they arrive. Open it from **Calendar > Daily Brief** in the sidebar. The page shows the date, with arrows for the previous and next day, a date picker, and **Today** to come back to today. At the top you see how many **Booked appointments**, new clients, and chances to suggest more there are that day. Below, each appointment has a card with the client's segment (**New Client**, **Returning**, **VIP**, or **At Risk**), and where SpaSphere has prepared them, **Contraindications**, **Provider Tips**, **Recent Visits**, **Key Concerns**, **Questions to Ask**, **Product Recommendations**, **Suggested Services**, and **Upsell Opportunities**. Click **Refresh** to load the latest.

The same details are also on your **Dashboard**, in the **Today's Schedule** card.

**Step 1: Open Today's Schedule**
Click **Dashboard** in the sidebar. The **Today's Schedule** card lists today's appointments in time order and marks the one happening **NOW** and the one coming up **NEXT**.

**Step 2: Expand an appointment**
Click an appointment to expand it. Where SpaSphere has prepared details for that client, you'll see them here, such as:

- **Contraindications** from the client's intake form responses
- **Provider Tips** for the treating provider
- **Key Concerns** and questions to raise during the visit
- A client segment badge: **New Client**, **Returning**, **VIP**, or **At Risk**
- Suggested products, services, and package reminders

Click the client's name to open their profile. If nothing has been prepared for an appointment, the card says **No additional details available**.

**Use client segments to prioritize your attention**
Greeting a first-time client by name and referencing their intake form builds trust from the start, while spotting an At Risk client gives you a chance to re-engage them before they drift away.

## Frequently asked questions

**Which calendar view is best for a busy spa?**
The Week view works best for most spas because it shows the full Monday-through-Sunday picture at a glance, making it easy to spot gaps, plan ahead, and balance provider workloads. On mobile devices, the 3-Day view is automatically selected for a more compact layout that still gives you forward visibility. If you need to do detailed time-slot management or handle a high volume of same-day walk-ins, the Day view is ideal because it shows 15-minute granularity without horizontal scrolling.

**Can I drag and drop appointments to reschedule them?**
Yes. Drag an appointment to a new time and SpaSphere shows the new start time while you drag, so you can see where it will land before you drop it. If the new time overlaps another booking, a **Time Conflict Detected** warning appears and you can either confirm the change anyway or cancel it. If you cancel, or the change cannot be saved, the appointment returns to its original position. To change the service or provider as well, open the appointment and edit it in the appointment form.

**Can I book over a block time?**
Yes. When you book or move an appointment into time you blocked off for that provider, SpaSphere shows the block and asks you to confirm. Click Create Appointment Anyway or Update Appointment Anyway to go ahead, or Cancel to pick another time.

**What do the colored shaded areas on the calendar mean?**
Shaded areas represent a provider's non-working hours based on their working hours, set under **Settings > Team**. Each provider has a unique color shown in the legend below the toolbar. For example, if a provider works Tuesday through Saturday from 9 AM to 5 PM, the calendar shades the hours outside that window in their assigned color. This makes it immediately obvious when each team member is available, which helps you avoid scheduling into off-hours and keeps your bookings accurate.

**Where is the Daily Brief?**
Open Calendar > Daily Brief in the sidebar to see the brief for any day. Today's brief also appears inside the Today's Schedule card on your Dashboard: click any appointment there to expand its details, including contraindications, provider tips, and key concerns.

**Does the calendar adjust for my business timezone?**
Yes. Each appointment and blocked time is shown in the timezone of the location it belongs to, and anything without a location uses your business timezone. This keeps times correct for your team even if you manage your spa remotely or have locations in different timezones. If you update your timezone in settings, all existing and future calendar entries automatically adjust to reflect the change.


# How Appointment Statuses and Payments Work in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/appointments/appointment-statuses
Section: appointments
Updated: 2026-10-14

Understand the appointment lifecycle in SpaSphere, from booked to completed, including payment tracking and cancellations.

Every appointment in SpaSphere moves through a defined lifecycle, from the moment it is booked to when it is completed and paid. Understanding these statuses helps you track your schedule, manage payments, and handle cancellations efficiently. Visit the [appointments calendar](https://spasphere.ai/docs/appointments/managing-calendar) to see statuses at a glance.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Clear status tracking is the difference between getting paid consistently and leaving money on the table. Industry data shows that spas without structured payment workflows lose 5-10% of collectible revenue to forgotten charges, incomplete checkouts, and untracked no-shows. For a spa doing $20,000 per month, that is $1,000-2,000 in preventable losses. SpaSphere's status lifecycle ensures that every appointment has a clear financial outcome -- paid, outstanding, or cancelled with a reason. This visibility also powers your reporting: accurate cancellation reasons help you identify patterns (like a specific provider with high no-show rates), and payment status badges give your front desk instant clarity on what needs to be collected before a client walks out the door.

## Key Capabilities

- Track appointments through seven distinct statuses
- Monitor deposit and full payment status on every booking
- Complete appointments and process charges in one step
- Cancel appointments with predefined or custom reasons
- View payment badges directly on calendar events
- Charge outstanding balances after an appointment is completed

## Appointment Status Lifecycle

SpaSphere uses the following statuses to track where each appointment stands:

| Status | Description | Calendar Indicator |
|--------|-------------|-------------------|
| **Booked** | The appointment is confirmed and on the schedule. | Purple badge |
| **Pending Approval** | An online booking waiting for you to approve or decline it. Only used when **Require approval for new online bookings** is on. | Yellow badge; on the calendar, a dashed outline and a clock icon |
| **Pending Payment** | The appointment is waiting for the client to complete payment. | Orange badge |
| **Completed** | The service has been performed. Shows **Payment Complete** once it's paid, or **Completed (Payment Due)** while money is still owed. | Green checkmark icon |
| **Cancelled** | The appointment was cancelled with a recorded reason. | Gray badge |
| **Declined** | You declined a booking request, or it was declined automatically because nobody approved it in time. The slot is released. | Gray badge |
| **Expired** | An online booking the client started but never finished paying for. The held time slot is released. | Default styling |

## Completing an Appointment

When a client finishes their service, you mark the appointment as complete and handle payment in one workflow.

**Step 1: Open the appointment**
Click on the appointment in the calendar to open the edit modal. The current status badge appears next to the title.

**Step 2: Review the payment banner**
A contextual banner at the top of the modal shows the current payment state:

- **Payment Complete** (blue): the client has already paid in full ("Ready to mark as complete."). You can complete the visit with one click.
- **Not paid in full** (a grey strip): shows the **Total**, what's been **Paid** so far (when there's a deposit or partial payment), and what's **Due**.
- **Outstanding balance** (amber): shown on a completed appointment that still has money owing.

**Step 3: Complete and charge**
If the client has already paid in full, click **Complete Visit** to finalize the appointment. If a balance remains, click **Complete & Charge** to navigate to the checkout flow where you can collect the remaining amount and complete the appointment in one step.

**Step 4: Charge after completion**
If an appointment was marked as complete but has an outstanding balance (for example, the client forgot their wallet), an **Outstanding balance** banner appears. Click **Charge Client** to process the remaining payment at any time.

**Deposit tracking eliminates manual math and payment errors**
When a client pays a deposit during booking (either online or in-person), SpaSphere records it and deducts it from the total at checkout. The payment banner always shows the correct remaining balance. This removes the need for manual calculations at the front desk, which is one of the most common sources of under-charging and client disputes in spas.

## Payment Status Indicators

SpaSphere displays payment status alongside appointment status so you always know the financial state of each booking. These indicators appear both on calendar events and in the appointment modal.

- **Deposit paid** (blue badge) -- The client has paid a deposit. Hover to see the deposit amount and remaining balance.
- **Paid in full** (green badge) -- The entire amount has been collected. No further action is needed.
- **Payment due** (orange badge) -- No payment has been made yet. The full service amount is outstanding.
- **No charge** (gray badge) -- The service has no price associated with it (e.g., a complimentary consultation).
- **Tip collected** (pink badge) -- A tip was recorded and collected alongside the payment.

**Payment indicators give your team instant visibility into collections**
On the calendar, small colored icons appear on each event. A blue dollar sign means a deposit was paid, a green checkmark means paid in full, and an orange dollar sign means payment is due. This gives your team instant visibility without opening each appointment -- so at the end of each day, a quick glance at the calendar reveals any unpaid appointments that need follow-up before the client leaves.

## Cancelling an Appointment

When you need to cancel an appointment, SpaSphere records the reason and updates the status accordingly.

**Step 1: Open the appointment**
Click on the appointment in the calendar to open the edit modal.

**Step 2: Click Cancel Appointment**
Click the red **Cancel Appointment** button in the bottom-left corner of the modal. A confirmation dialog appears.

**Step 3: Select a cancellation reason**
Choose from the predefined list of reasons:

- Client no-show
- Client cancelled
- Appointment rescheduled
- Provider unavailable
- Scheduling conflict
- Payment issue
- Appointment booked by mistake
- Other (enter a custom reason)

**Step 4: Confirm the cancellation**
Click the red **Cancel Appointment** button in the dialog to finalize. The appointment status changes to Cancelled and it appears grayed out on the calendar.

**Cancellation records power your analytics and policy decisions**
Once an appointment is cancelled, it cannot be restored. If you need to rebook the same appointment, create a new one. The cancellation reason is recorded and feeds into your reporting and analytics, so over time you can identify trends -- such as which days have the highest no-show rates or whether a specific service type gets cancelled more often -- and adjust your policies accordingly.

## Completed Appointment Payment States

When an appointment is marked as complete, SpaSphere provides enhanced status information by combining the appointment status with the payment status:

- **Completed** -- The appointment is done and either has no charge or was fully paid.
- **Payment Complete** -- The appointment is done and the full amount (including any remaining balance after deposit) has been collected.
- **Completed (Payment Due)** -- The appointment is done but an outstanding balance remains. Use the **Charge Client** button to collect the remaining amount.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I change an appointment's status manually?**
You can mark a booked appointment as completed using the **Complete & Charge** or **Complete Visit** buttons inside the appointment modal. To cancel, use the **Cancel Appointment** flow at the bottom of the same modal. Other status transitions happen automatically or through their own workflow. For example, an appointment moves to Pending Payment when the client starts an online booking with a required deposit, and to Expired if they never finish paying. Pending Approval bookings move to Booked or Declined from **Calendar > Pending Approval**. This structured workflow ensures your records are always accurate and auditable.

**What happens to the payment if I cancel an appointment?**
Cancelling an appointment does not automatically issue a refund. (Declining a booking request is different: the client is never charged, because a request's deposit is only charged when you approve it.) If a deposit was collected, you handle refunds separately through your payment processor or the **Payments** section in the SpaSphere admin dashboard. This gives you full control over your cancellation and refund policy. For example, many spas retain deposits for late cancellations (less than 24 hours notice) while offering full refunds for earlier cancellations. The original deposit amount remains recorded on the cancelled appointment for your financial records.

**How do I handle a no-show client?**
Open the appointment in the calendar and click **Cancel Appointment**. Select **Client no-show** as the cancellation reason. This records the no-show for future reference without marking the service as completed, which keeps your revenue reporting accurate. Over time, SpaSphere tracks no-show history per client, helping you identify repeat offenders. Many spas use this data to implement deposit requirements or cancellation fees for clients with multiple no-shows, which can reduce your overall no-show rate significantly.

**Can a client see the appointment status on their booking page?**
Clients see whether their appointment is confirmed or cancelled on their booking confirmation page and in the emails they receive. When approval is required, the booking page tells them their request has been received and is awaiting confirmation, and shows how long their time is being held. They get an email when they submit the request, and another when you approve or decline it. Internal statuses like Expired are visible only to your team.

**What is the Pending Approval status used for?**
Pending Approval is used when you turn on Require approval for new online bookings under Settings > Appointments. It applies to every new online booking, not to specific services, and never to appointments your team creates. The request holds its time slot and appears on the calendar with a yellow clock icon. You approve or decline it under Calendar > Pending Approval. If nobody acts within 3 days (or before the appointment starts, if that's sooner), SpaSphere declines it automatically. See Approving Online Bookings for the full workflow.


# How to Approve Online Bookings and Block Clients from Booking Online

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/appointments/approving-online-bookings
Section: appointments
Updated: 2026-10-14

Hold new online bookings for your review, approve or decline them from Calendar > Pending Approval, and stop specific clients from booking on your website.

By default, a client who books on your website is confirmed right away. If you'd rather look at each new booking first, SpaSphere can hold online bookings for your approval. The client's time is reserved while you decide, and you approve or decline each request from one queue. For individual clients you don't want booking themselves at all, you can block online booking for that person while still booking them yourself.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Some treatments need a conversation before they go on the calendar: a first peel, a client with contraindications on their intake form, or a new client asking for your longest service on a busy Saturday. Approval lets you check each request before committing your time, without making clients call or message you to ask. Blocking online booking handles the rarer case of a client you want to route through a person every time, such as a repeat no-show, without cancelling their history or telling them they've been flagged.

## Key Capabilities

- Hold every new online booking for review with one setting
- The requested time slot is held while the request waits
- Approve or decline from **Calendar > Pending Approval**, with an optional reason for declining
- The client is not charged until you approve; declining frees the slot and emails the client
- Requests nobody acts on are declined automatically after 3 days, or 3 hours before the appointment if that comes first
- Members whose plan includes instant confirmation skip approval
- Block specific clients from booking online, with an internal note only your team sees

## Turning On Approval

**Step 1: Open Appointment settings**
Click **Settings** in the sidebar, then **Appointments**.

**Step 2: Turn on Require approval for new online bookings**
Under **Appointment preferences**, switch on **Require approval for new online bookings**, then click **Save Changes** at the bottom of the page.

From then on, every new booking made on your website waits for your approval. Two kinds of booking are never held:

- **Appointments your team creates** from the calendar or the mobile app are always confirmed.
- **Members with instant confirmation**: if a client's [membership](https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/memberships) includes the instant confirmation perk and they book with the email on their client profile, their booking is confirmed right away.

Turning the setting off doesn't change requests already waiting. Approve or decline those from the queue as usual.

## What the Client Sees

When approval is on, the end of the booking flow looks different for your clients:

- The confirmation page reads **Your booking request has been received** and explains that the appointment is awaiting confirmation from the team and isn't confirmed yet.
- It shows how long their requested time is being held while you review it.
- They get an email summarizing the request, and another email as soon as you approve or decline it.

If your spa takes deposits, the client's card is saved when they send the request, but nothing is charged yet. The deposit is charged only when you approve. If you decline the request, or it's declined automatically, the client is never charged. A gift card works the same way: it is only used once you approve.

**Pending requests still get reminders**
A request that is still waiting counts as an upcoming appointment for reminders. If it's inside your reminder schedule, the client gets their reminder even though you haven't approved it yet, so try to review requests promptly.

## Reviewing Requests

**Step 1: Open Pending Approval**
In the sidebar, open **Calendar > Pending Approval**. When requests are waiting, your Dashboard also shows a **Bookings need approval** card with a **Review** link, and the requests appear on the calendar with a yellow clock icon.

**Step 2: Check the request**
Each request shows the client's name, the service and provider, the requested date and time, and **Held until**: when the request will be declined automatically if nobody acts on it. When the queue is empty, you'll see *You're all caught up. No bookings are waiting for you.*

**Step 3: Approve**
Click **Approve**. The appointment becomes **Booked** and the client is sent their confirmation email.

**Step 4: Or decline**
Click **Decline** to open **Decline booking request**. Optionally enter a **Reason (optional, shared with the client)**, for example "Fully booked that day. Happy to offer another time." Then click **Decline request**, or **Keep request** to go back. Declining frees the time slot and emails the client (they were never charged), including your reason if you gave one. The appointment's status becomes **Declined**.

**Unanswered requests expire**
A request holds its slot for up to 3 days, or until 3 hours before the appointment if that comes first. (A request made less than 3 hours ahead stays open until the appointment starts.) If nobody approves or declines it by then, SpaSphere declines it automatically with the reason "Approval window expired" and lets the client know. They are never charged. Check the queue at least once a day while approval is on.

## Blocking a Client from Online Booking

Blocking is separate from approval. It stops one specific client from booking on your website at all, whether or not approval is on.

**Step 1: Open the client's profile**
Go to **Clients** and open the client.

**Step 2: Turn on Block online booking**
On the profile's **Overview** tab, under **Communication & booking**, switch on **Block online booking**. A confirmation opens: *Block [client name] from online booking?*

**Step 3: Add an internal note (optional) and confirm**
Enter an **Internal note (optional)** explaining why. Only your team sees it; the client never does. Click **Block online booking** to confirm.

The profile then shows **Can't book online**, with your note and the date the block started. To lift it, switch **Block online booking** off; the client can book online again straight away.

### What a blocked client sees

When a blocked client tries to book on your website, SpaSphere recognizes them by the email address they enter (including older addresses from any profiles you've merged into theirs). Instead of continuing, they're taken to a page that says **Online booking is currently unavailable. Please contact us directly to schedule your appointment.**. Below it they see your phone number (if you have one on file) and a **Contact us** button that opens your website's contact page, or an **Email us** button if your website has no contact page.

They aren't told they've been blocked, and nothing is created on your side: no appointment, no held slot, and no charge.

### What stays the same

Blocking only affects booking on your website. The client's history, invoices, forms, treatment plans, gift cards, and client portal access are unaffected. Your team can still book for them: when you pick them in the appointment form, a **Blocked from online booking** notice appears as a reminder, but it doesn't stop you from saving the appointment.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I require approval only for certain services?**
Not today. Require approval for new online bookings applies to every online booking. Members whose plan includes instant confirmation are the one exception, and bookings your team creates are never held.

**Is the time slot held while a request waits?**
Yes. A pending request blocks its time slot just like a confirmed booking, so no one else can book it. The slot opens up again as soon as you decline the request or it expires.

**What happens to the deposit if I decline?**
Nothing to refund: the deposit is only charged when you approve. A declined or expired request is never charged. If the charge fails when you approve, the request stays pending so you can contact the client.

**Can I change my mind after declining?**
A declined request can't be re-approved. If you'd like to see the client after all, book the appointment for them from the calendar or ask them to book again.

**Does blocking a client cancel their upcoming appointments?**
No. Existing appointments stay on the calendar. Blocking only stops new bookings made on your website. Cancel or change existing appointments from the calendar if you need to.

**Can a blocked client get around the block with a different email?**
The block matches the email address on their client profile, plus any older addresses from profiles merged into it. If they book with an email you've never seen, SpaSphere can't tell it's the same person. If that happens, merge the new profile into theirs so the block covers the new address too.


# How to Process Checkout and Collect Payments in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/checkout/processing-checkout
Section: checkout
Updated: 2026-10-20

Walk through the full checkout flow in SpaSphere, from reviewing the order summary to selecting a payment method and completing the transaction.

Checkout is where every service, product, and discount on your invoice turns into collected revenue. Whether the transaction started from a scheduled appointment on the calendar or a walk-in sale in Quick Checkout, every payment in [SpaSphere](https://spasphere.ai/) flows through the same checkout experience. This guide covers the full checkout process, from reviewing the order summary to choosing a payment method and completing the transaction.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

The checkout experience is the last interaction your client has before they leave (or the last step your front desk staff performs before moving to the next client). A slow, confusing, or error-prone checkout costs you in two ways: it creates bottlenecks at the front desk during peak hours, and it increases the chance of billing mistakes that require corrections later. SpaSphere's checkout is designed to be fast for staff and transparent for clients. Every line item, discount, tax amount, and tip is visible in the order summary before payment is collected, which reduces post-payment disputes and builds client confidence in your billing accuracy.

## Key Capabilities

- Review a detailed order summary with line items grouped by type (services, products, packages)
- Add or remove services, add-ons, products, packages, treatment plans, memberships, gift cards, and custom charges, even after a deposit has been paid
- Choose from multiple payment methods: credit card, card on file, in-person terminal, cash, check, Venmo, Zelle, bank transfer, gift card, store credit, package credit, treatment plan credit, membership, or payment link
- Add a tip with preset percentages (15%, 18%, 20%, 25%) or a custom amount
- Apply per-item and order-level discounts, coupon codes, and member benefits
- Send a payment link or an emailed invoice so the client can pay remotely
- Print or save the receipt as PDF, or email it, after payment

## Accessing Checkout

There are two ways to reach checkout in SpaSphere:

- **From an appointment**: Click the appointment on the calendar, then click **Charge** or **Checkout**. SpaSphere loads the invoice that was automatically created when the appointment was booked, with the appointment's service already listed as a line item.
- **From Quick Checkout**: Click **Quick Checkout** in the sidebar, build a standalone order by selecting a client and adding items, then click **Continue to Checkout**. SpaSphere creates an invoice, adds the line items, calculates tax, and opens the checkout page.

Both paths lead to the same checkout experience described below.

## Walking Through Checkout

**Step 1: Review the order summary**
The checkout page opens with the **Order Summary** panel showing all line items grouped by type: services, products, packages, and fees. Each item displays its name, quantity, unit price, and total. If any per-item discounts were applied in Quick Checkout, they appear as green annotations on the affected items with the original price shown as a strikethrough.

The summary also shows the running totals: subtotal, discounts, tax, and the amount due.

**Step 2: Edit the order if needed**
To change what's on the ticket, click the pencil icon on the order summary header or the **Add or Edit Items** button below the line items. The **Edit Order** panel has tabs for **Current** (what's on the ticket now, where you can remove items or change quantities), **Services**, **Add-ons**, **Products**, **Packages**, **Treatment Plans**, **Memberships**, **Gift Cards**, and **Custom** (a one-off charge with your own description and amount). The Add-ons, Treatment Plans, and Memberships tabs appear when you have something to sell in them.

You can keep editing after a deposit has been paid: the pencil and **Add or Edit Items** stay available on a partially paid ticket.

In the order summary you can also:

- Click the discount icon on a line item to discount just that item, or **Discount Entire Order** to discount the whole order
- Click **Apply member benefits** for a client with an active membership
- Click **Apply Coupon Code** to enter a coupon

See [Applying Discounts and Tips](https://spasphere.ai/docs/checkout/applying-discounts-and-tips) for details.

**Step 3: Add a tip**
Below the order totals, the **Add a tip** section offers preset tip buttons at 15%, 18%, 20%, and 25%, plus a **Custom** option for entering a specific dollar amount and a **No Tip** option. Each preset button shows the calculated dollar amount, based on the subtotal after discounts and before tax.

Select a tip option and the total updates immediately. Tips are added as a line item on the invoice and appear on the receipt.

**Step 4: Use a package session sold on this ticket (if offered)**
If the ticket includes a package that covers today's main service, a **Use 1 session today** switch appears. It starts off. Turn it on and today's service comes out of the new package instead of being charged; the order summary marks the service **Covered by package**. SpaSphere takes payment for the package and everything else first, then uses the session. Payment links aren't offered while the switch is on. See [Packages](https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/packages).

**Step 5: Select a payment method**
The **How would you like to pay?** panel shows the amount due and your payment methods, organized into sections:

- **Recommended**: Card on File (if the client has saved cards, marked **Fastest**), Credit or Debit Card, and In-Person Terminal (if you've connected a POS reader; it's selectable when a reader is online).
- **Other Options**: Gift Card, plus any of these that apply to the client: **Treatment Plan Credit**, **Membership** (when their membership includes this service or they have member credit), **Package Credit**, and **Store Credit** (with the Referral & Loyalty add-on).
- **External Payment** ("Record a payment received outside SpaSphere"): expands to show Cash, Check, Venmo, Zelle, and Bank Transfer.
- **Send to Client**: **Send Payment Link** emails the client a secure link to pay remotely, and copies the link so you can paste it into a text yourself. **Email Invoice** sends an itemized invoice with a pay link that stays valid until it's paid or canceled.
- **Split Payment**: Combine multiple payment methods on a single invoice.

Click the method you want to use.

**Step 6: Complete the payment**
The next step depends on the payment method you selected:

- **Credit or Debit Card**: A secure card entry form appears (powered by Stripe). Enter the card details and click **Pay**. You can optionally check **Save card for future payments** to store the card for future use.
- **Card on File**: A list of the client's saved cards appears with the brand, last four digits, and expiration. Select a card and click **Pay**.
- **In-Person Terminal**: Select the POS reader from the list of online devices, then click **Send to Terminal**. While you pick the reader, the client sees their bill on its screen. After you send it, the client taps **Looks good** on the reader to approve the bill (see [Your Card Reader's Screen](https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/card-reader-screen)), then taps, inserts, or swipes their card. SpaSphere polls for completion automatically.
- **Cash / Check / Venmo / Zelle / Bank Transfer**: The **Record Payment** form opens. Choose **Full amount** or enter a different **Amount Received**, add a reference number where asked, and an optional note. Then click the button that names the method and amount, for example **Record Cash Payment ($85.00)**, to log the transaction.
- **Gift Card**: Enter the gift card code or select from the client's available gift cards. The balance is applied to the invoice.
- **Package Credit**: Select the package enrollment to redeem a session credit against a matching service on the invoice.
- **Treatment Plan Credit**: Pick the client's plan step to cover the appointment's main service.
- **Membership**: Click **Apply to Membership** to cover an included service, or **Apply $X membership credit** to use the member's credit. See [Memberships](https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/memberships).
- **Store Credit**: Apply part of the client's store-credit balance, or use the entire balance.
- **Send Payment Link**: SpaSphere sends a secure payment link to the client. They can complete payment from their phone or computer. The link is valid for 24 hours.
- **Email Invoice**: SpaSphere emails an itemized invoice with a pay link that doesn't expire. See [Invoices](https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/invoices).

**Step 7: View the confirmation and receipt**
After successful payment, SpaSphere opens the confirmation page. It shows the order number, amount paid, payment date, payment method(s), and a detailed breakdown of all items and totals. From here you can:

- **Print / Save as PDF** the receipt
- **Email Receipt** to the client, or **View Receipt Online**
- Go back to the **Dashboard**, or **Back to Calendar** if you came from an appointment
- **Refund** a payment if needed (**Void Invoice** only appears while no payment has been made)

If only part of the ticket has been paid, such as a deposit, the receipt shows **Paid So Far** and **Balance Due**, and an **Edit or Collect** button takes you back to checkout to change items or collect the rest.

Right after a checkout with a client, from an appointment or from Quick Checkout, a **Book [client]'s next visit** card appears. It starts with the appointment's provider and service (or, for a Quick Checkout, the signed-in team member and the first service sold) and a day 30 days out. You can change the **Provider**, **Service**, location, and **Day**. Pick a day to see that provider's open times for the day before, that day, and the day after, side by side. Tap a time, then click the **Book** button to put the visit on the calendar. The card doesn't appear when you open an older receipt later.

**Save cards on file to speed up future checkouts**
When processing a credit card payment, check the **Save card for future payments** option. The next time this client checks out, their saved card appears as the first option in the payment method selector with a "Fastest" badge. One-tap payment from a saved card reduces checkout time from 30+ seconds to under 5 seconds, a meaningful improvement when you are processing multiple clients during a busy afternoon.

## Payment Method Quick Reference

| Method | Best For | How It Works |
|--------|----------|--------------|
| Credit/Debit Card | Most transactions | Client enters card in secure Stripe form |
| Card on File | Returning clients | One-tap payment from previously saved card |
| In-Person Terminal | Front desk payments | Client taps/inserts/swipes on WisePOS E device |
| Cash | Walk-in clients | Staff records cash received under External Payment |
| Check | Large purchases | Staff records check number and amount |
| Venmo / Zelle | Digital-savvy clients | Staff records external payment reference |
| Bank Transfer | High-value services | Staff records transfer confirmation |
| Gift Card | Clients with gift cards | Code entry or select from client's available cards |
| Store Credit | Clients with a store-credit balance | Apply part or all of the balance (Referral & Loyalty add-on) |
| Package Credit | Pre-paid package holders | Redeem a session from an active package |
| Treatment Plan Credit | Clients enrolled in a plan | Cover the main service for their next plan step |
| Membership | Members | Cover an included service or spend member credit |
| Send Payment Link | Remote payment | Secure link sent to the client, valid for 24 hours |
| Email Invoice | Remote payment | Itemized invoice with a pay link that doesn't expire |
| Split Payment | Mixed methods | Combine any of the above in a single transaction |

**Invoices are auto-created for every appointment**
You do not need to manually create an invoice before checking out an appointment. When an appointment is created on the calendar, SpaSphere automatically generates a draft invoice with the appointment's service as the first line item. Clicking Charge or Checkout from the appointment opens this invoice directly in the checkout flow. Quick Checkout is only needed for transactions that do not originate from an appointment.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I edit the order after checkout has started?**
Yes. Use the pencil icon or Add or Edit Items on the order summary to add or remove items. This still works after a deposit or other partial payment: from the receipt, click Edit or Collect to go back to the ticket, change it, and collect the balance. Coupons can still be applied after a deposit.

**What happens if a card payment fails?**
If a card payment fails (for example, due to insufficient funds or a declined transaction), SpaSphere displays an error message with the reason from Stripe. The checkout stays on the payment step so the client can try a different card or choose another payment method. The failed attempt is recorded on the invoice's payment records with a 'failed' status for your records, but it does not affect the invoice or the amount due.

**Can I process checkout on a mobile device?**
Yes. The checkout interface is fully responsive and works on tablets and smartphones. The order summary, payment method selector, and card entry form all adapt to smaller screens. This is useful if your front desk uses an iPad or if you need to process a payment in a treatment room using your phone. The POS terminal option also works from mobile: you select the reader on your device and the payment is processed through the terminal hardware.

**How do payment links work?**
When you select Send Payment Link, SpaSphere sends a secure checkout URL to the client. The client opens the link on their phone or computer, sees the order summary and amount due, and enters their card details to pay. Once the client completes payment, the invoice is marked as paid. A payment link is valid for 24 hours; if the client needs longer, use Email Invoice instead, whose pay link stays valid until the invoice is paid or canceled.

**Where can I find past receipts?**
After a payment is processed, you can access the receipt by navigating to the appointment on the calendar and clicking Charge or Checkout. SpaSphere detects the paid status and shows the payment confirmation page with the full receipt. You can also reach the confirmation page from the client's profile under their payment history. From the confirmation page, you can print the receipt or save it as a PDF at any time.


# How to Apply Discounts and Tips During Checkout in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/checkout/applying-discounts-and-tips
Section: checkout
Updated: 2026-10-20

Add per-item discounts, order-level discounts, and tips during checkout in SpaSphere to handle promotions, loyalty pricing, and gratuities.

Discounts and tips are part of nearly every spa transaction. Whether you are running a seasonal promotion, offering a loyalty discount to a returning client, or collecting a gratuity for your service provider, [SpaSphere](https://spasphere.ai/) lets you handle all of these within the checkout flow. This guide covers how to apply per-item discounts, order-level discounts, and tips so every transaction is priced correctly and your providers are fairly compensated.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Discounting strategy directly impacts your revenue and client retention. Spas that use targeted discounts (for example, 10% off for first-time clients or $20 off a package upgrade) see higher conversion rates than those offering blanket promotions. But discounts only work if they are easy to apply and accurately tracked. If your staff has to calculate discounts manually or remember to adjust the total at the register, mistakes happen, and undercharging quietly erodes your margins while overcharging damages client trust. SpaSphere's built-in discount system handles the math automatically, shows the adjusted price in real time, and records every discount in the invoice audit trail so you always know exactly what was discounted, by how much, and why.

Tips, meanwhile, are a critical part of provider compensation. Industry data shows that service providers in spas earn 15-25% of their income from tips. A checkout experience that makes tipping easy and transparent, with suggested percentages and a custom option, increases both the frequency and average size of tips, directly supporting your team's take-home pay.

## Key Capabilities

- Apply percentage discounts (e.g., 20% off) to individual line items
- Apply fixed-amount discounts (e.g., $10 off) to individual line items
- Apply order-level discounts that reduce the total across the entire invoice
- Add a description to each discount for audit trail and reporting
- Apply a member's discounts, member prices, and free add-ons with **Apply member benefits**
- Enter a coupon code at checkout
- Select from preset tip percentages: 15%, 18%, 20%, 25%
- Enter a custom tip amount in dollars
- Skip the tip with a single click

## Applying Per-Item Discounts

Per-item discounts adjust the price of a single item without affecting other items on the invoice. You can add them on the **Quick Checkout** page while building the order, as described below, or at checkout by clicking the discount icon next to a line item in the order summary.

**Step 1: Open Quick Checkout and add items**
Click **Quick Checkout** in the sidebar, select a client, and add the items you want to the order. Your selected items appear in the Review panel on the right side.

**Step 2: Click the discount icon on an item**
In the Review panel, click the discount icon next to the item you want to discount. A small form appears inline, allowing you to set the discount.

**Step 3: Choose a discount type and enter the value**
Select **% off** or **$ off**:

- **% off**: Enter a number between 1 and 100. For example, entering 20 applies a 20% discount to the item's price.
- **$ off**: Enter a dollar amount. For example, entering 10 takes $10 off the item's price.

Click **Apply**. The discounted price updates immediately in the line item, showing the original price with a strikethrough and the new price in green.

**Step 4: Proceed to checkout**
When you click **Continue to Checkout**, all per-item discounts are carried forward to the checkout page. The order summary displays each discounted item with its original and discounted prices, and the discount total is shown in the price breakdown.

**Use per-item discounts for targeted promotions**
Per-item discounts are ideal when you want to discount a specific service or product without affecting the rest of the order. For example, if a client bought a facial and you want to offer 15% off the serum they are purchasing, apply the discount only to the serum. The facial stays at full price, the serum gets the promotion, and your invoice clearly records which item was discounted and by how much. This level of detail is valuable for tracking which promotions drive the most product sales.

## Applying Order-Level Discounts

Order-level discounts are applied during **checkout** and reduce the total amount across the entire order. Use these for general promotions or courtesy adjustments. For members, use **Apply member benefits** instead (see below), so the discount matches their plan.

**Step 1: Open the checkout page**
Access checkout from an appointment on the calendar or from Quick Checkout. The order summary panel shows your line items and totals.

**Step 2: Click Discount Entire Order**
Below the line items in the order summary, click the **Discount Entire Order** button (shown with a tag icon and dashed green border). The **Add Order Discount** form opens right below it.

**Step 3: Configure the discount**
Choose **% off** or **$ off**:

- **% off**: Enter the discount percentage. SpaSphere calculates the dollar amount based on the subtotal.
- **$ off**: Enter the dollar amount to subtract from the order total.

Add an optional **Description** (e.g., "First-visit discount", "VIP loyalty pricing", "Service recovery"). This description appears on the invoice and receipt for your records.

**Step 4: Click Apply**
Click **Apply** to add the discount. The discount appears in the **Discounts Applied** section of the order summary, showing the description and the dollar amount deducted. The totals update immediately to reflect the new amount due.

You can remove an applied discount by clicking the trash icon next to it.

**Discounts are recorded in the invoice audit trail**
Every discount, whether per-item or order-level, is stored as part of the invoice record. This means your financial reports accurately reflect gross revenue, discount amounts, and net revenue. When you review your analytics at the end of the month, you can see exactly how much revenue was given away through discounts and which types of discounts your team uses most frequently. This data helps you evaluate whether your promotions are driving enough incremental bookings to justify the revenue reduction.

## Applying Member Benefits

When the client has an active membership with a discount, a member price, or a free add-on, the order summary shows an **Apply member benefits** button. Member benefits are never applied on their own at your checkout: someone has to click the button.

**Step 1: Click Apply member benefits**
In the order summary, click **Apply member benefits**. SpaSphere adds the member's discounts to the ticket as discount lines and updates the tax and total. The button changes to **Member benefits applied (re-apply)**; click it again if you change the items, and the discounts are recalculated without doubling up.

**Step 2: Then add any coupon**
Apply member benefits before entering a coupon, so the coupon is calculated on the member price.

If a payment link is waiting on the ticket, cancel it first; member benefits can't be applied while it's active.

Included sessions and membership credit aren't discounts. They're applied as a payment: choose **Membership** as the payment method. See [Memberships](https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/memberships).

## Applying a Coupon Code

Click **Apply Coupon Code** in the order summary, type the code, and click **Apply** (or press Enter). If the code can't be used on this ticket, an error appears under the field. Coupons can still be applied after a deposit has been paid. To create coupons, including ones that target add-ons, see [Coupons](https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/coupons).

## Adding Tips During Checkout

Tips are added in the checkout order summary before selecting a payment method. The tip is recorded as a separate line item on the invoice, making it easy to track provider earnings and calculate payroll.

**Step 1: Open the checkout page**
Access checkout from an appointment or from Quick Checkout. The order summary shows your line items and totals.

**Step 2: Select a tip option**
Below the totals breakdown, the **Add a tip** section displays six options in a button grid:

- **15%**: Shows the calculated dollar amount (e.g., "$15.00" on a $100 subtotal)
- **18%**: Shows the calculated dollar amount
- **20%**: Shows the calculated dollar amount
- **25%**: Shows the calculated dollar amount
- **Custom**: Opens a dollar-amount input field
- **No Tip**: Sets the tip to zero

Click any preset percentage to apply it instantly. The dollar amount is calculated from the subtotal after discounts, before tax.

**Step 3: Enter a custom tip amount (optional)**
If you select **Custom**, a text input appears where you can type a specific dollar amount. Enter the amount and click **Apply** (or press Enter). The tip is added to the order summary and the total updates.

**Step 4: Verify the tip in the totals**
After selecting a tip, a **Tip** line appears in the totals breakdown showing the tip amount. The **Amount Due** at the bottom of the order summary includes the tip. The tip is processed as part of the total payment, not a separate charge.

**Tips appear on receipts and in provider reports**
Tips are added as a dedicated line item on the invoice, separate from service charges. This means tips appear clearly on the client's receipt (so there is no confusion about the total), and they are tracked separately in your financial reports. When calculating provider pay, you can pull tip amounts per provider to determine gratuity-based compensation. This separation also simplifies tax reporting, since tips may be taxed differently than service revenue in your jurisdiction.

## Discount and Tip Behavior Reference

| Feature | Where It Is Applied | Type Options | Effect on Totals |
|---------|-------------------|--------------|-----------------|
| Per-item discount | Quick Checkout (Review panel) or Checkout page (line item) | % off or $ off | Reduces that item's price only |
| Order-level discount | Checkout page (Order Summary) | % off or $ off | Reduces the invoice subtotal |
| Member benefits | Checkout page (Apply member benefits) | Set by the member's plan | Adds discount lines for the member's benefits |
| Coupon code | Checkout page (Apply Coupon Code) | Set by the coupon | Reduces the total by the coupon's discount |
| Tip | Checkout page (Order Summary) | Preset % or Custom $ | Added to the total due |

## Combining Discounts and Tips

You can use per-item discounts, order-level discounts, and tips together on the same invoice. The calculation order is:

1. **Per-item discounts** reduce individual item prices
2. **Subtotal** is calculated from the (possibly discounted) item prices
3. **Order-level discounts**, member benefits, and coupons reduce the subtotal (member benefits first, so a coupon is calculated on the member price)
4. **Tax** is calculated on the post-discount amount
5. **Tip** is added on top (preset tips are a percentage of the discounted subtotal, before tax)
6. **Amount Due** is the final total including everything

This order ensures that discounts reduce the taxable amount (so you are not paying tax on discounted revenue) and that preset tips are a percentage of what the client actually pays for the items, before tax.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I apply both a per-item discount and an order-level discount?**
Yes. Per-item discounts and order-level discounts stack. For example, you can give 20% off a specific product (per-item discount) and then apply a $10 off coupon to the entire order (order-level discount). Both discounts are recorded separately in the invoice, giving you clear visibility into how each promotion affected the final price. The order summary shows per-item discounts on the individual line items and order-level discounts in a separate Discounts Applied section.

**Are tips calculated before or after discounts?**
After. Tip preset percentages are calculated on the subtotal minus all discounts, before tax. For example, if a client's subtotal is $100 and you apply a $20 order discount, the 20% tip option calculates as $16 (20% of $80). If you want the tip based on the full price, choose **Custom** and enter the amount.

**Can the client choose their own tip amount?**
The tip selection in SpaSphere is designed for staff to apply during checkout. Your front desk staff can ask the client how much they would like to tip and then select the corresponding preset or enter a custom amount. Payment links and emailed invoices don't ask the client for a tip, so add any tip at checkout before you send the link.

**Can I change a tip after payment?**
Once a payment is processed, a tip that was part of that payment cannot be changed on its own. If the tip was paid as its own separate payment, the receipt shows a **Refund Tip** button that refunds just the tip. Otherwise, to adjust a tip after payment, refund the original payment and process a new one with the correct tip. For this reason, confirm the tip amount with your client before finalizing the payment. The order summary clearly shows the tip as a separate line in the totals so both you and the client can verify it before proceeding.

**Is there a maximum discount I can apply?**
There is no hard limit on discount amounts, but SpaSphere prevents the total from going below zero. For percentage discounts, you can enter up to 100% (which would make the item free). For fixed-amount discounts, the maximum effective discount is the item's price (for per-item) or the subtotal (for order-level). If a discount would result in a negative total, the amount due is set to zero. Your staff should use discounts responsibly. SpaSphere records every discount with the staff member's identity in the audit trail for accountability.


# How to Use Split Payments and Gift Cards During Checkout in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/checkout/split-payments-and-gift-cards
Section: checkout
Updated: 2026-10-20

Split a payment across multiple methods, redeem gift cards, and apply package credits during checkout in SpaSphere.

Not every transaction fits neatly into a single payment method. A client may want to use a gift card for part of their bill and pay the rest with a credit card. Another client might use a package session credit for their facial but need to pay cash for the products they are purchasing. [SpaSphere](https://spasphere.ai/) supports these scenarios with split payments, gift card redemption, and package credit redemption, all within the same checkout flow.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Flexibility at the point of sale directly impacts revenue collection. If your system cannot handle a client who wants to split between a gift card and a credit card, your front desk staff is forced to either run two separate transactions (creating bookkeeping headaches) or ask the client to pay a different way (creating a frustrating experience). Studies show that businesses offering flexible payment options collect more per transaction because clients are more willing to add on products and upgrades when they know they can pay however they prefer. SpaSphere's unified split payment system keeps everything on a single invoice with a single receipt, regardless of how many payment methods the client uses.

## Key Capabilities

- Split a payment across any combination of methods: card, cash, gift card, package credit, terminal, and more
- Track payment progress with a visual progress bar showing paid versus remaining balance
- Redeem gift cards by entering a code or selecting from the client's available gift cards
- Apply package session credits to matching services on the invoice
- Quick-add available gift cards and packages from the client's profile
- Process each split payment individually with real-time balance updates
- Sell gift cards at checkout, then copy the code or email the card from the client's profile
- See every gift card sold in the **Gift Cards Sold** report

## Processing a Split Payment

**Step 1: Open checkout and review the order**
Access checkout from an appointment or from Quick Checkout. Review the order summary to confirm all items and the total amount due.

**Step 2: Select Split Payment**
On the payment method selector, click **Split Payment** at the bottom of the list. The **Split Payment** screen opens, showing **Payment progress** (for example, "$0.00 of $185.00") and the **Remaining** amount.

**Step 3: Add the first payment**
Under **Add Payment**, type the amount for this payment in the amount box (it starts empty; click **Max** to fill in the whole remaining balance). Then choose how this part is paid: **New Card**, **Terminal**, **Gift Card**, or **Cash/Other**. If the client has saved cards, gift cards, or packages, they are listed above the form so you can add them with one tap.

- **New Card** adds a line for that amount to the list.
- **Cash/Other** opens a small form: pick **Cash**, **Check**, **Venmo**, **Zelle**, **Bank Transfer**, or **Other**, add an optional note, and click the **Add ... Payment** button (for example, **Add Cash Payment**).
- **Terminal** sends that amount straight to your card reader (or the whole remaining balance if you left the amount empty).

**Step 4: Take each payment**
Each part you add shows up in a list with its own **Pay** button. Click **Pay** to collect that part. For a new card, this opens the card form. Once a part is collected, it moves to **Completed Payments**, and the **Payment progress** bar and **Remaining** amount update.

Repeat until the remaining balance reaches zero.

**Step 5: Complete the split payment**
When the full amount is collected, the **Remaining** amount shows **Paid in Full**. Click **Complete Payment** to finish and see the confirmation page. The receipt shows each payment method and amount.

**Use split payments to combine gift cards with other methods**
The most common split payment scenario in a spa is a client using a gift card that does not cover the full balance. Instead of asking the client to do anything special, select Split Payment, apply the gift card for its available balance, and then collect the remainder on a credit card or cash. The client gets a single receipt showing both payments, and your books reflect a clean, single-invoice transaction.

## Redeeming a Gift Card

Gift cards can be redeemed as a standalone payment method or as part of a split payment. SpaSphere supports two ways to apply a gift card: entering the code manually or selecting from the client's available gift cards.

**Step 1: Select Gift Card as the payment method**
In the payment method selector (or split payment manager), click **Gift Card**. The gift card redemption form opens.

**Step 2: Enter the gift card code or select an available card**
You have two options:

- **Enter code manually**: Type the gift card code into the input field. SpaSphere checks the balance in real time and shows the available amount.
- **Select from available cards**: If the client has gift cards on their profile, they appear under **Your gift cards** with the last four digits and current balance. Click a card to select it.

**Step 3: Confirm the redemption amount**
Choose **Use entire gift card balance** or enter a **Custom amount**. If the balance covers the full amount due, only what's needed is applied. If the balance is lower than the amount due, the card's full balance is applied and the rest can be paid with another method (triggering a split payment).

Click **Apply** (the button shows the amount) to redeem the gift card. The payment is recorded and the remaining balance updates. An expired or deactivated gift card can't be redeemed.

**Gift card balances are deducted in real time**
When a gift card is redeemed, the balance is immediately deducted from the card. If the client has a $50 gift card and redeems $30, the remaining $20 balance is available for their next visit. Gift card balances and transaction history are tracked on the client's profile under the Gift Cards tab. This ensures your staff always knows the current balance without needing to check a separate system.

## Selling a Gift Card at Checkout

**Step 1: Open the Gift Cards tab**
At checkout, click **Add or Edit Items** in the order summary and open the **Gift Cards** tab.

**Step 2: Choose the amount**
Under **Sell a Gift Card**, pick a preset amount or type your own under **Or enter custom amount**, then add it to the order. It appears as a gift card line on the ticket.

**Step 3: Take payment**
Collect payment as usual. When the payment goes through, SpaSphere creates the gift card on the client's profile. Gift cards sold this way don't expire.

Store credit can't be used to buy a gift card; take another payment method for it.

## Finding, Copying, and Sending a Gift Card Code

Every gift card a client holds is on their profile under **More > Gift Cards**. Each card shows its full code with a **Copy gift card code** button, its balance, and, where known, who it was **Purchased by** and the **Recipient**. Cards the client bought for other people are listed under **Purchased for Others**.

To email a card, click **Send** on it. The email includes the code, the buyer's name, and their message. By default it goes to the recipient from the original purchase; enter an address under **Send to a specific address (optional)** to send it somewhere else. The code doesn't change, so you can send it as many times as you need. **Send** only appears on cards whose code SpaSphere can still read.

Other actions on the card are **Regenerate Code** (issue a new code, with a reason) and **Deactivate**. To issue a card without a sale, use **Create Gift Card** on the same tab.

## Reporting on Gift Cards Sold

To see every gift card issued in a date range, open **Reports > Financial reports**, go to **Operational Reports**, and run **Gift Cards Sold** under **Gift Card Reports**. It lists each card's code, purchaser, recipient, and balance.

## Applying Package Session Credits

If a client has purchased a package (for example, a "5 Facial Sessions" package), they can redeem a session credit during checkout instead of paying the service price. Package credits are applied as a payment method that covers the service amount.

**Step 1: Access checkout for the appointment**
Open checkout from the appointment on the calendar. The invoice should include the service that matches the client's package.

**Step 2: Select Package Credit as the payment method**
In the payment method selector, **Package Credit** appears under Other Options when the client has active packages with remaining sessions. The badge shows how many packages have available credits.

Click **Package Credit** to open the package selection.

**Step 3: Select the package to redeem**
A list of the client's active packages appears, showing the package name, remaining sessions, and expiration date. Select the package you want to redeem. SpaSphere matches the package's eligible services to the services on the invoice and applies the credit.

**Step 4: Pay any remaining balance**
A package session covers the appointment's main service only, not other items on the invoice (add-ons, products, fees, etc.). If the invoice includes items beyond the redeemed service, you will need to collect the remaining balance through another payment method. SpaSphere automatically handles this as a split payment.

**Package credits only apply to matching services**
A package credit can only be redeemed against a service that is part of the package's service list. If a client has a "5 Facial Sessions" package, they can redeem it against a facial service on the invoice but not against a massage or a product. If the invoice does not contain a matching service, the Package Credit option will not appear in the payment method selector. Make sure the appointment is booked with the correct service before checkout.

## Split Payment Progress Tracking

The split payment manager provides real-time tracking so you always know where you stand:

| Element | What It Shows |
|---------|--------------|
| **Payment progress** | A bar and "paid of total" amount, for example "$100.00 of $185.00" |
| **Remaining** | How much still needs to be collected, or **Paid in Full** |
| **Allocated** | Amounts you have added but not yet collected |
| **Completed Payments** | Each payment's method and amount |

When the remaining balance reaches zero, the **Complete Payment** button appears so you can finish the sale. To go back without splitting, click **Back to Payment Options**.

## Common Split Payment Scenarios

| Scenario | First Payment | Second Payment |
|----------|--------------|----------------|
| Gift card + credit card | Gift card for available balance | Card for remaining amount |
| Package credit + cash for products | Package credit for service | Cash for product total |
| Two credit cards | Card 1 for partial amount | Card 2 for remainder |
| Deposit already paid | Deposit deducted from total | Card for remaining balance |
| Gift card + terminal | Gift card for partial balance | POS terminal for remainder |

## Frequently asked questions

**Is there a limit on how many payment methods I can split across?**
There is no fixed limit on the number of payment methods in a split payment. You can combine as many methods as needed to reach the total. In practice, most split payments use two methods (for example, gift card plus credit card), but SpaSphere supports any combination. Each individual payment is processed and recorded separately on the invoice, and the confirmation page shows a complete breakdown of all methods used.

**Can I cancel a split payment after processing the first part?**
Once a payment has been processed as part of a split, it cannot be undone from the split payment screen. The invoice is now in a partially paid state. To reverse the payment, you would need to process a refund on the completed payment from the payment confirmation page. You can also continue with the split and collect the remaining balance through another method. If you need to start over entirely, refund all completed payments and then void the invoice.

**What happens if a gift card does not have enough balance?**
If a gift card's balance is less than the amount due, SpaSphere applies the full available balance to the invoice and shows the remaining amount that still needs to be collected. This automatically triggers a split payment flow where you can choose another method for the remainder. For example, if the invoice total is $120 and the gift card has $50, SpaSphere applies the $50 and prompts you to collect the remaining $70 via card, cash, or another method.

**Can a client use multiple gift cards on the same transaction?**
Yes. In the split payment flow, you can redeem multiple gift cards sequentially. Apply the first gift card, then select Gift Card again for the second one. Each redemption deducts from a different card and the remaining balance updates after each application. This is useful when a client has received multiple gift cards (for a birthday and the holidays, for example) and wants to combine them for a high-value service.

**Do package credits cover tax and tip?**
Package session credits cover the main service price only. They do not cover sales tax, tips, or other items on the invoice (such as add-ons, products, or fees). If the invoice includes tax or additional items beyond the redeemed service, the remaining amount needs to be paid through another method. SpaSphere automatically shows the remaining balance after the package credit is applied so your staff knows exactly how much to collect.


# How the SpaSphere Client Portal Works

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/client-portal/client-portal-overview
Section: client-portal
Updated: 2026-10-20

What the client portal is, where clients find it, how they sign in without a password, and what you control from your dashboard.

The client portal is a private area of your spa's website where each client can see their own visits, treatment plans, packages, membership, invoices, and documents, shop your products, and keep their details up to date. It lives at **/portal** on your website, and it's already on for every SpaSphere spa. There's nothing to install and nothing to switch on.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Clients ask the same questions between visits: how many sessions are left, when the next one is, whether a form still needs filling in. The portal answers those questions without a message to you. It also gives clients one place to buy their take-home products and manage their membership, under your brand.

## Key Capabilities

- Lives on your own website at **/portal**, including on a custom domain
- Passwordless sign-in with a one-time code or a sign-in link
- Nine screens: **Home**, **Care**, **Treatment plan**, **Membership**, **Services**, **Skin assessments**, **Shop**, **Wallet**, and **Documents**, plus **Your details**
- Uses your website's logo, colors, and fonts
- Included with SpaSphere. Only the optional <a href="/docs/inventory/private-shop">Private Shop</a> add-on costs extra.

## Where Clients Find the Portal

The portal's address is your website address followed by **/portal**. For example, `yourspa.myspa.ai/portal`, or `yourdomain.com/portal` if you've <a href="/docs/website-builder/connecting-custom-domain">connected a custom domain</a>.

Clients get there in three ways:

- A **Client Portal** link in your website's menu, if you turn it on (see below)
- A **Sign in to purchase** button on any client-only product in your online shop
- A link you share yourself, for example in a text or on your booking confirmation page

**SpaSphere doesn't invite clients for you**
No SpaSphere email invites clients to the portal. The only portal email a client receives is the sign-in email they ask for. To get clients using it, turn on the menu link and tell them about it.

## How Clients Sign In

There are no passwords and no accounts to create. Any client in your client list can sign in with the email address on their client profile.

**Step 1: Client enters their email**
On the **Sign in to your portal** page, the client types their email address and clicks **Send me a code**.

**Step 2: SpaSphere sends a code**
The client gets an email with a **Sign in** button and a 6-digit code. If their client profile has a phone number, the same code also arrives by text message.

**Step 3: Client verifies**
The client either clicks the button in the email, which signs them in straight away, or types the 6-digit code on the **Check your messages** screen and clicks **Verify & continue**.

A few rules apply to sign-in codes:

- Each code expires after 10 minutes.
- A code allows 5 attempts. After that, the client requests a new one with **Resend code**.
- Only the newest code works.
- Once signed in, a client stays signed in on that device for up to 30 days, or until they click **Sign out**.

**The email must match the client profile**
The portal only recognizes email addresses that are already on a client profile. For privacy, the sign-in page looks the same either way, so a client whose address isn't on file simply never receives a code. If a client says the code never arrived, check the email on their profile first. Clients can't change their sign-in email themselves; you update it on their profile.

## Turning On the Client Portal Link

The portal works whether or not your website links to it. The only setting is whether a **Client Portal** link appears in your website's menu.

**Step 1: Open your website settings**
In the sidebar, click **Website**, then open the **Settings** tab.

**Step 2: Open Features & Navigation**
Expand **Features & Navigation**.

**Step 3: Check Client Portal**
Check **Client Portal**. A **Client Portal** link to **/portal** appears in your website's menu. Uncheck it to remove the link. The portal itself stays available at **/portal** either way.

## What You Control from Your Dashboard

The portal has no settings screen of its own. What clients see there comes from the rest of your SpaSphere account:

| In the portal | What controls it |
|---------------|------------------|
| **Shop** products | Active retail products with **Shop Visibility** on. Client-only products need the <a href="/docs/inventory/private-shop">Private Shop</a> add-on. |
| Shop checkout and paying an invoice online | <a href="/docs/payments/setting-up-stripe">Stripe Connect</a> must be set up. Otherwise clients are told to contact you, or to use the emailed payment link. |
| Joining a membership | The portal's **Get your membership** link opens your website's membership page. See <a href="/docs/services/memberships">Memberships</a>. |
| Treatment plans and packages | The plans and packages the client is enrolled in |
| Shared files | Files you share from the client's profile under **Files** |
| Skin reports | Completed skin assessments whose report you've shared with **Share Report**, then **Share Link** |
| Intake forms to fill out | Forms SpaSphere sent with the client's appointment emails and reminders |
| Invoices | The client's invoices, except drafts and voided ones |

For the full screen-by-screen tour, see <a href="/docs/client-portal/what-clients-can-do-in-the-portal">What clients can do in the portal</a>.

## Frequently asked questions

**Does the client portal cost extra?**
No. The portal is included with SpaSphere. The only related paid option is the Private Shop add-on, which lets you sell products only to signed-in clients.

**Do I need to turn the portal on?**
No. It's already live at /portal on your website. The Client Portal checkbox under Website > Settings > Features & Navigation only adds or removes the menu link.

**Can I block one client from the portal?**
Not from your dashboard today. Blocking a client from online booking doesn't block their portal access.

**Will the portal match my website's look?**
Yes. The portal uses your website's logo, colors, fonts, and corner style, and it runs on your own website address, including a custom domain.

**A client didn't get their sign-in code. What should I check?**
Make sure the email they typed matches the email on their client profile. Ask them to check spam and to use the newest code only, since each new request replaces the previous code. Codes expire after 10 minutes.


# What Clients Can Do in the SpaSphere Client Portal

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/client-portal/what-clients-can-do-in-the-portal
Section: client-portal
Updated: 2026-10-21

A screen-by-screen tour of the client portal: Home, Care, Treatment plan, Membership, Services, Shop, Wallet, Documents, and more.

Once a client signs in, the portal menu has nine screens: **Home**, **Care**, **Treatment plan**, **Membership**, **Services**, **Skin assessments**, **Shop**, **Wallet**, and **Documents**. Their own details are under the avatar. On a computer the menu sits in a sidebar; on a phone it opens from the menu button (**Open menu**) at the top. This page walks through each screen so you know what your clients see and can answer their questions.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

When you know exactly what the portal shows, you can point clients to it with confidence: "Your remaining sessions are under Care", or "Your consent form is waiting under Documents". It also tells you which few things still need you.

## Key Capabilities

- See upcoming and past visits, and open a visit to see its cancellation options
- Follow treatment plans visit by visit and book the next step
- See and manage their membership, update the card on file, or cancel
- Track package sessions, credit, and gift card balances
- Pay an invoice that's due, and view or print invoices and receipts
- Buy your products for pickup at the spa
- Agree to consent forms, fill out intake forms, download shared files, and send photos or files to you
- Update their own contact details and choose whether they get emails and texts from you

## Home

Home opens with a welcome banner: today's date, a greeting by time of day and the client's first name (such as "Good morning, Naomi"), and one line telling them what's next: when their next visit is, that a few things need their attention, or "You're all caught up."

The banner shows a photo from your own website, so the portal feels like your spa. SpaSphere takes it from your website's home page: the first photo of your hero, then photos from your **Photo Gallery**, **Text & Photo**, and **Photo or Video Banner** sections (when they use a photo rather than a video). Only photos in sections that are turned on are used. The **Your next visit** card shows one of these photos too. If your home page has no photos, the banner is a soft wash of your brand color instead. To change the photo, change the photos on your home page in **Website > Builder** and click **Publish**.

Below the banner, Home has four parts:

- **Your next visit** shows the service, time, and provider, with **View visit and cancellation options**. With nothing booked, it shows **Book a visit**, which opens your website's booking page.
- **Needs your attention** lists anything waiting on the client, each with a label: **Sign** for a consent form, **Fill** for an intake form, **Pay** for an invoice that's due, **Update** when their membership card needs replacing, and **Book** for a next step that's ready to book.
- **Your plans** has one line for each membership, package, and treatment plan, and opens the screen that shows it in full.
- **Recent** shows the client's most recent purchases.

## Care

**Your care** covers visits and packages.

- **Upcoming visits** lists booked appointments with their status and provider. Clicking **View visit and cancellation options** opens the same visit page your appointment emails link to, where the client can cancel online when your cancellation policy allows it. Cancelled visits don't appear.
- **Packages** shows each active package with how many sessions are left and when they expire. Finished packages appear under **Past packages**.
- **Past visits** lists the client's completed visits.

## Treatment plan

**Treatment plan** shows each plan the client is enrolled in: its goal, how many visits are done, and every step with its status, such as **Completed**, **Booked**, **Not booked yet**, or **Your spa will book this visit with you**. A **Book** button appears on a step when that service can be booked online; it opens the booking page for that service on your website. Session packages are listed under **Care**, not here.

Treatment plans come from **Offerings > Treatment Plans**. See <a href="/docs/services/treatment-plans">Treatment plans</a>.

## Membership

A client with a membership sees **Your membership**: the plan, dues, status, **Your benefits**, what's **Left to use** this cycle, **Recent activity**, and the **Payment method**. From here they can:

- **Update card**: enter a new card and click **Save new card**. If a membership payment failed, a notice asks them to do this.
- **Cancel membership**: they can leave an optional reason and confirm with **Yes, cancel**. A cancellation from the portal takes effect at the end of the current billing period, and any minimum commitment still applies.

A client without a membership sees "You don't have a membership yet. Join on our website to start using member benefits." with a **Get your membership** link to your website's membership page. Joining happens on your website, not in the portal.

See <a href="/docs/services/memberships">Memberships</a> for how plans work.

## Services

**Your services** lists the services the client has had, with a **Book** button on each one that can be booked online, plus a link to browse your full list of services on your website.

## Skin assessments

**Skin assessments** lists the assessments you've shared with the client. Each one opens their full report. If you've stopped sharing a report, the client is asked to have you share it again. To share a skin report, open the assessment and use **Share Report**, then **Share Link**.

## Wallet

**Your wallet** is about money:

- **Due** lists invoices the client still owes. When your Stripe account is connected, each has **Pay now**, which opens a secure payment page. Otherwise, the client is told to use the payment link from their email or pay at their next visit.
- **Credit** and **Gift cards** show any store credit and gift card balances, with what was added and used.
- **Payment history** lists everything they've paid, with **View receipt** or **View invoice** to open a printable copy.

See <a href="/docs/payments/invoices">Invoices</a>.

## Shop

The **Shop** lists your active retail products that have **Shop Visibility** turned on. Backbar supplies never appear. If you have the <a href="/docs/inventory/private-shop">Private Shop</a> add-on, client-only products appear first with a **Portal exclusive** badge.

**Step 1: Add products**
The client taps **Add to bag** and sets quantities. A bar shows the item count and total, with **Checkout**.

**Step 2: Review the bag**
**Your bag** shows a **Local pickup only.** note: orders are picked up at the spa, with no shipping. The client clicks **Continue to payment**.

**Step 3: Pay**
The payment step shows the subtotal, any **Member discount**, tax, any **Membership credit**, and the total. The client enters a card and pays.

Members get their plan's retail discount automatically, and any retail credit from their membership is spent first. If the credit covers the whole order, no card is needed.

Shop checkout needs <a href="/docs/payments/setting-up-stripe">Stripe Connect</a>. Without it, clients see a message asking them to contact you to complete the order.

## Documents

**Your documents** has these sections:

- **Send to your spa** lets the client send you photos or files (up to 20 MB each), with an optional note: **Take a photo** or **Choose photos or files**. The files land on the client's **Files** tab in SpaSphere.
- **To complete** lists consent forms that apply to the client's booked services or to all clients, marked **Action needed**, and intake forms marked **To complete**. For a consent form, the client clicks **Read & sign**, reads it, draws their signature under **Your signature**, ticks the agreement box, and signs. For an intake form, **Fill out** opens the form on your website. Intake forms only appear here once SpaSphere has sent them with the client's appointment emails or reminders (or the **Intake Form Reminder** automation); forms you send with the **Send** button don't.
- **Signed & submitted** lists consent forms the client has agreed to and intake forms they've submitted. Clients can open an intake form they filled out on your website to see their answers. Uploaded files and signatures show as **Uploaded** and **Signed**.
- **Files** lists files you've shared with the client.

To share a file, open the client's profile, go to **Files**, and click the share icon (**Share with client (visible in their portal)**).

## Your Details

Clients open **Your details** from their avatar. They can update their first and last name, phone, date of birth, and address, then click **Save changes**. Changes go straight to their client profile in SpaSphere. Under **Messages from your spa**, they can turn **Emails** and **Text messages** on or off.

Their email is read-only because it's how they sign in. To change it, the client asks you and you update it on their client profile.

## What Clients Can't Do in the Portal

Some things still need you or your website:

- **Pay an invoice without Stripe.** If your Stripe account isn't connected, clients pay through the emailed payment link or at the spa.
- **Reschedule an appointment.** A visit's page lets the client cancel when your cancellation policy allows it, but rescheduling needs you.
- **Book or join a membership inside the portal.** Booking buttons and **Get your membership** open your website.
- **Use a discount code or gift card at Shop checkout.** There's no field for either. Membership credit and member discounts still apply automatically.
- **Get products shipped.** Every Shop order is picked up at the spa.
- **Change their sign-in email.** Only you can change it, on their client profile.
- **Open a form you shared by link or sent with Send from the portal.** **To complete** lists only forms sent with their appointment emails and reminders. Once they submit any form, it shows under **Signed & submitted**.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can clients book appointments from the portal?**
Yes, through links. Book a visit on Home, the Book buttons on Services, and the Book button on a treatment plan step all open your website's booking pages. Booking itself happens on your website, not inside the portal.

**Why can't a client see a skin assessment report?**
A report only opens while you're sharing it. Open the assessment in the client's profile and use Share Report, then Share Link, to share it again.

**A client cancelled their membership in the portal. When does it end?**
At the end of the current billing period. If the plan has a minimum commitment, billing continues until the commitment is met.

**Where do portal Shop orders go?**
They're paid online and picked up at the spa. Each sale comes out of stock at your primary location, or your only location if you have one. See Managing stock levels for details.

**Do clients see every product I sell?**
They see active retail products with Shop Visibility on. With the Private Shop add-on, they also see products marked Portal Sale Only. Backbar supplies and inactive products never appear.


# How to Manage Spa Clients in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/managing-clients
Section: clients
Updated: 2026-10-20

Add, search, import, and organize your spa's client database in SpaSphere.

Your client database is the foundation of your [SpaSphere](https://spasphere.ai/) business. Every appointment, note, payment, and recommendation ties back to a client record. The Clients page gives you a central view of everyone you serve, with tools to add new clients one at a time or import hundreds from a spreadsheet.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

A well-maintained client database is the single biggest driver of repeat revenue for spas and salons. Businesses that capture complete client data -- including contact details, skin type, and communication preferences -- see up to 30% higher rebooking rates because they can send targeted reminders and personalized offers. Bulk import means you can migrate from another system without losing a single record, eliminating the weeks of manual data entry that cause most platform switches to stall. Accurate client records also reduce liability: having Fitzpatrick skin type on file before a laser treatment or chemical peel protects both your clients and your business. Every client interaction in SpaSphere -- from AI recommendations to SOAP notes -- depends on the data you capture here, so investing a few minutes in clean client records pays dividends across your entire operation.

## Key Capabilities

- **Searchable client list** that filters by name, email, or phone number
- **Paged list** of 50 clients at a time, with Previous and Next buttons
- **Sort and filter** by name, newest or oldest, tags, and whether the client gets texts or marketing emails
- **Add individual clients** with contact details, date of birth, gender, biological sex, Fitzpatrick skin type, and address
- **Bulk import clients** from a CSV file under **Settings > Import & Export**
- **Merge duplicates** when the same person ends up with two records
- **Client count** displayed at the top so you always know how many records you have
- **One-click navigation** to any client's full profile by clicking their row in the table

## Viewing Your Client List

When you click **Clients** in the sidebar (or **Clients > Client list**), you see a table of your clients. Each row displays the client's avatar (or initials), name and email, tags, phone number, birthday, and the date they became a client. The header at the top shows the total client count.

The list shows 50 clients per page. Use **Previous** and **Next** at the bottom to move between pages; the footer shows which clients you're looking at (for example, "Showing 51 to 100 of 240 clients"). Use the sort menu to order the whole list by **First name, A to Z** (the default), **Last name, A to Z**, **Newest clients**, **Oldest clients**, **Texts on first**, or **Marketing emails on first**. Two more menus filter the list by marketing emails (**Marketing emails on** or **off**) and by texts (**Texts on** or **off**), and you can also filter by tag. Clicking a column header to sort works only while you have 50 clients or fewer.

Use the **search bar** above the table ("Search by name, email, phone, or tag...") to find a client. The search runs across your whole client list, not just the page you're on, and results update shortly after you stop typing.

## Adding a New Client

**Step 1: Open the Add Client form**
Click the **Add Client** button in the top-right corner of the Clients page. A modal dialog appears with fields for all the client information SpaSphere tracks.

**Step 2: Enter required information**
Fill in:

- **First Name** and **Last Name** (both required)
- **Email** and/or **Phone** -- enter at least one. Either is enough, and an email, when you add one, must be a valid address. SpaSphere won't create a second client with an email (or, for clients without an email, a phone number) that's already on file.

**Step 3: Add optional details**
Below the required fields, you can optionally set:

- **Date of birth** -- Select the day, month, and year using the date selector
- **Gender** -- Choose from Woman, Man, Non-binary, Other, or Prefer not to say
- **Biological Sex** -- Choose from Female, Male, Intersex, or Prefer not to say
- **Fitzpatrick Skin Type** -- Select from Type I (very fair, always burns) through Type VI (dark, never burns). This helps your team select appropriate treatments and settings for skin-related services.
- **Address** -- Address Line 1 and 2, City, State, Zip Code, and Country

**Step 4: Set how the client hears from you**
Three switches at the bottom of the form control what the client gets from you:

- **Appointment emails**: appointment reminders and updates by email. It is on by default. Turn it off if the client prefers not to get emails from your business.
- **Appointment texts**: appointment reminders and updates by text message. It is off by default. Turn it on only if the client has agreed to get texts from you.
- **Marketing emails**: newsletters and offers. It is off by default and needs an email address. Turn it on only if the client agreed, then fill in **How did this client agree?** (for example, "asked at checkout and said yes"). SpaSphere keeps that note in the client's consent history. When you edit an existing client, this switch saves on its own, the same as on the client profile.

**Step 5: Save the client**
Click **Add Client** at the bottom of the form. A success notification confirms the client was created, and the client list refreshes to include the new record.

**Skin type reduces liability and improves safety**
Collecting Fitzpatrick Skin Type reduces liability and improves treatment safety, especially for laser and chemical peel services. Incorrect laser settings on the wrong skin type can cause burns, hyperpigmentation, or scarring. Encourage your front desk staff to collect skin type during intake so providers always have this critical safety data before starting a treatment.

## Importing Clients in Bulk

If you are moving from another system or have a large list of clients, import them from a CSV file. Client import lives under **Settings > Import & Export**, not on the Clients page.

**Step 1: Open Import & Export**
Go to **Settings > Import & Export** and find the **Clients** card in the import section.

**Step 2: Download the template**
Click **Download CSV template** on the Clients card. The template has the column headers SpaSphere expects, such as first_name, last_name, email, phone, and birthday.

**Step 3: Fill in the template**
Every row needs a **first name** plus an **email or a phone number**. Last name and the other columns are optional. Use YYYY-MM-DD or MM/DD/YYYY for birthdays. Save the file as CSV.

**Step 4: Upload and review the results**
Click **Upload CSV** on the Clients card and choose your file. When the import finishes, you see how many clients were imported and, for any rows that failed, the reason, so you can fix those rows and upload them again.

**Rows that will fail**
A row fails if it has no first name, has neither an email nor a phone number, has an email that's badly formatted or already belongs to a client, repeats an email used earlier in the same file, or has a phone number SpaSphere can't read. The import only accepts CSV files; if your data is in Excel, save it as CSV first.

For the full walkthrough, including importing services, products, and appointments, and bringing data over from another platform, see [Importing Your Data](https://spasphere.ai/docs/getting-started/importing-your-data).

## Editing and Deleting Clients

To edit a client, click their row in the client list to open their profile, then click **More** in the top-right corner and choose **Edit client**. The same form used for adding clients appears, pre-filled with the client's current information. Make your changes and click **Update Client** to save.

To delete a client, open their profile, click **More** in the top-right corner, and choose **Delete client**. Confirm the action in the dialog that appears. Only owners and managers can delete or merge clients.

**Deletion is permanent**
Deleting a client removes their entire record from your database, including appointment history, notes, SOAP notes, and purchase records. This action cannot be undone. Before deleting, consider whether you might need the client's history for reporting, compliance, or liability documentation. In most cases, keeping inactive client records is safer than deleting them. If the record is a duplicate of another client, use **Merge client** instead so the history is kept (see [Merging Duplicate Clients](https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/merging-duplicate-clients)).

## Frequently asked questions

**Is there a limit to how many clients I can add?**
No. SpaSphere does not impose a limit on the number of client records in your database. The client list loads 50 clients per page and searches across all of them, so it stays quick however many clients you have.

**Can clients be created automatically when they book online?**
Yes. When a new client books through your public booking page at yourbusiness.myspa.ai, SpaSphere automatically creates a client record using the information they provide during the booking process -- including their name, email, and phone number. This means you never have to manually enter a client who books online. The auto-created profile is immediately visible on your Clients page and ready for your team to add additional details like skin type or internal notes before the appointment.

**What happens if I import a client whose email already exists?**
The import checks each row against your existing clients. If a row's email matches a client you already have, that row fails with a duplicate message and the existing record is left unchanged. The results list which rows failed and why, so you can update those clients from their profiles instead. If two records for the same person already exist, merge them with More > Merge client on the profile.

**Can I export my client list?**
Yes. Go to Settings > Import & Export and, under Export Data, download Clients as a CSV. The same page exports appointments, orders, services, products, notes, SOAP notes, gift cards, and more.

**How do I find a specific client quickly?**
Use the search bar above the client table. It matches names, email addresses, and phone numbers across your whole client list, not just the page you're viewing. A few characters are usually enough -- a partial last name or the start of a phone number narrows the list quickly.


# How to View and Edit Client Profiles in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/client-profiles
Section: clients
Updated: 2026-10-21

Explore client profiles in SpaSphere: contact details, AI recommendations, the tab and More menu layout, gift cards, online booking blocks, and merging.

Every client in [SpaSphere](https://spasphere.ai/) has a profile page that brings together everything your team needs to deliver personalized care: contact details and skin type, AI-powered recommendations, visit history, SOAP notes, files, packages, gift cards, saved cards, and more.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Personalization is what separates a forgettable appointment from a client who rebooks and refers friends. Spas that use centralized client profiles to track preferences, history, and health data report 20-35% higher client retention rates compared to those relying on memory or scattered paper files. When your esthetician can pull up a client's skin type, past treatments, contraindications, and AI-generated product recommendations in one screen, consultations are faster and upsell conversations feel natural rather than pushy. Packages and gift cards tracked at the profile level also reduce revenue leakage: you always know exactly how many sessions remain and which cards still have a balance. For multi-provider spas, a complete client profile means any team member can deliver consistent care, even if the client's usual provider is unavailable.

## Key Capabilities

- **Overview tab** with AI recommendations, contact details, skin type, address, "Also known as" names, and message and booking settings
- **Book Appointment** straight from the profile header
- **Tabs** for Overview, History, Notes, SOAP Notes, Intake Forms, Orders, and Files, plus a **More** menu with Packages, Gift Cards, Treatment Plans, Membership, Skin Assessments, and Cards on File
- **A side panel** with progress photos, products used, and recent notes
- **Block online booking** for a client who should book through you instead
- **Merge client** to fold a duplicate record into this one
- **Deep-link tabs** so you can share or bookmark a specific section of a client's profile

## Navigating the Client Profile

**Step 1: Open a client profile**
Navigate to **Clients** in the sidebar and click any client row in the table. You are taken to the client profile page. The main area has the client's header, tabs, and the tab you're on. A side panel shows **Progress Photos**, **Products Used**, and **Recent Notes** at a glance: on the right on wide screens, or below on smaller ones.

**Step 2: Use the profile header**
The header shows the client's avatar (or initials), full name, email (click it to copy), phone, and tags. On the right are two buttons:

- **Book Appointment** opens the new-appointment form with this client already selected.
- **More** opens a menu with **Edit client**, **Send message** (when you have Business Texting), **Merge client**, and **Delete client**.

**Step 3: Review the Overview tab**
The profile opens on **Overview**. Under **Details** you will find:

- **Email**, **Phone**, and **Date of birth**
- **Skin type**: the Fitzpatrick classification, or "Awaiting quiz results" if it hasn't been set
- **Address**
- **Client since**: the month and year the record was created
- **Also known as**: other names, emails, and phone numbers this client has used. This list fills in when you merge a duplicate record into the profile (see [Merging Duplicate Clients](https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/merging-duplicate-clients)). It only appears when there is something to show.

Under **Communication & booking** are switches you can flip right there: **Appointment emails**, **Text messages**, **Marketing emails**, and **Block online booking** (see below).

**Step 4: View Sophie's recommendations**
At the top of the **Overview** tab, the recommendations section (for example **Naomi's Recommendations**) holds Sophie's briefs on this client. Click **View All** to open it and see up to three cards, then click a card to read the full brief. See [Sophie's Client Briefs](#sophies-client-briefs) below.

**Step 5: Use the tabs and the More menu**
The tab bar shows as many of the main tabs as fit on your screen. Anything that doesn't fit, plus the extra sections, lives under **More**, which shows the name of the section you're on once you pick one. The URL updates with each choice, so you can bookmark or share a direct link to a section.

**Main tabs**

- **Overview**: recommendations, details, and message and booking settings
- **History**: past appointments with service, team member, date, and notes
- **Notes**: internal notes plus notes from past appointments
- **SOAP Notes**: treatment documentation for each visit (see [Client Notes and History](https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/client-notes-history))
- **Intake Forms**: forms the client has submitted
- **Orders**: orders and invoices for the client, filterable by status
- **Files**: consent forms, photos, and other documents, which you can share to the client's portal (see [Client Files](https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/client-files))

**Under More**

- **Packages**: packages the client is enrolled in, with sessions remaining
- **Gift Cards**: cards the client holds or bought for others
- **Treatment Plans**: plans the client is enrolled in
- **Membership**: the client's membership, with pause, cancel, and billing-card actions (see [Memberships](https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/memberships))
- **Skin Assessments**: assessments and the skin plans you share with the client (see [Skin Assessments and Reports](https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/skin-assessments-and-reports))
- **Cards on File**: saved payment cards (see [Cards on File](https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/cards-on-file))

Depending on your add-ons, the More menu also shows **Treatment Charts**, **Messages** (with Business Texting), and **Store Credit** and **Referral Link** (with Referral & Loyalty).

**Step 6: Edit the client profile**
Click **More** in the profile header, then **Edit client**. Update the name, email, phone, date of birth, gender, biological sex, skin type, address, or the **Appointment emails** and **Appointment texts** switches, then click **Update Client**. The **Marketing emails** switch in the same window saves on its own: turning it on asks **How did this client agree?** before it saves.

A client needs at least one way to be reached: an email address or a phone number. You can clear one as long as the other stays.

## Sophie's Client Briefs

Sophie reads your team's recent notes about a client, along with their visits, purchases and what they have booked next, and sums it up in short briefs. They're ready before you open the profile, so you can prepare for a visit in a minute instead of digging through notes.

**What Sophie draws on**

- **Your notes**: the most recent notes on the **Notes** tab, notes and summaries on the past year's appointments, recent SOAP notes and skin assessment notes, and what the client wrote when they booked
- **Upcoming visits**: what the client has booked next and when
- **History and purchases**: past visits, packages and treatment plans with sessions left, memberships, gift cards and store credit
- **Intake forms**: anything on the client's intake form that needs a closer look

**What the cards show**

Each card starts with what it's for:

- **Visit prep**: getting ready for a booked visit. Briefs for upcoming visits come first, soonest first.
- **Rebooking** and **Win-back**: a client who is due back or drifting away.
- **Package renewal**: a package or plan running low.
- **Replenishment**: a product the client may be running out of.

When there's something on an intake form to check, an **Intake check** card comes first. Below the title, a line with a heart shows a personal detail or two from your team's own notes, like a new puppy's name or a favorite tea, so you can pick up the conversation where you left off. Cards may also list **Suggested Services**.

Click a card, or its **View details** button, to open **Recommendation Details**. It shows the **Summary**, up to four details under **Personal Touch**, and, where there are any, **Key Concerns** (like safety flags and sessions left to schedule), **Suggested Services**, **Treatment Notes** and **Product Recommendations**. When a brief comes from an intake form, **View intake form** takes you straight to it.

For a new client with little on file, the section says **Recommendations are on the way** until there's enough to go on. If it says **Refreshing recommendations**, check back shortly.

**Better notes, better briefs**
Sophie can only use what's written down. A sentence after each visit, like "Loves the lavender oil, wedding in June", is what turns a generic brief into one that sounds like you remember every client. [Voice dictation](https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/voice-dictation) makes it quicker.

## Blocking a Client from Online Booking

To have a client book through you instead of online, switch on **Block online booking** under **Communication & booking** on the **Overview** tab. Add a reason under **Internal note (optional)** (only your team sees it) and click **Block online booking** to confirm. The section then shows **Can't book online** with your note and the date. Staff can still book for this client from the calendar. Switch it off to let them book online again.

For what the client sees and how blocks work alongside booking approval, see [Approving Online Bookings](https://spasphere.ai/docs/appointments/approving-online-bookings).

## Working with Client Packages

The **Packages** tab (under **More**) shows every service package the client is enrolled in. Each package card displays the package name, enrollment date, expiration date (if applicable), and a status badge (Active, Expired, or Completed).

Inside each package card, you see the individual services included and how many sessions remain. Click **Use 1** next to a service to record a session usage. When all sessions for all services in a package have been used, the status automatically changes to **Completed**.

To enroll a client in a new package, click **Add Package** at the top of the Packages tab and select from your configured service packages.

## Managing Client Gift Cards

The **Gift Cards** tab (under **More**) lists the gift cards this client holds. Each card shows the **full gift card code** with a copy button, the current and original balance, a usage bar, the expiration date, who it was **Purchased by**, and a status (Active, Depleted, Expired, or Deactivated). Cards issued before codes were stored on the card record show only the last four characters.

At the top of the tab, **Check Gift Card Balance** looks up any card by its code. This is useful at checkout when a client presents a gift card.

The actions on each card are:

- **Send** -- emails the card to its recipient with the code, the buyer's name, and their message. By default it goes to the recipient from the original purchase; enter an address under **Send to a specific address (optional)** to send it somewhere else. The code doesn't change, so you can send it as many times as you need. Send appears only on cards whose full code is on file.
- **Regenerate Code** -- replaces the code if it was lost or exposed. You enter a reason, the old code stops working immediately, and there is a limit on how many times a card can be regenerated.
- **Deactivate** -- permanently turns the card off.

Click **Create Gift Card** to issue a new card. The new code is saved on the card record, so you can copy or send it later.

If the client bought gift cards for other people, those appear in a separate **Purchased for Others** section, with each card's **Recipient**.

**Treat the full code like cash**
Anyone with the code can spend the balance. Copy or send it only to the person it belongs to, and use **Regenerate Code** if you think it has been exposed.

## Viewing Client Orders

The **Orders** tab shows a combined view of all invoices and orders for the client. You can filter by status using the dropdown: **All Orders**, **Paid**, or **Pending**. Click any row to view the order detail or proceed to checkout for pending invoices.

## Frequently asked questions

**How do I access a specific tab directly?**
Each tab updates the URL with a query parameter (for example, ?tab=packages). You can bookmark this URL or share it with a team member to open the client profile directly on that tab. This is especially useful during team handoffs -- if a provider needs another team member to review a client's SOAP notes, they can share the direct link to the SOAP Notes tab rather than asking the colleague to navigate there manually.

**Why can't I find Orders or Gift Cards in the tab bar?**
Orders sits in the tab bar when your screen is wide enough; on a smaller screen it moves under More. Gift Cards, Packages, Treatment Plans, Membership, Skin Assessments, and Cards on File always live under More. When you open one of those, the More button shows its name so you can see where you are.

**What is the Fitzpatrick Skin Type used for?**
The Fitzpatrick scale classifies skin by its response to UV exposure on a scale from Type I (very fair, always burns) to Type VI (dark, never burns). In aesthetic and dermatological practices, it is critical for setting safe parameters on lasers, IPL devices, chemical peels, and light-based therapies. Using the wrong settings for a client's skin type can cause burns, hyperpigmentation, or scarring. SpaSphere displays the skin type on the profile's Overview tab so providers see it before every treatment.

**Does a blocked client know they were blocked?**
No. When a blocked client tries to book on your website, they're asked to contact you directly. They aren't told they were blocked. Your internal note is visible only to your team.

**What happens when a package expires?**
When a package passes its expiration date, its status automatically changes to Expired and the Use 1 buttons are disabled, preventing any further session redemptions. Any unused sessions at that point are no longer available to the client. You can set expiration dates when configuring packages under Offerings > Packages. Reviewing the Packages tab during pre-appointment preparation helps your team catch expiring packages and have that conversation proactively.

**Can a gift card be reactivated after deactivation?**
No. Deactivation is permanent. If a gift card was deactivated by mistake, create a new gift card for the client with the remaining balance using Create Gift Card, and note the reason in the client's internal notes so your team has a record of what happened.


# How to Track Client Notes and Treatment History

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/client-notes-history
Section: clients
Updated: 2026-10-20

Track appointment history, write internal notes, and create service-specific SOAP notes for comprehensive client documentation.

Thorough documentation is essential for delivering consistent, high-quality care. [SpaSphere](https://spasphere.ai/) gives you three complementary tools for tracking client interactions: **Appointment History** for a chronological record of every visit, **Internal Notes** for free-form observations and reminders, and **SOAP Notes** for structured treatment documentation. Together, these features ensure that any team member can pick up where another left off.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Incomplete client documentation is one of the most expensive hidden problems in spa operations. When a provider cannot see what was done in a previous session -- which products were used, what pressure the client preferred, or whether a contraindication was flagged -- the result is repeated questions, inconsistent care, and clients who feel like they are starting over every visit. Industry surveys show that 60% of clients who leave a spa cite "feeling like a number" as a top reason, and poor documentation is usually the root cause. On the clinical side, missing SOAP notes create real liability exposure for practices performing laser treatments, chemical peels, or injectables. Proper documentation also directly feeds SpaSphere's AI recommendation engine: the more complete your history and notes, the better the AI's upsell suggestions and contraindication warnings become, turning documentation from an administrative burden into a revenue driver.

## Key Capabilities

- **Appointment History** table showing every past visit with service name, team member, date, and notes
- **Internal Notes** that your team can add at any time, independent of appointments
- **Appointment Notes** automatically linked to specific visits for context
- **SOAP Notes** (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan) with note types for eight services
- **Prefill from the last visit** so repeat notes take less typing
- **Optional visit summary email** to the client when you save a note
- **Full audit trail** so you can see who wrote each note and when

## Viewing Appointment History

**Step 1: Open the History tab**
Navigate to **Clients** in the sidebar, click a client row to open their profile, and select the **History** tab.

**Step 2: Review past appointments**
Each appointment in the history shows:

- **Service** -- The name of the service that was performed
- **Member** -- The team member who provided the service
- **Date** -- The appointment date and time, formatted in your location's timezone
- **Status** -- The appointment's status
- **Notes** -- Any notes that were added to the appointment

Appointments are listed with the most recent at the top, so you can quickly see the client's latest visits and the services they received.

**Step 3: Use history to prepare for visits**
Before a client's next appointment, scan their history to understand what services they have received, how frequently they visit, and any notes from previous sessions. This context helps your team provide continuity of care and avoid repeating questions the client has already answered.

**History powers AI recommendations and revenue growth**
The appointment history is one of the primary data sources that powers the AI Recommendations on the client profile and the AI Daily Brief on the dashboard. The more complete your history records are, the better the AI becomes at suggesting relevant services and products. Spas with thorough appointment records see significantly more accurate upsell suggestions, which translates directly into higher average ticket sizes without your team needing to memorize every client's preferences.

## Working with Internal Notes

Internal notes are free-form text entries that your team can add to a client's record at any time. Use them for observations, preferences, follow-up reminders, or anything else that does not fit into a structured form.

**Step 1: Open the Notes tab**
From the client profile, click the **Notes** tab. You will see two sections: **Internal Notes** at the top and **Appointment Notes** below.

**Step 2: Add a new internal note**
Click the **Add Note** button in the top-right corner of the Internal Notes section. The **Add Note** window opens. Type your note under **Note Content**, then click **Add Note** to save it.

**Step 3: Review appointment notes**
Below the internal notes, the **Appointment Notes** section displays notes that were recorded as part of specific appointments. Each entry shows the note content along with the associated appointment details. Click any appointment note row to open the appointment modal with full context, including service details and scheduling information.

**Step 4: Delete a note**
If a note is no longer relevant, click the delete action on the note row. Confirm the deletion in the dialog that appears. Deleted notes cannot be recovered.

**Internal vs. Appointment Notes -- when to use each**
Internal notes are general-purpose and not tied to any specific appointment. Use them for client preferences (preferred room temperature, product sensitivities, personal milestones like birthdays), follow-up reminders, and observations that apply across visits. Appointment notes are created during or after a specific visit and are linked to that particular appointment, making them ideal for session-specific details like treatment parameters, product usage, and immediate reactions. Both types appear on the Notes tab so your team always has the complete picture, and both feed into the AI recommendation engine for better suggestions.

## Creating SOAP Notes

SOAP notes (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan) are structured treatment records. In SpaSphere a SOAP note is one scrolling document tied to a specific appointment, and its fields change with the kind of service you performed.

**Step 1: Open the SOAP Notes tab**
From the client profile, click the **SOAP Notes** tab. The table lists each note with its **Type** and **Created At** date. You can also write a note from an appointment: open the appointment on the calendar and choose its **SOAP Notes** tab.

**Step 2: Start a new note and pick the note type**
Click **Add SOAP Note**. Under **Note type**, pick the service you performed: **Facial / Skincare** (the default), **Facial Massage & Sculpting**, **Buccal Massage**, **Body Massage**, **Sugaring**, **Chemical Peel**, **Microneedling**, or **Lash & Brow**. Each type tailors the Subjective, Objective, and Assessment fields to that service.

If you switch types after entering findings, SpaSphere asks first: switching clears what you've entered in Subjective, Objective, and Assessment, while the appointment, concerns, plan, and products stay. Choose **Switch and clear** or **Keep current type**.

**Step 3: Prefill from the last visit (repeat clients)**
When the client already has a note of the same type, a **Prefill from last visit** card appears. Click **Prefill S/O/A** to copy the Subjective, Objective, and Assessment from that earlier note, then edit only what changed.

**Step 4: Work through the sections**
The note is a single page with a section rail on the left and a counter showing how many sections are done. The sections are:

- **Visit & concerns** -- pick the appointment this note belongs to and add what the client came in for
- **Subjective** -- what the client reports
- **Objective** -- what you observe
- **Assessment** -- your professional analysis, such as skin type, barrier function, and sensitivity for skincare notes
- **Plan** -- the treatment performed, a follow-up period and instructions, and product recommendations
- **Products & protocol** -- the back-bar products you used, recorded by percentage or quantity, which feeds service cost and gives you an allergy record
- **Photos & files** -- before/after photos, consents, and documents for this visit

Click any section header to collapse or expand it. If a required field is missing when you save, the section shows what to fix -- for example, "Select the appointment this note belongs to."

**Step 5: Choose whether to email the client and save**
Near the **Save note** button is the checkbox **Email the visit summary to** the client. It is off by default, so notes save without emailing anyone unless you tick it. If the client has no email address on file, the checkbox is disabled.

Click **Save note**. The note appears in the SOAP Notes tab and can be opened at any time by clicking its row.

**Saved notes open read-only**
Opening a saved SOAP note shows it in view mode. To correct it, click **Edit** (owners and managers can edit any note; service providers can edit their own). To add later observations, write a new note for the follow-up visit, or add an internal note on the Notes tab.

**SOAP notes protect your practice from liability**
For practices performing clinical treatments -- including chemical peels and microneedling -- SOAP notes are not just good practice, they are a critical liability shield. In the event of an adverse reaction or client dispute, documented notes demonstrating proper assessment and informed treatment planning are often the difference between a defensible position and an unprotected one. If your practice is subject to healthcare documentation regulations, ensure that your team follows your compliance requirements. SpaSphere provides the structure, but the content quality and completeness remain your team's responsibility.

## Best Practices for Client Documentation

Following consistent documentation practices across your team leads to better client outcomes and smoother handoffs between providers.

- **Write notes promptly** -- Record observations during or immediately after an appointment while details are fresh. Notes written the same day are significantly more accurate than those written from memory days later.
- **Be specific** -- Instead of "client liked the treatment," note specifics like "client preferred medium pressure during the deep tissue portion and requested more focus on upper back"
- **Use SOAP notes for every treatment** -- Pick the note type that matches the service; the structured format ensures nothing is overlooked and creates a defensible clinical record
- **Keep internal notes for non-clinical observations** -- Client preferences like preferred appointment times, product sensitivities, or personal milestones are best captured as internal notes
- **Review history before appointments** -- Make it a habit to check the last two or three visits before a client arrives. The AI Daily Brief on the dashboard does this automatically, but reviewing the full notes tab gives deeper context

## Frequently asked questions

**Can clients see the notes I write?**
Internal notes, appointment notes, and SOAP notes are visible only to your team in the SpaSphere admin dashboard. The one exception is deliberate: when you save a SOAP note with Email the visit summary ticked, the client receives a visit summary by email. That box is off by default.

**Is there a character limit on notes?**
There is no practical character limit on internal notes, appointment notes, or the free-text fields in SOAP notes. You can write as much detail as needed to properly document the client interaction.

**Can I edit a SOAP note after saving it?**
Yes. A saved SOAP note opens read-only. Click Edit at the bottom, make your corrections, and save. Owners and managers can edit any SOAP note; a service provider can edit the notes they wrote. To record follow-up observations from a later visit, add a new SOAP note instead. Using Prefill S/O/A on the next note of the same type saves you from retyping what hasn't changed.

**How do appointment notes get created?**
Appointment notes are added through the appointment detail view. When you open an appointment on the calendar or from the dashboard schedule and add notes, those notes are automatically linked to that specific appointment and appear in the Appointment Notes section of the client's Notes tab. Your team can add appointment notes before, during, or after the visit.

**Which note type should I pick?**
Pick the service you performed. Facial / Skincare is the default; the others are Facial Massage & Sculpting, Buccal Massage, Body Massage, Sugaring, Chemical Peel, Microneedling, and Lash & Brow. The type changes the Subjective, Objective, and Assessment fields and appears in the Type column of the SOAP Notes table.

**Where do files I attach to a SOAP note go?**
Files uploaded in the Photos & files section are attached to both the client and that visit, so they also appear on the client's Files tab. Like every upload, they are virus-scanned before they become available.


# How to Merge Duplicate Clients in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/merging-duplicate-clients
Section: clients
Updated: 2026-10-20

Combine two records for the same person into one profile, choose which details to keep, and see their other names, emails, and phones under Also known as.

Duplicates happen: a client books online with a new email, someone types a phone number differently at the front desk, or a client changes her last name. **Merge client** folds the duplicate into the profile you want to keep, so every visit, note, and payment ends up in one place.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

When one person has two records, her history is split in half. A provider opening the wrong profile misses the last peel, the allergy noted in a SOAP note, or the package she still has sessions on. Merging puts everything back together, and the old details are kept, so you can still recognize her under an old name or email.

## Key Capabilities

- Start a merge from the profile you want to keep
- Preview exactly which records will move before anything changes
- Choose, field by field, whether to keep this profile's value or the duplicate's
- A final **Are you sure?** check before anything changes
- Old names, emails, and phone numbers are saved under **Also known as**, so nothing is lost
- Safety checks stop a merge that would disturb a payment, an upcoming visit, or a live membership

## How a Merge Works

A merge has two sides:

- **Destination** -- the profile you started from. It keeps its history and receives everything from the duplicate.
- **Source** -- the duplicate. Its history moves into the destination, and then the source record is permanently deleted.

Records that move include appointments, orders and invoices, notes, SOAP notes, skin assessments and skin reports, intake form submissions, files, gift cards, package and treatment plan enrollments, saved cards, coupons, reviews, and marketing history. The preview lists what will move for your two clients before you confirm.

## Merging Two Clients

**Step 1: Open the profile you want to keep**
Go to **Clients** and open the client record that should survive. Click **More** in the top-right corner of the profile, then **Merge client**. The **Merge client** window opens on **Step 1 of 2**.

**Step 2: Find the duplicate**
Under **Which client should we merge into** your client, search by name, email, or phone (type at least 2 letters). Click the duplicate in the results to go to **Step 2 of 2**. Picked the wrong one? Click **Back**.

**Step 3: Review what will move**
Step 2 shows the duplicate under **Goes away after the merge** and your client under **Keeps everything**. SpaSphere works out the merge and lists **What moves to** your client, with the number of records of each type.

**Step 4: Resolve conflicts**
If the two records disagree on a detail (last name, email, phone, date of birth, sex, gender, photo, address, or Fitzpatrick skin type), it appears under **These details are different. Which should we keep?** For each one, choose the value **On this profile** or the one **On the duplicate**. Each starts on this profile's value. The first name always comes from the profile you keep. A name, email, or phone you don't keep isn't thrown away: it's listed under **Also saved on** your client, so bookings made under it still find the right person.

**Step 5: Confirm**
Click **Merge clients**. An **Are you sure?** box names the duplicate (with its email or phone) and says it will be merged into your client and removed. Click **Yes, merge**. When it's done you'll see **Clients merged**. If the merge fails, the reason shows at the top of the window and in a **Merge failed** message.

**A merge can't be undone**
The source client is permanently deleted once the merge finishes. Check that you picked the right two people, and that the profile you started from is the one you want to keep, before you click **Yes, merge**.

Only owners and managers can merge clients.

## When a Merge Is Blocked

SpaSphere won't merge while something is in progress on the duplicate. Step 2 shows **These two clients can't be merged** with the reason, and **Merge clients** stays unavailable. Clear it, then try again:

| Reason | What to do |
|--------|------------|
| Both clients have a live membership | Cancel one of the memberships first. |
| The duplicate has an active payment link | Cancel the payment link first. |
| The duplicate has unpaid invoices | Collect payment or void them. Draft invoices don't block a merge. |
| A payment on the duplicate is still processing | Wait for it to finish. |
| The duplicate has upcoming appointments | Cancel them or move them to the client you're keeping. |

## Also Known As

After a merge, the kept profile shows an **Also known as** block on its **Overview** tab, under **Details**. It lists the other names, email addresses, and phone numbers the client has used: a maiden name, a mistyped email, an old number. The block appears only when there is something to show.

These alternates are also used to match future bookings, so a client who books online with an old email is recognized as the same person.

**Merge instead of deleting**
If you find a duplicate, merge it rather than deleting it. Deleting throws away that record's history; merging keeps it on the right person.

## Frequently asked questions

**Which profile should I start the merge from?**
Start from the profile you want to keep, usually the older or more complete one. That profile is the destination: it keeps its history and receives the duplicate's. The profile you search for is the source, and it is deleted after the merge.

**Do I lose the duplicate's email or phone number?**
No. For each conflicting detail you choose which value the profile keeps. A name, email, or phone you don't keep is saved under Also known as on the profile and is still used to match future bookings.

**Can I undo a merge?**
No. The source client is permanently deleted. That's why the merge asks **Are you sure?** before it runs.

**Why does the merge say these two clients can't be merged?**
Something is in progress on the duplicate record: an unpaid invoice, an active payment link, a payment still processing, an upcoming appointment, or both clients having a live membership. Resolve the item named in the message and try again.

**What happens if one of the clients was blocked from online booking?**
The block carries over. If either record was blocked, the kept profile stays blocked, along with its note and date, so a merge can't quietly lift a block.


# How to Store and Share Client Files in SpaSphere Pro

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/client-files
Section: clients
Updated: 2026-10-28

Upload consents, photos, and documents to a client's record, share them to the client portal, and browse every file as cards or a list.

Every client in [SpaSphere Pro](https://spasphere.ai/) has a place for their documents: signed consents, photo releases, before/after photos, a copy of an ID or prescription. You can upload files yourself, collect them through intake forms, attach them to a SOAP note, and choose which ones the client can see in their portal. The **Files** page (**Clients > Files** in the sidebar) brings every client's files together as a gallery of photo and document cards, or as a list.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Paper consents in a binder and progress photos on a personal phone are hard to find when you need them and hard to protect. Keeping them on the client's record means the whole team can find the signed waiver before a peel, compare this visit's photos with the last one, and hand a client her own documents without emailing attachments.

## Key Capabilities

- Upload files to a client from their profile, with a display name and document type
- Upload a before and an after photo together as a pair, or label a single photo **Before** or **After**
- The client's profile shows their newest after photo next to a before photo under **Progress Photos**
- Files also arrive from intake form uploads, SOAP notes, the mobile app, and data imports
- Files your team uploads are ready right away; files a client sends through an intake form or the portal show a status until they're ready
- **Share with client** makes a file available in the client's portal
- Rename, re-categorize, and add a description; open earlier versions from **Version history**
- Deleted files stay in the trash for 30 days before they are permanently removed
- The **Files** page shows every client's files as cards (photos show the photo itself) or as a list, with status chips, a search box, and filters for client, type, source, and date
- Share, restore, edit, version history, and delete work the same from a card or from the list
- Download a 30-day activity log of who opened which file

## Document Types

Each file has a document type, which decides how it's filed on the client's record:

| Document type | Use it for | Best as |
|---------------|-----------|----------------|
| **Consent / waiver** | Signed consent, liability waiver, or treatment authorization | PDF |
| **Photo / media release** | Permission to use photos in marketing or social media | PDF |
| **Before / after photo** | Treatment-progress photos (before, during, or after) | Photos (required) |
| **Client picture** | A reference photo of the client, filed to the chart (not used as their avatar) | Photo |
| **Other client document** | ID, insurance card, prescription, intake document, and so on | PDF or photo |

Size limits also depend on the type, from 10 MB for consents, releases, and client pictures to 20 MB for before/after photos and other documents.

## Uploading a File to a Client

**Step 1: Open the client's Files tab**
Open the client's profile and click the **Files** tab. If you don't see it in the row of tabs, click **More**, then **Files**. You'll see the client's files, a **Document type** filter, and the **Upload file** button.

**Step 2: Choose the file**
Click **Upload file**, then click to upload or drag a file into the window. Before / after photos must be images. For the other types, a PDF or a photo works best, as in the table above.

**Step 3: Name it and pick a type**
Enter a **Display name** your team will recognize, such as "Microneedling consent, March 2026", and choose a **Document type**. Click **Upload**.

**Step 4: Find it on the Files tab**
You'll see "File uploaded", and the file appears at the top of the client's Files tab with the status **Ready**. It's also on the **Files** page under **Clients > Files**.

## Uploading Before and After Photos

When you choose **Before / after photo** as the document type, the upload window changes. Every treatment photo is labeled **Before** or **After**, and you can upload both photos of a visit together so they stay paired.

**Step 1: Choose Before / after photo**
On the client's **Files** tab, click **Upload file** and set **Document type** to **Before / after photo**. Two choices appear at the top: **Single photo** and **Before & after pair**.

**Step 2: Upload a pair**
Choose **Before & after pair**. Add the before photo on the left and the after photo on the right, then enter a **Display name**, such as "Acne Recovery, session 4". Click **Upload**. The photos are saved as "Acne Recovery, session 4 - Before" and "Acne Recovery, session 4 - After", and SpaSphere Pro remembers that they belong together.

**Step 3: Or upload one photo**
Choose **Single photo**, pick the photo, and under **This photo is** choose **Before** or **After**. You can't upload a treatment photo without choosing one.

Both photos must be images. If one photo of a pair saves and the other doesn't, the window stays open and tells you which one, so you can try again and only the missing photo is sent.

To change a photo's label later, click **Edit name & details** on it and switch **This photo is**. If the photo was part of a pair, changing it takes it out of the pair.

### Progress Photos on the Profile

The client's profile has a **Progress Photos** card in the column on the right, whichever tab is open. When the client has a before and an after photo, it shows the newest after photo next to a before photo taken earlier, each with its date, and how far apart they were taken when they're from different days. A paired after photo always shows with its own before. Click a photo or **View All** to open the client's files.

Until there's an after photo with a before to compare it to, the card shows the client's three most recent treatment photos instead.

You can also add files to a specific visit from the **Photos & files** section of a SOAP note. Those files are attached to both the visit and the client, so they appear on the client's Files tab too.

## File Status

| Status | Meaning |
|--------|---------|
| **Uploading** | The file is still being uploaded. |
| **Scanning** | The file is being checked. |
| **Finalising** | The check passed and the file is being prepared. |
| **Ready** | The file is available to open, download, and share. Hover over the badge to see when it became available. |
| **Quarantined** | The file didn't pass the check and can't be opened. |
| **Failed** | The upload didn't complete. Upload it again. |

Files your team uploads from SpaSphere Pro are **Ready** right away. Files a client sends you through an intake form or the client portal go through these statuses first.

Only **Ready** files can be opened or shared. The client's Files tab lists only **Ready** files; to see files in any other status, go to the **Files** page and pick a status chip, or switch on **Also show files still uploading or being checked**.

If a file is **Quarantined** and you've checked it's safe, you can return it to **Ready**. On the **Files** page, pick the **Quarantined** chip, then:

- on a card, click the **...** button and choose **Restore file**;
- in the list, click the green shield icon (**Restore (move back to Ready)**).

You're asked to confirm, and you can add an optional reason. Not every team member has permission to restore quarantined files.

## Managing a File

Every file has the same actions, whether you see it as a card on the **Files** page or as a row in a list.

**On a card**, click the card to open the file in a viewer. Hover over the card to show two buttons in its top corner: the eye (**Share with client**) and **...**, which opens **Edit name and details**, **Version history**, and **Delete** (plus **Restore file** on a quarantined file).

**In a list**, each row has icons for the same actions. Hover over an icon to see its name:

- **Open file** -- opens the file in a viewer. You can also click the row.
- **Share with client** -- see the next section.
- **Version history** -- lists earlier versions of the file; click **Open** to view any of them.
- **Edit name & details** -- change the **Display name**, **Description**, or **Document type**, then **Save**.
- **Delete file** -- asks you to confirm. The file stays in the trash for 30 days before it is permanently removed.

## Sharing a File with the Client's Portal

You decide, file by file, what a client can see.

**Step 1: Find the file**
On the client's **Files** tab or the **Files** page, find the file. It has to be **Ready**.

**Step 2: Turn sharing on**
Click the eye icon. In a list, its tooltip reads **Share with client (visible in their portal)**; on a card, hover over the card to show it. Confirm in the window that asks whether to share the file with the client. You'll see "Shared with client -- It now appears in their client portal." Shared files show a purple eye, and cards also show a **Shared** tag. In a list, hover over the eye to see the date it was shared.

**Step 3: Stop sharing when needed**
Click the eye again to stop sharing. You'll see "Sharing stopped", and the file disappears from the client's portal.

In the portal, shared files appear on the **Documents** screen, under **Files**. The client clicks a file to download it. Files you upload and don't share stay visible to your team only.

**What you can't share**
The share control only appears on files that belong to a client and are **Ready**. A file that is still uploading or being checked, or a quarantined file, can't be shared.

## Finding Files Across All Clients

Go to **Clients > Files** in the sidebar to see files from every client in one place. Each file is a card: photos show the photo itself, and documents show a page with their file type, such as **PDF**. Under the picture you see the file's name, the client, its type, size, and upload date. Tags on the picture show **Before** or **After** on treatment photos, **From client** on files the client sent you from the portal, and **Shared** on files in the client's portal.

### Search and Filter

The bar at the top stays in view while you scroll:

- **Status chips** -- **All**, **Ready**, **Uploading**, **Scanning**, **Quarantined**, and **Failed**
- **Search** -- type in the **File name or notes** box
- **Cards / List switch** -- at the end of the bar (see below)

Below the bar, the filters sit open on the page, with no menu to open:

- **Client**
- **Document type**
- **Source** -- where the file came from: Admin, Mobile app, Public form, Public site, Import, or System
- **Uploaded from** and **Uploaded to** dates

With **All** picked, the page shows files that are ready. Switch on **Also show files still uploading or being checked** to see the rest too, or pick a status chip. Click **Clear filters** to reset everything. When there are more than 50 files, use **Previous** and **Next** to page through them.

When you filter by one client, an **Open client → Files** button in the corner jumps to that client's Files tab.

### Cards or a List

Use the switch at the end of the bar: **Show as cards** or **Show as a list**. The list shows each file's name, client, type, status, size, who uploaded it, and when, with its actions at the end. Your choice is remembered in this browser.

### Downloading the Activity Log

Click **Activity log (30 days)** at the top of the Files page to download a CSV log of file access from the past 30 days, for your records or a compliance review.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can my clients see all their files?**
No. A client sees only the files you share, one by one, with the Share with client control. Everything else stays visible to your team only.

**Why can't I see or open a file I just uploaded?**
Files your team uploads are Ready right away. Files a client sends through an intake form or the portal are checked first: while one is Uploading, Scanning, or Finalising it can't be opened, and the client's Files tab doesn't list it yet. It appears there once it's Ready. To see it sooner, go to Clients > Files and pick a status chip, or switch on Also show files still uploading or being checked.

**Where do files from intake forms go?**
When a client uploads a file through a Photo or file question on an intake form, it is filed on their record with the type you chose under Save it as for that question. It appears on their Files tab and on the Files page with the source Public form.

**What's the largest file I can upload?**
It depends on the document type: 10 MB for consents, photo releases, and client pictures, and 20 MB for before/after photos and other client documents. Clients uploading through an intake form have their own limits, which also depend on the document type.

**How do I keep a before and after photo together?**
Upload them together: choose Before / after photo as the document type, then Before & after pair, and add both photos before you click Upload. The client's Progress Photos card then always shows that after photo next to its own before.

**Can I get a deleted file back?**
Deleted files stay in the trash for 30 days before permanent removal, but there is no restore option in the admin. Before deleting, make sure you have a copy of anything you may need, such as a signed consent.


# How to Manage a Client's Cards on File in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/cards-on-file
Section: clients
Updated: 2026-10-14

Save a client's card securely from their profile, choose a default card, remove old cards, and charge saved cards at checkout.

A saved card lets you charge a client without asking for their card again: for today's visit, a retail purchase, or a fee under your policies. The **Cards on File** tab on the client profile lists every card the client has saved with you and lets your team add, choose, and remove cards.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Checkout is faster when the card is already there, and a card on file gives you a way to collect under your cancellation and no-show policies. Keeping cards in one place per client also means you can see at a glance which card is current and which ones have expired.

## Key Capabilities

- See every saved card with its brand, last four digits, expiry date, and when it was last used
- **Add Card** from the admin while the client is with you or on the phone
- **Make Default** to choose which card is used first
- Remove cards the client no longer wants on file
- **Expired** badges so you know when to ask for a new card
- Card numbers are handled by Stripe -- SpaSphere never sees the full card number

**Stripe Connect is required**
Saving and charging cards runs through your Stripe account. Finish [setting up Stripe](https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/setting-up-stripe) before you add cards.

## Viewing a Client's Cards

Open the client's profile, click **More**, and choose **Cards on File**. Each card shows:

- The card brand and last four digits, for example "Visa •••• 4242"
- **Default** if it's the client's default card
- **Expired** if the expiry date has passed
- **Expires** with the month and year, and **Last used** with the date it was last charged

If the client has no saved cards, you'll see "No cards on file yet" and an **Add First Card** button.

## Adding a Card

**Step 1: Open the Add Card window**
On the **Cards on File** tab, click **Add Card**. The **Add Card on File** window opens: "Securely save a card so you can charge this client for future visits."

**Step 2: Enter the card details**
Enter the card number, expiry date, CVC, and **ZIP / Postal** code. These fields are provided by Stripe and the details are encrypted by Stripe.

**Step 3: Save the card**
Click **Save Card**. You'll see "Card saved -- The card is now available as a card on file." The client isn't charged when you save a card.

**Get the client's permission**
Save a card only with the client's agreement, and tell them when you may charge it -- for example, under your cancellation or no-show policy. If the client isn't in front of you, send them a secure link to save the card themselves instead. See [Deposit and Card Requests](https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/deposit-and-card-requests).

## Choosing a Default Card

Click **Make Default** next to the card the client wants to use. The card moves to **Default** and you'll see "Default card updated." **Make Default** doesn't appear on expired cards or on the card that's already the default.

## Removing a Card

Click the remove icon on the card, then click **Confirm** (or **Cancel** to keep it). You'll see "Card removed."

## Other Ways Cards Get Saved

Cards also land on this tab when:

- The client saves a card through a [deposit or card-on-file request](https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/deposit-and-card-requests) you sent from the calendar.
- The client pays a deposit through such a request -- the card is saved for later as well.
- The client saves a card while booking online, when your booking settings require a card.

## Charging a Card on File

At checkout, choose **Card on File** as the payment method, pick one of the client's saved cards, and complete the payment. See [Processing Checkout](https://spasphere.ai/docs/checkout/processing-checkout) for the full flow.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can my team see the full card number?**
No. Card details go straight to Stripe. SpaSphere and your team only ever see the brand, the last four digits, and the expiry date.

**Is the client charged when I add a card?**
No. Saving a card doesn't charge it. You charge a saved card only when you choose it as the payment method at checkout.

**What should I do about an expired card?**
Ask the client for a new card and add it with Add Card, or send them a card-on-file request from the calendar so they can enter it themselves. Then make the new card the default and remove the expired one.

**What happens to saved cards if the client's email changes?**
Their cards stay with them. Saved cards follow the client record when you update their email address.

**Is this the same card used for membership billing?**
Membership dues are charged to the card chosen for that membership. To change it, use Update billing card on the client's Membership tab. See Memberships for details.


# How to Create Skin Assessments and Share Skin Reports in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/skin-assessments-and-reports
Section: clients
Updated: 2026-10-20

Record a client's skin assessment, build a home routine, let Sophie draft a personalized skin plan, and share it by link and in the client portal.

A skin assessment captures what you see at a consultation: skin type, concerns, condition, and specific issues. From it, SpaSphere's AI assistant Sophie drafts a **skin plan** -- a branded report with your recommended treatments, services, and a home routine -- that you review, edit, and share with the client by email, link, and their client portal.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

A consultation that ends with "let's see how it goes" is easy to forget. A written plan the client can reopen at home -- her skin analysis, the routine you built, the services you recommend with a way to book them -- keeps the conversation going after she leaves and makes the next appointment the obvious step.

## Key Capabilities

- A seven-step assessment: skin type, concerns, current condition, specific conditions, treatment recommendations, home routine, and generate
- Morning and evening home routines with products from your inventory linked to each step
- Routine presets to start from, or build your own
- **Generate with Sophie** turns the assessment into a skin plan you can edit before sharing
- Share by email and a link that expires after 7 to 90 days
- Completed assessments appear in the client portal, and open there while the share link is live
- Each assessment shows the bookings, purchases, and revenue that came through its shared plan

## Creating a Skin Assessment

**Step 1: Start an assessment**
Open the client's profile, click **More**, and choose **Skin Assessments**. Click **Start Assessment**. You can also start one from the receipt after checkout with **Create Skin Assessment**.

**Step 2: Skin type**
Under **What's the skin type?**, select the best match for the client, and set their **Fitzpatrick Scale** type (I to VI).

**Step 3: Primary concerns**
Under **What are the primary concerns?**, select all that apply. Tap the dots to set each concern's priority from 1 to 5.

**Step 4: Current skin condition**
Rate the **Barrier Function** (Compromised, Impaired, or Intact), **Sensitivity Level** (Low, Moderate, or High), and **Hydration Level** (Dehydrated, Normal, or Well Hydrated).

**Step 5: Specific conditions**
Under **Any specific conditions?**, add the conditions you observed and tap the dots to set each one's severity from 1 to 5. Use **Add custom condition** for anything not on the list.

**Step 6: Treatment recommendations**
Optionally choose a **Treatment Plan** from your offerings. Pick **Recommended Services** -- these appear in the report with booking links -- and set a **Follow-up Timeline** (2, 4, 6, or 8 weeks, or your own, such as "3 months").

**Step 7: Home routine**
Pick a preset to prefill the routine -- **Essential Daily Care**, **Hydration & Repair**, **Oil Control & Clarity**, or **Sensitive & Calming** -- or **Start from scratch**. Then edit the **Morning** and **Evening** steps. For each step, use **Add product** to link products from your inventory, and **Add step** to add more. Put anything else in **Additional Routine Notes**, such as extra product suggestions or dos and don'ts.

**Step 8: Generate the skin plan or save a draft**
On **Ready to create the skin plan?**, review the summary of what your client will receive. Click **Generate with Sophie** to create the plan now, or **Save as Draft** to finish later. To pick a draft back up, click **Continue Assessment** on its card: your saved answers are still there.

**Sophie drafts, you decide**
The skin plan is a draft written from your assessment. Read it before sharing and change anything that doesn't match your professional judgment. You are responsible for what you send to the client.

## Reviewing and Editing the Skin Plan

After Sophie generates the plan, the editor opens: "Review and personalize before sharing." Edit the text of each section and the morning and evening routine steps, add or remove steps, then click **Save & Close**. Click **Skip editing** if it's ready as is.

To change a plan later, open the assessment, click **View Report**, and then **Edit Plan**.

## Sharing the Skin Plan

**Step 1: Open the share window**
On the assessment card, click **Share Report**, or open the report with **View Report** and click **Share**. The **Share Skin Report** window opens.

**Step 2: Choose how to send it**
**Send email to client** is on by default. To send it to a different address, enter it under **Email Override (optional)**. Turn the email off if you only want a link to share yourself.

**Step 3: Set how long the link works**
Under **Link Expires In**, choose 7, 14, 30, 60, or 90 days. The default is 30 days.

**Step 4: Share**
Click **Share**. If you emailed it, you'll see "Your client will receive it shortly." Either way, the window shows the **Share Link** with **Copy URL** and **Preview as client**, so you can see exactly what the client sees.

### What the Client Sees

The shared link opens the skin plan on your SpaSphere website, in your brand. It includes the client's skin analysis and concerns, short education about their conditions, your recommended protocol, the services and products you recommended with links, their morning and evening home routine, the follow-up timeline, and a **Book Your First Session** button. The client doesn't need to sign in to open it.

## Skin Plans in the Client Portal

Every completed skin assessment is listed in the client's portal, on the **Documents** screen under **Documents & skin assessments**, as **Skin assessment**. It opens only while its share link is live:

- If you've shared the plan and the link hasn't expired, the client can click through to it.
- If you haven't shared it, or the link has expired, the entry shows "Ask your spa to re-share this assessment."

To make a plan available again, share it again from **View Report > Share** with a new expiry.

**Share before the client leaves**
Sharing the plan while the client is still with you, and showing her where it lives in the portal, gives her something to come back to at home. Pick a link expiry that covers her next few visits.

## Tracking Results

Each assessment card shows its status -- **Draft**, **Completed**, or **Shared** -- along with the key findings: Fitzpatrick type, barrier, sensitivity, hydration, protocol, treatment plan, follow-up, conditions, and the client summary.

When clients book or buy through a shared plan, the card also shows a badge with the number of bookings and purchases and the revenue they brought in (tooltip: "Bookings and product purchases attributed to this skin plan").

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I save an assessment and finish it later?**
Yes. On the last step, click Save as Draft instead of Generate with Sophie. The assessment is saved with the Draft status, without a generated plan. When you're ready, click Continue Assessment on its card to finish it and generate the plan.

**Does the client see the plan in their portal automatically?**
The assessment is listed in their portal once it's completed, but it only opens while its share link is live. If you haven't shared it, or the link has expired, the client sees Ask your spa to re-share this assessment. Share it from View Report > Share to make it available.

**Which products can I add to the home routine?**
Products from your inventory. Use Add product on a routine step and search your catalog. Linked products appear in the client's routine in the shared plan.

**What happens when the share link expires?**
The link stops working and the portal entry shows Ask your spa to re-share this assessment. Share the plan again to create a new link with a new expiry.

**Can I delete an assessment?**
Yes. Use the delete control on the assessment card and confirm with Yes, delete. The assessment is removed from the client's profile.


# Voice Dictation: Talk Instead of Typing Your Notes

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/voice-dictation
Section: clients
Updated: 2026-10-21

Tap the mic in a notes box and speak. Your words appear where your cursor is, in SOAP notes, client notes, intake forms, messages and more.

Your hands are often busy, or still gloved, when you want to write something down. Voice dictation lets you speak a note instead of typing it. Tap the **mic** in the corner of a notes box, talk, and your words appear where your cursor is, so you can read them over before you save.

There's nothing to turn on. The mic shows up in the text boxes across SpaSphere, on a computer and in the SpaSphere app.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Notes written right after a treatment are the ones that help most at the next visit, and they're the ones that get skipped when the next client is already waiting. Speaking is quicker than typing, and a thirty-second spoken note after each facial keeps your records complete without adding time to your day.

## Key Capabilities

- A mic in SOAP notes, client notes, intake forms, treatment plans, website text, messages and most other text boxes
- Words go in where your cursor is, and never replace text you've selected
- Client notes stay on your device when it can turn speech into text by itself
- You're asked before a client note is sent online to be turned into text
- SpaSphere never records or keeps the audio
- Works in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari and the SpaSphere app

## Dictating a Note

**Step 1: Click into the box**
Open any notes box, for example a client's **Notes** tab and **Add Note**. Click where you want the words to go. If you don't click into the box first, your words are added at the end.

**Step 2: Tap the mic and speak**
Tap the **mic** (its label is **Dictate**). The first time, your browser asks to use your microphone: allow it. Under the box you'll see **Listening...**, and your words appear in the box as you finish each phrase. The words still being worked out show in grey under the box, and only go in once they're confirmed.

**Step 3: Tap again to stop**
Tap the mic again (now a square, **Stop dictating**) when you're done. Read the note over, fix anything by typing, and save it the way you normally would, for example with **Add Note**.

You can switch between talking and typing at any time. Spaces and capital letters at the start of a sentence are added for you. Only one mic is on at a time: starting it in another box stops the first one.

**Boxes with a formatting toolbar**
In text boxes with a toolbar, like website text and newsletters, the mic is at the end of the toolbar instead of in the corner.

### On the Treatment Chart: Add to Note

Some boxes save every change as you go, like the notes on a treatment chart. There, your spoken words first collect in a box under the note, with **Check the words, then add them to the note.** Click **Add to note** to put them in, or **Discard** to throw them away.

## Keeping Client Notes Private

Turning speech into text is done by your browser or phone, not by SpaSphere. Depending on the device, that can happen right on the device or on Apple's or Google's servers. SpaSphere never records or keeps the audio. Because client notes can hold health details, SpaSphere treats them with extra care.

**The first time you use the mic**, a short **Talk instead of typing** note explains how it works. Click **Start dictating** to begin, or **Not now**. (In a client note on a device that can't keep it private, you see the question further down instead.)

**When your computer can do it on its own**, client notes are turned into text right on your computer and never leave it. Under the box you'll see **Private: stays on this device**. Google Chrome may first ask for a one-time download: the **Set up private dictation** window has **Download and start**. It can take a minute or two.

**When your device can't do it on its own**, SpaSphere asks before a client note goes online, with **Dictate client notes online?** Choose **Use online dictation** to go ahead, or **Type instead**.

Your answer is remembered for you on that device. Someone else who signs in on the same front desk computer is asked again. While online dictation is on in a client note, the line under the box says **Online dictation** with a **Turn off online dictation** link, so you can switch it off at any time.

**If your business must follow HIPAA**
If your business must follow HIPAA, don't use online dictation for client health notes. Type them instead, or dictate only on a computer that shows **Private: stays on this device**.

Text that isn't about a client's health, like messages, website text, blog posts, product descriptions and marketing copy, only shows the one-time note and then dictates normally.

## Browsers and Devices

| Where | Voice dictation |
|-------|-----------------|
| Google Chrome | Yes. Can keep client notes on your computer after a one-time download |
| Microsoft Edge | Yes |
| Safari | Yes |
| SpaSphere app (iPhone and Android) | Yes, in the same notes boxes |
| Firefox | No. The mic doesn't show |
| Brave | No. The mic shows, but tapping it shows a note to use Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Safari |

Dictation listens in your device's language. In the SpaSphere app, the phone turns speech into text, on the phone when it can, and asks before a client note goes online, just like on a computer.

## If Something Goes Wrong

The message under the box tells you what to do:

- **Microphone access is off. Turn it on in your settings, then tap the mic again.** Allow the microphone for SpaSphere in your browser or phone settings.
- **No microphone found. Connect one, then tap the mic again.** A headset with a mic works too.
- **Dictation needs an internet connection.** Online dictation can't work offline. Reconnect, then tap the mic again.
- **Dictation paused. Tap the mic to keep going.** The mic stopped after a few quiet moments in a row. Tap it to carry on.
- **This browser can't turn speech into text. To dictate, use Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Safari.**

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**Does SpaSphere record what I say?**
No. Your browser or phone turns your speech into text, and only the text goes into the box. SpaSphere never records or keeps the audio.

**Do I need to turn voice dictation on?**
No. The mic is there for everyone on your team in supported browsers and in the SpaSphere app. Nothing is saved until you save the note yourself.

**Why does it ask me before dictating a client note?**
Client notes can hold health details. When your device can't turn speech into text on its own, your voice would be sent to Apple's or Google's servers, so SpaSphere asks you first. You can choose Type instead, and you can switch online dictation off at any time with Turn off online dictation.

**Why don't I see the mic?**
Your browser doesn't support dictation. Use Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Safari, or the SpaSphere app. Boxes for code, like custom website code, don't have a mic either.

**Will dictation replace text I've already written?**
No. Your words go in at your cursor, after any text you've selected, and never over it.

**Does it cost anything?**
No. Voice dictation is included in SpaSphere and doesn't count toward any monthly allowance.


# Getting Started with SpaSphere Forms (Free)

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/forms/getting-started-with-spasphere-forms
Section: forms
Updated: 2026-10-28

What the free SpaSphere Forms plan includes, how to build and share forms, where answers show up, and what SpaSphere Pro adds when you upgrade.

SpaSphere Forms is the free plan of SpaSphere. Build as many intake forms as you like, share them with your clients, and every answer lands on that client's profile. There's no limit on forms or submissions, and no card is needed to sign up. When you're ready for online booking and payments, upgrade to SpaSphere Pro and everything you've set up comes with you.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Paper intake forms get lost, smudged, and retyped. Generic form tools collect answers, but they don't know who your clients are. SpaSphere Forms is built for estheticians, with estheticians: forms start from spa templates, every answer is saved to the right client, and you can read a client's history before they sit down in your chair.

## Key Capabilities

- **Unlimited forms and submissions**, free
- **Nine kinds of questions**: Heading, Short answer, Long answer, Dropdown, Single choice, Multiple choice, Paragraph, Photo or file, and Signature
- **Follow-up questions** that appear only when a client picks a certain answer
- **E-signatures**: clients draw or type their signature on a phone, tablet, or computer
- **Photo and file uploads**, saved to the client's **Files** tab
- **Template Library**: 15 ready-made forms and 16 section blocks, all editable
- **Import from PDF**: turn the paper or PDF form you already use into a digital one
- **Your Info**, built into every form, so each submission is tied to a client
- **Share by link or email**, plus a printable **Waiting-room sign** with a QR code
- **Answers on the client's profile**, with an email and an app notification when a form comes in
- **The SpaSphere mobile app**: build forms, send them, and read submissions from your phone

## What's Included and What Needs SpaSphere Pro

On SpaSphere Forms you can build and set up everything: your forms, your clients, your services, and your website. Anything that runs your day, like booking, taking payments, or sending marketing, is part of SpaSphere Pro.

| On SpaSphere Forms (free) | Needs SpaSphere Pro |
| --- | --- |
| Build, edit, and import forms | Online booking and the calendar |
| Share forms by link, email, and the waiting-room sign | Checkout, payments, and invoices |
| A free page at your site address with your details and forms | Publishing your full website |
| Collect answers, signatures, and files | Reminders and marketing automations |
| Add and manage clients | Newsletters, coupons, and reviews |
| Design your website and preview it |  |
| Staff notes on intake answers | Memberships, packages, gift cards, and SOAP notes |
|  | Sophie and the other AI tools, except Import from PDF |
|  | Forms sent automatically with booking confirmations and reminders |

Pages that are part of SpaSphere Pro stay in the menu so you can see what's there, and the main ones, like **Quick Checkout** and **Invoices**, show a small lock. You can open them and look around; a note at the bottom says "Have a look around. Saving here is part of SpaSphere Pro." If you try to save, SpaSphere tells you it's part of SpaSphere Pro instead.

## Finding Your Way Around

On SpaSphere Forms, **Forms** is its own item near the top of the sidebar, right under **Dashboard**, with **Clients** next to it. (On SpaSphere Pro, the same page is under **Clients > Forms**.)

Your **Dashboard** shows your **Latest submissions**, a count of submissions **This week** and **All submissions**, how many **Clients from forms** you've gained, and shortcuts to create a form, share a form, add clients, and design your website.

## Step 1: Create Your First Form

**Step 1: Open Forms**
In the sidebar, click **Forms**. The page opens with **What clients fill in** at the top, three ways to start a new form, and a card for each form you have. The **Waiting-room sign** button sits at the top right.

**Step 2: Pick how to start**
- **Start from scratch**: start from a blank form.
- **Use a template**: start from a ready-made spa form, such as New Client Intake, Chemical Peel Intake, or Lash Extension Intake, then change anything you like.
- **Bring your PDF**: upload the form you already use. SpaSphere reads it and builds an editable form for you to check.

The full walkthrough is in [How to Create Spa Intake Forms](https://spasphere.ai/docs/forms/creating-intake-forms).

**Step 3: Add your questions**
Click a kind of question in the **Add** panel on the left to add it to your form. Click a question on the page to change it in the panel on the right. See [Form Builder Field Types](https://spasphere.ai/docs/forms/form-builder-field-types) for what each one does.

**Step 4: Save it**
Click **Create form** in the bar at the bottom of the page.

**Templates are a starting point**
Templates are provided for convenience only. Review each form against your services, licensing rules, state requirements, and business policies before you use it with clients.

## Your Info: Built into Every Form

On SpaSphere Forms, every form starts with a **Your Info** block that asks for **First name**, **Last name**, **Email**, and **Phone number**. It's marked **Built in**: you can't edit or remove it, and clients must fill it in. If your form also asks for a name, email, or phone, those questions are skipped on the client's form so nobody answers twice.

### How submissions become clients

When someone sends a form, SpaSphere looks for a client with the same email address:

- **They're already your client**: the answers are added to that client's profile.
- **They're new**: if the form is **Open to new clients**, they're added to your clients with the name, email, and phone they entered. If **Open to new clients** is off, they can't send the form, and they're told it's by invitation only.

New forms on SpaSphere Forms start with **Open to new clients** turned on. You can change it in the form's **Settings**.

When you email a form to a client, the link fills in their name, email, and phone for them, so they can go straight to your questions. This works for 30 days after you send it.

## Step 2: Share Your Form

There are three ways to get a form to clients. Open a saved form and click **Settings** in the bottom bar to find **Share the form**.

**Step 1: Copy the link**
Click the copy button next to the **Public Link**, then paste it anywhere: a text message, your Instagram bio, or your own emails. Click **Preview** to see the form the way clients will.

**Step 2: Email it to a client**
Click **Send**, search for the client by name or email, and click **Send Email**. The client needs an email address on file. The form must be taking answers to be sent.

**Step 3: Print a waiting-room sign**
On the **Forms** page, click **Waiting-room sign**. Pick a size (a letter-size **Wall sign** or a smaller **Counter stand**), a style, a color, and the message, then click **Download PDF** or **PNG**. The QR code opens your forms page, which lists all the forms that are taking answers, so one sign keeps working when you add or change forms. You need at least one form that's taking answers before you can download the sign.

Clients fill out forms on any phone, tablet, or computer. They don't need an app or an account. For all the details on links and emails, see [How to Share Intake Forms](https://spasphere.ai/docs/forms/sharing-and-linking-forms).

## Step 3: See the Answers

When a client sends a form:

- **You get an email** saying a new form was submitted, with a **View their answers** button. It goes to every owner on the account.
- **Your owners and managers get a notification** in the app, and on their phone if push notifications are on in the SpaSphere mobile app.
- **The answers are saved on the client's profile.** Go to **Clients**, open the client, and choose the **Intake Forms** tab. Click any submission to see every answer, signature, and upload. You can add a staff note under any answer; see [How to Add Notes to a Client's Intake Form Answers](https://spasphere.ai/docs/forms/intake-answer-notes).
- **Your Dashboard** lists the form under **Latest submissions**. Click it to open the answers.

The client gets an email letting them know you received their form. It doesn't include a copy of their answers.

## Your Free Page

While you're on SpaSphere Forms, your site address shows a simple page with your business name and logo, and the details you choose: your phone number, address, business hours, and your forms. Clients open a form from there and fill it out. It's also the page the waiting-room sign's QR code opens.

To choose what it shows, go to **Settings** > **Business** and find **Your free page**. Turn **Phone number**, **Address**, **Business hours**, and **Your forms** on or off. Each change saves as soon as you flip it.

## Upgrading to SpaSphere Pro

SpaSphere Pro adds online booking and the calendar, checkout and payments, invoices, reminders and automations, a published website, memberships, marketing, SOAP notes, and the AI tools. Forms you link to services are then sent to clients automatically with their booking confirmations and reminders.

To upgrade, click **Upgrade** in the purple bar at the top of any page, or **Upgrade to SpaSphere Pro** on your Dashboard. Upgrade and everything you've already set up is ready to go: your forms, answers, clients, and website come with you.

## Frequently asked questions

**Is SpaSphere Forms really free?**
Yes. SpaSphere Forms is free, with no limit on the number of forms or submissions, and no card is needed to sign up.

**Where are my forms?**
On SpaSphere Forms, click Forms in the sidebar, right under Dashboard. On SpaSphere Pro, the same page is under Clients > Forms.

**Can I import the paper form I already use?**
Yes. On the Forms page, click Bring your PDF and upload your form (a PDF of up to 10 MB; the first 5 pages are read). SpaSphere builds an editable form for you to check before you save it. Import from PDF is included on the free plan.

**Can clients sign my forms?**
Yes. Add a Signature question. Clients draw their signature with a finger, stylus, or mouse, or type their name, and it's saved with their answers.

**Do my forms go out automatically when a client books?**
Not on SpaSphere Forms, because online booking is part of SpaSphere Pro. Share your forms by link, email, or the waiting-room sign. On SpaSphere Pro, forms linked to services are sent with booking confirmations and reminders.

**Can I send a form by text message?**
There's no text message sending from SpaSphere Forms. Copy the form's link and paste it into a text from your own phone, or email the form from SpaSphere.

**Does the client get a copy of their answers?**
No. The client gets an email saying you received their form. You can open their answers any time on their profile under Intake Forms.

**What happens to my forms if I upgrade?**
Everything comes with you: your forms, the answers you've collected, your clients, and your website design. Forms you made on SpaSphere Forms keep their Your Info block, so they keep adding new clients.


# How to Create Spa Intake Forms in SpaSphere Pro

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/forms/creating-intake-forms
Section: forms
Updated: 2026-10-28

Build intake forms in SpaSphere Pro from scratch, from the Template Library, or from the PDF you use today, then collect them before visits.

SpaSphere Pro's intake forms let you collect important client information before each appointment -- from medical history and allergies to skin goals and consent. You build and manage your forms under **Clients > Forms** in the sidebar of your [SpaSphere Pro dashboard](https://spasphere.ai/), or under **Forms** at the top of the sidebar on the free SpaSphere Forms plan (see [Getting Started with SpaSphere Forms](https://spasphere.ai/docs/forms/getting-started-with-spasphere-forms)).

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Digital intake forms are a frontline tool for client safety, legal protection, and a smoother day. Collecting medical history, allergies, and medications before a treatment lets your providers screen for contraindications before a peel, laser treatment, or injectable. Signed consents give you a record of what the client agreed to. When clients fill out forms online before they arrive, there's no clipboard in the waiting room, and providers can read the answers before the client walks in.

## Key Capabilities

- **A gallery of your forms**: each form shows as a card with a small picture of its first questions, whether it's **Taking answers** or **Hidden**, and how many questions it has
- **Three ways to start**: **Start from scratch**, **Use a template**, or **Bring your PDF**
- **A page you build on**: your form sits in the middle like a sheet of paper, with **Add** and **Outline** on the left and the picked question's details on the right
- **Nine kinds of questions**: Heading, Short answer, Long answer, Dropdown, Single choice, Multiple choice, Paragraph, Photo or file, and Signature
- **Saved sections**: questions you ask on many forms, like health history, saved once and added to any form in one click
- **Template Library** of ready-made forms and section blocks, with a phone or computer preview of each
- **Bring your PDF** to turn an existing paper or PDF intake form into a digital one
- **Follow-up questions** that appear only when a client picks a specific answer
- **Clients must answer** switch on every question clients fill in
- **How often**: ask clients every visit, or once a year
- **Preview** to check the form the way clients will see it, on a phone or a computer
- **Taking answers** switch to hide a form from clients without deleting it
- **Open to new clients** switch so anyone with the link can fill out the form

## Building Your First Intake Form

**Step 1: Open the Forms page**
In the sidebar, click **Clients**, then **Forms**. (On SpaSphere Forms, click **Forms** near the top of the sidebar.) The page opens with **What clients fill in** at the top and three ways to start a new form. Below them, the **Forms** and **Saved sections** switch shows how many of each you have, and **All**, **Taking answers**, and **Hidden** narrow the list. Use **Search forms** to find one by name.

Each form is a card with a small picture of its first questions, a **Taking answers** or **Hidden** tag, how many questions it has, and **Open to new clients** when that's on.

**Step 2: Start a new form**
Click **Start from scratch**. The **New intake form** page opens: the **Add** panel on the left, your form in the middle, and a blank page that asks **What would you like to ask?** with every kind of question ready to click.

Prefer not to start from a blank page? Click **Use a template** or **Bring your PDF** instead. Both are covered below.

**Step 3: Name your form**
Type the name in the **Form name** box, for example "New Client Skin Consultation" or "Chemical Peel Consent". A form can't be saved without a name. Under it, **Short welcome (optional)** is a line clients read before they start.

Above the name, small chips sum up the form's settings: **Taking answers**, how often it's asked (**Every visit** or **Once a year**) and how many services ask for it (**No services yet** until you link some) on SpaSphere Pro, and **Open to new clients** when that's on. Click any chip, or **Settings** in the bar at the bottom of the page, to change them.

On SpaSphere Forms, every form also starts with a built-in **Your Info** block (first name, last name, email, and phone number) that you can't edit or remove, and new forms start with **Open to new clients** turned on.

**Step 4: Add questions**
In the **Add** panel on the left, under **Add a question**, click the kind of question you want. It's added below the question you have picked (or at the end) and opens so you can fill it in. You can also drag a kind of question from the panel onto the page; a line shows where it will land.

On the page itself, click **Add a question** under the last question, or hover between two questions and click the small **+** to add one right there.

See [Form Builder Field Types](https://spasphere.ai/docs/forms/form-builder-field-types) for what each kind does, including follow-up questions, photo uploads, and signatures.

**Step 5: Fill in each question**
Click a question on the page to pick it. On a large screen, its details open in the panel on the right. For a short answer, for example, type the **Question**, add any **Words in the empty box (optional)** (the hint clients see inside an empty field), and turn on **Clients must answer** if it's required. Headings, Paragraphs, and Signatures have their own boxes; see [Form Builder Field Types](https://spasphere.ai/docs/forms/form-builder-field-types). Changes apply as you type. The page keeps showing the question the way clients will see it.

The top of the panel has buttons to **Make a copy** of the question, **Remove** it, or **Close** the panel. On a smaller screen or a zoomed-in window, the question opens right on the page instead, with a **Done** button.

Questions clients answer are numbered (**Q1**, **Q2**, and so on), and required ones show a **Required** tag. A question you added but left completely empty is left out when you save, so a stray click never reaches clients.

**Step 6: Move around and reorder**
Click **Outline** at the top of the left panel to see the whole form as a list, with how many questions and how many are required. Click any line to jump to that question.

To reorder, hover over a question and grab the dotted handle in the margin to its left, then drag it to a new spot.

**Step 7: Choose the form's settings**
Click **Settings** in the bar at the bottom of the page (or any chip above the form name). On a phone, **Settings** is the small sliders button with no words, and the save button reads **Create** (or **Save** on a saved form). The **Form settings** drawer opens:

- **Who can fill it out**
  - **Taking answers**: on means clients can fill the form out. Off hides it from clients for now.
  - **Open to new clients**: when on, anyone with the link can submit, and new people are added to your clients. When off, only your clients and people you send the form to can submit. To turn it on, the form needs first name, last name (or a full name), email, and phone number questions; if any are missing, the drawer lists them for you. On SpaSphere Forms, the built-in **Your Info** block covers these, and forms made there keep it after you upgrade.
- **How often** (SpaSphere Pro only)
  - **Every visit**: clients fill it out before each appointment. Best for treatment-specific consent.
  - **Once a year**: clients fill it out once, then again a year later. Ideal for medical history and general intake.
- **Services that ask for it** (SpaSphere Pro only): click **Pick services** (or **Change services**) to choose which services ask for this form. See [Sharing and Linking Forms](https://spasphere.ai/docs/forms/sharing-and-linking-forms).
- **Short description**: the same line as **Short welcome** on the page (optional). Clients may see it, for example in the email that sends them the form.
- **Share the form**: the public link, **Preview**, and **Send**. This group appears once the form is saved.

With no question picked, the panel on the right shows **This form**: how many questions, how many are required, about how many minutes it takes, and the same settings. Click any of them to open **Form settings**.

**Step 8: Preview it as a client**
In the middle of the bottom bar, switch from **Edit** to **Preview** to see the form the way clients will, with required questions marked. Pick **Phone** or **Computer** at the top to see it on either. Switch back to **Edit** to keep building. **Preview** is available once the form has at least one question.

**Step 9: Save your form**
Click **Create form** in the bar at the bottom of the page. On SpaSphere Pro, if you haven't linked any services yet, a **No Services Linked** dialog explains that clients won't be asked to fill the form out when booking. Click **Save Anyway** to save it now, or **Link Services First** to go back. You can always link services later from the form settings. SpaSphere Forms has no online booking, so it saves straight away.

If something still needs your attention, a note at the bottom tells you what, for example a choice question with no choices yet, or a missing form name.

**Save questions you ask on every form as a section**
If you ask the same questions on several forms (allergies, medications, emergency contact), save them once as a section. In the **Add** panel, click **Save questions as a section**, give it a name, and pick the questions. From then on, the section is listed under **Saved sections** in the **Add** panel of every form, and one click adds a heading with its name plus a copy of its questions. Later changes to the saved section don't change forms you already added it to.

## Starting from a Template

The Template Library holds ready-made intake forms and section blocks you can load into the editor and adapt.

**Step 1: Open the Template Library**
On the Forms page, click **Use a template**. (On **Saved sections**, click **Templates** on the **Save questions once** card to open the section blocks.)

**Step 2: Find a template**
The library opens on **Start from a ready-made form**. Switch between **Complete forms** and **Section blocks**, search by name, or pick a category such as **Facial** or **Waxing**. Each template is a card with its category, a small picture of its questions, and how many questions it has.

**Step 3: Look it over**
Click a template's card to see it the way clients will, on a **Phone** or a **Computer**. Its name, description, and number of questions sit beside it. Click **All templates** to go back.

**Step 4: Use it**
Click **Use this template** (or **Use** on a card). A complete form opens in the form editor with its name, description, how often, and questions filled in; a section block opens in the saved section editor. Nothing is saved until you save it, so review the questions, rename the form if you like, link services, and click **Create form**.

**Templates are a starting point**
SpaSphere provides editable templates for convenience only. You're responsible for reviewing each form against your services, licensing rules, state requirements, and business policies before you use it with clients.

## Importing a Paper or PDF Form

If you already have an intake form (your own, or one from an association such as ASCP or NCEA), you can import it instead of rebuilding it question by question.

**Step 1: Upload the PDF**
On the Forms page, click **Bring your PDF**. The **Import from PDF** window opens. Drop your file in or click to browse. The file must be a PDF of up to 10 MB. SpaSphere Pro reads the first 5 pages, so split a longer form into parts. Click **Import**.

**Step 2: Wait while it's read**
SpaSphere Pro shows "Analyzing your form..." while it reads the PDF and finds its questions. This takes a few seconds.

**Step 3: Review before saving**
The form editor opens with the questions it found and a note at the top of the page: **We read these questions from your PDF**. If some need a closer look, a second note tells you how many, and those questions are marked with an amber edge. Check every question, because the import can miss some, pick the wrong kind, or group choices wrong. Then edit, add, or remove questions and click **Create form**.

## Editing and Deleting Forms

To edit a form, click its card on the Forms page. The form editor opens with all its questions. Make your changes and click **Save changes**. The bar at the bottom shows **Unsaved changes** until you save, then **All changes saved**.

To delete a form, open it and click the trash icon at the left of the bottom bar. A **Delete Form** dialog asks you to confirm before the form is permanently removed.

**Deleting removes the form from all linked services**
When you delete an intake form, it is removed from all linked services and clients will no longer be asked to complete it when they book. Before deleting, consider turning off **Taking answers** in the form settings instead. That hides the form from clients and keeps it ready to turn back on later.

## Viewing Client Submissions

After a client completes an intake form, you can view their submission from their client profile. Go to **Clients**, open the client's profile, and select the **Intake Forms** tab. Each submission shows the form name and submission date. Click any row to see the full set of answers. To write down what you learn when you go over a form with a client, add a note under any answer. See [How to Add Notes to a Client's Intake Form Answers](https://spasphere.ai/docs/forms/intake-answer-notes).

## Frequently asked questions

**Where are intake forms in SpaSphere Pro?**
Open Clients in the sidebar and click Forms. (On the free SpaSphere Forms plan, click Forms near the top of the sidebar.) The Forms page has a switch at the top of the list: Forms (your forms) and Saved sections (questions you reuse on many forms).

**How many intake forms can I create?**
There's no limit on the number of intake forms. Many spas keep separate forms for facials, peels, waxing consent, and new client medical history, so each client answers only the questions that apply.

**Can I duplicate an existing form?**
There's no duplicate button. Instead, open the form, click Save questions as a section in the Add panel, and pick the questions you want to reuse. Then start a new form and add that saved section from the Add panel in one click. Each time you add a saved section, the form gets its own copy, so later edits to the section don't change forms that already have it. You can also start a new form from the Template Library.

**Who on my team can build forms?**
Owners and managers can create, edit, import, and delete intake forms, link them to services, and manage saved sections. Providers can see the forms and click one to share or send it to a client, but they can't change it.

**Can clients sign my forms?**
Yes. Add a Signature question to the form. Clients sign with their mouse, finger, or stylus (or type their name), and the signature is saved as a picture with their answers. Put your consent wording in a Paragraph just above it.

**What are the limits on Import from PDF?**
The file must be a PDF of up to 10 MB, and SpaSphere Pro reads only its first 5 pages. The import creates a draft in the form editor; nothing is saved or shown to clients until you review the questions and click Create form.

**What happens when I turn off Taking answers?**
The form is hidden from clients right away: its public link stops opening, and it isn't offered to clients who book, even if it's linked to services. Existing submissions stay on client profiles, and the form stays on your Forms page with a Hidden tag. Turn Taking answers back on in the form settings at any time, with no need to rebuild or re-link anything.

**Can clients save a partly finished form and finish later?**
No. Clients fill out and send the form in one sitting. Keep forms focused on the questions you really need; if you need more, send an extra form with the Send button under Share the form in the form settings.


# How to Use the Form Builder: Question Types and Saved Sections

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/forms/form-builder-field-types
Section: forms
Updated: 2026-10-28

Every kind of question in the SpaSphere Pro form builder, with follow-ups, photo uploads, and signatures, plus saved sections you reuse.

The SpaSphere Pro form builder has nine kinds of questions so you can ask exactly what your business needs. You can also save questions you ask on many forms as a **saved section** and add them to any form in one click. Find it all under **Clients > Forms** in your [SpaSphere Pro dashboard](https://spasphere.ai/), or under **Forms** at the top of the sidebar on the free SpaSphere Forms plan.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Choosing the right kind of question affects the quality of what you collect and how easily your team can act on it. Clear choices and required questions make contraindication screening thorough, so you catch medication conflicts, pregnancy, or recent Botox before a client sits in the treatment chair, not after. Saved sections let you write standard question sets like health history once and reuse them on every form.

## The Form Editor at a Glance

Your form sits in the middle of the page like a sheet of paper. Around it:

- **On the left**, the **Add** panel lists every kind of question under **Add a question**, and your saved sections under **Saved sections**. **Click** a kind of question to add it below the picked question (or at the end), or **drag** it to any spot on the page. Switch to **Outline** to see the whole form as a list and jump to any question.
- **On the right**, the picked question's details. Click a question on the page and change it there. Changes apply as you type. With nothing picked, the panel shows **This form**: how many questions, how many are required, and about how long it takes.
- **On the page**, each question shows its kind (for example **Q3 · Short answer**) and a **Required** tag when clients must answer it. Hover over a question to see the dotted handle in the margin to drag it, and the trash icon to remove it. Click **Add a question** at the end, or the **+** between two questions, to add one right there.

On a smaller screen or a zoomed-in window, a picked question opens right on the page instead, with a **Done** button. On a narrow screen, the **Add** panel folds into an **Add** button that slides it out.

## The Kinds of Questions

- **Heading**: a title that starts a new part of the form, like "About you" or "Your skin"
- **Short answer**: a name, email, or a few words
- **Long answer**: room to write a few lines, like health history or skin goals
- **Dropdown**: clients pick one from a list
- **Single choice**: clients pick one, with all choices shown
- **Multiple choice**: clients tick all that apply
- **Paragraph**: words to read, like a policy or consent wording. Nothing to fill in.
- **Photo or file**: clients upload a photo or document, such as a prescription or a before photo
- **Signature**: clients sign with a finger, mouse, or stylus, and it's saved as a picture with their answers

Dropdown, Single choice, and Multiple choice questions can also carry **follow-up questions** that appear only when the client picks a particular answer.

**No code needed to build a form**
Every question is set up with simple boxes and switches. Your team can create and update forms without waiting on a developer, keeping your screening questions current as your service menu changes.

## Setting Up Each Kind of Question

**Step 1: Heading**
Click **Heading** in the **Add** panel and type the title in the **Heading** box. It appears as a bold title on the form and tells clients which group of questions comes next.

Common uses: "About you," "Health history," "Your skin," or "Consent."

**Step 2: Short answer**
Click **Short answer**. Fill in:

- **Question**: the words above the box, such as "What is your email address?"
- **Words in the empty box (optional)**: a hint shown inside the empty box, such as "name@example.com"
- **Clients must answer**: turn it on if the question is required

**Step 3: Long answer**
Click **Long answer**. It's set up the same way as Short answer, but clients get a bigger box to write in.

Best for open questions like "Please describe any skin concerns" or "Is there anything else your esthetician should know?"

**Step 4: Dropdown**
Click **Dropdown**. Type the **Question**, then each option under **Choices**. Press Enter in the last choice, or click **Add a choice**, to add another. Remove a choice with the X next to it. **Words in the empty box (optional)** is what the closed dropdown shows before the client picks, such as "Pick one".

Use a dropdown for a long list of choices (like how a client heard about you) to keep the form compact.

**Step 5: Single choice**
Click **Single choice**. Type the **Question** and the **Choices**, and turn on **Clients must answer** if needed. Clients see every choice and can pick only one.

Ideal for yes/no questions like "Is this your first visit?"

**Step 6: Multiple choice**
Click **Multiple choice**. It's set up like Single choice, but clients can tick more than one answer.

Great for questions like "Which concerns would you like to work on?" or "Do you have any of the following? (Tick all that apply)."

**Step 7: Paragraph**
Click **Paragraph** and write your text in the **Words to read** editor, which supports bold, lists, and headings. Clients read it; there's nothing to fill in. Use paragraphs for consent wording, instructions, or policies.

A choice question needs both its question words and at least one choice before the form can be saved. If one is missing, the bar at the bottom tells you which question to finish.

## Adding Follow-up Questions

A follow-up question appears only when the client chooses a specific answer. Use it for "If yes, please tell us more" details without showing every client an extra box.

**Step 1: Add the choices**
Follow-ups work on **Dropdown**, **Single choice**, and **Multiple choice** questions. Type your choices as usual.

**Step 2: Attach a follow-up to a choice**
Under a choice, click **Ask more when they pick "[choice]"**. A panel appears marked **Shown when they pick "[choice]"**, already filled in with "If [choice], please tell us more:".

**Step 3: Set up the follow-up**
Edit the extra question, add **Words in the empty box (optional)** if you like, choose **Short answer** or **Long answer**, and tick **Must answer** if the client must answer it whenever it appears. Each choice can have its own follow-up. Remove one with the X on its panel.

For a Multiple choice question, the follow-up shows whenever its choice is among the client's picks.

## Adding a Photo or File Upload

The **Photo or file** question ("Clients upload a photo or document") lets clients attach files to their form.

**Step 1: Add the question**
Click **Photo or file** and type the **Question**, for example "Please upload a photo of your skin concern." Turn on **Clients must answer** if an upload is required.

**Step 2: Choose how it's saved**
Under **Save it as**, pick **Intake document**, **Consent / waiver**, **Client picture**, or **Before / after photo**. This decides where the file is kept on the client's profile. It also controls what the client can upload: photo types accept images, while intake documents and consents also accept PDFs.

**Step 3: Set the number of files**
Enter **Most files a client can add**. The highest number depends on what you picked under **Save it as**: 5 for **Intake document**, 2 for **Consent / waiver** and **Client picture**, and 10 for **Before / after photo**. The editor shows the limit next to the box, and switching to a type with a lower limit lowers the number for you.

**Where uploaded files go**
Only your team can see uploaded files. Clients can re-upload until they submit the form. Each file then appears on the client's **Files** tab and on the **Files** page under **Clients** in the sidebar. See [Client Files](https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/client-files).

## Adding a Signature

Click **Signature** ("Client draws their signature"). It starts with **Words above the signature** set to "Signature" and **Clients must answer** turned on, since almost every signature on an intake form is required. Change the words if you like (for example, "Client signature"). Clients sign in a **Sign here** box with their mouse, finger, or stylus, or choose **Type instead** to type their name, and the signature is saved as a picture with their answers.

## Making Questions Required

Short answer, Long answer, Dropdown, Single choice, Multiple choice, Photo or file, and Signature questions each have a **Clients must answer** switch. When it's on, the question shows a **Required** tag in the editor and an asterisk on the client's form, and clients can't send the form without answering it.

**Require what protects your clients, leave the rest optional**
Too many required questions make clients give up; too few leave gaps in your safety screening. Require what matters for safety and consent -- allergies, medications, emergency contact, and the signature -- and leave nice-to-know questions like how they heard about you optional.

## Working with Saved Sections

Saved sections are groups of questions you ask on many forms, like health history or a photo release. Save them once, then add them to any form in one click. They live under **Saved sections** on the Forms page: click **Saved sections** in the switch above your forms. Owners and managers can save, change, and delete saved sections and add them to forms.

### Saving Questions from a Form

The quickest way to make a saved section is from a form you've already built.

**Step 1: Open Save questions as a section**
In the form editor's **Add** panel, under **Saved sections**, click **Save questions as a section**.

**Step 2: Name it and pick the questions**
Type a **Section name**, then tick the questions to include (or click **Pick all**). Empty questions and choice questions without choices aren't listed.

**Step 3: Save it**
Click **Save section**. It's now listed under **Saved sections** in the **Add** panel of every form. Each section needs its own name.

### Building a Section from Scratch

Under **Saved sections**, click **New section** on the **Save questions once** card. Type a **Section name** and an optional **Short description**, and add questions with the same editor as forms. Click **Save section** when you're done. You can also start from the Template Library: click **Templates** on the same card, pick a section block, and choose **Use this template** (or **Use** on its card).

### Adding a Saved Section to a Form

In the form editor, click a section under **Saved sections** in the **Add** panel, or drag it into place. You can also pick one from the **+** between two questions. SpaSphere Pro adds a heading with the section's name, then a copy of its questions.

**Adding a section adds a copy**
The questions you add from a saved section belong to this form, and you can edit them like any others. Later changes to the saved section don't change forms you already added it to, so if you update your health history questions, add the updated section again where you need it.

Some forms made before this editor still hold a linked section block, shown as one block that says "Change these questions under Forms, Saved Sections." Those blocks always show the saved section's current questions.

## Common Form Patterns

- **New client intake**: a Heading ("About you") with Short answer questions for first name, last name, email, and phone, then a Heading ("Health history") with Long answer and Multiple choice questions
- **Treatment consent**: a Paragraph with your consent wording, followed by a required Signature
- **Medication check with details**: a Single choice question ("Are you taking any medications? Yes / No") with a required follow-up on "Yes" asking which ones
- **Before-photo request**: a Photo or file question saved as **Before / after photo**
- **Pre-treatment questionnaire**: Short answer and Single choice questions for that treatment, set to **Every visit** in the form settings

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I reorder the choices in a dropdown or choice question?**
Choices show in the order you typed them. To change the order, remove a choice with its X and add it again where you want it. Put the most common answer first to speed clients up.

**Is there a limit to how many questions I can add to a form?**
There's no limit. Shorter forms get finished more often, though, so ask only what you need and use saved sections to share common questions across forms instead of packing everything into one long form.

**What happens if I delete a saved section?**
Forms you added it to keep their copy of its questions. If an older form still holds a linked block of that section, the delete window lists that form, and the form loses those questions. The delete window shows how many forms use the section before you confirm.

**Can I show or hide questions based on an answer?**
Partly. Each choice on a Dropdown, Single choice, or Multiple choice question can have a follow-up question (a short or long answer) that appears only when that choice is picked. Hiding or showing whole groups of questions isn't supported. For very different question sets, such as facial clients versus body treatment clients, create separate forms and link each one to the right services.

**What files can clients upload?**
It depends on the Save it as choice. Client picture and Before / after photo accept images; Intake document and Consent / waiver also accept PDFs. You set how many files a client can add, from 1 to 10, up to that type's ceiling (5 intake documents, 2 consents or client pictures, 10 before / after photos).

**Do Paragraphs count as questions clients need to answer?**
No. Paragraphs are words to read, with nothing to fill in, so they can't be required. Use them for consent wording, preparation instructions, or aftercare notes, often just above a Signature.


# How to Share Intake Forms and Link Them to Services

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/forms/sharing-and-linking-forms
Section: forms
Updated: 2026-10-28

Share intake forms via public link or email, and link them to services so clients get them as soon as they book.

Once you have built an intake form, you need to get it in front of your clients. SpaSphere Pro gives you two ways: link the form to services so clients are asked to fill it out automatically when they book, and share it directly by public link or email (sharing works on the free SpaSphere Forms plan too). Both live in the form's **Settings** drawer, under **Clients > Forms** in your [SpaSphere Pro dashboard](https://spasphere.ai/), or under **Forms** at the top of the sidebar on SpaSphere Forms. You can also share any form straight from its card on the Forms page.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

An intake form only protects your business if clients actually complete it before they arrive. Linking forms to services means every client who books a peel, laser treatment, or injectable is asked for their medical history, allergies, and medications right after booking and again in their reminders, not on a clipboard in the waiting room. Providers can read the answers before the client walks in. A public link and direct email cover clients who book by phone, walk in, or need to update their information outside the booking flow.

## Key Capabilities

- **Link forms to services** so clients are asked to fill out the form as soon as they book
- **Copy a public link** to share on your website, social media, or in messages
- **Preview the public form** to see exactly what clients will see
- **Email the form** to a specific client from the dashboard
- **Signatures and consent**: add a Signature question to an intake form, and clients sign portal consent forms with their finger or mouse
- **Select all or specific services** when linking, with search

## Linking Forms to Services

**Part of SpaSphere Pro**
Forms go out with bookings only on SpaSphere Pro, because online booking is part of SpaSphere Pro. On the free SpaSphere Forms plan, share forms by link, by email, or with the waiting-room sign. See [Getting Started with SpaSphere Forms](https://spasphere.ai/docs/forms/getting-started-with-spasphere-forms).

When you link an intake form to a service, clients who book that service online see a **Fill intake form** button on the booking confirmation screen ("Please complete our quick intake form before your appointment."), and the form link is included in their confirmation and reminder emails. The booking never waits on the form, so a client can always finish booking first. This is the most common way to collect intake information because it happens automatically, with no manual sharing needed.

**Step 1: Open the form**
In the sidebar, click **Clients**, then **Forms** (on SpaSphere Forms, click **Forms** near the top of the sidebar). Click a form's card to open it, or start a new one.

**Step 2: Open the form settings**
Click **Settings** in the bar at the bottom of the page (or the services chip above the form name, which reads **No services yet** until you link some). In the **Form settings** drawer, find **Services that ask for it**. If none are linked yet, it says "No services ask for this form yet. Clients only get it when they book a service linked to it." Click **Pick services** (or **Change services** once some are linked) to open the **Link Services** window.

**Step 3: Select services**
The **Link Services** window lists all your services with checkboxes. Use **Search services...** to filter by name, or the **Select all** and **Clear all** links above the list. A counter shows how many services you've selected out of the total, and selected services are highlighted with a check.

**Step 4: Confirm your selection**
Click **Update Links**. On a form that's already saved, this saves the service links right away and a **Service associations updated** message confirms it. On a new form, the links are saved when you click **Create form**.

**Update Links saves only the links**
On a saved form, **Update Links** saves only which services ask for the form. Any question edits you haven't saved stay unsaved, so save the form when you're ready. If the form is **Open to new clients** but is missing a question new clients must fill in (first name, last name, email, or phone number), the links aren't saved and a message tells you what to add, or to turn that setting off first.

### What Happens During Booking

When SpaSphere Pro sends the form link in confirmation and reminder emails, it checks whether the client has already submitted that form, based on the form's **How often** setting:

- **Every visit** -- the client is asked to fill out the form every time, whatever they submitted before
- **Once a year** -- if the client submitted the form in the last 365 days, they are not asked again

**Use How often to balance safety and client experience**
Set general health questionnaires and medical history forms to **Once a year** so returning clients aren't asked the same questions every appointment. Keep **Every visit** for consents that should be signed each time, such as injectables or chemical peels.

### Saving Without Service Links

If you save a form that has no linked services, SpaSphere Pro shows a **No Services Linked** dialog ("This form won't be used for bookings"). You have two options:

- **Link Services First**: go back and link services before saving
- **Save Anyway**: save the form without any service links, which is useful if you plan to share it yourself or link services later

## Sharing Forms via Public Link

Every saved intake form has its own public link that clients open in their browser, with no login.

**Step 1: Open Share the form**
Open a saved intake form and click **Settings** in the bar at the bottom of the page. At the bottom of the **Form settings** drawer, find **Share the form**. It appears only for forms that have been saved.

**Step 2: Copy the public link**
Click the copy button next to the **Public Link**. "Copied to clipboard!" appears. Paste the link anywhere: your website, Instagram bio, a text message, or your own emails.

**Step 3: Preview the public form**
Click **Preview** to open the public form in a new browser tab, exactly as clients see it.

### Sharing from the Forms Page

You don't have to open a form to share it. On the Forms page, hover over a form's card and click **Share** at its top right. A window opens with the form's name, its **Public Link** with a copy button, **Preview**, and **Send**. **Share** shows only on forms that are taking answers.

Providers who can send forms but not change them get this same window when they click a form.

**Who can submit through the public link**
If **Open to new clients** is off in the form settings, only people who are already your clients, or who got the form link in their appointment emails, can send the form. Anyone else is told the form is by invitation only. Turn **Open to new clients** on to let anyone with the link submit; new people are then added to your clients.

## Emailing a Form to a Client

You can email an intake form to a specific client without leaving the dashboard.

**Step 1: Click Send**
Under **Share the form**, click **Send**. A **Send "[form name]" to Client** window opens and asks you to **Select Client**.

**Step 2: Search for and select a client**
Type the client's name or email address in **Search clients by name or email...**. Up to 10 matches appear as you type. Click the right client. Their name and email appear in a highlighted box, with **Change** to pick someone else.

**Step 3: Send the email**
Click **Send Email**. An **Email Sent** message confirms it. The form must be taking answers to be sent.

On SpaSphere Pro, in the client portal, **Documents > To complete** (with a **Fill out** button) lists only the forms SpaSphere Pro sent with the client's appointment emails and reminders (and the **Intake Form Reminder** automation), until the client submits them or the link expires. Forms you send with the **Send** button or share by public link aren't listed there. Once a client submits any form, however they got it, it shows under **Signed & submitted**. See [What Clients Can Do in the Portal](https://spasphere.ai/docs/client-portal/what-clients-can-do-in-the-portal).

**The client needs an email address on file**
You can only send intake forms to clients who have an email address on file; otherwise SpaSphere Pro shows **No Email**. Open the client's profile under **Clients**, add their email, then send the form. If emails to a client's address have bounced, sending is paused and SpaSphere tells you so.

## Consent and Signatures

- **Inside an intake form**, put your consent wording in a **Paragraph** and follow it with a required **Signature** question. Clients sign with their mouse, finger, or stylus (or type their name), and the signature is saved as a picture with their answers. See [Form Builder Field Types](https://spasphere.ai/docs/forms/form-builder-field-types).
- **Consent forms in the client portal (SpaSphere Pro).** Consent forms that apply to a client's booked services, or to all clients, appear in the portal under **Documents > To complete**, marked **Action needed**. The client clicks **Read & sign**, reads the form, draws their signature under **Your signature**, checks **I have read this form and agree to it.**, and clicks **Sign**. Their agreement and the date are recorded. Signed consents then move to **Signed & submitted**. If a consent form is updated to a new version, the client is asked to sign again.

**Check your requirements**
If your state, insurer, or medical director has specific signature requirements for certain consents, check that a Signature question or the portal's signing meets them. If they don't, collect those signatures the way your requirements specify, and upload the signed copy to the client's **Files** tab with the document type **Consent / waiver**.

## Changing Linked Services Later

You can change service links at any time. Open the form, click **Settings** in the bottom bar, then **Change services** under **Services that ask for it**, and adjust your selection. The linked services are listed in that group for quick reference, and the services chip above the form name shows how many there are.

To unlink all services from a form, open the **Link Services** window, click **Clear all**, and then click **Update Links**.

## Frequently asked questions

**Where do I link a form to services?**
Open the form under Clients > Forms (on SpaSphere Forms, Forms at the top of the sidebar), click Settings in the bar at the bottom of the page, and use Pick services (or Change services) under Services that ask for it. Choose the services in the Link Services window and click Update Links.

**Can I link one form to multiple services?**
Yes. A single intake form can be linked to as many services as you need. For example, link a general health questionnaire to all your facial services, and a separate chemical peel consent only to your peel services.

**Can a service have more than one linked form?**
No. Each service has one linked intake form at a time. For high-liability services like laser treatments or injectables, put the medical history, consent, and photo release questions in one form (Headings keep it organized), or send any extra form to the client with the Send button under Share the form.

**What does the public link look like?**
It's a link to the form on your SpaSphere Pro website (your own domain if you've connected one), ending in /intake/ and the form's ID. Share the form shows the exact address. Clients open it in any browser without logging in. The link keeps working as long as the form exists and is taking answers.

**Do emailed forms show up in the client portal?**
Only after they submit them. To complete, with its Fill out button, lists just the forms sent with the client's appointment emails and reminders, until they submit them or the link expires. Every form the client submits, including ones you sent with the Send button or shared by link, then shows under Signed & submitted. The client can open it there to see their answers. You can always open the submission on their profile under Intake Forms.

**Can clients draw a signature on a form?**
Yes. Add a Signature question to the intake form. Clients sign with their mouse, finger, or stylus, or type their name, and the signature is saved as a picture with their answers. Consent forms in the client portal are signed the same way: the client draws their signature, checks the agreement box, and clicks Sign.

**Will clients get a reminder to fill out the form?**
On SpaSphere Pro, when a form is linked to a service, the link is included in the client's confirmation and reminder emails, and the booking confirmation screen offers a Fill intake form button. You can also turn on the Intake Form Reminder automation under Marketing > Automations, which asks clients who haven't filled out a required form to complete it after they book. Outside the booking flow, send the form with the Send button or share the public link.

**Can I see which clients have completed a form?**
Yes. Every submission appears on the client's profile under the Intake Forms tab, whether the client filled it out after booking or through a shared link. Each submission shows the form name, the date, and all the answers.


# How to Add Notes to a Client's Intake Form Answers

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/forms/intake-answer-notes
Section: forms
Updated: 2026-10-28

Write a staff note under any answer on a client's intake form, right from their profile or an open appointment. The client's answers never change.

When you go over an intake form with a client, you often learn more than the form asked. "Allergic to latex" turns into "mild reaction to latex gloves in 2024, use nitrile." With notes on intake answers, you write that down right under the answer it belongs to. Open the client's **Intake Forms** tab, click a submitted form, and click **Add note** under any answer. You can do this from the client's profile under **Clients**, from an appointment on the **Calendar** (SpaSphere Pro), or in the [SpaSphere mobile app](https://spasphere.ai/docs/mobile-app/using-the-mobile-app).

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

An intake form tells you what the client wrote at home. The conversation in the treatment room tells you the rest. If that detail lives on a sticky note or in your memory, the next provider never sees it. A note under the answer keeps the full story in one place: the client's own words, and what your team learned when you talked it through. The next time anyone opens the form, they see both, along with who wrote the note and when.

The client's answers stay exactly as they submitted them. Notes sit beside the answers and never change them.

## Key Capabilities

- **One note per answer**, written right under the question it's about
- **Works where you are**: the client's profile, an open appointment, or the mobile app
- **Forms open in place**, so you never leave the appointment to read a form
- **Shows who and when**: every note shows the name of the team member who last saved it, with the date and time
- **Edit or remove** a note at any time
- **For your team only**: clients never see staff notes
- **The client's answers never change**, so the submitted form stays a true record

## Which Answers Can Take a Note

You can add a note under these kinds of questions:

- **Short answer**
- **Long answer**
- **Dropdown**
- **Single choice**
- **Multiple choice**
- **Signature**

Headings, Paragraphs, and Photo or file questions don't take a note. A note on a question that has a follow-up sits under the whole question, follow-up answer included. Questions that come from a saved section take notes too. To learn more about each kind of question, see [Form Builder Field Types](https://spasphere.ai/docs/forms/form-builder-field-types).

## Opening a Client's Intake Form

**Step 1: Go to the Intake Forms tab**
From the client's profile: in the sidebar, click **Clients**, click the client, and choose the **Intake Forms** tab.

From an appointment: open the appointment on the **Calendar** and choose the **Intake Forms** tab, next to **Notes** and **Orders**.

Either way you see a list of the client's submitted forms, with the **Intake Form** name and when it was **Submitted At**.

**Step 2: Open the form**
Click a form in the list. It opens right there in the tab, so an appointment stays open while you read it. Click **Back to intake forms** to return to the list.

## Adding a Note to an Answer

**Step 1: Click Add note**
Under the answer, click **Add note**. A box opens that reads **Write a note about this answer**.

**Step 2: Write your note**
Type what you learned, for example "Says the latex reaction was mild, from gloves. Use nitrile." A note can be up to 5,000 characters.

**Step 3: Save it**
Click **Save note**. Click **Cancel** instead to close the box without saving.

The saved note shows under the answer, marked **Staff note**, with the name of the team member who saved it and the date and time.

**The client's answers stay as they sent them**
A note is stored next to the form, never inside it. A note never changes the client's answers, or their signature if the form has one.

## Editing or Removing a Note

**Step 1: Click Edit**
On the note, click **Edit**. The note opens in the box, ready to change.

**Step 2: Change it or remove it**
Make your changes and click **Save note**. The note now shows your name and the new date and time. To delete the note, click **Remove note**. Clearing all the text and clicking **Save note** removes it too.

Each answer has one note. If two people change the same note, the one saved last is the one that stays.

## Using the Mobile App

Notes work the same way in the [SpaSphere mobile app](https://spasphere.ai/docs/mobile-app/using-the-mobile-app). Open a client, or open an appointment, and go to **Intake Forms**. Tap a submitted form to open it, then tap **Add note** under any answer. Use **Save note**, **Cancel**, **Edit**, and **Remove note** just like on the web. Notes you write on your phone show up on the web, and the other way around.

## Who Can Add Notes

Owners, managers, and providers can all add, edit, and remove notes. Notes are for your team only. Clients never see them, not in the client portal and not in any email.

**If the notes don't load**
If you see "We could not load the staff notes for this form.", click **Try again**. Until the notes load, **Add note** stays hidden so you can't write over a note that's already there.

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**Can my clients see the notes I write on their intake form?**
No. Staff notes are for your team only. Clients don't see them in the client portal or in any email, and their submitted answers stay exactly as they sent them.

**Does adding a note change the client's answers or signature?**
No. A note is saved next to the form, never inside it. The client's answers, and their signature if the form has one, stay as they submitted them.

**Where do I add a note during an appointment?**
Open the appointment on the Calendar, choose the Intake Forms tab, and click the form. It opens right inside the appointment. Click Add note under the answer. Click Back to intake forms to return to the list.

**Can I add more than one note to the same answer?**
Each answer has one note. To add more, click Edit on the note and add to it. The note then shows the name of whoever saved it last, with the new date and time.

**How do I delete a note?**
Click Edit on the note, then Remove note. Clearing the text and clicking Save note removes it too.

**Who on my team can write notes?**
Owners, managers, and providers can all add, edit, and remove notes on intake answers.

**Why is there no Add note under some questions?**
Notes go under Short answer, Long answer, Dropdown, Single choice, Multiple choice, and Signature questions. Headings, Paragraphs, and Photo or file questions don't take a note.

**Is this different from the Notes tab on a client's profile?**
Yes. The Notes tab holds general notes about the client. A note on an intake answer is about one answer on one form, and shows right under it. See How to Track Client Notes and Treatment History for the Notes tab.


# How to Set Up Your Spa in SpaSphere (Quick Start)

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/getting-started/quick-start
Section: getting-started
Updated: 2026-10-23

Create your SpaSphere account, walk through the 7-step guided setup, connect payments, and share your booking link.

Welcome to SpaSphere! This guide walks you through setting up your spa, from creating your account to sharing your booking link. Right after you subscribe, SpaSphere walks you through a short guided setup, and it has already created a starter service menu and a booking website for you. Every step can be skipped and changed later.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Every day without online booking is a day clients can only reach you by phone or DM. A few minutes of setup gets your menu, hours, and reminders in place, so your first clients get a smooth booking experience and automatic reminders from day one.

## What You'll Set Up

- Your account and business details
- A starter service menu, your business hours, and tax
- Your esthetician license (optional)
- Appointment reminders, booking notifications, and two follow-up automations
- Your own cell number, so SpaSphere can reach you about your bookings
- Payment processing through Stripe
- Your booking website (with an optional custom domain)

**Before you begin**
Have your business name, address, a rough list of the services you offer, and your weekly hours ready. If you charge sales tax, have your rate handy too.

## Create Your Account

**Step 1: Sign up**
Visit [spasphere.ai/get-started](https://spasphere.ai/get-started) to create your account. The sign-up form asks for your account details, then your business details: business name, your website name, address, time zone, and phone number.

**Step 2: Subscribe**
On the last sign-up step, review your plan and enter your payment details. Payment is handled securely by Stripe. As soon as your subscription is confirmed, SpaSphere creates a starter service menu and a booking website for your business, and opens the guided setup.

## The 7-Step Guided Setup

The guided setup has seven steps: **Services**, **Hours**, **Tax**, **License**, **Messages**, **Automations**, and **Phone**. A progress bar at the top shows where you are. Every step has **Skip for now**, and anything you skip can be done later from the dashboard.

**Step 1: Services: review your starter menu**
The first screen, "You're subscribed, here's your starter menu", shows service families you can add on top of the starter menu SpaSphere already created. The recommended family is pre-selected. Tick or untick services, then click **Add selected services**, or **Skip for now**.

You can rename services, change prices, and add your own later under **Offerings > Services**. See [Adding Services](https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/adding-services).

**Step 2: Hours: set when you're open**
On "When are you open?", turn each day on or off and set its opening and closing times. Click **Save & continue**. Your own bookable hours start from these business hours. You can change them later under **Settings > Business**.

**Step 3: Tax: set your tax rates**
On "Do you charge tax?", turn on **product tax**, **service tax**, or both, and enter a rate and a label for each (for example, "CA Sales Tax"). Many studios can skip this and add it later. Click **Save & continue**.

**Step 4: License: add your esthetician license (optional)**
Add your license state, license type (Esthetician, Master Esthetician, or Facial Specialist), license number, and expiration date. This step is optional. You can also add or update a license later on your team member profile.

**Step 5: Messages: turn on reminders and booking notifications**
On "Let SpaSphere do the work for you", review two things:

- **Appointment reminders** -- SpaSphere suggests three reminders (3 days, 1 day, and 2 hours before the appointment). Change the timing, remove one, or keep them. You can have up to three.
- **Booking notifications** -- the booking confirmation, appointment reminders, reschedule notice, and cancellation notice your clients receive.

Click **Turn on & continue** to switch them on. Nothing is turned on until you click it.

**Step 6: Automations: switch on two follow-ups**
On "Automations that run themselves", you'll see two featured automations: **Ask for a review** and **Nudge them to rebook**. Click one to open its setup, choose the channels, timing, and wording, and save it. Once saved, the card switches to On, and the automation starts with the next visit you mark complete. You can manage both later under **Marketing > Automations**. See [Automations](https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/automations).

**Step 7: Phone: confirm your cell**
On "Last step: confirm your cell", SpaSphere texts a 6-digit code to your cell number. Enter the code to confirm it. This is how SpaSphere reaches you about your own bookings. Click **Finish setup**, or **Skip for now**.

If you turned reminders on in the Messages step, a final screen, "It is already running", previews what your studio will send on its own over the next week. Click **Go to my dashboard** to finish.

## Finish Setup From Your Dashboard

After the guided setup, your dashboard shows a **Getting Started** checklist with a progress counter. Each task links to the right page and ticks itself off when it's done. Click **Hide this step** on a task you don't need, or dismiss the checklist when you're finished. The tasks are:

- **Schedule your onboarding call**
- **Customize your services**
- **Add or import clients** -- see [Importing Your Data](https://spasphere.ai/docs/getting-started/importing-your-data)
- **Connect Stripe**
- **Set business hours**
- **Set provider work hours**
- **Customize your Website**
- **Set up tax rates**

**Step 1: Connect payments**
Go to **Settings > Payments**. SpaSphere first asks "How is your business set up?" (sole proprietor or individual, registered company, or non-profit). Then click **Continue to Stripe** and complete Stripe's form. Once connected, you can take card payments for appointments and sell products online. See [Setting Up Stripe](https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/setting-up-stripe).

**Step 2: Customize your website**
Your booking site is already live at `yourbusiness.myspa.ai` with your services and availability. Click **Website** in the sidebar to open the website builder, which has **Builder**, **Pages**, **Blog**, and **Settings** tabs. From here you can:

- Set your logo and brand colors under **Brand Look & Feel**
- Pick a designer-made home page under **Blueprints**, preview it on your own site, then click **Build My Site Using This Layout** (see [Choosing a Design](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/choosing-a-design))
- Edit each page's content and SEO on the **Pages** tab
- Turn site features on or off and add social links on the **Settings** tab

**Step 3: Connect your own domain (recommended)**
You can put your website on your own domain (for example, `yourspa.com`). Open the **in-app chat** (the purple chat icon in the top-right corner) and tell us the domain you want to use. You'll add two CNAME records pointing to `public.spasphere.ai`, and our team handles SSL and activation. Full instructions are in the **[custom domain guide](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/connecting-custom-domain)**.

If you don't have a domain yet, your site works at `yourbusiness.myspa.ai`, and you can connect a domain at any time.

**Step 4: Share your booking link**
Share your booking site (`yourbusiness.myspa.ai`, or your own domain) in your Instagram bio, on your Google Business Profile, and in your email signature so clients can book any time.

**Start with your best sellers**
Make sure your top 3-5 services are accurate first: names, durations, and prices. Those are the services most of your bookings will come through. You can fine-tune the rest of the menu later.

## What's Next?

- **[Navigate the Dashboard](https://spasphere.ai/docs/getting-started/navigating-the-dashboard)** -- Learn what each part of your dashboard shows
- **[Import Your Data](https://spasphere.ai/docs/getting-started/importing-your-data)** -- Bring your clients, services, and products over from another platform
- **[Customize Your Website](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/building-your-website)** -- Pages, social links, analytics tracking, and your homepage
- **[Intake Forms](https://spasphere.ai/docs/forms/creating-intake-forms)** -- Digital intake forms clients fill out before their appointment
- **[Email Reminders](https://spasphere.ai/docs/notifications/email-reminders)** -- Change your reminder timing any time
- **[Use the Mobile App](https://spasphere.ai/docs/mobile-app/using-the-mobile-app)** -- Run your day from your phone

## Frequently asked questions

**How long does it take to set up SpaSphere?**
The guided setup is seven short steps, and each one can be skipped. Because SpaSphere creates a starter menu and a booking website for you when you subscribe, you can be ready to take bookings as soon as your hours are set and Stripe is connected.

**I skipped a step in the guided setup. How do I go back?**
You don't need to reopen the guided setup. Services are under Offerings > Services, business hours are under Settings > Business, tax is under Settings > Tax, reminders are on the Notifications page's Settings tab (click the bell in the top bar, then View all notifications), and automations are under Marketing > Automations. Your license is on your profile under Settings > Team. The Getting Started checklist on your dashboard also links to the most important ones.

**Do I need a Stripe account before signing up?**
No. When you connect payments under Settings > Payments, you can create a new Stripe account as part of the process. Stripe will ask for your business details and bank account information.

**Can I use my own domain instead of myspa.ai?**
Yes. Message us in the in-app chat with the domain you want to connect (for example, yourspa.com). You'll add two CNAME records pointing to public.spasphere.ai, and our team handles SSL and activation. See the custom domain guide for details.

**What if I need to change my business hours later?**
Go to Settings > Business and update your business hours. Changes take effect right away on your booking page. Existing appointments are not changed. Each team member also has their own working hours under Settings > Team.


# How to Use the SpaSphere Dashboard

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/getting-started/navigating-the-dashboard
Section: getting-started
Updated: 2026-10-21

Learn how to use the SpaSphere dashboard to see today's schedule, check today's numbers, act on Sophie's insights, and find your way around the sidebar.

Your [SpaSphere](https://spasphere.ai/) dashboard is the first thing you see when you log in. It shows today's schedule, today's numbers compared with the same day last week, the things that need you, and what has happened in your business recently. This guide walks through each part of the dashboard and the sidebar menu.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

A quick look at the dashboard each morning tells you who is coming in, which bookings are waiting on your approval, which appointments are still unpaid, and whether any products are running low. Catching those early means fewer missed payments and fewer surprises during a busy day. Your team can expand any appointment to see the AI Daily Brief for that client before they walk in.

## Key Capabilities

- **Today's Schedule** lists every appointment for the day, with the AI Daily Brief one tap away
- **Sophie's insights** flags bookings that need approval, unpaid appointments, low-stock products, and clients who are due to rebook
- **Today at a glance** shows today's revenue, transactions, appointments, and booking completion
- **Upcoming appointments** lists the next appointments on your calendar
- **Performance today** shows average ticket, product sales, new clients, and unmarked appointments
- **Recent activity** is a running feed of payments, refunds, bookings, sales, and new clients
- **Revenue chart** plots the last 30 days, as a line or bar chart
- **Business Health** shows five 30-day KPIs, such as retention rate and revenue per hour

## Understanding Your Dashboard

The dashboard opens with a greeting and today's date. On a wide screen it has two columns: your day on the left and your numbers on the right. On a phone or tablet the sections stack.

**Step 1: Work through the Getting Started checklist (new accounts)**
New accounts see a **Getting Started** checklist at the top of the left column, with a counter such as 3/8. Each task links to the page where you do it, and it ticks itself off once the setup is done. Click **Hide this step** on a task you don't need, or dismiss the whole checklist. See the [Quick Start guide](https://spasphere.ai/docs/getting-started/quick-start) for the full setup.

**Step 2: Check Today's Schedule**
**Today's Schedule** lists every appointment for the day in time order. Each row shows the time, a status dot, the client, the service, the team member, and a payment badge (**Paid**, **Deposit**, or **Due**). The appointment in progress is labeled **NOW**. When nothing is in progress, the next appointment is labeled **NEXT**.

Click a row to expand it and see the **AI Daily Brief** for that client. Depending on the client's history, it can include:

- **Contraindications** flagged in red
- **Client segment** badges such as New Client, Returning, VIP, or At Risk
- **Provider Tips** and **Key Concerns**
- **Product Recommendations**, **Suggested Services**, and **Upsell Opportunities**

Click the client's name in the expanded view to open their profile.

**Step 3: Act on Sophie's insights**
Below the schedule, **Sophie's insights** shows a tile for each thing that needs attention, with a button to act on it:

- **Bookings need approval** -- click **Review** to open the bookings waiting on you
- **Awaiting payment** -- today's unpaid appointments; click **Collect** to open **Quick Checkout**
- **Low-stock products** -- click **View items** to open **Retail**
- **Overdue rebook candidates** -- click **View clients** to open [Churn Prevention](https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/churn-prevention)

When there is nothing to act on, the panel says **All caught up**.

**Step 4: Read Today at a glance**
On the right, **Today at a glance** shows four cards:

- **Today's revenue** -- money actually collected today, net of refunds, not counting tips (tips belong to your team)
- **Transactions** -- payments taken today
- **Appointments** -- appointments on today's calendar
- **Booking completion** -- the share of today's online booking attempts that were completed rather than abandoned at the payment step

Each card compares today with the same weekday last week (for example, "vs last Friday"). Days are counted in your business's time zone. Click the revenue card to open **Today's revenue**, a breakdown of each payment and refund that went into the number. Click the transactions card to open **Quick Checkout**, or the appointments card to open the calendar.

**Step 5: See what's coming up**
**Upcoming appointments** lists the next appointments on your calendar, labeled Today, Tomorrow, or with a date. Click **View all** to open the calendar.

**Step 6: Check Performance today**
**Performance today** shows four smaller cards: **Avg. ticket**, **Product sales**, **New clients**, and **Unmarked appts**. Click **View report** to open **Financial reports**.

**Unmarked appts** counts appointments whose start time has passed but that were never marked completed or cancelled. SpaSphere has no separate no-show status, so an unmarked appointment is either a no-show or one your team forgot to close out. Marking appointments as you finish them keeps this number honest.

**Step 7: Review Recent activity**
**Recent activity** runs across the full width of the page. It lists recent events such as payments received, refunds issued, new appointments booked, cancellations, sales, new clients, and low-stock alerts. Click a client's name to open their profile, or click an amount to open the invoice.

**Step 8: Monitor the Revenue chart**
The **Revenue Overview** chart plots the last 30 days of revenue, with the 30-day total in the top right. Two small icons in the chart header switch the view: the line shows the trend over the month, and the bars make it easy to compare one day with another. The chart opens as a line each time you load the dashboard. Hover over any day to see its exact figure. Service providers see the same chart for their own revenue, titled **Your revenue**.

**Step 9: Open Business Health**
At the bottom, **Business Health · Last 30 days** is collapsed by default. Click it to load five KPIs for the trailing 30 days:

- **Gross Margin** -- margin on retail products. It stays blank until you enter product costs in **Retail**.
- **Avg Lifetime Value** -- lifetime spend per client
- **Retention Rate** -- how many of the clients who visited in the period were returning clients
- **Revenue / Hour** -- revenue per booked service hour
- **Retail Income** -- income from product sales

These are 30-day figures, so don't compare them directly with the single-day cards above.

**Step 10: See your Stripe deposits (owners)**
Owners also see **Stripe deposits**, collapsed by default. Its header shows the next deposit on its way to your bank. Expand it to see recent deposits and, for each one, what was sold and how much was deposited.

**What service providers see**
A service provider's dashboard is their own day: their schedule, **Your day at a glance** with their own revenue, transactions, appointments, and average ticket, their upcoming appointments, and a **Your revenue** chart. Business-wide sections such as **Sophie's insights**, **Performance today**, **Recent activity**, and **Business Health** are shown to owners and managers only.

**Looking for the old dashboard?**
Owners and managers see a **Classic view** link in the top-right corner of the dashboard. It opens the previous dashboard layout. It is a temporary fallback and may be removed.

## Navigating the Sidebar

The sidebar is your main navigation. It is grouped by what you're doing: daily work first, then running the business, then settings. Items with a submenu expand when you click them.

**Daily work**

- **Dashboard** -- Your home screen (this page)
- **Calendar** -- Your appointment calendar, plus **Daily Brief** and **Pending Approval** for online bookings waiting on you
- **Clients** -- **Client list**, **Forms** (intake forms), and **Files** (every file uploaded across your clients, in one place)
- **Messages** -- Two-way texting with clients (shown when Business Texting is available to your spa)
- **Quick Checkout** -- A walk-in sale with no appointment: products, gift cards, and anything else

**Business**

- **Offerings** -- Everything you sell: **Services**, **Add-ons**, **Packages**, **Treatment Plans**, **Memberships**, **Protocols**, and **Categories**
- **Retail** -- Products and stock levels
- **Invoices** -- Itemized invoices with a pay-online link
- **Marketing** -- **Newsletters**, **Marketing Kit**, **Social Posts**, **Reviews**, **Coupons**, **Automations**, **Segments**, **Churn Prevention**, **Referral & Loyalty**, and **Settings**
- **Website** -- Build and edit your booking website
- **Reports** -- **Analytics**, **Financial reports**, **Memberships**, **Members**, and **Add-on results**

**Settings**

- **Settings** -- **Refer & Earn**, **Business**, **Team**, **Locations**, **Appointments**, **Payments**, **Tax**, **Billing**, **Add-on Store**, **Perks**, **Integrations**, **Import & Export**, **Writing Voice**, and **Account security**

Pinned at the bottom, **What's New** shows what SpaSphere has added recently. A dot on it means there's something you haven't seen. If your subscription is inactive, a **Subscribe** item also appears there.

Some items depend on your role. Service providers don't see **Reports**, **Website**, or some **Marketing** and **Settings** pages.

## The Top Bar

The bar across the top of every page shows the page name and these buttons:

- **Help for this page** -- opens help for the screen you're on
- **Notifications** (the bell) -- your latest notifications; click **View all notifications** for the full list
- **Sophie** -- opens Sophie's panel over the right side of the page, with an **Ask** tab ([Ask Sophie](https://spasphere.ai/docs/analytics/ask-sophie)) and an **Insights** tab ([Sophie's Insights](https://spasphere.ai/docs/analytics/sophies-insights))
- **Chat with our team** -- message SpaSphere support
- **Settings** and **Logout**

**Collapse the sidebar for more room**
On a computer, click the arrow button on the edge of the sidebar to collapse it to icons only. When it is collapsed, hover over an icon to see its name, or over an item with a submenu to open a flyout of its pages. The sidebar remembers your choice. It collapses automatically on screens 1024px wide or narrower.

**Using SpaSphere on a phone**
On screens narrower than 768px, the sidebar is hidden. Tap the menu button in the top bar to slide it open, then tap a page, the **X**, or the dimmed area outside the menu to close it. For day-to-day work from your phone, you can also use the [SpaSphere mobile app](https://spasphere.ai/docs/mobile-app/using-the-mobile-app).

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I customize which cards appear on the dashboard?**
Not at the moment. The dashboard always shows the same set of cards for your role. For deeper breakdowns of revenue, retention, and bookings, open **Reports** in the sidebar, or ask Sophie from the **Sophie** button in the top bar.

**Why doesn't Today's revenue match the total of today's invoices?**
Today's revenue counts money actually collected today, minus refunds, and leaves out tips. An invoice total counts the whole bill. For example, if a client paid only a deposit today, only the deposit counts toward today's revenue. Click the revenue card to see each payment that went into the number.

**How often does the dashboard data refresh?**
Each section loads fresh data when you open the dashboard. To see the latest numbers during a busy day, refresh the page. Business Health loads only when you expand it.

**What do the colored status dots on the schedule mean?**
The dot shows the appointment's status, such as booked, completed, pending approval, pending payment, or cancelled. The same colors are used on the calendar. Hover over a dot to see the status name.

**Where does the AI Daily Brief get its information?**
The Daily Brief is built from the client's history in SpaSphere: past appointments, notes, SOAP notes, intake form answers, and purchases. The more thoroughly your team documents visits, the more useful the brief becomes.

**Why does a Business Health card show a dash?**
A dash means the figure isn't available yet. Gross Margin needs product costs entered in Retail, and Retention Rate needs visits in the last 30 days. If a card shows an error, click Try again.

**I don't see anything in the Revenue chart. What should I do?**
The chart fills in once you start taking payments in SpaSphere. If you haven't connected Stripe yet, go to **Settings > Payments**. After you complete a few appointments and take payment, the chart will populate.


# How to Import Your Clients and Data into SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/getting-started/importing-your-data
Section: getting-started
Updated: 2026-10-14

Move your clients, services, products, and appointments into SpaSphere with CSV imports, Import From Anywhere, or an Open Spa Data bundle from Vagaro, GlossGenius, or Square.

Switching to SpaSphere doesn't mean starting from an empty client list. You can bring in clients, services, products, and appointments from a CSV file, and if you're coming from Vagaro, GlossGenius, or Square, you can also bring client notes, SOAP notes, and treatment photos with an Open Spa Data bundle. Everything lives under **Settings > Import & Export**.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Your client history is the most valuable thing you're moving. A client who walks in for her first visit after the switch expects you to remember her skin concerns, her last peel, and her sensitivities. Importing her record, notes, and photos means your first appointment on SpaSphere feels like any other visit, not a fresh intake.

## Key Capabilities

- **CSV imports** for clients, services, retail products, backbar products, affiliated products, and appointments, each with a downloadable template
- **Import From Anywhere** reads a CSV exported from any platform and lets you map its columns to SpaSphere fields
- **Open Spa Data bundles** import client records, notes, SOAP notes, and treatment photos exported from Vagaro, GlossGenius, or Square
- **Validation before import**, with a row-by-row list of anything that failed
- **Export All Data (ZIP)** so your data can always leave with you, too

## Choosing an Import Method

| What you have | Use | Where |
|---|---|---|
| A spreadsheet in SpaSphere's template format | CSV import for that record type | **Settings > Import & Export > Import Data** |
| A CSV exported from another platform, with its own column names | **Import From Anywhere** | **Settings > Import & Export > Import From Anywhere** |
| Client notes, SOAP notes, or photos in Vagaro, GlossGenius, or Square | **Open Spa Data bundle** | **Settings > Import & Export > Import Data > Open Spa Data bundle** |

## Client Import Rules

Every client in SpaSphere needs a way to be reached, so the same rules apply to every client import:

- **First name is required.** Last name is optional.
- **Each client needs an email address or a phone number.** A row with neither is rejected.
- **Emails must be valid and unique.** If a client with that email already exists in SpaSphere, the row is not imported. A second row with the same email in the same file is also rejected.
- **Phone numbers are checked and standardized.** A phone number that can't be read as a valid number fails the row.
- **Only CSV files are accepted** for CSV imports.

Rows that fail don't stop the rest of the file. After the import, SpaSphere lists each failed row with the reason, for example "Row 12: Client must have at least an email or phone number". Fix those rows and import them again.

**Ended up with duplicates?**
If the same person was imported twice (say, once with an email and once with a phone number), you can merge the two profiles into one. See [Merging Duplicate Clients](https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/merging-duplicate-clients).

## Importing a CSV in SpaSphere's Format

**Step 1: Open Import & Export**
Go to **Settings > Import & Export**. Scroll to **Import Data**. You'll see a card for each record type: **Clients**, **Services**, **Products**, **Backbar Products**, **Affiliated Products**, and **Appointments**.

**Step 2: Download the template**
Click **Upload CSV** on the card you want, then click **Download CSV template**. Fill in the template in Excel or Google Sheets, keeping the column names as they are. The clients template includes `first_name`, `last_name`, `email`, `phone`, `birthday`, and a few optional columns.

**Step 3: Upload and check**
Upload your filled-in file. For services, backbar products, and affiliated products, click **Preview & Validate** first. SpaSphere shows the total, valid, and invalid rows and any duplicates it found. Choose how to handle duplicates: **Skip duplicates**, **Update existing records**, or **Import as new records**.

**Step 4: Review the results**
When the import finishes, SpaSphere shows how many rows were imported and lists any rows that failed, with the reason for each.

**Importing appointments**
The **Appointments** import lets you match the service and provider names in your file to the services and team members in SpaSphere before anything is created. Set up your services and team first, so there is something to match to.

## Using Import From Anywhere

**Import From Anywhere** reads a CSV export from another platform, such as GlossGenius, Vagaro, Square, Mindbody, or Mangomint, without reformatting it first.

**Step 1: Upload your export**
Under **Import From Anywhere**, click **Upload CSV**. Choose the **Import Type** (**Clients**, **Services**, **Products**, or **Appointments**), select your CSV file, and click **Upload & Detect Columns**.

**Step 2: Map the columns**
SpaSphere lists the columns in your file next to the SpaSphere fields they should fill. Check each match and change it where needed, or choose **-- Skip --** for columns you don't want to bring in. For a client import, click **Next: Consent**; for other types, click **Preview Import**.

**Step 3: Set marketing consent (clients only)**
For a client import, choose how marketing consent should be set for the imported clients: use a consent column from your file, mark everyone as opted in, or leave marketing off. Leaving marketing off is the safest choice. Appointment reminders and receipts are always allowed. Tick the **Compliance Confirmation** box to confirm you have the consent you're recording, then click **Preview Import**.

**Step 4: Preview and import**
Review the preview of valid and invalid rows, then click **Import N Valid Rows** (N is the number of valid rows) to bring them in. You can download the rows that failed, with an `Import_Errors` column explaining each one, fix them, and upload them again.

## Importing from Vagaro, GlossGenius, or Square with Open Spa Data

A CSV export from your old platform usually carries only contact details. Your treatment history (notes, SOAP notes, and photos) is where the real value is. **Open Spa Data** is an open format for moving that history between platforms, and the **Open Spa Data Vault** is a free Chrome extension that exports it.

The Vault runs in your own browser while you are signed in to Vagaro, GlossGenius, or Square. It reads your own client records and saves them to a zip file on your computer. It doesn't upload anything anywhere. Get it from [openspadata.org](https://openspadata.org).

What a bundle can include depends on the platform:

- **Vagaro** -- client profiles, notes, SOAP notes, and treatment photos from form files
- **GlossGenius** -- client profiles, notes, appointment history, and your service and product catalog (product photos and stock included)
- **Square** -- client profiles, notes, treatment photos, and your service library

**Step 1: Export your bundle**
Install the Open Spa Data Vault in Chrome, sign in to your old platform as usual, and run the export. You'll get a `.zip` file on your computer.

**Step 2: Open the bundle import**
In SpaSphere, go to **Settings > Import & Export**. On the **Open Spa Data bundle** card, click **Upload bundle**, then **Choose .zip bundle** and select your file.

**Step 3: Validate the bundle**
Click **Validate bundle**. SpaSphere checks the file and shows what's inside: the source platform, and how many clients, services, products, and files (photos) it contains. Nothing is imported yet.

**Step 4: Import**
Click **Import** (the button shows the number of clients, for example **Import 240 clients**). The import runs in the background and shows its progress. When it finishes, you'll see a summary: clients created and updated, notes created, SOAP notes, photos uploaded and skipped, and, when the bundle included them, services created, products created, product images, and stock rows. Any client that failed is listed with the reason.

**Import each Vagaro bundle once**
Re-importing a bundle updates the clients it already created instead of duplicating them. However, Vagaro notes and photos are **not** de-duplicated: importing the same Vagaro bundle twice creates a second copy of every note and photo. GlossGenius notes, services, and products are matched on re-import, so layering a newer GlossGenius bundle on top of an earlier one is safe. A product whose name already exists in SpaSphere is skipped, not overwritten.

## Limits

- Open Spa Data bundles can be up to 512 MB.
- Only owners and managers can validate or import an Open Spa Data bundle.
- CSV imports can also be run from the [SpaSphere mobile app](https://spasphere.ai/docs/mobile-app/using-the-mobile-app) under **More > Settings > Account > Data export & import**. Open Spa Data bundles can only be imported from the web dashboard.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I import clients who only have a phone number?**
Yes. Each client needs a first name and either an email address or a phone number. A client with a valid phone number and no email imports fine.

**Why did some of my client rows fail?**
The most common reasons are a missing first name, no email and no phone number, an invalid email or phone number, or an email that already belongs to a client in SpaSphere. The results list gives the reason for each failed row.

**Does the Open Spa Data Vault upload my data?**
No. The extension saves the bundle to your own computer. Nothing reaches SpaSphere until you upload the zip yourself under Settings > Import & Export.

**Which platforms does Open Spa Data support?**
The Open Spa Data Vault currently exports from Vagaro, GlossGenius, and Square. For any other platform, export a CSV and use Import From Anywhere.

**Can I export my data out of SpaSphere?**
Yes. Under Settings > Import & Export, click Export All Data (ZIP) to download everything, or use Download CSV on a single record type such as Clients, Appointments, Orders, or SOAP Notes. See Exporting Data for more.


# How to Add and Manage Product Inventory in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/inventory/tracking-products
Section: inventory
Updated: 2026-10-20

Add retail products, backbar supplies, and affiliated items to your spa's inventory with pricing, images, stock by location, and where each product is sold.

Retail product sales can represent 15-30% of a spa's total revenue, but only if you know what you have in stock and can get it in front of your clients. The **Retail** page in [SpaSphere](https://spasphere.ai/) gives you a complete view of every product your business carries -- from retail skincare and take-home products your clients purchase, to backbar supplies your providers use during treatments, to affiliated products you earn commission on. You can add products one at a time, browse pre-built brand catalogs, or import them in bulk from a CSV file.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Inventory shrinkage -- the gap between what you think you have and what you actually have -- costs the average retail operation 1.4% of total sales. For a spa doing $500,000 in annual revenue with a 20% retail mix, that is $1,400 per year walking out the door untracked. Beyond shrinkage, spas that do not track product margins often discover they are selling popular items at break-even or a loss once supplier costs are factored in. SpaSphere calculates margin percentage and dollar amount automatically for every product, giving you instant visibility into which items are worth promoting and which need a price adjustment. Stock also goes down on its own every time a product sells, so the numbers you see reflect what's actually on the shelf.

## Key Capabilities

- **Three product types** -- Retail products for client purchase, backbar supplies for treatment use, and affiliated products for commission-based sales
- **Automatic margin calculation** showing dollar and percentage margin on every product, live as you type
- **Stock by location** with its own quantity and reorder point at each of your locations
- **Automatic stock updates** when a product sells at checkout, on your website, or in the client portal
- **Shop visibility control** to show or hide retail products on your public website and in the client portal
- **Portal Sale Only** to sell a product only to signed-in clients, with the <a href="/docs/inventory/private-shop">Private Shop</a> add-on
- **Product images**, **SKU**, and **barcode** fields
- **Brand catalog browser** and **CSV import** for adding many products at once

## Viewing Your Inventory

Click **Retail** in the sidebar (this page used to be called Inventory). The main table displays every product in your account with columns for **Image**, **Name**, **Type**, **Shop Visibility**, **Brand**, **Quantity**, **Price**, **Margin %**, and **Status** (Active or Inactive).

The **Shop Visibility** column shows **Visible** or **Hidden** for retail products, **Portal only** for client-only products, and **N/A** for backbar and affiliated items.

If you have more than one location, each product row shows its **total** quantity across all locations. Click the arrow on the row to expand it and see the stock at each location.

Use the filter bar to narrow the list:

- **Search products...** by product name, SKU, or brand
- **Category** to show only products in a specific category
- **Brand** to show products from a single brand
- **Stock Status** to show All Stock, In Stock, Low Stock, or Out of Stock items

The header also has **Stock Alerts** for setting up low-stock alerts (see <a href="/docs/inventory/managing-stock-levels">Managing stock levels</a>) and **Browse Catalogs** for importing from brand catalogs (see <a href="/docs/inventory/brand-catalog-import">Brand catalog import</a>).

## Adding a Product

**Step 1: Open the Add Product form**
Click **Add Product** in the top-right corner of the Retail page. The form opens with all fields on one screen.

**Step 2: Name the product and choose its type**
Enter the **Name**, then choose the **Type**:

- **Product** -- A retail item available for direct sale to clients. Can be sold on your website and in the client portal.
- **Affiliated** -- A product sold through an affiliate link. You earn a commission when clients purchase through your unique URL. Affiliated products do not track stock.
- **Backbar** -- Supplies used by your providers during treatments (gloves, cotton pads, treatment serums). Backbar items track cost and stock but do not have a retail price.

Choose carefully: you can't change a product's type after you save it.

**Step 3: Pick a brand and category**
**Brand** and **Category** are both required. Pick an existing one from the list, or type a new name to add it.

**Step 4: Treatment chart billing (if you use Treatment Charts)**
If Treatment Charts are turned on for your business, Product and Backbar items also show two more fields:

- **Treatment unit**: what treatment charts measure this product in (**Units**, **mL**, **Syringes**, **Vials**, **Grams**, or **Applications**). Price and stock are counted per one of these.
- **Bill by quantity used**: turn it on to charge for the amount used in a treatment chart, at a price per unit. Enter that price in the field that appears. Leave it off and the chart uses the product's regular price.

**Step 5: Enter pricing**
- **Price ($)** -- The retail price clients pay. Required for the Product type and optional for Affiliated. Backbar items have no price.
- **Cost ($)** -- Your wholesale or acquisition cost. Required for Product and Backbar types.

Once both are filled in, the form shows the **Margin** as a percentage and a dollar amount per unit.

For **Affiliated** products, also enter the **Product Affiliate URL**.

**Step 6: Add SKU and barcode**
For Product and Backbar types, enter an optional **SKU** and **Barcode**.

**Step 7: Set stock**
For Product and Backbar types, enter the **Quantity** you have on hand and an optional **Reorder Point**.

If you have more than one location, the form shows **Stock by location** ("Set quantity & reorder point per location") with a **Quantity** and **Reorder Point** for each one. Your primary location is marked **Primary**. Fill in at least one location.

The reorder point is the level at which SpaSphere alerts your team that stock is low. Leave it blank to skip stock alerts for this item. See <a href="/docs/inventory/managing-stock-levels">Managing stock levels</a>.

**Step 8: Add a description and image**
Write an optional **Description** and upload a **Product Image**.

**Step 9: Choose where it's sold**
- **Active Product** -- Turn off to stop selling the product everywhere while keeping its record.
- **Shop Visibility** -- For Product type only. When on, the product appears in your website's shop and in the client portal Shop.
- **Portal Sale Only** -- For Product type only. When on, only clients signed in to your client portal can buy it. This needs the <a href="/docs/inventory/private-shop">Private Shop</a> add-on.

**Step 10: Save the product**
Click **Save Product**. If a required field is missing, SpaSphere highlights it and lists what needs completing. The new product appears in your inventory table straight away.

**Set reorder points to prevent stockouts**
A reorder point is the quantity at which you should order more of a product. Set it based on how long your supplier takes to deliver and how quickly you sell through the item. For a product you sell five units of per week with a two-week supplier lead time, a reorder point of 10-12 units gives you a safety buffer. SpaSphere adds products at or below their reorder point to your reorder list and alerts your team once, so you can place the order before you run out. **Stock Alerts** can suggest reorder points from your sales.

## Stock Updates When You Sell

You don't need to count down stock by hand when you sell a product. SpaSphere reduces the quantity automatically when a sale is paid:

- **At checkout in the spa**, stock comes out of the location on the sale or its appointment. If you have only one location, it always comes from there.
- **On your website shop and in the client portal**, stock comes out of your primary location, or your only location.

A few things to know:

- A sale is recorded even if the stock count says zero, so the quantity can go below zero. That's a sign the count needs correcting.
- If you have several locations and a sale has no location, SpaSphere can't tell which shelf to take it from, so the stock doesn't change. Adjust it by hand.
- Refunds don't put items back in stock. Adjust the quantity yourself if the product goes back on the shelf.
- Backbar supplies aren't sold, so their stock changes when you adjust it. If you use Treatment Charts, stock also goes down when a finished chart records product used on a client.

## Editing and Deleting Products

Click any row in the inventory table to open a **product detail drawer** on the right side of the screen. The drawer shows inventory details, product details, and price details in organized cards. If you have several locations, the inventory card lists each location's quantity and reorder point.

From the drawer, you can:
- Click **Edit** at the top to reopen the product form with all fields pre-filled
- Click **Edit** next to a quantity to adjust stock without opening the full form
- Click **Delete** to remove the product

**You can't undo a deletion**
Deleting a product removes it from your inventory, and you can't restore it from your dashboard. If you want to temporarily stop selling a product without losing its data, toggle **Active Product** off instead. The product stays in your inventory table marked **Inactive**, stops selling online, and keeps its pricing and stock data for when you want to bring it back.

## Understanding Product Types

| Type | Retail Price | Cost Tracking | Stock Tracking | Shop Visibility | Portal Sale Only | Use Case |
|------|-------------|---------------|----------------|-----------------|------------------|----------|
| **Product** | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, with Private Shop | Skincare, take-home items, tools clients buy |
| **Affiliated** | Via affiliate link | No | No | N/A | No | Commission-based partner products |
| **Backbar** | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Treatment supplies used by providers |

## Frequently asked questions

**How does SpaSphere calculate product margins?**
SpaSphere calculates margins automatically using the price and cost you enter for each product. The margin percentage is calculated as ((Price - Cost) / Price) x 100, and the margin dollar amount is simply Price minus Cost. The form shows both as you type, and the inventory table shows the margin percentage, so you can quickly identify your most and least profitable items without pulling a separate report.

**What is the difference between Active, Shop Visibility, and Portal Sale Only?**
Active Product is your main on/off switch. An inactive product stays in your inventory table marked Inactive but isn't sold online. Shop Visibility applies to retail products and controls whether the product appears in your website's shop and the client portal Shop. Portal Sale Only, available with the Private Shop add-on, limits online sales to signed-in portal clients: with Shop Visibility on, your website shows it as a locked teaser; with Shop Visibility off, the public doesn't see it at all.

**Can I import products from a CSV file?**
Yes. Go to Settings > Import & Export, find Products under Import Data, and click Upload CSV. The import window has a Download CSV template link with the exact column names. See Brand catalog import for the column list. Separate imports exist for Backbar Products and Affiliated Products.

**How do I track backbar supplies versus retail products?**
When adding a product, select Backbar as the product type. Backbar items track cost and stock but do not have a retail price because they are not sold to clients. Their stock doesn't go down automatically, so adjust it as you use supplies, and set reorder points so you never run out mid-service. Retail products use the Product type, which includes both a cost and a retail price so SpaSphere can calculate your margin.

**What are affiliated products and when should I use them?**
Affiliated products are items you promote through an affiliate link rather than selling directly from your inventory. When you add an affiliated product, you provide a Product Affiliate URL instead of stocking the item yourself. When a client clicks the link and makes a purchase on the partner's website, you earn a commission. This is ideal for high-ticket items you do not want to stock, products from brands with affiliate programs, or items where the manufacturer handles fulfillment. Affiliated products do not track stock since you are not holding it yourself.

**Can I change a product's type after I save it?**
No. The Type field is locked when you edit a product. To change it, create a new product with the right type and delete or deactivate the old one.


# How to Manage Stock Levels and Adjust Inventory Quantities in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/inventory/managing-stock-levels
Section: inventory
Updated: 2026-10-20

Adjust product quantities, set reorder points for your whole catalog, work from the reorder list, and see how sales update stock automatically.

Knowing how many units of each product you have on hand -- and hearing about it before you run out -- is the difference between a seamless client experience and a missed sale. SpaSphere lowers stock automatically as products sell, keeps a reorder list of everything that's running low, and lets you adjust quantities when shipments arrive or counts need correcting.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Product stockouts do not just cost you the sale price of the item -- they cost you client trust. A client who finishes a facial and wants to purchase the serum their esthetician recommended will not wait for your next order; they will buy it online from someone else. Industry data suggests that 73% of retail customers who encounter an out-of-stock item either switch brands or switch stores. For a spa selling an average product at $45, running out of just your top three best-sellers for one week can mean $500-1,000 in lost revenue and a damaged recommendation loop. On the flip side, over-ordering ties up cash in products sitting on shelves. SpaSphere's reorder points help you strike the right balance: order early enough to prevent gaps, but not so early that you are sitting on excess inventory.

## Key Capabilities

- **Automatic stock updates** when products sell at checkout, on your website, or in the client portal
- **Stock by location**, each with its own quantity and reorder point
- **Stock alerts setup** for your whole catalog at once, with suggested reorder points based on your sales
- **Reorder list** above your inventory table, with **Ordered** and **Don't track** actions
- **One alert per low-stock episode**, so your notifications don't fill up with repeats
- **Quick quantity adjustment** with plus/minus controls
- **Stock status filters** for In Stock, Low Stock, and Out of Stock products
- **Inventory history export** showing every change and who made it

## How Stock Changes Automatically

When a product sale is paid, SpaSphere takes it out of stock for you:

- **Checkout in the spa**: from the location on the sale or its appointment. With a single location, always from that location.
- **Your website shop and the client portal**: from your primary location, or your only location.

Things to know:

- If you have several locations and SpaSphere can't tell where a sale happened, stock doesn't change. The same goes for online orders when none of your locations is marked as primary. Adjust these by hand.
- A product that isn't stocked at the selling location (no stock entry there) isn't reduced.
- A sale is always recorded, even if your count says zero, so a quantity can drop below zero. That's a signal to recount.
- Refunds don't put items back in stock. If the product goes back on the shelf, adjust the quantity.
- Backbar supplies aren't sold, so update their stock by hand as you use them.

## Filtering by Stock Status

The **Retail** page includes a **Stock Status** filter:

- **All Stock** -- Every product regardless of quantity
- **In Stock** -- Products with a quantity above zero
- **Low Stock** -- Products with a reorder point set, whose quantity is above zero but at or below it
- **Out of Stock** -- Products with a quantity of zero or less

If you have several locations, the table and the filter use each product's total across all locations. Expand a product's row to see each location. The reorder list, below, works per location.

In the inventory table, stock status is displayed inline in the **Quantity** column:
- Products at zero or below show a red **Out of Stock** badge
- Products at or below their reorder point show an amber **Low** badge
- Everything else shows just the quantity

## Setting Up Stock Alerts

A reorder point is the quantity at which SpaSphere tells you it's time to order more. Products without one are never flagged. A blank reorder point, or 0, means stock alerts are off for that item.

The fastest way to set reorder points is for your whole catalog at once.

**Step 1: Open Set up stock alerts**
On the **Retail** page, click **Stock Alerts** in the header. If you haven't set any reorder points yet, you'll also see a **Stock alerts aren't set up yet** panel with a **Set up stock alerts** button.

**Step 2: Review your products**
The window lists every product at every location, with how many are in stock and how many sold recently. Products that have sold show a **Suggest** button with a reorder point based on their recent sales. Products with no sales show **no sales data**.

**Step 3: Set reorder points**
Click **Use all suggestions** to fill in every suggested value at once, click **Suggest** on individual rows, or type your own number. Leave a row empty (it shows **Off**) to skip that item.

**Step 4: Save**
The footer shows how many changes you've made. Click **Save**. SpaSphere confirms how many items are now tracked for low stock.

You can also set a reorder point on a single product: open it, click **Edit**, and fill in **Reorder Point** next to its quantity (or for each location under **Stock by location**).

**Reorder point example calculation**
Suppose you sell 8 units of a popular face serum per week, and your supplier takes 10 days (roughly 1.5 weeks) to deliver. You want a safety buffer of 4 units in case of a busy week. Your reorder point would be (8 x 1.5) + 4 = 16 units. When stock drops to 16, SpaSphere adds it to your reorder list, giving you time to place an order before you run out.

## Working from the Reorder List

When anything you track is at or below its reorder point, a reorder panel appears above your inventory table, titled with the number of items to reorder. Click it to open the list. It doesn't appear when nothing is low.

Each row shows the product and location, how many are left, and the reorder point. The most urgent items come first. An item leaves the list once its stock is back above the reorder point.

For each item you can:

- **Ordered** -- You've placed the order. The item stays on the list, faded, so you can see what's on its way, and you won't be alerted about it again until the stock arrives. Click **Not ordered** to undo.
- **Don't track** -- Turns stock alerts off for that item. To turn them back on, set a reorder point again.

When everything low has been ordered, the panel reads **Everything low is on order**.

### Low-stock notifications

When an item first drops to its reorder point, owners, admins, and managers get one **Time to reorder** notification naming the product, its quantity, and the location. Clicking it opens the Inventory page with the reorder list expanded. SpaSphere doesn't alert again for that item until its stock has recovered to a little above the reorder point and then dropped again. Setting a reorder point on an item that's already low puts it on the reorder list straight away, without a notification.

**Ask Sophie what to reorder**
<a href="/docs/analytics/ask-sophie">Ask Sophie</a> has a **What should I reorder?** question if you'd rather get the list in plain language.

## Adjusting Inventory Quantities

When a shipment arrives, a product is damaged, or you need to correct a count, adjust the quantity by hand.

**Step 1: Open the product detail drawer**
Click any product row in the inventory table. A detail drawer slides open from the right side.

**Step 2: Click Edit next to the quantity**
In the inventory card, click **Edit** next to the quantity. If you have several locations, each location has its own row and its own **Edit** button. The **Adjust Quantity** window opens, showing the product and location.

**Step 3: Set the new quantity**
Use the **+** and **-** buttons, or type the new number. A badge shows the change, for example **+12 units**, so you can check it before saving. Manual adjustments can't go below zero.

**Step 4: Add a note (optional)**
Use **Reason for Adjustment (Optional)** to note why, such as a new shipment or damaged stock.

**Step 5: Save the adjustment**
Click **Save Quantity**. SpaSphere confirms the change (for example, "Inventory adjusted by +12 units") and the table, badges, and reorder list update.

## Reviewing Stock History

Every change to a quantity is recorded: sales, manual adjustments, and who made them. To see the history, go to **Settings > Import & Export** and download **Inventory History** under **Export Data**. The file lists the date, product, location, previous and new quantity, the adjustment, a reason, and who made it. Sales show the invoice they came from. Manual adjustments show as a manual update; the note you type in **Reason for Adjustment** isn't included.

## Monitoring Inventory Health at a Glance

| Column | What It Tells You |
|--------|-------------------|
| **Quantity** + badge | Current units on hand, with Low or Out of Stock alerts |
| **Margin %** | How profitable the product is, to help prioritize reorders |
| **Brand** | Filter to see all products from one supplier for consolidated ordering |
| **Status** (Active/Inactive) | Whether the product is currently part of your active inventory |

Combine the **Stock Status** filter with the **Brand** filter to plan a supplier order. For example, filtering by "Low Stock" and one brand shows every product from that brand that needs reordering.

## Frequently asked questions

**How do I know when to reorder a product?**
Set a reorder point for it. When stock drops to that level, the product appears on the reorder list above your inventory table, and owners, admins, and managers get one Time to reorder notification. Use Stock Alerts to set reorder points for every product at once, with suggestions based on your sales.

**Do I have to lower stock myself when I sell something?**
No. Paid product sales at checkout, on your website, and in the client portal reduce stock automatically. You only adjust by hand for deliveries, damage, recounts, refunds, and backbar use.

**Can I adjust quantities for multiple products at once?**
Not quantities. Each quantity adjustment is made one product and one location at a time. Reorder points, however, can be set for your whole catalog at once from Stock Alerts.

**What happens when a product reaches zero quantity?**
It shows a red Out of Stock badge. SpaSphere doesn't stop online sales at zero, so a product with Shop Visibility on can still be bought on your website and in the portal, and its quantity goes below zero. Turn off Shop Visibility for items you can't restock soon.

**Why isn't a product showing up as low stock?**
Check that it has a reorder point. A blank or 0 reorder point means the item isn't tracked. If you have several locations, the reorder list works per location, while the Low Stock filter compares each product's total stock with its total reorder point.

**How should I handle seasonal products that I only stock part of the year?**
Toggle the product's Active status off during the off-season and back on when you restock. It stays in your inventory marked Inactive, stops selling online, and keeps all its data. You can also click Don't track on the reorder list so it isn't flagged while you're not restocking it.


# How to Import Products from Brand Catalogs and CSV Files in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/inventory/brand-catalog-import
Section: inventory
Updated: 2026-10-20

Browse professional beauty brand catalogs, import products with one click, or bulk-import from CSV to stock your spa inventory.

Building your product inventory from scratch is tedious -- entering name, SKU, price, cost, description, and image for every single item can take hours. SpaSphere solves this with two powerful import features: a built-in **Brand Catalog** browser that lets you import pre-loaded products from professional beauty brands with a single click, and a **CSV import** under **Settings > Import & Export** for bringing in product data from a spreadsheet. Both approaches get your inventory populated in minutes instead of hours, with accurate pricing and professional product images already attached.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Time spent on manual data entry is time not spent on clients. If it takes three minutes to manually enter each product and you carry 100 SKUs, that is five hours of admin work just to set up your inventory. The brand catalog cuts this to under 15 minutes by providing pre-populated product data -- names, descriptions, SKUs, retail prices, wholesale prices, and product images -- direct from brand partners. The wholesale-to-retail margin is calculated automatically, so you can see at a glance that a $32 retail serum you buy for $19 wholesale gives you a 41% margin. For spas switching from another platform, the CSV import lets you export your existing product data and bring it into SpaSphere without re-entering a single field. Either way, you avoid the data entry errors that lead to incorrect pricing on your website and embarrassing conversations with clients about why their receipt does not match the shelf tag.

## Key Capabilities

- **Brand catalog browser** with pre-loaded professional beauty brand product data
- **One-click import** from catalog to inventory with product images, pricing, and descriptions
- **Bulk selection** by individual products or entire categories for large-scale imports
- **Size and category filters** in the catalog browser (retail, pro, bulk sizes)
- **Margin preview** showing wholesale cost, retail price, and calculated margin before you import
- **CSV bulk import** for migrating existing product data from spreadsheets
- **Import progress tracking** with a real-time progress bar during bulk operations
- **Duplicate protection** that skips catalog products you've already imported

## Browsing Brand Catalogs

**Step 1: Open the Brand Catalog browser**
On the **Retail** page, click the **Browse Catalogs** button in the header. A large window opens in the middle of the screen showing all available brand catalogs. (On a phone, the button shows just its icon.)

**Step 2: Select a brand**
Click on a brand card to enter its product catalog. The catalog header shows the number of products available and the average margin across the catalog. Each brand card may also display partner tags and incentive badges for special pricing programs.

**Step 3: Browse and filter products**
Once inside a brand catalog, you can:

- **Search** by product name or keywords using the search bar
- **Filter by category** using the sidebar on the left, which shows categories with product counts
- **Filter by size** using the size tabs (All, Retail, Pro, Bulk) to find the right size tier

Products are displayed in a grid of cards showing the product image, category badge, name, description, retail price, margin percentage, and weight.

**Step 4: Preview product details**
Click any product card to open a detailed product modal. The detail view shows:

- Full product image
- Category and SKU
- Retail price, wholesale price, and calculated margin
- Product weight
- Product benefit bullets
- Usage directions
- Full ingredient list (expandable)

This gives you everything you need to evaluate a product before adding it to your inventory.

**Step 5: Import individual products or in bulk**
You have three ways to import from the catalog:

- **Import a single product** -- Click **Import to Inventory** from the product detail modal
- **Select multiple products** -- Use the circular checkboxes on product cards to build a selection, then click **Import Selected** in the selection bar
- **Select entire categories** -- Check the boxes next to category names in the sidebar to select all products in those categories at once
- **Import all products** -- Click **Import All** in the catalog header to import every product from the brand

During import, a progress bar tracks the operation in real time, showing how many products have been processed out of the total.

**Step 6: Review import results**
After the import completes, SpaSphere displays a summary notification showing how many products were imported, how many were skipped because they already exist in your inventory, and how many failed. Imported products immediately appear in your inventory table with their catalog images, pricing, and details pre-filled.

**Step 7: Add your stock**
Catalog imports bring in product details, not quantities, so new products start with no stock and show as **Out of Stock**. Open each product and enter the quantity you have on hand, plus a reorder point if you want low-stock alerts. See <a href="/docs/inventory/managing-stock-levels">Managing stock levels</a>.

**Use category import for efficient restocking**
If you carry an entire product line from a brand -- for example, all of their facial serums or their complete hair care range -- use the category checkbox in the sidebar to select the whole category at once. This is much faster than selecting products individually and ensures you do not accidentally miss an item. SpaSphere automatically skips catalog products you have already imported, so there is no risk of creating duplicates even if you import a category that overlaps with an earlier import.

## Importing from a CSV File

If you have product data in a spreadsheet -- either exported from another system or compiled manually -- you can import it in bulk from your settings.

**Step 1: Open Import & Export**
In the sidebar, go to **Settings > Import & Export**. Under **Import Data**, find **Products** ("Import retail products with inventory from CSV") and click **Upload CSV**.

**Step 2: Download the template**
In the import window, click **Download CSV template**. It has the exact column headers SpaSphere expects and two example rows. Keep the headers exactly as they are.

**Step 3: Fill in your products**
One row per product. These columns are required:

- **Item Name** -- Product name
- **Categories** -- Product category
- **Brand** -- Brand name
- **Price** -- Retail price, numbers only

These are optional:

- **Description**, **Cost**, **SKU**, **Barcode**, **Tax Class**, **Image URL**
- **Weight**, **Length**, **Width**, **Height**
- **Active** -- true or false (defaults to true)
- **Inventory quantity** -- Units in stock
- **Low point order reminder** -- The reorder point for stock alerts
- **shop_visibility** -- true or false (defaults to false, so the product stays off your website until you turn it on)

**Step 4: Upload and import**
Select your CSV file and run the import. SpaSphere creates one product per row. Stock quantities go to your primary location, or to your first location if none is marked primary.

**Step 5: Review the results**
SpaSphere shows how many products were imported and lists any rows that failed, so you can correct them and import just those rows again.

**Each CSV row creates a new product**
The CSV import doesn't check for existing products. Importing the same file twice creates every product twice, so import only new products or the rows that failed. The most common failures are missing required columns, headers that don't match the template exactly, and text in number columns like Price or Cost. Open your file in a text editor before uploading to check for hidden tabs or currency symbols.

Backbar supplies and affiliated products have their own imports on the same page: **Backbar Products** and **Affiliated Products**, each with its own template.

**Moving from another platform?**
If you're switching from another spa platform, the **Open Spa Data bundle** import on the same page can bring in your product catalog along with your clients. See <a href="/docs/getting-started/importing-your-data">Importing your data</a>.

## Imported Product Defaults

When you import products from a brand catalog, SpaSphere sets the following defaults:

- **Active** -- Set to true (the product is visible in your inventory)
- **Shop Visibility** -- Set to true (the product is visible on your public website and in the client portal Shop)
- **Portal Sale Only** -- Off
- **Type** -- Set to "Product" (retail type)
- **SKU** -- The catalog SKU, prefixed with the brand's code
- **Description** -- Built from the catalog's brand story and benefit bullets
- **Stock** -- None. Add your quantities after importing.
- **Retail Price** -- Pulled from the catalog's retail price field
- **Cost** -- Pulled from the catalog's wholesale price field
- **Margin** -- Automatically calculated from retail and wholesale prices

Because Shop Visibility starts on, imported products appear on your website straight away. Edit any product to change these defaults -- for example, turning off Shop Visibility for items you want to sell in-person only, turning on **Portal Sale Only** for brands that don't allow open online sales (see <a href="/docs/inventory/private-shop">Private Shop</a>), or adjusting the retail price for your local market.

## Frequently asked questions

**What brands are available in the catalog?**
SpaSphere partners with professional beauty and skincare brands to provide pre-loaded product catalogs. The available brands are displayed when you open the Brand Catalog browser from the Inventory page. Each brand card shows the brand name, logo, tagline, product count, and any active partner incentives. The catalog is updated regularly as new brand partnerships are established. If a brand you carry is not yet in the catalog, you can still add their products manually or import them via CSV. Contact SpaSphere if you would like to request a specific brand be added to the catalog.

**What happens if I import a product that already exists in my inventory?**
For brand catalog imports, SpaSphere matches on SKU. Catalog products are saved with the brand's code in front of the catalog SKU, and if a product with that SKU is already in your inventory, it is skipped rather than duplicated. The import summary shows the count of skipped items. This means you can safely re-import a brand category, and your existing product data -- including any custom pricing or quantity adjustments you have made -- remains untouched. The CSV import works differently: it doesn't check for duplicates, so every row creates a new product.

**Can I customize the pricing of imported products?**
Yes. Products imported from the brand catalog use the catalog's retail and wholesale prices as starting values, but you can change them at any time. After import, click any product in your inventory table to open the detail drawer, then click Edit to modify the price, cost, or any other field. Many spas adjust retail prices upward to account for their local market, overhead, and positioning. SpaSphere recalculates the margin automatically whenever you change the price or cost, so you always have an accurate view of profitability.

**How long does a bulk import take?**
Import speed depends on the number of products. SpaSphere processes catalog imports in batches of five products at a time and displays a real-time progress bar so you can track the operation. For a typical import of 50-100 products, expect the process to take 30-60 seconds. Larger imports of 200+ products may take a few minutes. The progress bar shows exactly how many products have been processed out of the total and how many have been successfully imported so far. You can watch the import progress in real time without leaving the page.

**What CSV format does SpaSphere accept for product import?**
SpaSphere accepts standard CSV (comma-separated values) files. Start from the template you download in the import window. Item Name, Categories, Brand, and Price are required; Description, Cost, SKU, Barcode, Tax Class, Weight, Length, Width, Height, Image URL, Active, Inventory quantity, Low point order reminder, and shop_visibility are optional. The first row must contain the column headers exactly as they appear in the template. Price and cost fields should contain numbers without currency symbols. The shop_visibility field accepts true or false and defaults to false if omitted. If you are exporting from Excel, use Save As and select CSV format. Make sure to remove any extra formatting, merged cells, or summary rows that Excel sometimes adds, as these can cause import errors.


# How to Sell Client-Only Products with the Private Shop

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/inventory/private-shop
Section: inventory
Updated: 2026-10-20

Use the Private Shop add-on and the Portal Sale Only setting to sell products only to signed-in clients in their portal, never to guests on your public site.

Some professional skincare brands don't allow open online sales. The Private Shop lets you sell those lines online anyway, to your own clients only. Mark a product **Portal Sale Only** and it can be bought only by a client who has signed in to your <a href="/docs/client-portal/client-portal-overview">client portal</a>. Guests on your website can never check out with it.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Clients who love a professional product want to reorder it between visits. If the brand forbids selling it on an open website, the reorder usually goes somewhere else. Selling it behind your portal sign-in keeps you inside the brand's rules and keeps the sale with you.

## Key Capabilities

- A **Portal Sale Only** setting on each retail product
- Only signed-in portal clients can buy, never guests
- Show the product on your website as a locked teaser, or hide it from the public entirely
- Client-only products appear first in the portal Shop with a **Portal exclusive** badge
- Everything else in your shop keeps selling as before

## What It Costs

The Private Shop is a paid add-on at **$29/month**, billed separately from your SpaSphere subscription. No plan includes it. The client portal and its regular Shop are included in SpaSphere at no extra cost. The add-on only unlocks client-only products.

## Adding the Private Shop

Owners and admins can add it.

**Step 1: Open the add-ons page**
In the sidebar, go to **Settings > Add-on Store**.

**Step 2: Add Private Shop**
On the **Private Shop** card, click **Add Private Shop**. The button shows the monthly price. You finish payment on a secure Stripe checkout page.

**Step 3: Wait for it to switch on**
When you return to SpaSphere, the card updates by itself once the add-on is active. Then click **Open Inventory** to go to the **Retail** page and start marking products.

## Marking a Product Portal Sale Only

**Step 1: Open the product**
Go to **Retail**, click the product, and click **Edit**. Or click **Add Product** to create a new one. **Portal Sale Only** is only available for the **Product** type, not for Backbar or Affiliated items.

**Step 2: Turn on Portal Sale Only**
Switch on **Portal Sale Only**. Without the add-on, the switch is locked and shows **Part of the Private Shop add-on**, with a link to add it.

**Step 3: Choose what the public sees**
Use **Shop Visibility** to decide how the product appears on your public website:

- **Shop Visibility on**: the product shows on your website as a locked teaser.
- **Shop Visibility off**: the product is hidden from your public website entirely.

Either way, signed-in clients can see it and buy it in the portal Shop.

**Step 4: Save**
Click **Update Product** or **Save Product**. In your inventory table, the **Shop Visibility** column now shows a **Portal only** badge for the product.

## What Clients See

**On your public website**, a client-only product with Shop Visibility on shows **For existing clients** instead of a price, with the note **Sign in to view pricing and purchase**. Its button reads **Sign in to purchase** and opens the client portal. There's no way to add it to a cart as a guest.

**In the client portal**, client-only products appear first in the **Shop**, marked **Portal exclusive**. A note tells clients that some products are available only to them. Clients buy them the same way as any other product. See <a href="/docs/client-portal/what-clients-can-do-in-the-portal">What clients can do in the portal</a>.

**At your front desk**, nothing changes. Portal Sale Only only controls online selling, so your team can still sell the product at checkout in the spa.

**Clients need to be in your client list**
Only clients already in your client list can sign in to the portal, so only they can buy client-only products online. The portal matches clients by the email on their client profile. To give someone access, add them as a client with that email first.

## If the Add-On Ends

You can cancel the Private Shop from **Settings > Add-on Store** at any time. You keep access until the end of the current billing period. After that:

- Client-only products stop selling everywhere online. They disappear from your public website and from the portal Shop.
- Nothing is deleted. The products stay in your inventory with their settings.
- The product form shows a note that the product is currently not selling anywhere.
- You can turn **Portal Sale Only** off on a product to put it back in your regular shop. Turning it on again needs the add-on.
- If you add the Private Shop again, your client-only products come back as they were.

## Frequently asked questions

**Do I need the Private Shop to sell products in the client portal?**
No. The portal Shop is included with SpaSphere and lists every active product with Shop Visibility on. You only need the Private Shop to sell products that guests on your public website can't buy.

**Can a guest buy a client-only product by finding its page?**
No. The product page shows For existing clients and a Sign in to purchase button. Guest checkout refuses client-only products, so the only way to buy one online is from the portal after signing in.

**How is Portal Sale Only different from turning off Shop Visibility?**
Turning off Shop Visibility on a regular product hides it from your website and the portal Shop, so it isn't sold online at all. Portal Sale Only keeps the product for sale online, but only to signed-in clients. Combine it with Shop Visibility to decide whether the public sees a locked teaser or nothing.

**Can I still sell a client-only product to a walk-in client?**
Yes. Portal Sale Only doesn't affect checkout in the spa.

**Does the stock count go down when a client buys one in the portal?**
Yes. Portal orders reduce stock the same way other sales do, from your primary location, or your only location if you have one.


# How to Create and Manage Blog Posts in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/blog-management
Section: marketing
Updated: 2026-10-14

Write blog posts with embedded services, booking buttons, and lead capture to drive traffic and convert readers into clients.

Your blog is your most powerful SEO and conversion tool. Every published post becomes a search-indexed page on your tenant website that can rank on Google, attract organic traffic, and convert readers into booked clients -- all without spending on ads. SpaSphere's blog system lets you embed your actual services, packages, products, team members, and booking buttons directly inside your posts so readers can book without leaving the article.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Spas that publish 2-4 blog posts per month see an average 35% increase in organic search traffic within 6 months. Each post that embeds a service with a booking CTA creates a mini-landing page that ranks for long-tail keywords like "best facial for acne in Miami." The blog system tracks which posts generate bookings, giving you data to optimize your content strategy over time.

## Key Capabilities

- Rich text editor with formatting, headings, images, and links
- Embed services, packages, products, team members, coupons, gift cards, treatment plans, and intake forms directly in posts
- Embed email capture forms and contact CTAs for conversion
- Before & After image comparisons and image galleries
- Category and tag system for organizing content
- SEO fields: custom title, meta description, target keyword, location context
- Cover image upload with automatic CDN delivery
- Draft, publish, and preview workflow with confirmation dialog
- Duplicate posts to quickly create content variations
- Automatic sitemap inclusion for published posts
- JSON-LD Article schema for rich search results
- Post analytics: views and clicks on the embeds in each post
- Show your latest posts on any website page with the **Blog Posts** block

## Creating a Blog Post

**Step 1: Open the Blog tab**
From the admin dashboard, click **Website** in the sidebar, then select the **Blog** tab at the top. Click **New Post** to open the editor. (If you haven't written a post yet, the button reads **Create Post**.)

**Step 2: Add a cover image**
Click the cover image area at the top of the editor. Select an image from your computer -- it will be automatically uploaded and optimized for the web.

**Step 3: Write your title and content**
Type your post title in the title field. The title auto-resizes as you type. Below the title, use the rich text editor to write your content with headings, bold text, lists, blockquotes, images, and links.

**Step 4: Add categories**
Below the title, use the category picker to assign one or more categories. You can select from existing categories or type to create new ones. Categories help readers find related content and appear as filter pills on your blog listing page. A post's categories share a 100-character limit; if you hit it, you'll see "Category list is full (100 character limit)".

**Step 5: Embed services and CTAs**
Click the **Insert** button in the editor toolbar. Under **Embed Entity**, choose:
- **Service** -- embeds a live service card with name, price, duration, and a Book Now button
- **Package** -- shows package details with pricing
- **Product** -- displays a product card with Shop Now link
- **Team Member** -- shows a staff profile with a Book With button
- **Coupon** -- shows a promotional banner with the discount code
- **Treatment Program** -- displays a treatment plan with steps, sessions, and pricing
- **Intake Form** -- links readers to one of your intake forms

Under **Media & CTA**, choose:
- **Before & After** -- side-by-side image comparison
- **Image Gallery** -- multi-image gallery grid
- **Gift Card CTA** -- adds a Buy a Gift Card call to action
- **Book Now Button** -- standalone booking call-to-action
- **Contact Us** -- contact form link
- **Email Capture** -- inline email subscription form for lead generation

Each embed shows a live preview in the editor with your business's actual data and brand colors.

**Step 6: Configure SEO settings**
Click **Settings** in the toolbar to open **Post Settings**. Fill in:
- **Excerpt** -- short summary shown on listing pages (up to 500 characters)
- **Category** and **Tags** -- tags are comma-separated keywords
- **Author** -- select a team member
- Under **SEO**: **Page Title** (up to 70 characters), **Meta Description** (up to 160), **Target Keyword** (the phrase you want to rank for), and **Location** (filled in from your business city and state on new posts, helps with local SEO)

If a field is over its limit, SpaSphere tells you which one before saving.

**Step 7: Preview and publish**
Click **Preview** to see how your post looks on your live website (opens in a new tab). When you're ready, click **Publish** -- a confirmation dialog appears: "This post will be live on your website and visible on Google." Click Publish to confirm. Your post is now marked **Live** and included in your sitemap. To take it down later, click **Unpublish**.

**Duplicate to scale content**
Use the **Duplicate** action on any post card to create a copy as a new draft. This is the fastest way to create variations of high-performing content.

## Seeing How a Post Performs

Open a post and click **Analytics** in the toolbar. **Post Analytics** shows the post's views and the clicks on the services, products, and other items embedded in it. Analytics count unique sessions per visitor, and a new post shows "No data yet" until it gets traffic.

## Categories and Filtering

Categories organize your blog content and appear as filter pills on your public blog page. Readers can click a category to see only related posts.

- Categories are created on-the-fly when you type them in the category picker
- Existing categories from other posts appear as suggestions
- Each post can have multiple categories
- Categories appear on your public blog listing as clickable filter pills
- On the blog post page, the category links back to the filtered listing

## Blog on Your Public Website

When you check **Blog** in **Website > Settings > Features & Navigation**, a Blog link automatically appears in your site navigation. Your blog listing page shows:

- All published posts in a responsive card grid
- Category filter pills at the top
- Cover images, titles, excerpts, author names, and dates
- Click-through to individual post pages with full content and embedded elements

To feature posts on your home page or a custom page, add a **Blog Posts** block in the **Builder**. It can show your latest posts, posts from one category, or posts you pick, with a **View all posts** link. See [Building Your Website](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/building-your-website).

**Feature toggle**
The blog only appears on your public website when **Blog** is checked in **Website > Settings > Features & Navigation**. The **Blog** tab is always available in the admin regardless of this setting, so you can write posts before you launch.

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I preview a draft post before publishing?**
Yes. Click the Preview button in the editor toolbar. Draft previews work even if the blog feature isn't enabled yet on your public site.

**What happens when I archive a blog post?**
Choose Archive from a post's menu. Archived posts are hidden from your public site but not permanently deleted.

**What does 'This post was changed elsewhere' mean?**
Someone saved the same post in another tab or on another device after you opened it. Reload the page to get the latest version, then make your change again, so neither edit overwrites the other.

**How long until my post appears in Google?**
Published posts are immediately included in your sitemap. Google typically indexes new pages within 1-7 days, but ranking improvements may take longer depending on your domain authority and keyword competition.

**Can embedded service prices update automatically?**
Yes. Service, product, and package embeds show live data -- if you change a price in your service settings, it's reflected in all blog posts that embed that service. No need to update posts manually.

**Is there a limit on blog posts?**
No. You can create as many blog posts as you want. More high-quality content generally means better SEO performance.


# How to Capture Leads with Email Signup Forms in SpaSphere Pro

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/lead-capture
Section: marketing
Updated: 2026-10-28

Add Email Signup sections to your homepage and email capture forms to blog posts to build your marketing list and convert visitors into clients.

Every visitor who leaves your website without booking is a potential client lost. Email capture forms give those visitors a low-commitment way to stay connected: they leave their email, and it waits for you on your Leads page. SpaSphere Pro's built-in lead capture works on both your homepage and inside blog posts, tracks where each lead came from, and stores everything in your admin dashboard.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

An email list is an audience you own, not one that depends on social media algorithms. A spa that captures just 5 emails a week from its website has 260 local people to reach a year later, each one a client you can welcome with the right offer.

## Key Capabilities

- An **Email Signup** section for your home page and custom pages, and an **Email Capture** form for blog posts
- Bot detection via honeypot fields (no CAPTCHAs needed)
- Source tracking: see whether each lead came from your home page, a blog post, or a form you labeled
- Captured leads listed on the **Leads** page, reached from the **Marketing** hub
- Customizable heading, description, and button text
- Themed to match your website's brand colors

## Adding an Email Signup Section to Your Homepage

**Step 1: Open the Website Builder**
From the admin dashboard, click **Website** in the sidebar and open the **Builder** tab. On the left you'll see your **Page Sections**. To add the form to a custom page instead of your home page, pick that page from the **Editing** menu.

**Step 2: Add an Email Signup section**
Click **Add a section** under your page's sections. In the picker, type "email" in the search box, or click the **Stay in Touch** filter, then choose **Email Signup** ("Collect emails for your newsletter"). The section is added to your page.

**Step 3: Set the wording**
Click the new Email Signup section to open its settings. Under **Content**:
- **Title**: for example "Stay in the Loop"
- **Description**: for example "Get skincare tips and exclusive offers delivered to your inbox"
- **Button text**: for example "Subscribe"
- **Thank-you message**: shown after someone signs up, for example "Thanks! You're on the list."

The form takes your website's colors on its own. **Sign-up source**, also under **Content**, is an optional label for this form. Leave it empty and its signups count as **Homepage** on your Leads page, even when the form is on a custom page.

**Step 4: Publish**
The section saves on its own as a draft. Click **Publish** in the tab bar, and the signup form appears on your live page.

## Adding Email Capture to Blog Posts

**Step 1: Open the blog editor**
Go to **Website > Blog** and create or edit a post.

**Step 2: Insert an Email Capture element**
In the editor toolbar, click **Insert**. Under **Media & CTA**, select **Email Capture**. The form appears in your post with editable heading, description, and button text.

**Step 3: Customize the text**
Click directly on the heading, description, or button text in the editor to edit them inline. It shows a live preview with your brand colors.

**Place strategically**
Two spots tend to work best in a blog post: right after the introduction, before the main content, and at the very end. A reader who is still reading near the top is the one most likely to want more.

## Viewing Captured Leads

Click **Marketing** in the sidebar to open the Marketing page, then click **Open leads** on the **Leads** card ("View emails captured from your website and blog"). The **Leads** page shows:

- **Counts at the top**: **Total Leads**, **From Homepage**, and **From Blog**
- **Captured emails**: each lead shows its **Email**, **Source** (Homepage, Blog with the post's web address, or the label you typed under **Sign-up source**), and when it was **Captured**
- **Remove leads**: click the trash icon on a row to remove that lead from your list

Leads captured from blog posts show which specific post generated the signup, helping you understand which content converts best.

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**Do I need a third-party email service?**
No. SpaSphere Pro captures and stores leads for you, and you can see them on the Leads page. There's no export from the Leads page today, and no automatic sync to your own email tool.

**How is bot spam prevented?**
The form includes an invisible honeypot field. Bots that fill it out are silently rejected. Submissions are also rate-limited: 20 per minute from one connection and 3 per hour for the same email address.

**Can the same email subscribe twice?**
No. If someone signs up again with the same email, SpaSphere Pro updates their existing entry instead of adding a duplicate.

**What's the difference between this and the Flodesk Signup section?**
The Flodesk Signup section shows a signup form from your Flodesk account, so signups go to Flodesk. The Email Signup section stores leads directly in SpaSphere Pro, tracks where each one came from, and doesn't need a Flodesk account.


# How to Manage Client Reviews in SpaSphere Pro

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/reviews
Section: marketing
Updated: 2026-10-28

Collect client reviews after appointments, display them on your website, and route happy clients to Google Reviews.

Client reviews are the most powerful trust signal for your spa. Most people read reviews before they book someone new. SpaSphere Pro automates the entire review cycle: request reviews after appointments, collect feedback, route happy clients to Google, and display testimonials on your website.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

A steady stream of positive reviews improves your Google ranking, builds social proof on your website, and gives you early warning of service issues. Asking at the right moment, right after a visit, brings in far more reviews than waiting for clients to think of it on their own.

## Key Capabilities

- Automatic review request emails after appointments
- Your choice of where the request sends clients: straight to Google, or to your own review page first
- On your review page, happy clients get a button to post their review on Google too
- Manual review creation from the admin dashboard
- Publish, unpublish, or archive reviews for your website
- At-a-glance stats: average rating, reviews this month, Google shares, and published reviews, plus how clients rate you from 5 stars to 1
- A delay and a per-client limit so regulars aren't asked too often
- Show published reviews on your website with the **Client Reviews** block

## Configuring Review Settings

**Step 1: Open Marketing Settings**
Go to **Marketing > Settings** (or the **Settings** card under **Behind the scenes** on the Marketing page). The page is called **Marketing Settings**. At the top, the **Marketing email consent** card shows how many clients are **Subscribed**, **Not asked yet**, and **Unsubscribed**.

**Step 2: Turn on review requests**
In the **Review Requests** card, turn on **Enable review request emails**. Then set:
- **Send review request after**: how many hours after the appointment the email goes out (default 24, anywhere from 1 to 168 hours, which is 7 days)
- **Minimum time between review requests per client**: in days (default 60, anywhere from 7 to 365)

**Step 3: Choose where clients leave their review**
In the **Where reviews go** card, under **Send review requests to**, pick one:
- **Google reviews**: the email sends clients straight to your Google review page. This option only appears once your Google Place ID is connected in **Settings > Integrations**.
- **SpaSphere review page**: clients rate their visit on your own review page first, so the review is saved in SpaSphere Pro and can show on your website.

If you never make a choice, SpaSphere Pro uses Google when your Google Place ID is connected, and your SpaSphere review page when it isn't.

**Step 4: Set the Google prompt (SpaSphere review page only)**
When **SpaSphere review page** is selected, you also see **Minimum rating to show Google review prompt**: **3 stars and above**, **4 stars and above** (the default), or **5 stars only**. Clients who rate at or above it are invited to post their review on Google as well (this needs your Google Place ID). Clients who rate lower only leave feedback for you.

**Step 5: Save**
Click **Save Changes**.

**Regular clients won't be flooded**
A client won't get another review request until the number of days you set has passed, even if they come in several times in between.

**Google reviews skip your Reviews page**
When requests go straight to Google, clients write their review on Google, so it doesn't appear on your **Reviews** page or in your website's **Client Reviews** block. Pick **SpaSphere review page** if you want to collect reviews in SpaSphere Pro too.

## Viewing and Managing Reviews

The **Marketing > Reviews** page shows:

- **Stats** at the top: **Average Rating** (with your total number of reviews), **This Month**, **Google Shares** (clients who clicked to share their review on Google), and **Published** (reviews visible on your website)
- **How clients rate you**: how many reviews you have at each star rating
- **Filters**: **All**, **Pending**, **Published**, and **Archived**
- **Your reviews**: each one shows the star rating, its status, the review text, the client's first name and last initial, the service, the provider, and the date. A **Google** tag means the client shared it on Google, and **Contact requested** means they asked you to get in touch.
- **Actions**: from a review's menu, **Publish** it to show it on your website, **Unpublish** it, or **Archive** it to hide it

To show published reviews on your site, add a **Client Reviews** block in **Website > Builder**. It can display them as a carousel or a grid.

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I create reviews manually?**
Yes. Click Add Review on the Reviews page to add one yourself. It's handy for kind words a client shared in person or on the phone. Reviews you add are published right away.

**What happens when a client gives a low rating?**
Clients who rate below your Google prompt setting don't see the Google button, so their feedback stays with you. Reviews of 3 stars or fewer also tell the client that someone from your team may reach out, so you can make things right privately.

**Do reviews appear on my website automatically?**
Reviews of 4 or 5 stars are published as soon as the client submits them, so they appear in your website's Client Reviews block right away. Reviews under 4 stars stay private until you publish them from the Reviews page. You can unpublish or archive any review at any time.


# How to Create and Manage Coupons in SpaSphere Pro

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/coupons
Section: marketing
Updated: 2026-10-28

Create discount codes for promotions, track redemptions, and embed coupons in blog posts to drive bookings.

Coupons drive urgency and reward loyalty. A well-timed discount code can fill slow appointment slots, encourage first-time bookings, and re-engage lapsed clients. SpaSphere Pro lets you create percentage or fixed-amount discount codes, set usage limits and expiration dates, track every redemption, and even embed promotional banners directly in your blog posts.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

A well-placed discount fills your book without cheapening your services. A first-visit offer gives a new client a reason to try you, and a code with an end date gives a lapsed client a reason to book this week rather than someday.

## Key Capabilities

- Percentage and fixed-amount discount types
- Minimum purchase and, for percentage coupons, a maximum discount
- Total redemption limits and per-client limits
- Start and expiration date scheduling
- First-time client only restriction
- Control over add-on services: discount them too, leave them out, or discount only add-ons
- A shareable booking link with the code already applied
- Redemption tracking
- Random code generator
- Embed coupon banners in blog posts with one click

## Creating a Coupon

**Step 1: Open Coupons**
Go to **Marketing > Coupons** and click the **New Coupon** tile at the top of the page.

**Step 2: Configure the discount**
Fill in:
- **Code** -- the text clients enter at checkout (e.g., WELCOME10). Click the generate button next to the field for a random code.
- **Description (optional)** -- an internal note about the coupon
- **Type** -- **Percentage (%)** or **Fixed ($)**
- **Value** -- the discount amount (a percentage can't exceed 100)
- **Min. purchase ($)** -- optional minimum spend
- **Max discount ($)** -- for percentage coupons, an optional cap on the discount

**Step 3: Set limits and dates**
Optionally configure:
- **Max total uses** -- total uses across all clients
- **Max per client** -- uses per individual client
- **Starts at** and **Expires at** -- schedule when the coupon is active
- **First-time clients only** -- restrict to clients who haven't booked before

**Step 4: Decide how add-ons are treated**
**Apply to add-on services** controls whether the discount also covers add-ons booked with a service. When it's on, the discount applies to both the main service and its add-ons. Turn it off to discount only the main service. It's on by default for new coupons.

With **Apply to add-on services** on, you can also turn on **Add-on services only**. The discount then applies only to add-ons, not the main service -- useful for promotions like "Free LED Boost with any Facial."

**Step 5: Save**
Leave **Active** on and click **Create Coupon**. The coupon is immediately active (or **Scheduled** if a start date is set).

## Sharing and Managing a Coupon

Under **Your coupons**, each coupon is a card showing the discount, its status, the code, its description, how many times it's been used, and when it expires. Each card has two buttons and a menu:

- **Edit** changes the coupon.
- **Copy code** copies the code itself.
- The **...** menu at the top of the card has **Edit**, **Copy Code**, **Copy Share Link** (a link to your booking page with the code already attached, ready to paste into a text, email, or social post), and **Deactivate** to stop it from being redeemed.

Each coupon shows its status: **Active**, **Scheduled**, **Expired**, **Exhausted** (it has hit its total uses), or **Inactive**. The counts at the top show your total **Coupons**, how many are **Active**, and **Times used**. Coupons made by an automation carry a small **auto** tag.

## Embedding Coupons in Blog Posts

You can promote coupons directly in blog content. In the blog editor, click **Insert > Coupon** and select the coupon. A branded promotional banner appears showing the discount and code -- readers can copy the code with one click.

**Combine with lead capture**
Place an email capture block above a coupon banner in your blog post. Readers subscribe for the offer, and you capture their email for future marketing -- double the value from one post.

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I deactivate a coupon without deleting it?**
Yes. Choose Deactivate from the coupon's menu, or edit the coupon and turn off Active. Inactive coupons stay in your list for reference but can't be redeemed.

**What happens when a coupon reaches its max redemptions?**
The coupon shows as Exhausted in the Coupons list and can no longer be redeemed. Raise Max total uses if you want to keep it running.

**Can automation rules create coupons automatically?**
Yes. The Birthday Promotion, Inactive Client Reactivation, and Seasonal Promotion automations can generate a unique single-use code for each client.

**Can a coupon discount just the add-on, like a free upgrade?**
Yes. Turn on Apply to add-on services, then Add-on services only. The discount then applies only to add-ons booked with a service, never the main service.


# How to Set Up Marketing Automations in SpaSphere Pro

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/automations
Section: marketing
Updated: 2026-10-28

Send automated emails triggered by client activity: birthdays, completed visits, lapsed clients, missing intake forms, and membership milestones.

Marketing automations run in the background, sending the right message to the right client at the right time, without you lifting a finger. You pick a ready-made automation, adjust the timing and wording, and turn it on. SpaSphere Pro has 14 ready-made automations covering the most useful client touchpoints, from birthday offers and rebooking reminders to intake form reminders and five emails for your membership program.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Automated follow-ups bring clients back. A personal "It's been a while since your facial" email reaches a client at the moment she's most likely to rebook, and once it's set up, it keeps working every day without you.

## Key Capabilities

- 14 ready-made automations, including five for memberships
- Adjustable timing for each one, within limits that suit it
- Your own subject line and message, with placeholders like `{name}` and `{booking_url}`
- Discount codes: one shared code, or a unique single-use code per client
- An on/off switch per automation, and a count of messages sent

## Ready-made Automations

| Automation | When it sends |
|----------|---------------|
| **Birthday Promotion** | Before the client's birthday (20 days by default), with an optional discount |
| **Post-Appointment Review Request** | After an appointment is completed (2 hours by default) |
| **Rebooking Reminder** | A while after a completed appointment (30 days by default) |
| **Inactive Client Reactivation** | When a client hasn't visited in a set number of days (90 by default), with an optional discount |
| **First Visit Thank-You** | After a client's first completed appointment (4 hours by default) |
| **Package Running Low** | When a client's package gets down to a set number of sessions (1 by default) |
| **New Client Welcome** | As soon as a new client is added |
| **Seasonal Promotion** | To clients who haven't visited in a set number of days (30 by default), with an optional discount |
| **Membership Renewal Reminder** | Before an auto-renewing member's next dues charge (3 days by default) |
| **Membership Benefit Expiring** | Before an included session or credit expires unused (7 days by default) |
| **Membership Welcome** | As soon as a client's membership activates |
| **Membership Win-Back** | A while after a membership ends (7 days by default), inviting them back |
| **Membership Payment Failed** | As soon as a member's dues charge fails, so they can update their card |
| **Intake Form Reminder** | After a client books a service that needs an intake form they haven't filled out yet (24 hours after booking by default). The client needs an email on file. |

The membership automations work with the plans you set up under **Offerings > Memberships**. See [Memberships](https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/memberships).

**Appointment reminders and referral invites live elsewhere**
Appointment reminders are set up on the **Settings** tab of the **Notifications** page (click the bell in the top bar, then **View all notifications**), not here. See [Email Reminders](https://spasphere.ai/docs/notifications/email-reminders). Referral invites for the Referral & Loyalty add-on are managed on its **Refer a Friend** page, not on the Automations page. See [Referral & Loyalty](https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/referral-and-loyalty).

## Setting Up an Automation

**Step 1: Open Automations**
Go to **Marketing > Automations**. The numbers at the top show how many **Automations** you have, how many are **Running**, and how many are **Paused**. Below them, **This month's usage** shows how many of your monthly marketing emails and texts you've used. A switch lets you move between **Yours** (automations you've set up) and **Ready-made**.

**Step 2: Choose a ready-made automation**
Click **New automation** at the top right, or switch to **Ready-made**, and click **Set Up** on the one you want. Ones you've already set up are marked **Already configured**.

**Step 3: Name it and pick the timing**
Give it a name under **Rule Name (optional)**, or leave it blank to keep the standard name. Under **Channels**, **Email** is on. Then set when it sends, for example "Send 30 days after" for a rebooking reminder. Each automation has its own limits: a rebooking reminder can go out 7 to 90 days after a visit, and a birthday promotion 1 to 30 days before the birthday.

**Step 4: Set the offer (optional)**
Automations that support a discount show a **Discount %** field. Turn on **Auto-generate unique codes** to create a single-use code for each client (each code expires after 30 days), or enter a **Fixed Discount Code** that every recipient gets. Leave both blank to send without a code.

Some automations have their own setting: **Inactive Days Threshold** for reactivation and seasonal promotions, and **Sessions Remaining Threshold** for Package Running Low.

**Step 5: Write the message**
Edit the **Subject** and **Body**, or keep the wording we wrote for you. You can use placeholders that fill in for each client: `{name}`, `{last_name}`, `{business_name}`, `{booking_url}`, `{review_url}`, `{discount_code}`, `{discount_percent}`, `{service_name}`, and `{provider_name}`. The Intake Form Reminder also has `{intake_form_url}`.

**Step 6: Turn it on**
Leave **Activate immediately** on and click **Turn it on**. The automation runs for every matching client from now on.

## Managing Your Automations

On **Yours**, each automation is a card with its channels, its timing, whether it's **Active** or **Inactive**, and how many messages it has sent. The buttons along the bottom of each card are always there: the settings button changes it (then click **Save**), the trash can deletes it, and the switch pauses or resumes it.

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I edit an automation after turning it on?**
Yes. Changes apply to future sends only. Clients who already received the message are not affected.

**Will a client get the same automation twice?**
Each automation limits repeats on its own. For example, a birthday promotion goes out once a year, a rebooking reminder once per appointment, and a reactivation message at most once a month.

**Do the membership automations need anything else set up?**
Only membership plans. The membership emails go out when something happens to a client's membership: it starts, it's about to renew, a benefit is about to expire, a payment fails, or it ends. So they only send once you have members.

**How do I see what automations have sent?**
Each automation card on Yours shows how many messages it has sent.


# Marketing Kit: Branded Business Cards, QR Codes, Flyers & Intake Signs

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/marketing-kit
Section: marketing
Updated: 2026-10-28

Create print-ready business cards, QR codes, flyers, and an intake sign branded with your logo and colors. No design tools needed, included in your plan.

The Marketing Kit turns your SpaSphere Pro account into a small design studio. It pulls your logo, brand color, services, and contact details straight from your settings and lays them out on professional templates for business cards, QR codes, flyers, and a waiting-room intake sign. You pick a template, adjust the details, and download files ready for VistaPrint, Canva, or your own printer.

The kit is included in your SpaSphere Pro plan. There is no extra charge and no limit on downloads or saved designs.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Most solo estheticians put off printed materials because design tools take time they don't have. The Marketing Kit closes that gap: a business card with a booking QR code on the back means anyone you meet at an event, a partner business, or your front desk can book before they've left the conversation. Everything stays on-brand because the kit reads your actual business settings rather than asking you to rebuild them.

## Key Capabilities

- Business cards in three templates (Minimal, Bold, Elegant) with a booking QR code on the back
- Branded QR codes linking to your booking page, website, Instagram, or Google Reviews
- Service menus and promo flyers generated from the services already in your account
- A waiting-room intake sign with a QR code that opens your intake forms
- Brand color presets plus your own primary color, with logo placement options
- Print-ready output: 300 dpi PDF and PNG, standard sizes for home printing or upload to Canva and VistaPrint
- Saved designs you can reopen, update, rename, or duplicate later

## Opening the Marketing Kit

**Step 1: Go to the Marketing Kit**
In the SpaSphere Pro admin sidebar, open **Marketing > Marketing Kit**. You can also click **Marketing** and choose the **Marketing Kit** card on the Marketing hub.

**Step 2: Pick a tab**
Just under the page title, a switch shows four tabs: **QR codes**, **Business cards**, **Flyers**, and **Intake sign**. It opens on **QR codes**.

**Moved from Settings > Resources**
The Marketing Kit used to open from a card under **Settings > Resources**. It now has its own page under **Marketing**, and the Resources page is now **Settings > Refer & Earn**.

QR codes and flyers have their own guides: see [QR Code Generator](https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/qr-code-generator) and [Service Menus & Flyers](https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/service-menus-and-flyers). The rest of this page covers business cards, the intake sign, and saved designs.

## Creating a Business Card

**Step 1: Pick a template**
Open the **Business cards** tab and choose **Minimal** (clean with subtle accents), **Bold** (your accent color as the background), or **Elegant** (serif type, centered layout). The preview updates as you click.

**Step 2: Choose your brand color**
Pick your brand color, one of six presets, or the rainbow swatch to choose any color. The accent applies across the card and the QR code on the back.

**Step 3: Fill in the card details**
The kit pre-fills your business name, website, phone, and email from your business profile. Add a tagline, your name, and your title under **Card details** and **Contact**. If you've uploaded a logo, choose its placement under **Logo**.

**Step 4: Set up the back**
The back of the card carries a QR code. Under **Back QR links to**, choose **Booking page**, **Website**, **Google review**, **Instagram**, or **Intake forms**. Google review needs your Google Place ID, and Intake forms needs at least one active intake form. Use the **Show address** toggle to print your studio address on the back or leave it off.

**Step 5: Download**
Click **Download PDF** for a two-page file with front and back, or grab **Front PNG** and **Back PNG** separately. Files export at 300 dpi in the standard 3.5 × 2 inch card size, ready for Canva, VistaPrint, or home printing.

**Ordering from a print service**
Upload the PNG files to VistaPrint or Canva and place them on a standard 3.5 × 2 inch card product. The files are full-bleed at 300 dpi, so they print sharp without any resizing.

## Making an Intake Sign

The intake sign is a printable sign for your waiting room or front desk. Clients who arrive without filling out their intake form scan the QR code and pick their form on their phone.

**Step 1: Open the Intake sign tab**
Open the **Intake sign** tab. The QR code opens your public intake forms page, which lists all your active intake forms. If you don't have an active intake form yet, create one under **Clients > Forms** first; until then, the download buttons stay off.

**Step 2: Pick a size and style**
Under **Size**, choose **Wall sign** (US Letter, 8.5 × 11 in) or **Counter stand** (Half Letter, 5.5 × 8.5 in). Under **Style**, choose **Minimal** (light and easy on ink) or **Bold** (a header in your brand color). Then pick your **Brand color**, and turn **Use your logo** on or off if you've uploaded a logo.

**Step 3: Choose the message**
Under **Message**, pick a tone: **Elegant**, **Friendly**, or **Playful**. Each tone offers a few ready-made messages to choose from. You can also change the words yourself under **Text**: **Top line**, **Headline**, **Message**, **Already done?**, and **Help line**.

**Step 4: Download and print**
Click **Download PDF** or **PNG**. Files are 300 dpi, ready to print at home or upload to Canva or VistaPrint. Test-scan the printout before you put it up.

**Print it once**
The sign always opens your intake forms page, so you can add or edit forms later without reprinting it.

## Saving and Reusing Designs

Cards and flyers can be saved to your account. Click **Save this card** (or **Update** once a saved design is loaded) and the design appears under **Saved cards** with rename and delete controls. **Save as new** duplicates a loaded design, which is handy for making a per-staff-member variant of the same card.

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**Is the Marketing Kit a paid add-on?**
No. It's included in your SpaSphere Pro plan. There's no extra charge and no limit on downloads or saved designs.

**Can I use my own logo and colors?**
Yes. The kit pulls the logo and brand primary color from your business settings automatically. You can also pick from six preset accent colors inside each editor.

**What file formats do I get?**
Business cards export as a front-and-back PDF or as separate front and back PNGs, all at 300 dpi. QR codes export as PNG or SVG, and flyers as US Letter PDF or PNG.

**Will the files work with VistaPrint or Canva?**
Yes. Cards are the standard 3.5 × 2 inch size and flyers are US Letter, both at 300 dpi. Upload them as-is to either service or print them at home.

**Can I edit a design later?**
Yes. Save the design before you leave the Marketing Kit page. Saved cards and flyers reopen with all settings intact, and you can update, rename, duplicate, or delete them.


# QR Code Generator: Link Every Surface to Your Booking Page

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/qr-code-generator
Section: marketing
Updated: 2026-10-28

Generate branded QR codes that send clients to your booking page, website, Instagram, or Google Reviews. Download them as PNG or vector SVG.

The QR code generator turns any printed surface into a booking opportunity. It creates a scannable code tinted with your brand color and pointed at the destination you choose: your booking page, your website, your Instagram profile, or your Google review link. Print it on signage, treatment menus, product displays, mirror decals, or the back of your business cards.

The generator lives inside the [Marketing Kit](https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/marketing-kit) and is included in your SpaSphere Pro plan.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

A client holding your card or standing at your front desk is seconds away from booking, if you remove the typing. A QR code on the checkout counter that opens your booking page converts that moment directly. The same goes for reviews: a code on the mirror or receipt that opens your Google review form catches clients while the visit is still fresh.

## Key Capabilities

- Four destinations: booking page, website, Instagram, Google review
- Brand color tinting with six presets plus your own primary color
- Automatic contrast guard so the code always scans
- A preview card with a caption and the link, so you can see how the code reads
- PNG download with transparent background (1024 px) or vector SVG for any print size

## Generating a QR Code

**Step 1: Open the QR codes tab**
Go to **Marketing > Marketing Kit**. The kit has four tabs: **QR codes**, **Business cards**, **Flyers**, and **Intake sign**. It opens on **QR codes**, which is the one you want.

**Step 2: Choose the destination**
Under **Link to**, pick one of four destinations:

- **Booking page**: opens your SpaSphere Pro booking page
- **Website**: your public site
- **Google review**: opens your Google review form (requires a Google Place ID in **Settings > Integrations**)
- **Instagram**: your profile (requires your Instagram link in **Website > Settings > Social Links**)

Destinations you haven't configured yet appear grayed out with a hint telling you where to add the missing detail.

**Step 3: Pick a brand color**
Choose from six presets or your own brand primary under **Brand color**. The tint applies to the code modules.

**Step 4: Toggle the caption**
The **Caption & URL** toggle shows a short label (like "Book your visit" for the booking page) and the link under the code in the preview. It's a guide for your own design: the downloaded file is the QR code alone, so add any words you want around it in Canva or your print layout.

**Step 5: Download**
Click **Download PNG** for a 1024 × 1024 pixel image with a transparent background, or **SVG (vector)** for a resolution-independent file you can scale to any size, from a sticker to a window decal.

**Why some colors fall back to black**
QR codes need dark modules on a light background to scan. If your brand color is too light, the generator keeps the code near-black and shows a note suggesting a deeper shade. This guard means a downloaded code always scans, whatever color you picked.

**Print at 1 inch or larger**
Phone cameras read codes reliably from about 1 inch (2.5 cm) square upward at arm's length. Bigger surfaces viewed from further away need bigger codes. Test-scan a printed proof before ordering a large run.

**Need a code for your intake forms?**
A QR code that opens your intake forms lives on the **Intake sign** tab, as a ready-to-print waiting-room sign. You can also put it on the back of your business card: on the **Business cards** tab, choose **Intake forms** under **Back QR links to**. See [Marketing Kit](https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/marketing-kit).

## Where to Use Each Destination

| Destination | Works well on |
|---|---|
| Booking page | Front desk signage, business cards, flyers, retail shelf talkers |
| Google review | Checkout counter, mirrors, receipts, thank-you cards |
| Instagram | Treatment room frames, packaging, event banners |
| Website | Partner-business displays, networking materials |

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**Can one QR code link to multiple destinations?**
No, each code points at a single destination. Generate a separate code per use: one for booking on your cards, one for reviews at checkout, and so on.

**Why is the Google review option disabled?**
It needs your Google Place ID, set in Settings > Integrations. Once the Place ID is saved, the option becomes available and the code opens your Google review form directly.

**Should I download PNG or SVG?**
PNG works everywhere and has a transparent background, so it sits cleanly on any design. SVG is vector and stays sharp at any size, so use it for large-format printing like window decals or banners.

**Do the codes expire?**
No. The code encodes your destination URL directly, so it keeps working as long as that page exists. If you change your booking URL or Instagram handle, generate a new code.

**Can I put my logo inside the code?**
Not currently. The generator keeps codes plain to guarantee they scan reliably at small print sizes. Brand color tinting is supported.


# Printable Service Menus & Flyers from Your Services

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/service-menus-and-flyers
Section: marketing
Updated: 2026-10-28

Make service menus and promo flyers from the services, prices and photos already in your SpaSphere Pro account, with a booking QR code built in.

The flyer editor builds printed marketing materials from data you already maintain. Pick a template and SpaSphere Pro fills it with your services, prices, photos, logo, brand color, and contact details, plus a QR code that takes readers straight to your booking page. The result downloads as a print-ready US Letter PDF or PNG.

The editor lives inside the [Marketing Kit](https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/marketing-kit) and is included in your SpaSphere Pro plan.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

A printed service menu in your reception area answers the question every waiting client is already asking: what else do you offer, and what does it cost? Clients who read a menu while they wait book follow-up treatments at the desk instead of "thinking about it" at home. And because the menu is generated from your live service list, a price change in SpaSphere Pro is a two-minute reprint, not a design project.

## Key Capabilities

- Two templates: **Service menu** (a list of up to six services with prices) and **Promo / event** (a headline with up to three featured services)
- Services, descriptions, prices, durations, and photos pulled from your account automatically
- Booking QR code embedded on every flyer, with a choice of destination
- Brand color presets, logo placement (left, center, right), and editable contact details
- **Show prices** toggle for partner locations or events where you'd rather leave pricing off
- US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) output at 300 dpi as PDF or PNG
- Saved flyers you can reopen and update after a price change

## Creating a Service Menu or Flyer

**Step 1: Open the Flyers tab**
Go to **Marketing > Marketing Kit**. Of the four tabs (**QR codes**, **Business cards**, **Flyers**, and **Intake sign**), select **Flyers**.

**Step 2: Pick a template**
Choose **Service menu** for a clean list of services and prices, or **Promo / event** for a headline-led layout featuring up to three services. The promo template adds **Headline** and **Subhead** fields for your offer or event name.

**Step 3: Select services**
Under **Services**, check the ones to include. Names, descriptions, prices, durations, and photos come from your service records. Use the **Show prices** toggle to print or omit pricing.

**Step 4: Apply your branding**
Pick a brand color (six presets or your own primary), and if you've uploaded a logo, place it left, center, or right. Contact details (phone, email, website, and address) pre-fill from your business profile and stay editable for this flyer.

**Step 5: Choose the QR destination**
Under **QR code links to**, point the embedded code at your **Booking page**, **Website**, **Google review**, **Instagram**, or **Intake forms**. For menus and promo flyers, the booking page is usually the right call.

**Step 6: Download**
Click **Download PDF** for a US Letter file or **PNG** for an image at the same size. Both export at 300 dpi, ready to print at home or upload to Canva or VistaPrint.

**Save a flyer per location or season**
Click **Save this flyer** to keep the design in your account. After a price update or a seasonal service swap, reopen the saved flyer, click **Update**, and download a fresh copy. **Save as new** duplicates a flyer, so a "reception menu" and a "pop-up event" version can live side by side.

## Where Flyers Earn Their Keep

- **Reception and waiting areas**: a menu next to the seating converts wait time into upsells
- **Treatment rooms**: a framed menu prompts add-on conversations mid-visit
- **Local events and pop-ups**: the promo template with a booking QR captures interest on the spot
- **Partner businesses**: a menu with prices hidden works as a referral display at gyms, salons, and boutiques

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**How many services fit on a flyer?**
The Service menu template holds up to six services; the Promo / event template features up to three. For a longer menu, save two variants (for example, Facials and Body) and print both.

**Do photos come from my service records?**
Yes. The editor uses each service's photo automatically. Services without a photo still render cleanly with name, description, and price.

**Can I hide prices?**
Yes. Turn off the Show prices toggle. This suits partner-business displays and events where you want conversations to start before pricing does.

**What size do flyers print at?**
US Letter, 8.5 × 11 inches, at 300 dpi, in both PDF and PNG. Print at home, at a local print shop, or upload to Canva or VistaPrint.

**If I change a price in SpaSphere Pro, does the flyer update?**
Saved flyers store your design choices, so reopen the saved flyer and the current service data fills in. Download a fresh copy after any price change and recycle the old printout.


# Referral & Loyalty Add-On: Rewards That Pay for Themselves

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/referral-and-loyalty
Section: marketing
Updated: 2026-10-28

Let clients refer friends, earn store credit for every visit, and redeem it at checkout, with revenue tracking that shows exactly what each program generates.

The Referral & Loyalty add-on turns your existing clients into a marketing channel and tracks what it earns you. It runs two programs from one place: **Refer a Friend**, where clients share a personal link that gives their friend a welcome offer and earns the referrer store credit, and **Loyalty Rewards**, where every completed visit earns credit automatically. Credit lives in a per-client wallet and redeems at checkout. No punch cards, no spreadsheets, no manual tracking.

The add-on costs **$29/month** and you can cancel anytime. One referred appointment often covers the month.

**Two different referral programs**
This add-on rewards <strong>your clients</strong> for referring their friends to your spa. The separate, free <a href="/docs/referral-program/refer-a-friend">Refer a Friend program</a> rewards <strong>you</strong> with a free month of SpaSphere Pro for referring another business to the platform.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

A referred client walks in pre-sold: someone they trust already vouched for you. Loyalty credit gives regulars a concrete reason to rebook with you instead of drifting to whoever ran this week's discount. The add-on automates both ends (issuing rewards when visits complete, and making credit ready to use at checkout), and the Overview page answers the question punch cards never could: how much revenue did this actually generate?

## Key Capabilities

- Personal referral link and QR code for every client
- Configurable welcome offer for the friend (fixed amount or percentage off their first visit)
- Configurable referrer reward (fixed credit or a percentage of the friend's first visit, with an optional cap)
- Automatic loyalty credit for every completed visit (flat amount or percentage of spend)
- Store credit wallet per client, redeemed at checkout as a payment method
- Automatic referral invites by email or SMS after visits, with frequency throttling
- Revenue, return on credit, and a referral funnel on the **Overview** page
- Lists of who was sent an invite and which clients have earned loyalty credit

## Turning On the Add-On

**Step 1: Open Referral & Loyalty**
In the SpaSphere Pro admin sidebar, go to **Marketing > Referral & Loyalty**. If the add-on isn't active yet, you'll see an overview page describing both programs.

**Step 2: Subscribe**
Click **Add Referral & Loyalty** and complete checkout. Billing is $29/month on your existing payment method, and you can cancel anytime. Only account owners and admins can subscribe.

**Step 3: Configure your programs**
Once active, the section has three tabs: **Overview** (results across both programs), **Loyalty** (earn rules), and **Refer a Friend** (referral offer and invites). Both programs start switched off so you can set the numbers before anything goes live.

## Setting Up Refer a Friend

Open the **Refer a Friend** tab (its page is titled **Let happy clients bring their friends**, with the program's results just below the tabs) and switch on **Turn on Refer a Friend**. Turning it off later stops all links and invites right away. Then set three things, and click **Save** when you're done:

**Step 1: Set the friend's welcome offer**
Under **Friend's welcome offer**, choose the **Discount type**: **A set amount ($)** or **A percentage (%)** off their first visit. SpaSphere Pro generates an evergreen coupon code for the offer and applies it automatically when a friend books through a referral link. It only ever works for first-time clients.

**Step 2: Set the referrer's reward**
Under **Your client's reward**, choose the **Reward type**: **A set amount ($)** of store credit (for example, $15) or **% of friend's first visit**, with an optional **Most they can earn ($, optional)**. Under **Credit expires after**, set how long the credit stays valid; 90 days is the default.

**Step 3: Decide how invites go out**
Under **Automatic invites**, turn on **Invite clients automatically** to send each client their personal referral link after a completed visit. Under **Send via**, choose **Email**, **SMS**, or **Email + SMS**. Texts only go to clients who agreed to receive them. The **At most one invite per** setting (in days) keeps a weekly regular from being messaged every week; set it to 0 to invite after every visit. Each invite goes out about 4 hours after the visit is completed, with SpaSphere Pro's standard wording. Invites are managed only here: Refer a Friend doesn't appear under **Marketing > Automations**, so the timing and wording can't be changed.

### Checking who got an invite

The **Invites sent** list on the Refer a Friend page shows each client who was sent an invite, the date, and what happened on each channel. Click **See who got them** to open it. The top line counts the invites and how many went out **by email** and **by text**. The 50 most recent invites show first; click **Show all** to load up to 500.

Each invite has an **Email** column and a **Text** column:

- **Sent** -- the invite went out on that channel.
- **No email address** or **No mobile number** -- the client record is missing it, so fill it in.
- **Texting not set up yet** or **Needs your own number** -- texts can't go out until Business Texting is set up for your business.
- **Text not sent** -- the text was tried and didn't go out.
- **Program was off** -- Refer a Friend was switched off when the invite was due.
- **Not sent** -- it couldn't go out for another reason.
- A dash means that channel wasn't used for this invite.

**Sent** means the message left SpaSphere Pro. It doesn't confirm the client opened it.

### How clients share their link

Every client gets a personal referral link and QR code. From a client's page, open the **More** menu and choose **Referral Link**. You can copy the link, download the QR as a PNG, or email both to the client so the code lives on their phone.

### When the reward is issued

The friend books through the link, the welcome offer applies, and the referral shows as **Booked**. When the friend's first appointment completes and is paid, the referrer's credit is issued and the row flips to **Rewarded**. The **Recent referrals** table shows every referral with its status, including blocked self-referrals and ineligible cases like existing clients. Each friend can trigger a reward once.

## Setting Up Loyalty Rewards

Open the **Loyalty** tab and, in the **Loyalty rewards** card, switch on **Turn on loyalty rewards**. Then define the earn rule:

- **Reward type**: **A set amount per visit** (say, $5 under **Credit per visit ($)**) or **A share of what they spend** (say, 5% under **Share of what they spend (%)**), with an optional **Most they can earn per visit ($, optional)**
- **Smallest visit that earns ($, optional)**: a floor, so a $10 retail pickup doesn't earn the same as a $150 facial
- **Credit expires after**: how long earned credit stays valid; 365 days is the default

Credit is issued when a paid appointment completes, with no action from you or the client. A visit that collected no money, or less than your **Smallest visit that earns**, doesn't earn credit. Spend counts money actually collected, net of refunds; payments made with gift cards, packages, or existing store credit don't earn more credit.

At the top of the Loyalty tab, three numbers cover the last 30 days: **Spent by members**, **Credit given**, and **Return** (what clients spent for every $1 of credit). The **Clients earning credit** list below them shows everyone who has earned loyalty credit, with their **Visits**, **Credit earned**, and **Last earned** date.

**Picking your numbers**
Percentage-of-spend rewards bigger tickets and nudges clients toward add-ons; a flat amount per visit is easier to explain on signage ("every visit earns $5"). Either way, start small. You can raise the rate anytime, and raising rewards lands far better with clients than cutting them.

## How Clients Earn and Spend Credit

All credit from both programs lands in one wallet per client. To see it, open the client's page, choose **More**, then **Store Credit**. It shows the **Available balance** and an **Activity** ledger of every earn, redemption, expiry, and adjustment, with a badge for the source (Referral, Loyalty, Birthday, Promo, Refund, Manual).

Owners, admins, and managers can also change the balance by hand: **Add credit** to give a goodwill credit, or **Adjust** to correct the balance. An adjustment needs a note explaining why.

At checkout, when a client has a balance, **Store Credit** appears as a payment option showing how much is available. Choose it, then either use the entire store-credit balance or enter a custom amount, up to the invoice total, and click the **Apply** button (it shows the amount, like **Apply $50.00**). The rest of the bill can be paid with any other method. Store credit can't be used to buy a gift card.

## Tracking What the Programs Earn

The **Overview** tab, titled **How your programs are doing**, shows results for both programs over the last **7 days**, **30 days**, or **90 days**. Money is counted once it's paid, minus refunds:

- **Money brought in**, **New clients** (their first visit came through a program), **Average per client**, and **Rewards issued** (what the programs cost you)
- **By source**: which program brought the money in
- **Referral funnel**: **Friends booked**, **First visits done**, and **Rewards issued** since you started Refer a Friend
- **Store credit clients still hold**: the credit your clients haven't used yet

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**What does the add-on cost?**
$29/month, billed alongside your SpaSphere Pro subscription. Cancel anytime. A single referred appointment often covers the month.

**Can I run just one of the two programs?**
Yes. Each program has its own active toggle. Run loyalty only, referrals only, or both.

**When does a referrer get their credit?**
When the referred friend's first appointment completes and is paid, not when they book. Cancellations and no-shows never trigger a reward.

**Can clients game the system by referring themselves?**
No. Self-referrals are detected and blocked, each friend can only ever trigger one reward, and the welcome coupon only works for first-time clients.

**Does credit expire?**
You decide. Referral credit defaults to 90 days and loyalty credit to 365, and both are adjustable. Expired credit drops off the balance automatically and shows in the client's Store Credit activity.

**What happens if I cancel the add-on?**
The programs stop issuing new rewards and invites. Your referral history and credit ledgers remain visible, so you keep the record of what was earned.

**Do gift card payments earn loyalty credit?**
No. Credit is earned on money actually collected, net of refunds. Payments made with gift cards, packages, or existing store credit don't count as spend.


# How to Win Back At-Risk Clients with Client Retention

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/churn-prevention
Section: marketing
Updated: 2026-10-28

See which clients are falling out of their usual visit rhythm, why they were flagged, and send a personal win-back email with an optional discount code.

Client Retention shows you which clients are drifting away before they're gone. SpaSphere Pro looks at each client's visit history (how long since their last visit, how that compares to their usual rhythm, and whether they've started coming in less often) and flags the ones worth reaching out to. For each flagged client you get the reasons, a suggested message written by Sophie in your voice (for high and medium risk clients), and a one-click way to email them with an optional discount code.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Keeping a regular is far cheaper than finding a new one, and most clients don't announce they're leaving; they just stop booking. A client who came every four weeks and hasn't been in for eight is easy to miss on a busy calendar. Client Retention puts those clients in one list while there's still time to bring them back.

## Key Capabilities

- Flags clients based on their own visit patterns, not a one-size-fits-all cutoff
- Lists the reasons each client was flagged
- Suggested win-back message written by Sophie for high and medium risk clients, using your brand voice settings
- Send the message by email, with an optional single-use discount code
- Track each insight as New, Viewed, Acted on, or Dismissed
- Refreshes automatically several times a day, or on demand

## Opening Client Retention

In the admin sidebar, open **Marketing** and choose **Client Retention**. The line under the title tells you how many clients to check on and how many are at high risk, and the counts below show **Total**, **High risk**, **Medium risk**, and **New** insights.

The first time you visit, SpaSphere Pro checks your clients automatically. After that, the list refreshes in the background every few hours. Click **Check again** at the top right to refresh right away. If nobody is flagged, you'll see **No one is drifting away right now**.

## What Gets a Client Flagged

A client can appear on the list for a few reasons:

- **At risk of churning**: a combination of signals, including time since their last visit, whether they're overdue compared to their normal rhythm, and a drop in visit frequency
- **Overdue**: a regular client (three or more visits) whose time since their last visit is well past their usual interval
- **Slowing down**: a group insight when several clients are visiting less often than they used to

Each card lists the specific reasons, so you know what you're responding to before you reach out. When a client comes back and is no longer at risk, their insight clears on the next analysis, unless you've already acted on or dismissed it.

## Reviewing Insights

Use the two switches to filter by status (**All**, **New**, **Viewed**, **Acted on**, **Dismissed**) and by risk level (**Any risk**, **High**, **Medium**, **Low**).

Each card shows the client's name and email, a risk badge, the reasons they were flagged, and, for high and medium risk clients, a suggested message. From the card you can:

- **Mark as viewed** to clear it from your new items
- **Copy message** to paste the suggestion into a text or DM (when there is one)
- **Send Email** to reach out directly
- **Dismiss** if outreach isn't right for this client

## Sending a Win-Back Email

**Step 1: Open the message**
Click **Send Email** on a client's card. The **Send Message** window opens with the client's email, a subject, and Sophie's suggested message filled in when there is one.

**Step 2: Make it personal**
Edit the message so it sounds like you. Click **Regenerate** for a different suggestion. Messages follow the tone and writing samples in your brand voice settings, so the better those are, the less editing you'll do.

**Step 3: Add a discount code (optional)**
Turn on **Include a discount code**, choose **% off** or **$ off**, enter the **Value**, and pick when it **Expires in** (7, 14, or 30 days). SpaSphere Pro creates a single-use code for this client; click **New code** to generate a different one.

**Step 4: Send**
Click **Send Email**. The insight is marked **Acted on** so your team knows this client has been contacted.

**Lead with care, not the discount**
A short note that remembers the client ("It's been a while since your last facial. How is your skin doing?") often does more than a coupon. Save discount codes for clients who haven't responded, or for your highest-value regulars.

**Nothing is sent without you**
Client Retention prepares insights and suggested messages automatically, but it never emails a client on its own. Every message is reviewed and sent by you.

## Frequently asked questions

**How does SpaSphere Pro decide a client is at risk?**
It uses each client's visit history over time: days since their last visit, how that compares to their usual gap between visits, and whether their visit frequency is dropping. Clients with very few visits are judged mainly on how long it's been since they came in.

**Is the risk score generated by AI?**
No. Clients are flagged by rules based on their visit history. Sophie is used to write the suggested win-back message.

**How often is the list updated?**
SpaSphere Pro checks your clients again automatically every few hours. You can also click Check again at any time.

**Why did a client disappear from the list?**
If a flagged client books and visits again, they're no longer at risk, so their insight is cleared on the next analysis. Insights you've marked Acted on or Dismissed stay in your history.

**Can I send a text instead of an email?**
The Send Email button sends by email. To reach a client by text, use Copy message and paste the suggestion into your usual messaging app.


# How to Send Email Newsletters to Your Spa Clients

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/newsletters
Section: marketing
Updated: 2026-10-28

Design on-brand newsletters from ready-made templates, choose who gets them, send or schedule, and see the bookings and revenue each one brings in.

Newsletters keep your spa in your clients' inboxes between visits. SpaSphere Pro builds each newsletter for you from your own logo, colors, services and best reviews, so you can go from idea to sent in a few minutes. Give it a name, pick a template, change anything you like, choose who should get it, and send now or schedule it for later. After it goes out, SpaSphere Pro shows you who clicked, who booked, and how much revenue it brought in.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Your past clients are the easiest people to rebook. A short, good-looking email with a featured treatment, a coupon or your open times this week can fill a slow Tuesday. Because SpaSphere Pro connects newsletters to your bookings and checkout, you don't have to guess whether an email worked -- the results page shows the bookings and purchases that came from it, in dollars.

## Key Capabilities

- Ready-made templates already filled with your logo, colors, services and reviews
- A name for every newsletter before you start, so your list and results are easy to tell apart
- Drag-and-drop blocks, including live content like services, coupons, products, memberships, packages, gift cards, reviews and last-minute openings
- Desktop and mobile preview while you edit, with automatic saving
- Ready-made audiences (lapsed clients, members, VIPs, birthdays and more), your own client segments, and custom combinations you can save
- Only clients who agreed to marketing email ever receive a newsletter
- Test sends to your team before anything reaches clients
- Send now or schedule up to 90 days ahead, in your business time zone
- Results for every newsletter: clicks, bookings, purchases, revenue, delivery health, and a per-client breakdown
- Drafts, Scheduled and Sent filters, plus search by name or subject
- One-click follow-ups to people who didn't click, or clicked but didn't book

## Getting Ready to Send

Open **Marketing > Newsletters**. Before your first newsletter can go out, a **Get ready to send** card walks you through three quick steps. You can start designing and send yourself tests right away -- only the real send waits for these steps.

**Step 1: Confirm who it's from**
Click **Set up** next to **Confirm who it's from**. Enter your **Sender name** (what clients see in their inbox) and **Replies go to** (the email address that receives replies). The **Inbox preview** shows how it will look. Click **Confirm sender**.

Newsletters are sent from a SpaSphere Pro address built for bulk email, so your everyday email's reputation is never at risk. Replies still come straight to you.

**Step 2: Add your business address**
Click **Add address** next to **Business address**. This opens your business settings, where you add your postal address. The law requires a postal address in every marketing email, and SpaSphere Pro adds it to the footer of every newsletter for you.

**Step 3: Review email consent**
Click **Set up** next to **Email consent**. The **Who can receive your newsletters?** window explains how clients join your list, then click **Got it**.

**Who can receive your newsletters**
Only clients who agreed to marketing email get newsletters. Clients join your list when they tick the marketing email box as they book or check out online, turn it on from their client profile, or tell you in person (you switch marketing email on from their profile and note how they agreed). Nobody is added by default, and lists from other systems can't be brought over, because only a client's own yes counts. Appointment emails are never affected.

## Creating a Newsletter

**Step 1: Pick a starting point**
Open **Marketing > Newsletters**. Click **New newsletter** to start from a template, or **Start from scratch** for a clean page with your logo.

In **Start with a template**, choose **Monthly newsletter**, **Promotion**, **Featured treatment**, **We miss you**, **Last-minute openings**, **Membership invite**, **Package reminder**, **Birthday**, **Seasonal**, **Announcement**, or **Start from scratch**. Designs you saved earlier appear under **Your saved designs**.

**Step 2: Name it**
Before anything is created, you're asked to **Name your newsletter**. Only you and your team see this name, so pick one you'll recognize later in your list and results, like "November openings for regulars". Clients see the subject line, which you write later.

Click **Create newsletter** and the editor opens. If you came from a template, **Templates** takes you back to pick a different one. Some templates also pick a matching audience for you, which you can change.

**Step 3: Work through the three steps**
The name sits in a box at the top left of the editor. Click it to rename the newsletter at any time. Under it, **All changes saved** shows as your work saves automatically.

Along the top, a switch shows the three steps: **Design**, **Audience** and **Review & send**. Click a step, or use the button at the top right, to move between them. Steps you've already passed show a check mark.

**Ideas worth sending now**
Once clients have subscribed, the Newsletters page shows a **Worth sending now** section with ideas based on what's happening in your business, such as **Fill your open times**, **Bring back lapsed clients** or **Birthdays coming up**, each with how many clients you can email today. Click **Create newsletter** on a card, give it a name, and it starts from the matching template. Newsletters that earned well can show up here with **Send again**, which makes a copy right away.

## Designing Your Newsletter

**Step 1: Edit the blocks**
The **Blocks** list on the left shows every part of your email in order. Click a block in the list, or click it in the preview, to edit it in the panel on the right. Hover over a block in the list to **Duplicate** or **Delete** it, and drag the handle to reorder.

**Step 2: Add blocks**
Click **Add block** and choose from four groups:

- **Basics** -- **Heading**, **Text**, **Image**, **Button**, and **Image + text**
- **Sell** -- **Products** (up to 3 from your shop), **Membership**, **Package**, **Treatment plan**, **Last-minute openings** (free times this week), and **Gift cards**
- **From your business** -- **Treatments & services** (up to 3 with prices), **Coupon** (one of your active offers), **Blog post**, **Provider**, **Reviews**, **Logo**, and **Social links**
- **Layout** -- **Divider** and **Spacer**

**Step 3: Set the style**
With no block selected, the right panel shows **Style**, which applies to the whole newsletter: **Accent color**, **Background**, **Card**, **Text**, **Font** (**Modern**, **Classic** or **Elegant**) and **Buttons** (**Square**, **Rounded** or **Pill**). If you change the accent color, **Use my brand color** puts it back.

**Step 4: Preview on mobile**
Use the **Desktop** / **Mobile** switch above the preview to see how it looks on a phone.

Every newsletter ends with a locked **Footer (address and unsubscribe)**: your business name, your address, an **Unsubscribe** link and a **Manage email preferences** link. You can't remove it -- the law requires it, and it keeps you out of spam folders.

**Reuse a design you like**
In the editor, click the **...** menu at the top right and choose **Save as template**. It then appears under **Your saved designs** whenever you click **New newsletter**.

## Choosing Who Gets It

On the **Audience** step, choose one option:

- **Ready-made audiences** -- **All subscribers**, **Haven't visited in 60+ days**, **Nothing booked ahead**, **Birthdays coming up**, **Members**, **Regulars**, **VIP clients** and **Recently joined**, each with a client count
- **Saved audiences** -- combinations you saved earlier
- **Your segments** -- any client segment you've already built in SpaSphere Pro, grouped by **Client behavior**, **Memberships & packages**, **Client value** and **Treatments they've had**
- **Custom audience** -- combine segments under **Clients must match all of these**, and leave people out with **Exclude clients matching any of these**. Click **Save this audience** to name it and reuse it later.

The **Will receive it** panel shows how many clients will actually get the email, and **Why N won't get it** explains the rest -- for example, clients who haven't agreed to marketing email, who unsubscribed, or whose email bounced.

## Reviewing, Testing and Sending

**Step 1: Write the subject and preview text**
On **Review & send**, fill in the **Subject line** and **Preview text** (the line people see right after the subject). Click **Personalize** to add a tag like the client's first name. Under 60 characters reads best on phones. **How it looks in the inbox** shows a preview.

**Step 2: Send yourself a test**
Under **Send yourself a test**, enter your email address and click **Send test**. Personal details are filled with sample values. Tests can only go to your team's addresses (your staff and your business email), up to 5 at a time, and the subject starts with **[Test]**.

**Step 3: Check the list**
The **Ready to send?** panel checks your newsletter. Red items must be fixed before you can send (for example, a missing subject line or an audience with no subscribers). Amber items are suggestions. Green items are done.

**Step 4: Send or schedule**
Click **Send or schedule**. Choose **Send now** (it starts within a minute) or **Schedule** and pick a day and time in your business time zone, up to 90 days ahead. Then click **Send to N** or **Schedule**. Click **Not yet** to go back without sending.

**The audience is checked again at send time**
Who gets a scheduled newsletter is worked out again when it sends, so the count can change as clients subscribe, unsubscribe, book, or move between segments. Anyone who unsubscribes before it sends is skipped automatically.

A scheduled newsletter is locked. To change it, open it and click **Unschedule to edit** (or **Unschedule to make changes** in the banner), make your edits, and schedule it again.

## Your Monthly Email Allowance

Every plan includes 500 marketing emails a month. Newsletters and marketing automations both count toward it; booking and appointment emails are always free and never count. Test sends don't count either. Once setup is complete, the Newsletters page shows how many you've used this month and when the count resets. It resets at the start of each calendar month in UTC, which for US spas is the evening of the last day of the month, local time.

If a newsletter would go over what's left, **Ready to send?** says how many more emails you need. You can reduce the audience, wait until your allowance resets, or add **Unlimited Email Marketing**, which removes the monthly count, subject to fair use. Account owners and admins can add it from the Newsletters page or straight from the review step with **Upgrade & send**; after checkout you come right back to the newsletter to send it. Other team members see **Ask the account owner to add Unlimited Email Marketing.**

**When the allowance runs out**
Once the month's included emails are used, newsletters and marketing automations pause until the allowance resets, unless you have Unlimited Email Marketing.

## Managing Your Newsletters

Every newsletter you make appears under **Your newsletters** as a card with its name, subject line, status, audience, and when it was edited, sent, or is due to send. Statuses are **Draft**, **Scheduled**, **Sending**, **Sent**, **Unscheduled**, and **Needs attention**.

- Use **All**, **Drafts**, **Scheduled** and **Sent** to filter the list. **Drafts** also shows unscheduled newsletters and ones that need attention.
- Type in **Search by name or subject** to find one quickly.
- Click a card to open it. Sent newsletters open their results.
- The **...** menu on each card offers **Edit** (or **View results**), **Duplicate**, and **Delete draft** for newsletters that haven't been sent or scheduled.

Sent cards show five numbers: **Generated** (the revenue it brought in), **Sent**, **Bookings**, **Clicks**, and **Est. opens**. Hover over **Est. opens** for a reminder that opens are an estimate.

Once you've sent newsletters or have subscribers, a summary of the last 90 days sits at the top of the page: **Subscribers**, **Emails sent**, **Service bookings**, **Directly generated**, **Unique click rate**, and **Opened (estimated)**. Below it, once setup is complete, you see how many of this month's marketing emails you've used.

## Seeing Your Results

Open a sent newsletter to see its results.

At the top, **Sophie** sums up how it did in a few plain sentences: how many clients it went out to, about how many opened it, how many clicked, the bookings and purchases it brought in, the revenue, and any bounces, unsubscribes or spam reports. While it's still sending, she tells you how many have gone out so far. Her note is written from the numbers on the page, so it always matches them and shows the latest results each time you open the page.

Below her note:

- **Revenue generated** -- money actually collected, after refunds, from bookings and purchases that came from the newsletter. A booking made through one of its links counts for up to 30 days, and a purchase paid with a personal coupon it carried always counts. Otherwise, a booking or purchase counts if the client clicked the newsletter in the 7 days before. **Influenced** revenue, from clients who got it but didn't click and booked or bought within 3 days, is shown separately and never added in. A sale only ever counts for one newsletter.
- **Sent**, **Delivered**, **Clicked**, **Booked or bought**, and **Revenue per 1,000 sent**, compared with your average newsletter once you have one
- **Recipients** -- search by name or email and filter by **Everyone**, **Opened**, **Clicked**, **Booked or bought**, **Not sent**, **Bounced** or **Unsubscribed**. Click a name to see why they got it, what they did, and what it earned, then **Open client profile** to follow up one-on-one.
- **What clients responded to** -- the links clients clicked and what they booked or bought after
- **Delivery health** -- **Delivered**, **Opened**, **Bounced**, **Marked as spam** and **Unsubscribed**. People who bounced, unsubscribed or marked it as spam won't get future newsletters.

**Opens are an estimate**
Some mail apps load images without the email being read, and others block them, so open counts are approximate -- read them as "about N opened." A click always counts as an open. Clicks and bookings are the numbers to trust.

## Following Up

From a sent newsletter's results, click **Follow up** and choose **Everyone who didn't click** or **Clicked but didn't book or buy**. Under **What clients responded to**, you can also choose **Follow up with people who clicked but didn't book** for one specific link. SpaSphere Pro creates a copy of the newsletter aimed at those people and opens it in the editor so you can change the subject or offer before sending. Anyone who books in the meantime is left out automatically.

To reuse a newsletter for everyone again, click **Send again as a copy**.

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I import my email list from another system?**
No. Only clients who agreed to marketing email themselves can receive newsletters, so lists from other systems can't be brought over. Your list grows as clients tick the marketing email box when they book or check out online, turn it on from their client profile, or tell you in person and you switch it on from their profile.

**Do newsletters count against my booking or appointment emails?**
No. Every plan includes 500 marketing emails a month for newsletters and marketing automations. Booking and appointment emails are always free and never count. If you need more, add Unlimited Email Marketing, which removes the monthly count subject to fair use.

**Can I change a newsletter after I schedule it?**
Yes. Open it and click Unschedule to edit. It goes back to a draft you can change, and then you schedule it again. Once a newsletter has started sending, it can't be edited, but you can click Send again as a copy on its results page.

**Does Sophie's note use up anything?**
No. Sophie writes it from the results already on the page. It doesn't count toward your marketing emails or anything else.

**Why don't my open numbers match my clicks?**
Opens are an estimate. Some mail apps load images automatically, which can look like an open, and others block them, so a real open can go uncounted. A click always counts as an open. Clicks, bookings and revenue are the numbers to trust.

**What happens when a client unsubscribes?**
They stop getting newsletters right away, and only they can opt back in. Anyone who unsubscribes before a scheduled newsletter sends is skipped automatically. Clients whose email bounces or who mark a newsletter as spam also stop getting newsletters. Appointment emails are not affected.


# How Client Segments Work in SpaSphere Pro

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/segments
Section: marketing
Updated: 2026-10-28

See the client groups SpaSphere Pro builds for you automatically, like lapsed clients, VIPs, and upcoming birthdays, and use them to target your newsletters.

Segments are groups of clients who have something in common: they haven't visited in two months, they have a birthday coming up, they spend the most with you, or they've had a facial. SpaSphere Pro builds these groups for you and keeps them up to date as clients book, visit, and buy. There's nothing to set up, though you can add your own too. Open **Marketing > Segments** to see every group, how many clients are in it, and who they are.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

The same message doesn't fit every client. A "we miss you" offer means something to a client who hasn't been in for two months and nothing to a regular who was in last week. Segments let you send the right message to the right people: a win-back email to lapsed clients, a thank-you to your VIPs, a birthday treat to clients celebrating this month. Because SpaSphere Pro keeps the groups current, the list is always right on the day you send.

## Key Capabilities

- Ready-made segments created automatically for your spa, no setup needed
- One segment per service category you offer (for example, everyone who has booked a Facial)
- Membership updates as soon as a client books, cancels, visits, buys a package, or changes their email preferences
- A full refresh of every segment once a day, so date-based groups like birthdays and lapsed clients stay current
- Member counts at a glance, plus a list of who's in each segment
- Your own segments too: clients with a tag, or clients you pick yourself
- Download any segment's clients as a CSV file
- Turn a segment off if you don't want it updated or offered in newsletters
- Pick segments as your newsletter audience, or combine several and leave some out

## The Segments SpaSphere Pro Builds for You

Your segments are created the first time you open the page, and new ones appear when you add a new service category. Each segment lists its own description on the page. Here's what they mean:

**Getting started**
- **New Client** -- every client in your system. Clients join this one and never leave it.
- **Recently Joined** -- clients added in the last 30 days.
- **Has Booked** -- clients with at least one booking.
- **Booked Not Visited** -- clients who have booked but haven't had a visit yet. Great for nudging first-timers.
- **Completed First Appointment** -- clients who have visited at least once.
- **Online Booker** -- clients who have booked at least once through your website.

**Bringing clients back**
- **Nothing Booked Ahead** -- clients who have visited before and have no upcoming appointment.
- **Inactive 30 Days** -- no visit in the last 30 days.
- **Inactive 60 Days** -- no visit in the last 60 days.
- **Low Frequency** -- only one visit in the last 12 months.

**Client value**
- **VIP Client** -- spent more than $800 with you in the last 12 months.
- **High Frequency** -- five or more visits in the last 6 months.

**Memberships and packages**
- **Active Member** -- has a membership right now (active, paused, past-due, suspended, or pending).
- **Package Client** -- has at least one active package.
- **Package Expiring Soon** -- has an active package expiring within 14 days.

**Special dates and preferences**
- **Birthday Month** -- birthday falls within the next 30 days.
- **Eligible for Promotions** -- clients who can currently receive promotional automation emails. Newsletters don't use this segment: they check each client's marketing email consent directly.

**Treatments they've had**
- **Service: [category name]** -- one for each of your service categories, for example **Service: Facials**. A client joins when they book a service in that category.

**A client who has never visited is not inactive**
**Inactive 30 Days** and **Inactive 60 Days** only include clients who have visited before and then stopped. Someone who booked but never came in shows up in **Booked Not Visited** instead.

## Viewing and Exporting a Segment

**Step 1: Open Segments**
Go to **Marketing > Segments** in the sidebar, or click the **Segments** card on the Marketing page. The line under the title sums it up, for example "29 segments, 29 on, 1404 members in all."

**Step 2: Read a segment's card**
Each card shows an **Active** or **Inactive** badge, how the segment updates (**Event-driven**, **Time-based**, or **Hybrid**; segments you made say **By tag** or **Hand-picked**), its name and description, and how many members it has. The buttons along the bottom of the card are always there: the eye, the download, and the **On** / **Off** switch, plus edit and delete on segments you made.

**Step 3: See who's in it**
Click the eye icon on a segment's card. A window opens listing the segment's clients with their email and the date they joined it (on a hand-picked segment, a remove button takes the date's place). It shows 50 at a time; click **Show more** at the bottom to see the next 50, or download the list.

**Step 4: Download the list**
Click the download icon on the card to save the segment's clients as a CSV file with first name, last name, email, phone, and the date they joined. The button is greyed out when a segment has no members.

## How Segments Stay Up to Date

You never have to refresh a segment yourself. SpaSphere Pro updates them two ways:

- **Right away** when something happens: a client is added, books, cancels, has an appointment completed, buys a package, starts or ends a membership, or changes their email preferences.
- **Once a day**, early in the morning, SpaSphere Pro re-checks every client against every active segment. This is what moves clients in and out of date-based groups like **Birthday Month** and **Inactive 60 Days**, which change just because time passes.

**Mark appointments complete**
Visit-based segments like **Inactive 60 Days**, **High Frequency**, and **Completed First Appointment** read from your appointment history. Marking appointments as Completed keeps them accurate.

## Turning a Segment Off

Use the switch on a segment's card to turn it off or back on. A segment that's off shows **Inactive** and:

- Stops updating. Its member count stays where it was when you turned it off.
- Disappears from the segment list in the newsletter editor.
- Reaches nobody in a newsletter, even if a draft or one of the newsletter's ready-made audiences uses it.

Turn it back on and SpaSphere Pro re-checks it right away.

**Keep segments on if your newsletters use them**
The newsletter audiences **Haven't visited in 60+ days**, **Nothing booked ahead**, **Birthdays coming up**, **Members**, **Regulars**, **VIP clients**, and **Recently joined** each run on a segment. If you turn that segment off, the audience finds no one to send to.

## Using Segments in Newsletters

Segments are how you choose who gets a newsletter. On the newsletter's **Audience** step, under **Who should get this?**:

**Step 1: Pick a ready-made audience**
Cards like **Haven't visited in 60+ days** or **VIP clients** each use one segment and show how many clients it holds.

**Step 2: Or pick one of your segments**
Under **Your segments**, segments are grouped into **Client behavior**, **Memberships & packages**, **Client value**, and **Treatments they've had**. Click one to send to just that group.

**Step 3: Or combine segments**
Click **Custom audience**. Under **Clients must match all of these**, click **Add a segment** to require more than one segment. Under **Exclude clients matching any of these**, click **Exclude a segment** to leave a group out, for example lapsed facial clients who aren't members. You can use up to eight segments on each side.

**Step 4: Save the combination for next time**
Click **Save this audience**, give it a name, and click **Save audience**. It appears under **Saved audiences** on future newsletters and updates as clients move between segments.

**New Client** and **Eligible for Promotions** aren't offered as newsletter audiences. **New Client** includes everyone, and marketing consent is always checked at send time, whatever audience you pick: only clients who agreed to marketing email receive a newsletter.

The side panel also shows when segments were last updated. If your segments are brand new, it tells you the counts will fill in within the hour.

## Syncing Segments to Flodesk

If you connect Flodesk under **Settings > Integrations**, SpaSphere Pro creates a matching segment in your Flodesk account for each segment that's active when you connect (and for each segment you make later), named with a **SpaSphere_** prefix (for example **SpaSphere_VIP_Client**). As clients join a segment in SpaSphere Pro, they're added to the matching Flodesk segment. When a client leaves a segment, SpaSphere Pro takes them out of the matching Flodesk segment too. They stay on your Flodesk list. Clients without a working email address aren't sent to Flodesk.

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I create my own segment with my own rules?**
Yes. On the Segments page, click New segment. Choose Clients with a tag to group everyone who has any (or all) of the tags you pick; it updates on its own as you tag clients. Or choose Clients I pick and tick the clients yourself, then add or remove them later from the segment's member list. Both kinds show up as newsletter audiences.

**Why is the members count higher than my number of clients?**
The members count at the top adds up every segment's count, and most clients belong to several segments. A client who is in New Client, Has Booked, and VIP Client counts three times.

**I just added a new service category. Where is its segment?**
Service segments are added when you open the Segments page or a newsletter's Audience step. Open either one and the new Service segment appears. Clients fill in as they book and at the next daily refresh.

**Does someone in Active Member get member perks?**
Not necessarily. Active Member includes paused, past-due, suspended, and pending memberships so you can leave members out of membership offers. Member perks at booking and checkout follow the membership's own status, not this segment.

**Do automations use segments?**
No. Automations run on their own triggers, like a birthday or a client going inactive. Segments are used for newsletter audiences and Flodesk sync.


# Social Posts: Ready-Made Posts, Reels and Bios for Your Spa

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/social-posts
Section: marketing
Updated: 2026-10-28

Make a post for Instagram, Facebook or anywhere in two clicks. SpaSphere Pro makes the image and the caption from your own services, products and reviews.

Posting on social media takes time you would rather spend with clients. **Social Posts** does the hard part for you. Pick what you want to share, pick what the post is about, and SpaSphere Pro makes the picture and writes the caption, in your own logo and colors. Anyone who taps your link lands on the right page of your website, ready to book or buy.

You'll find it under **Marketing > Social Posts**. The page asks **What do you want to share?** and shows one tile for each kind of post. Each tile tells you how many are **ready to share**, or **Nothing to share yet** if there is nothing that can be shared.

Nothing is ever posted for you. SpaSphere Pro doesn't connect to your social accounts. Each button hands the picture, the caption or the link to your phone, your computer or the app you post with, and you post it yourself.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Clients book with people they see often. A steady stream of posts keeps you in their feed, but a good post takes a photo, a design, a caption and a link, and that adds up to an hour you don't have between appointments. Here, a post takes two clicks and always matches your brand, so you can share an opening that just came up while you still have time to fill it.

## Key Capabilities

- Posts for your website, a service, a package, a membership, a product, your gift cards, or a client's review
- Ready-made post ideas for each one, like **I have an opening**, **Special offer** or **Member perks**
- Pictures in your website's colors and logo, in **Post** or **Story** size
- A caption written for you, in your voice (**I** or **We**), that you can edit
- Short videos of your own photos for Reels, TikTok and Stories
- Profile bios for Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Google, ready to paste
- A report of the visits, bookings and sales your posts brought in

## Before You Start

Social Posts only offers things a client can actually open on your website, so a link never leads to a missing page. If a tile says **Nothing to share yet**, or **Publish your website first**, here is what each kind of post needs:

| To share | It needs |
|----------|----------|
| Your website | A website address |
| A service | **Show on your website** turned on. Add-ons set to **Only as an extra** can't be shared on their own. |
| A package | Active, with a price, and **Show on your website** turned on |
| A membership | Active, with **Visibility** set to **Public site** |
| A product | The **Shop** page turned on in your website's **Features & Navigation**, and the product active, with **Shop Visibility** on. Backbar items can't be shared. |
| Your gift cards | The **Gift Cards** page turned on in your website's **Features & Navigation** |
| A review | Published, 4 or 5 stars, and at least four words |

**Clients-only products**
A product marked **Portal Sale Only** can be shared only if you have the **Private Shop** add-on. The post shows **Clients only** instead of a price, just like your website does. See [Private Shop](https://spasphere.ai/docs/inventory/private-shop).

## How the Share Window Works

Every post, wherever you start it, opens the same **Share** window. It works the same way for every kind of post, so once you've made one, you know them all.

**Step 1: Pick what the post is about**
Under **What's this post about?**, pick one of the post ideas. The picture and the caption change to match.

**Step 2: Fill in any details**
Some ideas ask for one more thing, such as an open time, the offer, an end date or how many spots you have. Until it's filled in, the window shows **Fill in the details above to finish your post.**

**Step 3: Check the caption**
The **Caption** is written for you. Switch between **I** and **We** to match how you talk about your business; SpaSphere Pro remembers your choice. You can type over anything. Your link is added for you when you post.

**Step 4: Pick a size**
Choose **Post** (1080 x 1350, the size for a feed) or **Story** (1080 x 1920, for Stories). The preview shows exactly the picture you'll get.

**Step 5: Save, copy or post it**
- **Save image** downloads the picture.
- **Copy image** puts the picture on your clipboard to paste. It shows only in browsers that can do it.
- **Copy link** copies the link to the page you're sharing.
- **Share image and caption** opens your device's share menu, so you can send both to Instagram, Messages and other apps. It shows on phones and in browsers that support it.
- Under **Post to**, pick **Instagram**, **Facebook**, **X**, **LinkedIn**, **WhatsApp**, **Threads**, **Pinterest** or **Email**.

**Posting to Instagram from a computer**
Instagram needs the picture itself, so on a computer the **Instagram** button saves the image and copies the caption. Post it from Instagram on your phone. Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram don't accept text from other apps, so SpaSphere Pro copies the caption for you to paste.

**Your colors, your logo.** The picture uses the colors clients already know from your website: the colors of the first section of your home page when it has its own, otherwise your website's main color, otherwise the brand colors in your business settings. Your logo comes from your website, or from your business settings if your website has none. Each picture has a small "Powered by SpaSphere Pro" line at the bottom.

## Your Website

Click **Your website** and the **Share your website** window opens right away. The picture uses the photo and headline from the top of your home page, with a link to your site. Pick one of three ideas:

- **Book online**: your site, open around the clock
- **New website**: celebrate your new site
- **Now booking**: fill the month ahead, with the current month on the picture

## A Service

Click **A service**, then pick one under **Which service?** (when you have more than six, a search box helps you find it). The post uses the service's photo, price and length, and links to its page on your website. Pick one of these ideas:

- **I have an opening**: fill a spot that just opened up. Under **Which opening?**, pick one of your open times.
- **Upcoming openings**: show up to three open times. Under **Pick up to 3 times**, choose the ones you want.
- **Treatment spotlight**: what it is, how long, how much.
- **Now offering**: announce a new treatment.
- **Special offer**: a discount, with an end date. Type **The offer** (for example "20% off"), and if you like a **Code (optional)** and an **Ends on** date.

The two opening ideas show only for services with a team member assigned. You pick from your next open times over the coming two weeks, the same ones a client sees on your booking site. If there are none, the window says **No open times in the next two weeks. Try another post idea.**

**Use one of your coupons**
On **Special offer**, your coupons that a client could use on this service today show under **Use one of your coupons**. Click one and SpaSphere Pro fills in the offer, the code and the end date for you. See [Coupons](https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/coupons).

## A Package

Click **A package** and pick one under **Which package?** The picture shows the price, the sessions and, when the package costs less than its sessions on their own, how much clients save. The photo comes from the first service in the package that has one. Pick one of these ideas:

- **Save with a package**: lead with the savings. It shows only when the package saves the client money.
- **Start your series**: results come from consistency.
- **Give it as a gift**: for birthdays and holidays.
- **Price ends soon**: a deadline to book by. Pick the **Ends on** date.

## A Membership

Click **A membership** and pick a plan under **Which membership?** The picture shows the price per month, quarter or year and how many benefits the plan has. Pick one of these ideas:

- **Join the club**: the price and what members get.
- **Member perks**: list the benefits you pick. Under **Pick up to 3 perks to show**, choose the ones you want. It shows only for plans with benefits.
- **Limited spots**: only a few openings this month. Type **How many spots?** SpaSphere Pro never makes up a number for you.

## A Product

Click **A product** and pick one under **Which product?** The post links to the product's page in your online shop. Pick one of these ideas:

- **A product I love**: what it is and why it works.
- **Just arrived**: something new on the shelf.
- **For my clients only**: for products sold only to signed-in clients.
- **Special price**: a discount, with an end date. Type **The offer**, and if you like a code and an **Ends on** date.
- **Gift idea**: for birthdays and holidays.

When your website sells gift cards, **Gift cards** is the first choice in the list. It opens **Share your gift cards**, with two ideas of its own: **Give a gift card** and **Holiday gifting**.

## A Review

Click **A review** and pick one under **Which review?** The picture shows the stars, the client's words, and their first name and last initial when the review has them. Pick one of these ideas:

- **Their words**: the review, front and center.
- **A thank-you**: thank the client for their words.
- **Book what they loved**: invite others to try it. It shows when the review names a service.

The post links to your website. Reviews with 4 or 5 stars are published for you as they come in, so they show up here on their own. See [Reviews](https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/reviews).

## Make a Reel

**Make a reel** turns your own photos into a short vertical video (1080 x 1920) for Reels, TikTok and Stories.

**Step 1: Pick what goes in it**
Choose **Services**, **Packages**, **Memberships** or **Products** (only the ones you have show). Under **What's in it**, tick up to 10. SpaSphere Pro starts you with six, photos first.

**Step 2: Pick a style**
Under **Style**, choose **Full photo**, **Slow zoom**, **Brand panel**, **Framed** or **Quick cuts**. The preview plays as you change things, and shows how many seconds the video runs.

**Step 3: Check the caption**
The caption names your website in words, since Reels and TikTok don't make links tappable. Switch between **I** and **We**, or type your own.

**Step 4: Make and post it**
Click **Make video**. When it's done, click **Save video**, or **Share video and caption** if your phone or browser can share videos. **Copy caption** and **Copy link** are there too.

**Add your music in the app**
Reels have no music, so add a sound in Instagram or TikTok when you post. The video is made on your own computer or phone, and some browsers can't make videos. If you see **This browser can't make videos**, open SpaSphere Pro in Chrome, Edge or Safari.

A product reel sends people to your shop. Gift cards are left out, since they have no photo.

## Your Bios

Your profile bio is often the first thing a new client reads, and the link in it is how most people reach you from a profile. **Your bios** writes one for each network.

**Step 1: Check the details**
**Business name**, **What you do**, **Where you are** and **What makes you special** are filled in from your menu, your address and your website. Change anything; the bios update as you type.

**Step 2: Pick a network and a style**
Choose **Instagram**, **TikTok**, **Facebook** or **Google**, then **Calm**, **Playful** or **Short**. Each bio fits that network's length limit, which shows next to it.

**Step 3: Copy and paste**
Click **Copy** next to each part: the **Name** (Instagram only, which its search reads), the **Bio** (called **Description** for Google) and the **Link**. The window tells you where to paste each one in that network.

Google doesn't allow links in a Business Profile description, so that one describes your spa in full sentences, and the link goes in the **Website** field.

## Invite a Fellow Esthetician

Know another esthetician who would love SpaSphere Pro? **Invite a fellow esthetician** takes you to **Settings > Refer & Earn**, where you'll find your referral link. When the spa you refer pays its first full month, you both get a free month. See [Refer a Friend](https://spasphere.ai/docs/referral-program/refer-a-friend) for how it works.

## What Your Posts Brought In

Below the tiles, **What your posts brought in** shows the visits to your site from the links in your posts, and what those visitors booked and bought. Pick **30 days**, **90 days** or **Year**.

- **Visits**: people who came to your site through a post. A visitor counts once per post on the same device.
- **Bookings** and **Booked**: online bookings made by those visitors, and what the booked services are worth. Canceled, declined and expired bookings, and bookings still waiting on payment, don't count. Tips aren't included.
- **Sales**: shop orders, gift cards, packages and memberships those visitors bought online and paid in full.

The list below shows your top posts, each with what it was about (for example **Service: I have an opening**) and where it was shared (for example **Instagram**, **Copied link** or **Your bio**), with its **Visits**, **Bookings** and what it **Brought in**.

Your website remembers the last post a visitor came from for 30 days, so a client who taps your post today and books next week still counts. Until someone comes through a post, the section says **Share a post and this fills in**.

## Share From the Page You're On

You don't have to go to Social Posts to share. The same Share window opens from:

- **Services**: the share button at the end of a service's row.
- **Packages**: the share button at the end of a package's row.
- **Memberships**: **Share** in a plan's menu.
- **Retail**: the share button at the end of a product's row.
- **The website builder**: the share button in the toolbar (**Share your website**).

The button shows only for things a client can open on your website (see [Before You Start](#before-you-start)).

**SpaSphere Pro tells you when a post would help**
You may get a notification when a post could make a difference: an appointment in the next two weeks is canceled and the time opens up, a client leaves you 5 stars with a few kind words, you add a new service to your website, or, on a Monday, next week has noticeably fewer bookings than usual. Open the notification and Social Posts opens with the post ready to share.

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**Does SpaSphere Pro post to my social accounts for me?**
No. SpaSphere Pro never connects to your social accounts and never posts for you. Each button hands the picture, caption or link to your device or the app you post with, and you post it yourself.

**Why can't I find a service, package or product in the list?**
Only things a client can open on your website show up. Check that the service or package has Show on your website turned on, the membership is set to Public site, or the product has Shop Visibility on and your Shop page is turned on. The Before You Start table has the full list.

**Why are the I have an opening ideas missing for a service?**
They show only for services with at least one team member assigned, since open times come from that team member's schedule. Assign someone to the service and the ideas appear.

**Can I change the caption?**
Yes. Type anything in the Caption box. Picking a different post idea, or switching between I and We, writes a fresh caption, so make your edits last.

**Why are my post colors different from SpaSphere Pro purple?**
Your posts are yours, so they use your website's colors and logo. If you haven't set any colors yet, posts use a plain charcoal.

**Why doesn't a visit or booking show in my results?**
Results count only people who came through the link in a post. Someone who sees your post and types your address in by hand isn't counted. Bookings count only when they are made online on your website.


# How to Use the SpaSphere Mobile App

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/mobile-app/using-the-mobile-app
Section: mobile-app
Updated: 2026-11-05

Install the SpaSphere staff app on iPhone or Android, sign in, and run your day from your phone: calendar, client history, SOAP notes, checkout, and more.

The SpaSphere mobile app puts your day in your pocket. Check who's coming in, read their history before they sit down, write SOAP notes, and take payment in the treatment room, without walking back to a computer. The app works with the same account and data as the web dashboard, so anything you change on one shows up on the other.

The app is on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, and on Google Play for Android.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Most of your day happens away from a desk. Reading a client's last SOAP note while she's in the chair, moving tomorrow's appointment while you're between clients, or taking payment the moment a facial ends saves you a trip to the front desk and keeps the visit feeling personal.

## Key Capabilities

- **Calendar** -- see your day, create and edit appointments, reschedule, and block time
- **Daily Brief** -- who's coming in and what each client needs, before they arrive
- **Client profiles** -- notes, SOAP notes, history, orders, cards on file, treatment plans, packages, gift cards, forms, and files
- **SOAP notes and skin assessments** -- write notes and run a skin assessment from your phone
- **Checkout** -- take payment by card, card on file, card reader, gift card, package or treatment plan, cash and other methods, or a payment link
- **Business tools** -- services, packages, treatment plans, protocols, intake forms, retail, team, marketing, and reports
- **Stock counts** -- adjust a product's quantity from your phone, with a reason
- **Stripe deposits** -- see today's deposit, what's on the way to your bank, and recent deposits on the dashboard
- **Push notifications** for your bookings

## Installing the App

Go to [spasphere.ai/mobile](https://spasphere.ai/mobile) on your phone for the install links and step-by-step instructions.

**Step 1: iPhone or iPad (App Store)**
The iOS app needs iOS 15 or later (iPadOS 15 or later on iPad). Open [SpaSphere on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/spasphere/id6760605495) on your iPhone or iPad and tap **Get**. The app is new on the App Store, so if searching for SpaSphere doesn't find it yet, use the link.

**Step 2: Android (Google Play)**
The Android app needs Android 13 or later. Open [SpaSphere on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ai.spasphere.mobile) on your phone or tablet, or search Google Play for SpaSphere, and tap **Install**.

**Step 3: Sign in**
Open the app and tap **Sign in with Google**, **Sign in with Facebook**, or **Sign in with email**. Use the same sign-in you use for SpaSphere on the web.

**Updates**
Updates arrive automatically through the App Store on iPhone and through Google Play on Android, like any other app.

## Finding Your Way Around

The app has four tabs at the bottom of the screen:

- **Calendar** -- your appointments by day. Tap an appointment to see its details, edit it, or reschedule it. Create a new appointment or block time from here.
- **Clients** -- search your clients and open a profile
- **Dashboard** -- today at a glance, with a link to the **Daily Brief** for today's clients
- **More** -- everything else, grouped into sections

The **More** tab is grouped like the web dashboard's menu:

- **Daily work** -- **Messages** (with Business Texting), **Notifications**, **Pending Approval**, **Quick Checkout**, **Invoices**, and **Ask Sophie**
- **Clients** -- **Intake Forms**, **Saved Sections**, and **Files**
- **Offerings** -- **Services**, **Add-ons**, **Packages**, **Treatment Plans**, **Memberships**, **Protocols**, **Categories**, and **Gift Cards**
- **Retail** -- your products and stock
- **Marketing** -- **Newsletters**, **Marketing Kit**, **Social Posts**, **Reviews**, **Coupons**, **Automations**, **Segments**, **Churn Prevention**, **Referral & Loyalty**, and more
- **Reports** -- **Analytics**, **Add-on results**, **Market Pricing**, **Sophie's Insights**, **Financial reports**, **Memberships**, and **Members**
- **Share your website** -- send your website link from your phone
- **Settings** -- **Refer & Earn**, **Business**, **Team**, **POS**, **Billing**, **Add-on Store**, **Perks**, **Integrations**, **Import & Export**, **SMS & Email Settings**, **Writing Voice**, and **Account security**

Some items, such as **Ask Sophie**, **Files**, **Marketing Kit**, and the **Add-on Store**, open that page of the web dashboard. **Newsletters** shows your results in the app, and writing or sending one opens the web dashboard. Many items are hidden when your role can't use them.

## Working With Clients

Open a client from the **Clients** tab to see their full profile. The profile uses the same tabs as the web dashboard: **Overview**, **History**, **Notes**, **SOAP Notes**, **Intake Forms**, **Orders**, and **Files**, and under **More**: **Packages**, **Gift Cards**, **Treatment Plans**, **Membership**, **Skin Assessments**, **Cards on File**, and, when your business has them, **Treatment Charts**, **Messages**, **Store Credit**, and **Referral Link**.

From a profile you can:

- Write a new SOAP note or read past ones
- Run a skin assessment and generate the client's report. See [Skin Assessments and Reports](https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/skin-assessments-and-reports).
- Add or use a saved card. See [Cards on File](https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/cards-on-file).
- Merge a duplicate profile into this one. See [Merging Duplicate Clients](https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/merging-duplicate-clients).

## Taking Payment

Open **Quick Checkout** (from **More**), or check out from an appointment, to take payment. Payment options include:

- **Credit or Debit Card**, entered on your phone
- **Card on File**, if the client has a saved card
- **In-Person Terminal**, using a Stripe card reader. Set up readers under **More > POS**.
- **Gift Card**
- **Membership**, **Treatment Plan Credit**, **Package Credit**, or **Store Credit**
- **External Payment** -- cash, check, Venmo, Zelle, or bank transfer
- **Send Payment Link** or **Email Invoice**, so the client pays on their own phone
- **Split Payment**, to divide the bill across more than one method

You need a connected Stripe account to take card payments. Connect it on the web dashboard under **Settings > Payments**, or from **More > Integrations** in the app. See [Setting Up Stripe](https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/setting-up-stripe).

## Adjusting Product Stock

Count a delivery or a broken bottle the moment it happens, from the stockroom.

**Step 1: Open the product**
Tap **More**, then **Retail**, and tap the product. The **Inventory** section shows its **Quantity**.

**Step 2: Change the quantity**
Tap **Edit** next to the quantity. The **Adjust Quantity** window shows the **Current stock**. Use the minus and plus buttons or type the new count, and the change shows underneath, for example **+12 units**.

**Step 3: Add a reason and save**
Type a **Reason for Adjustment (Optional)**, such as "New shipment received". Left blank, it's saved as "Manual adjustment". Tap **Save Quantity**. The window confirms the reason and the **Confirmed stock**. Tap **Done**.

Changing the quantity while editing a product opens the same window, so every stock change has a reason. If you don't have permission to change stock, the window says "Not authorized to adjust stock". The change shows on the web dashboard too, under **Retail**. See [Managing Stock Levels](https://spasphere.ai/docs/inventory/managing-stock-levels).

## Seeing Your Bank Deposits

Owners and managers see a **Stripe deposits** card on the **Dashboard** tab once Stripe is connected. Tap it to open it:

- **Today's Stripe deposit**, or **No deposit today**
- **Next**: the next deposit and the day it should arrive
- **Ready in Stripe balance** and **Pending in Stripe**: money Stripe holds that hasn't been sent yet
- **On the way to your bank**, **Coming up**, and **Recent deposits**

Tap a deposit to see what's in it: what was charged, the Stripe fee, and what was deposited, with the sales listed day by day. That makes it easy to match a deposit to your bank statement. If a deposit didn't reach your bank, the card says so at the top and tells you to fix your bank details in Stripe. See [Your Dashboard](https://spasphere.ai/docs/getting-started/navigating-the-dashboard) for the same view on the web.

## Importing and Exporting Data

You can export your data or import a CSV file from the app under **More > Import & Export**. Importing an Open Spa Data bundle from Vagaro, GlossGenius, or Square is done on the web dashboard. See [Importing Your Data](https://spasphere.ai/docs/getting-started/importing-your-data).

## What's Web-Only

Some tasks still need the web dashboard at your computer:

- Building and editing your website pages
- Adding or editing locations
- The **Ask Sophie** chat (the **Ask Sophie** item in **More** opens it on the web)
- Importing an Open Spa Data bundle from another platform
- Managing add-ons. See [Add-ons, Perks, and Billing](https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/add-ons-and-billing).

## Frequently asked questions

**Is the SpaSphere app free?**
Yes. The app is included with your SpaSphere subscription. There's nothing extra to buy.

**Can I sign in with my email and password?**
Yes. Tap Sign in with email. You can also sign in with Google or Facebook. Use the same sign-in you use for SpaSphere on the web.

**Why can't I find SpaSphere when I search the App Store?**
The iPhone and iPad app just arrived on the App Store, and new apps can take a few days to show up in search. Open the App Store link on spasphere.ai/mobile in the meantime.

**Do changes in the app show up on the web dashboard?**
Yes. The app and the web dashboard use the same account and data, so an appointment booked or a note written in the app is there when you open the dashboard.

**Can my team use the app?**
Yes. Each team member signs in with the email address they were invited with, using Google, Facebook, or their email and a password.

**Why don't I see Stripe deposits on my dashboard?**
The Stripe deposits card shows only to owners and managers, and only after Stripe is connected. Connect it on the web dashboard under Settings > Payments, or from More > Integrations in the app.

**Does the app send notifications?**
Yes. The app can send push notifications about your bookings. Allow notifications when your phone asks, and manage them under More > Notifications.


# How to Set Up Appointment Email Reminders in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/notifications/email-reminders
Section: notifications
Updated: 2026-10-21

Schedule up to three automated appointment reminders that reduce no-shows and keep your spa calendar full.

SpaSphere automatically reminds your clients before their upcoming appointments, so they arrive on time and your calendar stays full. You choose up to three reminder times, toggle reminders on or off, and control exactly which appointment events send an email -- all from the [admin dashboard](https://spasphere.ai/).

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

No-shows are the silent revenue killer for every spa and salon. Automated reminders are the most cost-effective way to fight back. SpaSphere's reminder system runs in the background with zero effort from your front desk, sending personalized emails that include the service, provider, date, time, and a link to cancel -- giving clients every reason to show up or free the slot for someone else.

## Key Capabilities

- Up to three automated reminders before every upcoming appointment
- Each reminder set in minutes, hours, or days, up to 30 days ahead
- One reminder schedule shared by every channel you turn on
- Reminders re-sent for the new time when an appointment is rescheduled
- Includes service, add-ons, provider, date and time, and a map link to your location
- Google Calendar link so clients can add the appointment to their own calendar
- **Cancel Appointment** link that asks the client to confirm, and respects your cancellation window
- Intake form links and service instructions included automatically when the service has them
- Privacy-safe mode strips service and provider names from reminders for sensitive practices
- Skips clients who have opted out of email notifications or whose email has bounced
- Reminder texts never count toward your monthly marketing text allowance

## Setting Your Reminder Schedule

**Step 1: Open notification settings**
Click the bell in the top bar, then **View all notifications** to open the **Notifications** page. Click the **Settings** tab at the top of the page. Settings has three sub-tabs: **General**, **Email**, and **SMS**. Reminder timing lives under **General**.

**Step 2: Turn on Send appointment reminders**
Under **Appointment Reminders**, switch on **Send appointment reminders**. This is the master switch for all reminders. When it's on, the **Reminder Schedule** appears below it.

**Step 3: Set up to three reminder times**
The **Reminder Schedule** lets you send up to 3 reminders before each appointment. For each reminder, enter an amount and choose **minutes**, **hours**, or **days** before the appointment. To add another, click **Add reminder** or one of the shortcuts: **1 hour**, **2 hours**, **1 day**, **2 days**, **3 days**, or **1 week**. Remove a reminder with the **X** next to it (one reminder always stays).

A few rules apply:

- Each reminder can be at most 30 days before the appointment
- No two reminders can be the same amount of time
- Each amount must be a positive whole number

**Step 4: Check that it saved**
Your schedule saves automatically a moment after you change it. A **Reminder schedule updated** message confirms how many reminders each appointment will get.

**A simple schedule that works**
Many spas use two reminders: one **2 days** before, so clients have time to reschedule or finish intake forms, and one **2 hours** before as a same-day nudge. Experiment with what works for your clientele -- you can change the schedule at any time.

## Choosing Which Emails to Send

The reminder schedule applies to every channel you turn on. Each channel has its own tab under **Notifications > Settings** where you choose which appointment events send a message.

**Step 1: Open the Email sub-tab**
Go to **Notifications > Settings > Email**. The panel reads *Choose which appointment events send an email to clients.*

**Step 2: Toggle each email type**
You will find four switches:

- **Appointment Confirmation** -- sends an email when an appointment is booked
- **Appointment Cancellation** -- sends an email when an appointment is cancelled
- **Appointment Reschedule** -- sends an email when an appointment is rescheduled to a new time
- **Appointment Reminder** -- sends email reminders on the schedule set under **General**

Turn each toggle on or off depending on your spa's communication preferences. Each toggle saves automatically.

The **SMS** sub-tab has matching switches for text messages, including **Reminder**. Clients receive one reminder on each channel you've turned on at each scheduled time.

**Reminder texts don't use up your texts**
Appointment reminder texts never count toward your monthly allowance of marketing texts, so using up your marketing texts doesn't stop your reminders. Only marketing texts, like those from marketing automations, count. To see this month's usage, open **Notifications**, click the **SMS** tab, and look at **Marketing Texts** on the **Overview**.

**Confirmation emails are always on by default**
Appointment confirmation emails are transactional messages your clients expect the moment they book. SpaSphere enables them by default. You can disable them if your workflow sends confirmations through a different channel, but most spas leave all four toggles enabled.

## What Your Clients See

Every reminder email SpaSphere sends is branded with your business logo and name. The email includes:

- A personalized greeting using the client's first name
- The service, any add-ons with the total appointment time, the provider, and the date and time (in your location's timezone)
- Your location's address with an **Open in Maps** link, unless you've turned off **Show address in customer emails** in [Business settings](https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/business-profile)
- An **Add to Google Calendar** button
- A **Cancel Appointment** button
- The service's client instructions, if you've written them for that service
- Any intake forms linked to the booked service, with a secure link
- A quick reminder of your policies, and your custom message if you've set one

If your spa has **privacy-safe notifications** enabled, SpaSphere strips service names and provider names from the email, replacing them with generic labels like "your appointment." This is ideal for practices where email subject lines could reveal sensitive health information.

### How the Cancel Link Works

The **Cancel Appointment** button doesn't cancel on its own. It opens a page with the appointment details, where the client confirms with **Yes, cancel appointment** or backs out with **Keep my appointment**. This two-step flow means an email security scanner that follows links can't cancel an appointment by accident.

If the appointment is already inside your cancellation window and **Enforce cancellation policy** is on (the default), the client can't cancel online at all. They see a message that the appointment is within your cancellation policy and are asked to contact you to cancel or reschedule. You set both in [Settings > Appointments](https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/booking-preferences).

## When Reminders Are Sent

SpaSphere checks for due reminders every 15 minutes. An appointment gets a reminder when it is:

- In **Booked** or **Pending Approval** status
- Reaching one of your scheduled reminder times
- Not already reminded for that time

Each scheduled reminder is sent once per channel. If an appointment is moved to a new start time, SpaSphere resets its reminders and sends them again on your schedule for the new time. Changing only the provider, location, or notes does not re-send reminders.

**Reminders require an email address**
If a client doesn't have an email address on file, the email reminder is skipped. Make sure your booking flow captures client email addresses to get the most value from automated reminders.

## "Your Booking Wasn't Completed" Emails

When a client starts booking online but never finishes the card step, their held time slot is released and the booking moves to **Expired**. SpaSphere then emails the client automatically: *Your booking wasn't completed*. The email explains that the time is no longer reserved and that they have not been charged, shows the service, provider, and requested date, and has a **Complete Your Booking** button to start again, plus your phone and email for help.

This recovery email goes out only for bookings started within the last 24 hours. The assigned provider gets an email about the incomplete booking too, so they can reach out to the client.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I customize the content of the reminder email?**
SpaSphere uses professionally designed email templates that include your business logo, name, and all appointment details. You can add your own text in two places: a message that appears at the bottom of every client email (Settings > Business > Email Customization) and per-service client instructions in each service's settings. Full template customization is not available.

**Where did the Reminder Lead Time setting go?**
The single Reminder Lead Time (hours) field and the Send Email Reminders toggle were replaced by the Reminder Schedule under Notifications > Settings > General. Instead of one lead time, you can now set up to three reminder times in minutes, hours, or days. If you had a lead time set before, it appears there as your first reminder.

**Does SpaSphere send reminders for appointments booked through the public booking site?**
Yes. The reminder system works for all appointments regardless of how they were created -- whether booked through your public booking site, added manually from the admin dashboard, or created via the mobile staff app. Every appointment that meets the criteria receives its reminders.

**What happens if a client has email notifications disabled?**
SpaSphere respects individual client notification preferences. If a client has opted out of email notifications, or if their email address has bounced previously, email reminders are skipped for that client.

**Do reminder texts count toward my monthly text allowance?**
No. Appointment reminder texts are free and never count toward your monthly allowance of marketing texts, so they keep going after your marketing texts are used up. The Marketing Texts card under Notifications > SMS > Overview shows what does count.

**Will a client get a reminder again if I reschedule?**
Yes. Moving an appointment to a new start time resets its reminders, so the client is reminded again on your schedule for the new time. If the Appointment Reschedule email is on, they also get a reschedule email right away.

**How does the reminder subject line work?**
SpaSphere checks whether the appointment is today, tomorrow, or further out and words the subject line to match, for example "Reminder: Facial tomorrow at Glow Aesthetics" or "Reminder: Facial on Friday at Glow Aesthetics." With privacy-safe notifications on, the service name is left out.


# How to Manage Notification Preferences in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/notifications/notification-preferences
Section: notifications
Updated: 2026-10-21

Control which in-app, email, and text notifications your spa sends and receives, and how your team stays informed.

SpaSphere keeps your team informed with in-app notifications for bookings, client activity, payments, stock, and system events. From the [admin dashboard](https://spasphere.ai/), you can view, filter, and manage all your notifications in one place, configure exactly which appointment emails and texts your spa sends to clients, and choose which team members get a text about their own bookings.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Missing a new booking notification can mean a lost client. Beyond bookings, payment notifications help you catch failed transactions before they become disputes, and system alerts keep you ahead of issues like subscription changes. SpaSphere's notification center ensures that the right team members see the right information at the right time, without cluttering inboxes with irrelevant alerts. For multi-staff spas, role-based visibility means your front desk sees booking notifications while owners see payment and system updates.

## Key Capabilities

- Notification bell in the dashboard header with unread count badge
- Notification center with filtering by type (Booking, Client, Payment, System, Online Order, New Member, Intake Form, Booking Request, Low Stock) and read status
- Role-based visibility so notifications only appear for relevant team roles
- Mark individual notifications or all notifications as read in a single click
- Clickable notifications that open the related order, reorder list, or record
- Your 20 most recent notifications, 10 to a page
- Auto-refresh every 60 seconds to catch new events without manual reloading
- One **Settings** tab for your reminder schedule and your client email and text toggles
- Optional text alerts for team members about their own appointments

## How the Notifications Page Is Organized

To open the **Notifications** page, click the bell in the top bar, then **View all notifications**. The page has four tabs:

- **Activity**: your in-app notification feed (covered below)
- **SMS**: text message usage, message history, opt-outs, and a test message tool
- **Email**: email delivery stats and message history (see [Email History and Delivery Tracking](https://spasphere.ai/docs/notifications/email-history-and-tracking))
- **Settings**: your reminder schedule and which appointment events send emails and texts to clients, split into **General**, **Email**, and **SMS** sub-tabs

## Viewing Your Notifications

**Step 1: Check the notification bell**
Look at the top-right corner of the dashboard. The **bell icon** shows a red badge with the count of unread notifications. Click the bell to see a quick preview of your two most recent unread notifications.

**Step 2: Open the full Notifications page**
Click **View all notifications** at the bottom of the bell dropdown. This takes you to the full notification center.

**Step 3: Filter by read status**
At the top of the Activity tab, use the **All / Unread / Read** tabs to narrow your view. The **Unread** tab shows only notifications you have not yet opened, with a badge showing the count.

**Step 4: Filter by notification type**
Use the dropdown on the right side of the filter bar to select a specific notification type:

- **All**: every notification
- **Booking**: new appointments, confirmations, and schedule changes
- **Client**: client profile updates and activity
- **Payment**: successful charges, refunds, and payment failures
- **System**: subscription changes, account alerts, and platform updates
- **Online Order**: product orders placed through your online store
- **New Member**: a client joined one of your membership plans
- **Intake Form**: a client submitted an intake form
- **Booking Request**: an online booking is waiting for you to approve or decline it
- **Low Stock**: products that have reached their reorder point

**Step 5: Mark notifications as read**
Click any unread notification to mark it as read. Unread notifications display a purple dot on the left side. To clear all unread notifications at once, click the **Mark all as read** button in the toolbar above the list.

**Many notifications are clickable**
When a notification has somewhere to take you, it shows a link. Online orders show **View Order** and open the order's invoice. Low-stock alerts show **View reorder list**. Other notifications show **View details** when they link to a record.

## Understanding Role-Based Visibility

Not every notification is relevant to every team member. SpaSphere uses role-based visibility to control who sees what:

Each notification is addressed to certain team roles when it's created. For example, a **New Member** alert goes to owners, admins, and managers, and an **Intake Form** alert goes to owners, admins, managers, and the provider of that appointment. Notifications with no role restriction appear for everyone on your team.

Role visibility is set automatically when the notification is created. You do not need to configure this. It works out of the box based on the team member roles you have assigned.

## Configuring Client Email and Text Settings

SpaSphere sends your clients emails (and texts, where turned on) for key appointment events. You control these from the **Settings** tab on the Notifications page.

**Step 1: Open the Settings tab**
On the Notifications page, click the **Settings** tab at the top. It has three sub-tabs: **General**, **Email**, and **SMS**.

**Step 2: Set your reminder schedule under General**
Switch **Send appointment reminders** on or off, and set up to three reminder times in the **Reminder Schedule**. These times apply to every channel you turn on. See [Appointment Reminders](https://spasphere.ai/docs/notifications/email-reminders) for details.

**Step 3: Choose which emails to send under Email**
On the **Email** sub-tab, you can independently enable or disable:

- **Appointment Confirmation**: sent when a new appointment is booked
- **Appointment Cancellation**: sent when an appointment is cancelled
- **Appointment Reschedule**: sent when an appointment is rescheduled
- **Appointment Reminder**: sent on the reminder schedule set under **General**

Each toggle saves automatically. A message confirms the change.

**Step 4: Choose which texts to send under SMS**
The **SMS** sub-tab has the same four events for text messages: **Appointment Confirmation**, **Cancellation**, **Reschedule**, and **Reminder**. If text messaging is switched off for your account, a banner at the top of this tab says so, and no texts are sent until it is enabled.

**Per-client email preferences are respected**
Even when email notifications are enabled at the spa level, SpaSphere checks each individual client's preferences before sending. Clients who have opted out of email notifications or whose email has previously bounced will not receive any emails. You can view and update a client's notification preference from their [client profile](https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/client-profiles).

## Alerts for You and Your Team

Most notifications about your business appear in the Activity feed and the bell. A few also reach your team outside the dashboard:

- **Provider emails**: The assigned provider gets an email when an appointment is booked with them, and when a client starts an online booking but doesn't finish paying.
- **Text alerts for team members**: Go to **Settings > Team**, open a team member, and turn on **Text notifications** under their personal information. That team member then gets a text when their appointments are booked, cancelled, or rescheduled, and when an online booking with them isn't completed. They need a phone number on their profile. Text alerts are off until you turn them on for each person.
- **Your own cell number**: Owners confirm their cell with a 6-digit code. It's the number SpaSphere uses to reach you about your own bookings. See [Confirm Your Own Cell Number](#confirm-your-own-cell-number) below.
- **Mobile app**: If your team uses the SpaSphere mobile app, staff can also get push notifications, for example about new bookings and requests waiting for approval.

### Confirm Your Own Cell Number

When you set up SpaSphere, one of the last steps asks you to confirm your cell number with a code. If you skipped it, or the code didn't arrive, you can do it any time from Notifications. Only owners and admins see this card.

**Step 1: Open the SMS settings**
Click the bell in the top bar, then **View all notifications**. Click the **Settings** tab, then the **SMS** sub-tab. The **Confirm your cell number** card is at the top.

**Step 2: Click Text me a code**
Check the number in the box (it starts with the one you gave at sign-up), change it if needed, and click **Text me a code**. A note confirms where the code went: **It expires in 10 minutes.**

**Step 3: Enter the code and click Confirm**
Type the 6-digit code from the text and click **Confirm** (or press Enter). The card changes to **Your number is confirmed**.

No text yet? **Resend code** becomes available after 30 seconds. Typed the wrong number? Click **Use a different number**. If a code expires or you try too many times, the card goes back to the start so you can ask for a new code.

## Managing the Notification List

The Activity list shows your 20 most recent notifications, 10 to a page. Use the **Previous** and **Next** buttons at the bottom of the list to move between the two pages. The page counter shows your current position.

To refresh the notification list manually, click the **Refresh** button in the toolbar. SpaSphere also auto-refreshes the list every 60 seconds, so new notifications appear without action.

## Frequently asked questions

**Why am I not seeing certain notifications that other team members see?**
SpaSphere uses role-based visibility for notifications. If your account has a different role than your colleague's, you may see a different set of notifications. Check your role assignment with your account owner if you believe you are missing notifications you should see.

**Can I get notified outside the dashboard about new bookings?**
Yes, in a few ways. The assigned provider gets an email when a booking is made with them. You can turn on Text notifications for any team member with a phone number, so they get a text when their appointments are booked, cancelled, or rescheduled. Staff using the mobile app can also get push notifications. The Activity feed itself isn't forwarded by email.

**How long are notifications kept in the system?**
The Activity list shows your 20 most recent notifications. To clear the unread badge and keep your notification center tidy, mark them all as read.

**Can I disable in-app notifications entirely?**
In-app notifications cannot be fully disabled because they serve as the primary way SpaSphere communicates important business events like new bookings and payment updates. You can filter them by type and mark them all as read to reduce visual clutter. Emails and texts sent to clients, however, can be toggled on or off individually from the Settings tab.

**Do notifications work on mobile devices?**
Yes. The entire Notifications page is fully responsive. The notification bell in the header, the filter tabs, and the notification cards all adapt to smaller screens. On mobile, filter tabs scroll horizontally and cards stack vertically for easy reading.


# How to Track Email Delivery and Open Rates in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/notifications/email-history-and-tracking
Section: notifications
Updated: 2026-10-20

Monitor email delivery rates, open rates, bounces, and message history from the SpaSphere dashboard.

SpaSphere tracks every email your spa sends -- confirmations, cancellations, reschedules, and reminders -- and gives you a real-time dashboard to monitor delivery rates, open rates, and bounces. You can access this from the **Email** tab on the Notifications page of the [admin dashboard](https://spasphere.ai/).

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

If your confirmation and reminder emails are not reaching clients, your no-show rate goes up and your revenue goes down. A delivery rate below 90% means one in ten clients may never see their appointment details, which can translate to two or more missed appointments per week for an active spa. That adds up to $10,000-20,000 in lost revenue annually for a mid-size practice. Monitoring your email metrics lets you catch problems early -- bounced addresses, spam complaints, or deliverability issues -- before they silently eat into your bottom line. SpaSphere surfaces these metrics automatically so you never have to guess whether your emails are actually landing in your clients' inboxes.

## Key Capabilities

- Monthly overview dashboard showing total emails sent, delivery rate, and open rate
- Delivery rate and open rate calculated in real time from actual message statuses
- Warning banner when delivery rate drops below 90%
- Full message history with per-email status tracking (sent, delivered, bounced, opened, failed, complained)
- Filter message history by status and email type
- Paginated message list with client name, recipient email (partially masked for privacy), subject line, and timestamp
- Email types tracked: Appointment Confirmation, Appointment Cancellation, Appointment Reschedule, Appointment Reminder, Welcome, Password Reset, and Member Invitation

## Viewing the Email Overview Dashboard

**Step 1: Navigate to the Email tab**
Click the bell in the top bar, then **View all notifications** to open the **Notifications** page. Click the **Email** tab at the top of the page. You will land on the **Overview** sub-tab by default.

**Step 2: Review your key metrics**
The overview displays three summary cards:

- **Emails Sent** -- the total number of emails your spa has sent this month
- **Delivery Rate** -- the percentage of sent emails that were successfully delivered to the recipient's inbox (shown in amber if below 90%)
- **Open Rate** -- the percentage of delivered emails that were opened by the recipient

Below each headline number, you will see supporting detail: total delivered, total bounced, and total opened counts.

**Step 3: Check for warning banners**
If your delivery rate falls below 90%, SpaSphere displays an amber warning banner below the metric cards. This banner tells you the exact percentage and alerts you that some emails may be bouncing. A delivery rate below 90% usually means you have invalid email addresses in your client list that need to be cleaned up.

**What is a healthy delivery rate?**
For spa email communications, aim for a delivery rate above 95%. Anything below 90% needs attention -- it usually means you have outdated or mistyped email addresses on file. SpaSphere automatically marks bounced client emails so future sends are skipped, which helps your delivery rate recover over time. Review bounced emails in the Messages tab and update client records as needed.

## Browsing the Message History

The Messages sub-tab gives you a complete, searchable log of every email your spa has sent.

**Step 1: Switch to the Messages sub-tab**
From the Email tab, click **Messages**. You will see a table listing all email messages in reverse chronological order (newest first).

**Step 2: Filter by status**
Use the first dropdown above the table to filter by email status:

- **All statuses** -- shows every email
- **Delivered** -- emails confirmed as delivered to the inbox
- **Sent** -- emails accepted by the email provider but delivery not yet confirmed
- **Bounced** -- emails that bounced back (invalid address or full inbox)
- **Complained** -- emails where the recipient marked the message as spam
- **Failed** -- emails that failed to send due to a technical error

**Step 3: Filter by email type**
Use the second dropdown to narrow results by type:

- **Confirmation** -- appointment confirmation emails
- **Cancellation** -- appointment cancellation emails
- **Reschedule** -- appointment reschedule/update emails
- **Reminder** -- automated pre-appointment reminders

**Step 4: Review individual messages**
Each row in the table shows:

- **Email** -- the recipient's email address (partially masked for privacy, e.g., "ja***@example.com")
- **Client** -- the client's full name (if associated with a client record)
- **Type** -- the email type label (Confirmation, Cancellation, Reschedule, Reminder, etc.)
- **Subject** -- the first 80 characters of the email subject line
- **Status** -- a color-coded badge showing the current delivery status
- **Date** -- the send timestamp in your spa's local timezone

**Step 5: Navigate through pages**
If you have more than 25 emails, use the pagination controls at the bottom of the table. The counter shows the current page, total pages, and total email count.

## Understanding Email Statuses

SpaSphere uses color-coded status badges so you can quickly identify healthy and problem emails:

| Status | Color | Meaning |
|--------|-------|---------|
| **Delivered** | Green | Email successfully landed in the recipient's inbox |
| **Sent** | Blue | Email was sent to the provider but delivery is pending |
| **Queued** | Gray | Email is in the send queue and will be dispatched shortly |
| **Bounced** | Red | Email bounced back -- the address may be invalid or the inbox full |
| **Complained** | Orange | Recipient reported the email as spam |
| **Opened** | Emerald | Email was delivered and the recipient opened it |
| **Failed** | Red | Email could not be sent due to a technical error |

**Act on bounces and complaints promptly**
Bounced and complained emails hurt your sender reputation, which can cause future emails to land in spam folders for all your clients -- not just the ones who bounced. When you see bounced emails, update or remove the invalid addresses in the client's profile. SpaSphere automatically flags bounced client emails so subsequent sends are skipped, protecting your deliverability.

## Improving Your Email Health

If your delivery rate or open rate is lower than expected, here are practical steps you can take:

- **Clean up bounced addresses** -- Go to the Messages tab, filter by **Bounced**, and update or correct those client email addresses in their [client profiles](https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/client-profiles).
- **Verify new client emails** -- Make sure your booking form collects accurate email addresses. A single typo means a lost confirmation email and a potential no-show.
- **Review complained emails** -- If any clients marked your emails as spam, consider removing them from future sends or reaching out personally to resolve the issue.
- **Check your send volume** -- SpaSphere tracks emails sent per month. A sudden spike in volume can trigger email provider rate limits.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I resend a failed or bounced email?**
SpaSphere does not currently support resending individual emails from the message history. If an email bounced because of an incorrect address, update the client's email in their profile and the next appointment event (confirmation, reschedule, or reminder) will send to the corrected address. For immediate communication, you can contact the client directly outside of SpaSphere.

**How does SpaSphere know if an email was opened?**
SpaSphere uses a tracking pixel provided by the email delivery service (Resend). When the recipient's email client loads the images in the email, the open is recorded. Note that some email clients block image loading by default, so open rates may be underreported. The open rate is still a useful directional metric for understanding engagement.

**What email address do clients see as the sender?**
Emails are sent from your spa's branded subdomain on myspa.ai (for example, "Serenity Spa" with the address no-reply@serenity-spa.myspa.ai). This branded sending domain improves deliverability and helps clients recognize your emails immediately in their inbox. Platform emails like password resets are sent from no-reply@spasphere.ai.

**Is there a monthly limit on how many emails my spa can send?**
SpaSphere does not impose a hard monthly limit on transactional emails (confirmations, cancellations, reschedules, and reminders). These emails are included with your subscription. The dashboard tracks your monthly volume for visibility, but there is no cap that would prevent emails from being sent.

**Can I export the email message history?**
Email history export is not currently available in the dashboard. The message history is viewable and filterable directly in SpaSphere. If you need email data for compliance or reporting, contact SpaSphere support for assistance.


# How to Text Clients from the Messages Inbox

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/notifications/messages-inbox
Section: notifications
Updated: 2026-10-14

Use your business number to text clients and read their replies in one shared inbox, with templates, quick links, and opt-out protection built in.

Clients would rather text than call. The **Messages** inbox gives your spa its own business number and puts every text conversation in one place, so you can answer questions, confirm details, and send a booking link without handing out your personal cell. Clients text your business number, their replies land in the inbox, and anyone on your team can pick up the conversation.

Messages is part of **Business Texting**. It appears in your sidebar once Business Texting is available for your account, or once you already have it. If you don't see **Messages** in the sidebar, Business Texting isn't turned on for your account yet.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

A missed text is often a missed booking. When a client asks "Do you have anything Friday?" and hears back hours later from someone's personal phone, they've usually booked somewhere else. A shared business inbox means the whole team sees the question, the client always hears from the same number, and the full conversation stays with your business, not on an employee's phone when they move on.

## Key Capabilities

- A dedicated business number that clients can text
- One shared inbox with every client conversation, newest and most important first
- Unread counts on the **Messages** item in the sidebar
- Start a new text to any client with a phone number on file
- Reusable templates that fill in the client's first name, your name, your business name, and your booking and review links
- One-click links to your services, products, packages, gift cards, and coupons
- A character count that shows how many texts a long message will use
- Delivery status on every text you send
- Automatic opt-out handling: a client who texts STOP can't be messaged until they text START
- Conversation tags such as **Reschedule**, **Cancel**, **Complaint**, **Question**, **Booking**, and **Praise**
- Each client's text history on their profile, under the **Messages** tab

## Setting Up Your Business Number

Before you can text, mobile carriers require every business to register. SpaSphere walks you through it the first time you open **Messages**.

**Step 1: Open Messages**
Click **Messages** in the sidebar. If your business number isn't set up yet, you'll see the setup screen instead of the inbox.

**Step 2: Fill in your business details**
Only an account owner or admin can set up the business number. Carriers check details like your legal business name, business type, EIN, address, and website. Some of these come from **Settings > Business**, so make sure that page is complete and accurate first.

**Step 3: Submit and wait for carrier approval**
Review your details and submit them. Carrier approval usually takes 1 to 3 business days. You can leave the page -- it updates on its own, and the inbox opens once your number is approved.

**Why carriers ask for all this**
US carriers filter texts from businesses that haven't registered. Registering once, with details that match your public business information, is what keeps your texts from being blocked as spam.

## Getting Around the Inbox

The inbox has three parts:

- **Conversations** (left) lists your conversations. Your business number and how many texts you've sent this month appear under the heading. Use **Search conversations...** to filter the list by client name or by the latest message, and switch between **Open** and **Closed**.
- **The conversation** (center) shows the full back-and-forth with one client, with the message box at the bottom.
- **The client panel** (right, on wider screens) shows the client's name and phone, a **View Profile** button, any tag SpaSphere detected, and the **Actions** list.

Conversations are sorted so the ones that need you come first: urgent ones (such as complaints) at the top, then unread ones, then the most recent. Unread conversations show a purple dot and bold name.

## Replying to a Client

**Step 1: Open the conversation**
Click a conversation in the list. It's marked as read as soon as you open it.

**Step 2: Type your reply**
Type in the **Type a text...** box. As you type, SpaSphere shows the character count and how many texts the message will use. Press **Enter** to send, or **Shift + Enter** to start a new line.

**Step 3: Check that it was delivered**
Each text you send shows a small status icon next to the time: a clock while it's sending, one check when it's sent, two checks when it's delivered, and a red alert icon if it failed.

## Starting a New Conversation

**Step 1: Open a new message**
Click the **New message** (pencil) icon at the top of the conversation list. If you don't have any conversations yet, click **Send your first message**.

**Step 2: Pick the client**
Start typing in **Search clients by name, phone, or email...** and choose the client. Clients without a phone number show **No phone number on file** and can't be selected.

**Step 3: Write and send**
Type your message and click **Send SMS** (or press **Cmd + Enter** / **Ctrl + Enter**). The new conversation opens right away.

You can also text a client from their profile: click **More**, then **Send message**.

**Texting a client for the first time**
You can text any client who agreed to receive texts, for example by checking the box when they booked, even if they've never texted you. They get your message as written, with no extra hello or second opt-in.

## Templates and Quick Links

Under the message box you'll find two time-savers:

- **Templates** opens your saved messages. **Your templates** are the ones your team created, and **Everyday texts** are starters from SpaSphere. Click one to drop it into the message box, already filled in for this client, where you can still edit it. To save a new one, click **New template**, give it a name, write the message, and click **Save template**. You can use `{{client_first_name}}`, `{{staff_first_name}}`, `{{business_name}}`, `{{booking_link}}`, and `{{review_link}}` in a template.
- **Link** inserts a link to something you sell. Search, or filter by **Services**, **Products**, **Packages**, **Gift cards**, or **Coupons**, then click the item to add it to your message.

**Turn your most common answers into templates**
If your team answers the same questions every week -- parking, what to wear, how to prep for a peel -- save each answer as a template. Replies get faster and every client hears the same accurate information.

## Closing a Conversation

When a conversation is wrapped up, close it from the **Actions** list in the client panel on the right: **Close as Resolved** or **Close as Rebooked**. Closed conversations move to the **Closed** list. If the client texts again, or you send them a new message, the conversation reopens automatically.

The client panel is shown on wider screens. If you don't see it, widen your browser window.

## Opt-Outs and Consent

SpaSphere handles opt-outs for you:

- When a client texts **STOP**, they're opted out. The message box shows **This client has opted out of text messages** and sending is turned off for them.
- When they text **START**, texting is turned back on.
- If a client hasn't agreed to receive texts, starting a new message shows: **This client hasn't consented to SMS. Send a confirmation text or record consent from their profile before messaging.**

**Sending paused while your number is verified**
If you see **Your business number is finishing carrier verification**, you can read incoming messages, but sending is paused until the carriers approve your number. The banner disappears once it's approved.

## Messages and Your Other Texts

The Messages inbox is for conversations with clients. Automatic appointment texts, such as booking confirmations and cancellations, are set up separately under **Notifications > Settings > SMS**. See [Notification Preferences](https://spasphere.ai/docs/notifications/notification-preferences) for those settings.

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**Who on my team can see the Messages inbox?**
Everyone on your team who can open Messages sees the same shared inbox and every conversation in it. Only an account owner or admin can set up the business number.

**Why don't I see Messages in my sidebar?**
Messages appears once Business Texting is available for your account, or once you already have it. If it's missing, Business Texting isn't turned on for your account yet.

**Can I text a client who doesn't have a phone number on file?**
No. Add their mobile number to their client profile first. Clients without a phone number show No phone number on file in the client search.

**What happens when a client texts STOP?**
They're opted out right away and you can't text them from SpaSphere. If they text START later, texting is turned back on.

**Can I see a client's texts from their profile?**
Yes. Once your business number is active, each client profile has a Messages tab with their text history, and you can reply from there too.

**Why does a long message say it will use more than one text?**
Carriers split long messages into several texts. The count under the message box shows how many your message will use, so you can shorten it if you want to.


# How to Set Up Stripe Payment Processing in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/setting-up-stripe
Section: payments
Updated: 2026-10-20

Connect your Stripe account to SpaSphere so you can accept credit card, debit card, and in-person terminal payments from your spa clients.

Before you can collect payments from clients -- whether online, at the front desk, or through a payment link -- you need to connect a Stripe account to your [SpaSphere](https://spasphere.ai/) dashboard. Stripe Connect powers all payment processing in SpaSphere, routing funds directly to your business bank account with automated daily payouts.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Payment processing is the single most critical revenue operation in your business. Without a connected payment account, every checkout becomes a manual cash-or-check transaction that is harder to track, easier to lose, and slower to reconcile. Industry data shows that spas accepting card payments collect 15-20% more per visit because clients spend more freely when they are not limited to the cash in their wallet. A connected Stripe account also enables advanced features like saved cards on file, payment links sent by email, and POS terminal support -- each of which reduces friction at the point of sale and helps you close the revenue loop on every appointment.

## Key Capabilities

- Accept credit and debit card payments directly to your bank account
- Process in-person payments with Stripe Terminal (WisePOS E) devices
- Send payment links to clients by email so they can pay remotely
- Save cards on file for faster repeat checkouts
- Track your Stripe Connect verification status in real time
- Manage your connected account, update bank details, or disconnect

## Connecting Stripe Connect

**Step 1: Open Payments settings**
In the sidebar, go to **Settings > Payments**. The page has two tabs: **Stripe account** and **Card readers** (some accounts also see a **Not On My Dime** tab for card cost recovery). You will start on the Stripe account tab. Only the business owner can connect, update, or disconnect Stripe; managers can see the status.

**Step 2: Click Start setup**
If your account is not yet connected, the **Your Stripe account** row shows a **Not Configured** badge, with a card explaining the benefits of Stripe above it. Under **Set up payments**, click **Start setup** to begin.

**Step 3: Tell SpaSphere how your business is set up**
Before the Stripe form loads, SpaSphere asks **How is your business set up?** Choose one:

- **Sole proprietor / individual** -- you operate under your own name, with no EIN or separate legal entity.
- **Registered company (LLC, Corp, etc.)** -- you have a business entity registered with the state and an EIN. Enter the **Registered legal name** exactly as it appears on your Articles of Organization or Incorporation. If your trade name is different, you'll add it separately in the Stripe form.
- **Non-profit** -- a registered 501(c)(3) or similar.

Click **Continue to Stripe**. SpaSphere uses your answer and the details already in your account to prefill your Stripe profile, so you mostly fill in what's missing: your bank account, ID verification, and agreeing to Stripe's terms.

**Step 4: Complete the Stripe onboarding form**
The Stripe Connect onboarding form loads directly inside SpaSphere -- you are never redirected to a separate website. Check the prefilled details, then add your legal information and the bank account for payouts. Stripe requires this information to comply with financial regulations.

**Step 5: Wait for verification**
After you submit the form, Stripe reviews your information. The status badge changes to **Pending Verification**, a **Stripe is checking your details** note appears, and the page checks again every 15 seconds so you can see when verification completes. This typically takes one to two business days, though many accounts are verified within hours.

**Step 6: Confirm your Verified status**
Once approved, the status badge turns green and shows **Verified**. A confirmation message confirms your Stripe account is connected and ready to process payments. You can now accept card payments through checkout, payment links, and card readers.

**Start accepting payments immediately after verification**
As soon as your status shows Verified, every checkout flow in SpaSphere -- from the appointment calendar to **Quick Checkout** -- gains the ability to process card payments. Stripe deposits funds into your bank account on a rolling basis, typically within two business days. This means you go from zero card acceptance to receiving daily payouts with no additional configuration, no merchant account applications, and no hidden setup fees.

## Setting Up a Card Reader

After your Stripe account is connected, you can add a Stripe card reader to accept in-person card payments at your front desk.

**Step 1: Switch to the Card readers tab**
On the **Settings > Payments** page, click the **Card readers** tab. If Stripe isn't connected yet, you'll see **Connect Stripe first** with a **Connect Stripe** button that takes you back to the Stripe account tab.

**Step 2: Click Add a reader**
Click **Add a reader** (or **Add another reader** if you already have one). A dialog opens asking for the pairing code displayed on your card reader.

**Step 3: Enter the pairing code and register**
Type the **Pairing Code** shown on your WisePOS E device screen and give the reader a **Reader Name** (for example, "Front Desk" or "Treatment Room 1"). Click **Register Reader** to pair the device.

**Step 4: Verify the reader is online**
After registration, the reader appears in the reader list with its online/offline status. A green badge indicates the reader is online and ready to accept payments. You can click the refresh button to update the status at any time.

**Terminal readers work automatically in checkout**
Once a reader is online, the **In-Person Terminal** payment option appears automatically in your checkout flow. Your staff selects the reader, taps "Send to Terminal," and the client taps, inserts, or swipes their card on the device. The entire process is handled server-side -- no browser extensions or apps needed. If a reader goes offline, the terminal option simply disappears from checkout so your staff is never confused by an unavailable option.

Want your logo and colors on the reader while it waits for a client? See [Your Card Reader's Screen](https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/card-reader-screen).

## Managing Your Stripe Account

After setup, the business owner can return to **Settings > Payments** at any time to manage the account.

- **Update details**: Under **Business and bank details**, click **Update details** to change your business info, bank account, or identity documents in the embedded Stripe form.
- **Open Stripe**: Under **Payouts**, click **Open Stripe** to see what Stripe has paid out to your bank, and when.
- **Refresh status**: Click the refresh icon next to the status badge to check for updates.
- **Disconnect**: Under **Disconnect Stripe**, click **Disconnect**, then **Yes, disconnect**. Money already on its way to your bank still arrives. You can reconnect later.

**Disconnecting pauses all card payments**
Disconnecting your Stripe account immediately disables card payment processing across your entire SpaSphere account. Checkout will still work for cash, check, and other manual payment methods, but you can't take card payments, send new payment links, or use your card readers in SpaSphere until you connect again. Money already on its way to your bank still arrives. Only disconnect if you are switching payment processors or closing your business. Your Stripe account remains active and can be reconnected at any time.

## Understanding Status Badges

| Status | Badge Color | Meaning |
|--------|------------|---------|
| Not Configured | Gray | Stripe Connect has not been set up yet |
| Setup Incomplete | Yellow | You started onboarding but did not finish |
| Pending Verification | Yellow | Stripe is reviewing your submitted information |
| Verified | Green | Your account is active and can process payments |
| Restricted | Red | Action required -- additional documents or information needed |
| Rejected | Red | Application was declined -- contact Stripe support |

## Frequently asked questions

**How long does Stripe verification take?**
Most accounts are verified within a few hours, though Stripe states it may take one to two business days. The verification timeline depends on the completeness and accuracy of your submitted information. If Stripe needs additional documentation (such as a government ID or bank statement), you will see a Restricted status with instructions on what to provide. You can check your status at any time on the Settings > Payments page -- the page checks again every 15 seconds while verification is pending.

**What fees does Stripe charge for payment processing?**
Stripe's standard processing fee is 2.9% + $0.30 per successful card transaction for online payments, and 2.7% + $0.05 for in-person terminal payments. SpaSphere does not add any additional markup on top of Stripe's fees. These fees are automatically deducted from each transaction before the payout reaches your bank account. You can view detailed fee breakdowns in your Stripe dashboard, which opens from the Open Stripe button on the Settings > Payments page.

**Can I use an existing Stripe account?**
The Stripe Connect onboarding flow creates a connected account linked to your SpaSphere tenant. If you already have a standalone Stripe account, the onboarding process may detect your existing information and pre-fill certain fields. However, SpaSphere requires a Connect account specifically configured for platform payments. This ensures that transactions, payouts, and refunds are properly tracked within your SpaSphere dashboard and that your business data stays synchronized between both systems.

**Which business type should I choose?**
Choose Sole proprietor / individual if you work under your own name without an EIN or a registered entity. Choose Registered company if you have an LLC, corporation, or similar entity with an EIN, and enter its registered legal name exactly as filed. Choose Non-profit for a registered 501(c)(3) or similar. If you're unsure, check with your accountant before continuing, since Stripe verifies the details you give it.

**What POS terminal devices does SpaSphere support?**
SpaSphere supports the Stripe Terminal WisePOS E device for in-person card payments. This is a countertop reader that accepts tap (NFC/contactless), chip (EMV insert), and swipe transactions. The device connects to your network via WiFi and communicates with SpaSphere's server-driven integration -- no browser plugin or desktop app is required. You can register multiple readers (for example, one at the front desk and another in a treatment room) and select which reader to use during checkout.

**What happens to my pending payouts if I disconnect Stripe?**
If you disconnect your Stripe account, any payouts already in progress will still be deposited into your bank account on their scheduled date. Disconnecting only prevents new charges from being processed. Your transaction history, refund records, and payout data remain accessible in your Stripe dashboard even after disconnection. If you reconnect later, SpaSphere will re-establish the link and you can resume accepting card payments immediately without re-entering your business information.


# How to Create and Track Payment Transactions in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/managing-transactions
Section: payments
Updated: 2026-10-20

Build invoices, add line items, select clients, and proceed to checkout using SpaSphere Quick Checkout for walk-in and other standalone sales.

Not every sale in your spa happens through a scheduled appointment. Walk-in clients buying skincare products, gift card purchases at the front desk, or quick add-on services all need a payment flow that does not require an appointment on the calendar. The **Quick Checkout** page in [SpaSphere](https://spasphere.ai/) lets you create standalone transactions for any client, combining services, products, and packages into a single invoice that flows directly into checkout.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Retail product sales represent 10-25% of total revenue for the average spa, yet many businesses lose this income because their POS system is disconnected from their booking software. When product sales are tracked in a separate system (or worse, a cash register with no digital record), you lose visibility into which clients buy products, what your best-selling items are, and how retail revenue contributes to your bottom line. SpaSphere's Quick Checkout captures every transaction, whether it comes from an appointment or a walk-in purchase, in one unified system. This gives you a complete financial picture and ensures every dollar flows through the same reporting, analytics, and client history tools.

## Key Capabilities

- Create POS-style transactions for any client without an appointment
- Add services, products, and packages to a single invoice
- Apply per-item discounts with percentage or fixed-amount values
- Quick-add new clients inline without leaving the payment flow
- Tax calculated automatically from the rates you set in **Settings > Tax** when proceeding to checkout
- View a live order summary with subtotals and line items
- **Email Invoice** to send the client an itemized invoice with a pay-online link instead of taking payment now

## Creating a Standalone Payment

**Step 1: Open Quick Checkout**
Click **Quick Checkout** in the sidebar. The **Quick Checkout** page ("Sell products, gift cards or anything else, no appointment needed") opens with three steps: **1. Select Client**, **2. Add Items**, and **3. Review & Continue**.

**Step 2: Select a client**
Use the client search field to find an existing client by name. As you type, matching clients appear in a dropdown. Click a client to select them.

If the client is new, click **New Client** to open **Quick Add Client**. Enter their **First Name** and **Last Name**, an **Email** or **Phone** (at least one), and optionally their **Date of birth**, then click **Add Client**. The new client is automatically selected for this transaction.

**Step 3: Add items to the order**
The item selector has tabs for **Products**, **Services**, **Packages**, **Treatment Plans**, **Gift Cards**, and **Custom** (a one-off charge), with a search box. Click any item to add it to the order. If you click an item that is already in the order, its quantity increases by one. On the **Gift Cards** tab, pick a preset amount or enter your own to sell a gift card.

**Step 4: Adjust quantities and apply discounts**
In the Review panel on the right, you can adjust the quantity of each item using the plus and minus buttons. To remove an item, reduce its quantity to zero or click the remove button.

To apply a discount to an individual item, click the discount icon next to that item. Choose between a percentage discount (e.g., 20% off) or a fixed-amount discount (e.g., $10 off), enter the value, and click Apply. The discounted price updates immediately in the line items.

**Step 5: Review and continue to checkout**
The Review panel shows all line items with their unit price, quantity, any applied discounts, and the running subtotal. When you are satisfied with the order, click **Continue to Checkout**. SpaSphere creates an invoice, adds all line items, calculates tax from your configured rates, and navigates you to the checkout page.

If the client isn't there to pay, click **Email Invoice** instead. The invoice is emailed right away, with no extra confirm step: the client gets an itemized invoice with a secure pay link that stays valid until it's paid or canceled. The client needs an email address on file. You then land on the **Invoices** page, where you can follow up on it. See [Invoices](https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/invoices).

**Combine services and products in a single transaction**
Unlike many spa POS systems that separate service and retail checkouts, SpaSphere lets you mix services, products, and packages in a single invoice. A client who had a facial and wants to buy the serum used during treatment can pay for both in one checkout. This reduces transaction time at the front desk, gives you a unified receipt for the client's records, and ensures the product sale is linked to the client's profile for future recommendations and analytics.

## Understanding the Invoice Flow

When you click **Continue to Checkout**, SpaSphere performs several automated steps behind the scenes:

1. **Creates an invoice**: a draft invoice is generated and linked to the selected client
2. **Adds line items**: each item in your order is added to the invoice with its price, quantity, and any discount metadata
3. **Calculates tax**: SpaSphere applies the product and service tax rates you set in **Settings > Tax**
4. **Finalizes the invoice**: the invoice is made ready for payment. You can still add or change items on the checkout page
5. **Opens checkout**: you are taken to the checkout page where you choose a payment method and collect payment

This invoice-centric architecture means every transaction has a complete audit trail, from creation through payment to potential refund.

**Invoices are auto-created for scheduled appointments**
When a client books an appointment (or you create one on the calendar), SpaSphere automatically generates a draft invoice with the appointment's service as a line item. You do not need to visit Quick Checkout for appointment-based transactions. Simply click **Charge** or **Checkout** from the appointment on the calendar. Quick Checkout is specifically designed for transactions that do not originate from a booked appointment, such as walk-in retail sales or ad-hoc service charges.

## Clearing and Starting Over

If you need to start a new transaction, click **Clear All** in the Review panel, then **Yes, Clear All** to remove all items from the current order. This does not affect the selected client; only the line items are removed. You can then add new items and continue.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I create a payment without selecting a client?**
No, a client is required for every transaction in SpaSphere. This ensures that the payment is linked to a client profile, which enables purchase history tracking, receipt delivery, card-on-file storage, and accurate revenue-per-client analytics. If you have a walk-in client who has never visited before, click **New Client** to create a profile on the spot. You can add their email and phone number later.

**How are taxes calculated on standalone transactions?**
When you click Continue to Checkout, SpaSphere applies the tax rates you set in Settings > Tax: one rate for products and one for services, each with its own on/off switch. SpaSphere doesn't look up rates for you, so confirm the right rates for your location with your tax professional. The calculated tax amount is shown in the checkout order summary before you collect payment.

**Can I edit an order after clicking Continue to Checkout?**
Yes. On the checkout page, use the pencil icon or the Add or Edit Items button on the order summary to add items, remove them, or change quantities. This still works after a deposit or other partial payment: from the receipt, click Edit or Collect to go back to the ticket, change it, and collect the balance. Coupons can still be applied after a deposit, but hand-entered item discounts can't be added once money has been paid. See Processing Checkout for the full flow.

**What is the difference between Quick Checkout and the checkout page?**
Quick Checkout is where you build your order: selecting a client, adding items, and applying discounts. Think of it as a shopping cart. The checkout page is where you collect payment: choosing a payment method (card, cash, terminal, gift card, etc.), adding a tip, and completing the transaction. Quick Checkout creates and finalizes the invoice, then hands it off to checkout for payment collection. For appointment-based transactions, you skip Quick Checkout entirely and go directly to checkout from the calendar.

**Can I sell gift cards from Quick Checkout?**
Yes. Open the Gift Cards tab in the item selector, choose a preset amount or enter a custom one, and add it to the order. Gift cards sold this way don't expire. Once issued, gift cards are managed from the Gift Cards section of the client profile (under More), where you can copy a card's code or use Send to email it to the recipient.


# How to Refund Payments and Void Invoices in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/refunds-and-voids
Section: payments
Updated: 2026-10-21

Process full or partial refunds, void unpaid invoices, and recreate voided invoices in SpaSphere to keep your spa's financial records accurate.

Even the best-run spa occasionally needs to reverse a charge. A client may be unhappy with a service, a staff member may charge the wrong amount, or an appointment may be cancelled after an invoice was created. [SpaSphere](https://spasphere.ai/) gives you two tools to handle these situations: **refunds** for payments that have already been collected, and **voids** for invoices that have not yet been paid. Understanding when to use each one keeps your financial records clean and your clients confident in your professionalism.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Mishandled refunds are one of the fastest ways to lose client trust. A client who waits days for a refund that was promised "right away" is unlikely to return, and the negative review they leave can cost you far more than the refund itself. On the operational side, inconsistent refund practices create accounting headaches -- unreconciled charges, duplicate refunds, and missing audit trails make end-of-month bookkeeping a nightmare. SpaSphere's structured refund and void system ensures every reversal is tracked with a complete audit trail, the correct amount is returned to the correct payment method, and your financial reports stay accurate without manual adjustments.

## Key Capabilities

- Issue full refunds that return the entire payment amount
- Issue partial refunds for a specific dollar amount
- Choose where the refund goes: the original payment method, a gift card, or an external refund (cash/check). The options depend on how the client paid
- Refunds of gift cards, packages, treatment plans, and membership dues take back the unused value that was sold
- Refund just a tip that was charged on its own, and take it off the invoice in the same step
- Void unpaid invoices to prevent payment collection, with an optional reason
- See why each invoice was voided on the **Invoices** page
- Recreate voided invoices to resume payment on the same appointment
- View a complete audit trail for every refund and void

## Processing a Refund

You can refund any successful payment from the payment confirmation page. Refunds are processed per payment record, so if a client paid with multiple methods (split payment), you refund each payment individually.

**Step 1: Open the payment confirmation page**
After a payment is collected, SpaSphere navigates you to the payment confirmation page. You can also reach this page by clicking **Charge** or **Checkout** on a paid appointment in the calendar; it detects the paid status and displays the confirmation.

**Step 2: Click the Refund button**
At the bottom of the confirmation page, you will see a refund button for each successful payment, labeled with the payment method (for example, **Refund Credit Card** or **Refund Gift Card**). If the client paid with a single method, there is one button. If they used a split payment (for example, gift card plus credit card), there is a separate button for each payment.

Click the Refund button for the payment you want to reverse. Refund buttons stay available as long as the invoice has a successful payment and hasn't been voided or fully refunded.

**Step 3: Choose full or partial refund**
The **Process Refund** window opens showing the original payment amount and method. Under **Refund Type**, select **Full Refund** (it shows the full amount) to return everything, or **Partial Refund** to specify a custom amount under **Refund Amount**. For partial refunds, enter the dollar amount you want to return. The maximum refundable amount is shown below the input field.

**Step 4: Select the refund destination**
Under **Refund To**, choose where the refund should go. Which options you see depends on how the client paid:

- **[Method] (Original)**: returns the money to the method the client used, for example **Credit Card (Original)**. This is the default and is always available. For card, in-person terminal, and payment-link payments, the refund goes back through Stripe to the original card.
- **Gift Card**: puts the refund amount on a gift card, keeping the value in your business. If the client paid with a gift card, the value goes back on that same card; otherwise SpaSphere creates a new gift card on the client's profile.
- **External (Cash/Check)**: records a refund you hand over outside SpaSphere, such as cash or a check. SpaSphere logs it but doesn't move any money.

The options are limited for some payment types:

| How the client paid | Refund options |
|---------------------|----------------|
| Card, in-person terminal, or payment link | Original card or Gift Card. **External isn't offered**, because the card would stay charged while your records said it was refunded. |
| Store credit | Original only. The amount goes back to the client's store-credit balance. |
| Membership, package, or treatment plan benefit | Original only. The refund restores the session or benefit that paid for it. |
| Cash, check, gift card, and other methods | Original, Gift Card, or External. |

Before you confirm, a **You are about to refund** strip shows exactly what you are about to refund and where it will go.

**Step 5: Add a reason and submit**
Optionally enter a reason under **Reason (Optional)** (e.g., "Client unsatisfied with facial results" or "Incorrect service charged"). This reason is stored in the audit trail for your records. Click the button that shows the amount, for example **Refund $85.00**, to process the refund.

A message confirms it, for example "$85.00 refund complete". The payment confirmation page refreshes to reflect the updated totals.

**Gift card refunds keep revenue in your business**
When you refund to a gift card instead of the original payment method, you retain the revenue while giving the client a credit they can use on future visits. This is a common practice in the spa industry for service complaints where the client is willing to return -- it preserves the relationship and keeps the cash in your business. The gift card appears automatically on the client's profile and can be redeemed at their next checkout.

## Refunding Only the Tip

Sometimes the service was fine but the tip needs to go back, for example a client tipped twice by mistake. When a tip was charged as its own payment, the payment confirmation page shows a **Refund Tip** button for it. The rest of what the client paid stays in place.

**Step 1: Open the paid invoice**
Open the payment confirmation page for the invoice, the same way you would for any refund. A tip charged as its own payment has a **Refund Tip** button instead of a regular refund button.

**Step 2: Refund the tip**
Click **Refund Tip**. The window shows the amount, for example "Refund the $20.00 tip to the client and remove it from this invoice." Add a reason if you like, then click the button with the amount, for example **Refund $20.00 tip**. You'll see "Tip of $20.00 refunded."

The whole tip payment goes back the way it was paid, and the tip on the invoice drops by the same amount. That way the invoice doesn't reopen showing the tip as owed.

**When you won't see Refund Tip**
**Refund Tip** appears only when the tip was its own charge: a tip your card reader charged separately, or an online booking payment that was only the tip. When the tip was part of a bigger card payment (the service and the tip charged together), use that payment's regular refund button, choose **Partial Refund**, and enter the tip amount. Once any part of a tip payment has been refunded, it also takes the regular refund for whatever is left.

## Refunding Gift Cards, Packages, Plans, and Memberships

When the invoice you're refunding sold something that keeps value after it's paid -- a gift card, a package of sessions, a treatment plan, or membership dues -- SpaSphere takes back the matching unused value so the client doesn't get both the money and the value. For example, refunding a gift card purchase in full deactivates that gift card.

- Value is taken back in this order: gift card balance, package sessions, that billing cycle's membership benefits, then the treatment plan.
- Sessions and plans can't be split. If a partial refund could only be covered by taking back a whole session or plan worth more than the refund, SpaSphere refuses it and tells you the amounts that would work -- a smaller refund that takes nothing back, or a larger one that also takes the item back.
- A refund that doesn't touch the prepaid item -- such as refunding a product sold on the same ticket -- leaves the client's gift card, sessions, or plan alone.

**Payments made with a benefit restore the benefit**
If the client paid for a service with a membership, package, or treatment plan session, refunding that payment gives the session back rather than money, and the Gift Card and External options are hidden. For store-credit payments, the refund goes back to the client's store-credit balance.

## Voiding an Unpaid Invoice

Voiding is for invoices that have not received any payment. This is different from a refund -- there is no money to return. You void an invoice to cancel it entirely, preventing any future payment from being collected on it.

**Step 1: Open the invoice**
Navigate to the appointment or payment confirmation page for the invoice you want to void. The **Void Invoice** button is available only when no successful payments exist on the invoice.

**Step 2: Click Void Invoice**
Click the **Void Invoice** button. A confirmation dialog appears with two important messages:

- **Payment will be blocked** -- Voiding the invoice immediately prevents any payment collection. This is useful for cancelled appointments or incorrect charges.
- **Need to collect payment later?** -- If you void by mistake, you can create a new invoice for the same appointment when attempting to charge again.

**Step 3: Say why (optional)**
Under **Reason (optional)**, pick why you're voiding it: **Appointment canceled**, **Client declined**, **Duplicate**, **Created in error**, **Replaced by a new invoice**, **Stale / no longer owed**, or **Other**. You can add a note below it too. Both are optional, and they show up later on the **Invoices** page, so anyone on your team can see why the invoice was voided.

**Step 4: Confirm the void**
Click **Void Invoice** to confirm. The invoice status changes to **Voided** and no further payments can be applied to it. SpaSphere takes you to the **Quick Checkout** page.

**You cannot void an invoice that has received payment**
The Void option is only available for invoices with no successful payments. If a client has already paid (fully or partially), you must use a refund instead. This separation exists to protect your financial integrity -- voiding a paid invoice would create a mismatch between your Stripe records and your SpaSphere records. If you need to cancel a paid or partially paid invoice, refund its payments instead. Once everything is refunded in full, the invoice shows as **Refunded**: nothing is owed and nothing more can be collected against it, so there is nothing left to void.

## Seeing Why an Invoice Was Voided

Click **Invoices** in the sidebar and switch the status filter to **Voided**. Each voided invoice shows its reason next to the **Voided** badge, and hovering over the reason shows the note, if one was added. A reason filter appears beside the other filters, so you can show only one reason, or **No reason recorded** for invoices voided without one.

SpaSphere also voids some invoices for you, and always records why:

- **Appointment canceled** -- the unpaid bill of an appointment that was canceled.
- **Online checkout failed** -- an online gift card or shop order whose card payment failed, and the buyer didn't come back within 48 hours.
- **Stale / no longer owed** -- an empty $0 invoice with no items and no payment, cleaned up after a day.

## Recreating a Voided Invoice

If you void an invoice by mistake or need to collect payment on the same appointment after a void, SpaSphere lets you recreate the invoice. The new invoice copies the same client, appointment, and line items from the original.

**Step 1: Attempt to charge the appointment**
Click **Charge** or **Checkout** on the appointment in the calendar. SpaSphere detects that the linked invoice was voided and displays a modal explaining the situation.

**Step 2: Click Create New Invoice**
The modal explains that the original invoice has been voided and cannot accept payments. Click **Create New Invoice** to generate a fresh invoice with the same services and items. The new invoice is created as a draft, allowing you to make any changes before proceeding to checkout.

**Step 3: Proceed with checkout**
The new invoice loads in the checkout flow with all the original line items. You can add or remove items, apply discounts, and proceed to collect payment as usual. The new invoice has its own invoice number and audit trail, separate from the voided original.

## Refund vs. Void: When to Use Each

| Scenario | Action | Why |
|----------|--------|-----|
| Client paid but wants money back | Refund | Payment exists and needs to be reversed |
| Wrong service charged, client already paid | Refund (partial or full) | Correct the amount via partial refund or full refund and re-charge |
| Client paid a deposit and the service changed | Edit the invoice | Use **Edit or Collect** on the receipt to change items before collecting the balance -- see [Managing Transactions](https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/managing-transactions) |
| Appointment cancelled before payment | Void | No payment to reverse, just cancel the invoice |
| Invoice created by mistake | Void | Prevent accidental payment on an incorrect invoice |
| Voided invoice needs to be charged | Recreate | Create a new invoice from the voided one |
| Split payment, only one method needs reversal | Refund (specific payment) | Refund only the relevant payment record |

## Understanding the Audit Trail

Every refund and void is recorded in the invoice's audit trail, which tracks the action, the user who performed it, the timestamp, and any changes to the invoice state. This audit trail is available for every invoice and provides a complete history of financial operations. Your accountant can use this trail to reconcile transactions at the end of each month without chasing down individual staff members for explanations.

## Frequently asked questions

**How long does a refund take to appear on the client's card?**
For credit card refunds processed through Stripe, the refund is submitted immediately and typically appears on the client's statement within 5 to 10 business days. The exact timing depends on the client's bank and card issuer. SpaSphere shows the refund as processed immediately in your dashboard, but the client may not see the credit on their statement for several days. If a client asks about a pending refund, you can confirm it was processed by checking the payment confirmation page, which shows the refund status and amount.

**Can I refund more than the original payment amount?**
No, the refund amount is capped at the original payment amount. If the client paid $150 for a service, the maximum refund is $150. For split payments, each refund is capped at the individual payment amount. If a client paid $100 by gift card and $50 by credit card, you can refund up to $100 on the gift card payment and up to $50 on the credit card payment. If you need to compensate a client beyond the original payment, consider creating a gift card on their profile for the additional amount.

**Why can't I choose External (Cash/Check) for a card payment?**
Card, in-person terminal, and payment-link payments were charged through Stripe, so they must be refunded through Stripe (to the original card) or as a gift card. Recording an external refund would mark the invoice refunded while the client's card stayed charged, so SpaSphere doesn't offer it. If you'd rather hand the client cash, refund to a gift card or refund through Stripe instead.

**Why was my partial refund refused?**
The invoice sold something prepaid -- a gift card, package, treatment plan, or membership dues -- and the refund would leave the client holding value they no longer paid for. When covering it would mean taking back a whole session or plan worth more than your refund, SpaSphere stops and suggests amounts that work. Choose one of those amounts, or refund the full item.

**How do I refund just the tip?**
If the tip was charged as its own payment, click Refund Tip on the payment confirmation page. It refunds the tip and takes it off the invoice. If the tip was charged together with the service in one payment, use that payment's regular refund, choose Partial Refund, and enter the tip amount.

**What happens to a voided invoice's line items?**
When you void an invoice, the line items remain attached to the invoice record for audit purposes, but the invoice can no longer accept payments. The voided invoice and its line items are preserved in your records so you always have a history of what was on the original invoice. If you recreate the invoice, the new invoice copies the same line items but creates fresh records with a new invoice number. The original voided invoice remains in your history as a separate record.

**Can I void an invoice after a partial payment?**
No. Once any successful payment has been applied to an invoice, the Void option is no longer available. Refund the payments instead; an invoice refunded in full is closed as Refunded and can't take further payments. This restriction exists to maintain consistency between your Stripe payment records and your SpaSphere invoice records. Voiding a partially paid invoice without refunding would create an orphaned payment with no matching invoice, which would cause reconciliation issues in your financial reports.

**Is there a time limit on processing refunds?**
Stripe allows refunds up to 180 days after the original charge. After 180 days, the refund must be handled outside of Stripe (for example, by issuing a check or creating a gift card). SpaSphere does not impose its own time limit beyond what Stripe enforces. For practical purposes, most spa refunds are processed within a few days of the original transaction. If a client requests a refund months after their visit, you can still process it through SpaSphere as long as you are within the 180-day Stripe window.


# How to Set Up Tax Collection for Your Spa in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/tax-collection
Section: payments
Updated: 2026-10-14

Configure sales tax rates for services and products in SpaSphere so tax is automatically calculated during checkout.

Tax collection in [SpaSphere](https://spasphere.ai/) is a simple toggle-and-rate configuration that automatically applies the correct tax amount to every checkout. You set your rates once, and SpaSphere calculates tax on every invoice from that point forward: no manual math, no forgotten charges, no end-of-day discrepancies.

**SpaSphere is not a tax advisor**
SpaSphere provides tools to collect and track sales tax, but we do not provide tax advice. Tax laws vary by state, county, and city, and the rules for taxing services versus products differ significantly across jurisdictions. It is your responsibility to determine the correct tax rates and rules for your business location. We strongly recommend consulting a tax professional or your local tax authority to confirm which rates apply to your spa services and retail products. SpaSphere applies exactly the rates you configure -- we do not validate whether those rates are correct for your jurisdiction.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Collecting the right amount of sales tax is a legal requirement in most jurisdictions, and getting it wrong creates problems in both directions. Under-collecting means you owe the difference out of pocket when you file. Over-collecting erodes client trust and can create compliance issues of its own. Manual tax calculation at the register is error-prone, especially during busy periods when your front desk is processing multiple clients back to back. By configuring your rates in SpaSphere, every invoice, receipt, and transaction record shows the exact tax amount -- which makes bookkeeping straightforward and tax filing predictable.

## Key Capabilities

- Configure separate tax rates for products and services
- Enable or disable tax collection independently for each category
- Give each tax a name (for example, "CA Sales Tax" or "CT Services Tax")
- Tax is automatically calculated during checkout on every transaction
- The tax amount is shown on the order summary before payment is collected

## Configuring Tax Rates

**Step 1: Open Tax settings**
Click **Settings** in the sidebar, then select **Tax**. The **Sales tax** page has two sections: **Products** and **Services**. Each section can be set up on its own.

If you set up your account recently, you may have already answered **Do you charge tax?** during guided onboarding. Whatever you chose there appears here, and you can change it at any time.

**Step 2: Enable product tax collection**
Open the **Products** section and turn on **Collect tax on products**. Two fields appear:

- **Tax rate (%)**: Enter your product sales tax rate as a percentage. For example, enter `7.75` for a 7.75% rate. The rate must be between 0% and 20% and supports up to two decimal places.
- **Name on receipts (optional)**: a name for this tax, such as "CA Sales Tax" or "State Sales Tax". Today, checkout shows the tax as a single line called **Tax**, whatever name you enter here.

**Step 3: Enable service tax collection**
Open the **Services** section and turn on **Collect tax on services**. The same two fields appear:

- **Tax rate (%)**: Enter your service tax rate. Note that many jurisdictions tax services at a different rate than products, or do not tax services at all. Check your local tax rules.
- **Name on receipts (optional)**: a name for service tax, such as "CT Services Tax".

**Step 4: Save your settings**
Click **Save** at the bottom of the page. You'll see **Tax settings saved** ("New sales will use these rates."). Your tax rates take effect immediately on all new checkouts. Existing unpaid invoices will use the updated rates the next time they are opened in checkout.

**Check whether your state taxes spa services**
Not all states require sales tax on personal services like facials, massages, or waxing. Some states tax only retail products, while others tax both. A few states have different rates for different service categories. Before enabling service tax collection, verify your local requirements. Your state's Department of Revenue website or a local CPA can confirm the correct approach for your business.

## How Tax Appears in Checkout

Once tax collection is enabled, SpaSphere automatically calculates and displays tax during every checkout:

- The **Order Summary** shows a **Tax** line between the subtotal and the total (e.g., "Tax $3.88")
- If both product and service tax are enabled and the order contains both types, each item is taxed at its own rate, and the amounts are added together on the one **Tax** line
- The total amount due includes all applicable taxes
- Receipts and confirmation pages show the tax amount

## Common Tax Configurations

| Scenario | Product Tax | Service Tax | Example |
|----------|-------------|-------------|---------|
| State taxes products only | Enabled (e.g., 7.25%) | Disabled | Texas, Nevada |
| State taxes both at the same rate | Enabled (e.g., 6%) | Enabled (6%) | Florida, Hawaii |
| State taxes both at different rates | Enabled (e.g., 8%) | Enabled (e.g., 5%) | Varies by locality |
| No sales tax | Disabled | Disabled | Oregon, Montana, Delaware |

**Tax is calculated automatically, with no manual steps during checkout**
Your staff does not need to remember tax rates or manually add tax to orders. Once you configure your rates in Settings, every checkout automatically includes the correct tax amount. The tax line appears on the order summary before payment is collected, so both your staff and your clients can see exactly how much tax is being charged. This eliminates the most common source of tax errors: human calculation during a busy checkout.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I set different tax rates for products and services?**
Yes. SpaSphere has completely separate tax configurations for products and services. Each has its own toggle to enable or disable collection, its own rate field, and its own label. This is important because many jurisdictions apply different tax rates to retail goods versus personal services, and some do not tax services at all. You can enable one, both, or neither depending on your local tax requirements.

**What happens to existing invoices when I change my tax rate?**
Changing your tax rate affects all future checkouts immediately. For existing unpaid invoices, the updated rate is applied the next time the invoice is opened in the checkout flow. Invoices that have already been paid retain the tax amount that was calculated at the time of payment -- SpaSphere never retroactively changes completed transactions. This means your historical records remain accurate even after a rate change.

**Does SpaSphere file my sales tax returns?**
No. SpaSphere calculates and collects sales tax on your transactions, and your transaction history and reports show the total tax collected over any date range. However, filing sales tax returns with your state or local tax authority is your responsibility. You can use SpaSphere's reports to pull the exact tax amounts collected, which makes filing faster and more accurate. Many spa owners share these reports directly with their accountant or bookkeeper.

**Is the tax included in the price or added on top?**
Tax is always added on top of the listed price. When you set a service price of $100 and your tax rate is 7%, the client sees $100 for the service plus $7.00 in tax for a total of $107.00. SpaSphere does not support tax-inclusive pricing at this time. The tax amount is calculated at checkout and displayed as a separate line item on the order summary and receipt.

**Can I see how much tax I have collected over a period?**
Yes. Your transaction history and revenue reports include tax totals. You can filter by date range to see total tax collected for any period, which is useful for quarterly or annual tax filings. The breakdown distinguishes between product tax and service tax if you have both enabled, so you can report each category separately if your jurisdiction requires it.


# How to Send and Track Invoices in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/invoices
Section: payments
Updated: 2026-10-20

Email clients an itemized invoice with a pay-online link, track what's unpaid on the Invoices page, and resend, copy, or cancel pay links.

An invoice lets a client pay you without being in the room. SpaSphere emails the client an itemized invoice, branded for your spa, with a secure pay-online link. Unlike a checkout payment link, which expires after 24 hours, an invoice's pay link stays valid until it's paid or you cancel it. The **Invoices** page in the sidebar shows every invoice and what is still owed.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Not every sale ends at the front desk. A client picks up a product order later, a treatment plan balance is due before the next session, or someone leaves before settling up. An emailed invoice gives the client a clear list of what she's paying for and a link that still works next week. The Invoices page shows you what's outstanding, so you don't have to chase balances from memory.

## Key Capabilities

- **Email Invoice** from checkout or **Quick Checkout** sends an itemized invoice with a pay-online link
- The pay link stays valid until the invoice is paid or the link is canceled
- The **Invoices** page lists invoices by status, with the total and remaining balance for each
- **Sent** badges show which invoices were emailed and how many times
- A **Pending** warning flags pay links that have been outstanding for more than 30 days
- Resend the email, copy the pay link, cancel the link, or send a receipt from each row
- Clients can view, print, and save their invoices in the client portal, and pay what they owe there

**Stripe Connect is required**
Pay links are created on your Stripe account, and payments go to you. Finish [setting up Stripe](https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/setting-up-stripe) before you send invoices.

## Sending an Invoice

**Step 1: Build the ticket**
Start a checkout for the client and add the services, products, or other items they owe for, as you would for any sale. See [Processing Checkout](https://spasphere.ai/docs/checkout/processing-checkout). You can also click **New invoice** on the Invoices page, which takes you to **Quick Checkout** to build it.

**Step 2: Choose Email Invoice**
Choose **Email Invoice** as the payment method at checkout (under **Send to Client**), or click **Email Invoice** on the **Quick Checkout** page. The client needs an email address on their profile. There is no extra confirm step: the invoice is emailed as soon as you click.

**Step 3: Check that it was sent**
At checkout, you'll see **Invoice Emailed!** with the address it went to, and the pay link is also copied so you can paste it in a text if you like. From Quick Checkout, a message shows the invoice number and the address, then you land on the **Invoices** page. Either way, the pay link stays valid until it's paid or canceled.

When an invoice is sent, its line items are locked and it gets its invoice number. The pay link is for the balance still due at that moment, so any deposit or partial payment already made is taken into account.

**When an invoice can't be sent**
SpaSphere won't email an invoice that is voided, refunded, or already paid in full, that has no balance, or whose client has no email address. If the email itself fails to send, you'll see an error rather than a silent failure, so you know to try again.

### Invoice or Payment Link?

| | Send Payment Link | Email Invoice |
|---|---|---|
| What the client gets | A secure link to pay | An itemized invoice with a pay link |
| How long the link works | 24 hours | Until paid or canceled |
| Best for | Paying right after a visit | Balances the client will settle later |

## The Invoices Page

Click **Invoices** in the sidebar to open **Invoices & Unpaid Orders**. By default the page shows **Unpaid (owed)** invoices. The unpaid bill of a visit that hasn't happened yet isn't listed until the visit day, unless money is already involved (a deposit, a pay link, or a failed charge). Use the status filter to switch to **All**, **Paid**, **Partially paid**, **Pending payment**, or **Voided**, and the type filter to show **All types**, **Products only**, or **Appointments**.

Each row shows the **Invoice** number, **Client**, **Date**, **Status**, **Total**, and **Balance**. An unpaid row also says why it's still open; hover over it for what to do:

- **Visit not checked out**: the visit date has passed and checkout was never finished. Take payment, or void it if the client didn't come.
- **Visit done, balance due**: the visit was completed but the amount was never collected.
- **Visit today**: take payment at checkout.
- **Upcoming visit**: the bill for a visit that hasn't happened yet.
- **Waiting on client**: a pay link went out; it closes by itself once the client pays.
- **Payment didn't go through**: the last card payment failed.
- **Appointment canceled**: the visit didn't happen, so nothing is owed. You can void it.
- **Partly paid**: collect the rest when you can.
- **Balance due**: a sale with no appointment that hasn't been paid yet.

When you filter to **Voided**, each row shows the void reason, and a reason filter appears. Switch from **List** to **By client** to see, for each client, how many unpaid invoices they have, when the oldest one was created, and how much they owe.

Badges next to the invoice tell you more:

- **Sent**: the invoice was emailed. A count such as "×2" shows it was sent more than once.
- **Pending** with a number of days: the pay link has been outstanding for more than 30 days. Hover over it for a suggestion: if the link was deactivated in your Stripe dashboard, cancel it from the row menu and resend the invoice.

If you have many invoices, the page loads the most recent ones and tells you how many it loaded.

## Managing an Invoice

Open the menu at the end of a row. The options depend on the invoice's state:

- **Send invoice by email**: emails an invoice that still has a balance and no live pay link.
- **Resend invoice email**: sends the email again with the same pay link.
- **Copy pay link**: copies the link so you can share it yourself.
- **Cancel pay link**: turns the link off. You'll see "Payment link canceled. The client can no longer pay through this link." Send the invoice again to create a new one.
- **Send receipt**: emails a receipt for an invoice that is paid in full.
- **Void invoice**: for an unpaid invoice with nothing paid on it yet. Pick an optional **Reason** and confirm. Owners and managers see this option; service providers don't.
- **Open invoice**: opens the invoice.

A client can have only one pay link in progress for an invoice at a time.

## What the Client Sees

The email lists every item on the invoice, the amount due, and a button to pay online. Payment goes through Stripe, and the invoice updates in SpaSphere when it's paid.

In the client portal, clients can open their invoices and choose **View, print or save as PDF**. In their payment history, an invoice with a balance has a **Pay now** button when your spa is set up to take card payments online. It opens the same secure payment page as the email, so paying in either place is the same payment. If online payments aren't set up, the portal tells them: "To settle this invoice, use the payment link from your email or pay at your next visit." Draft and voided invoices don't appear in the portal.

## Frequently asked questions

**How long does an invoice's pay link last?**
Until the invoice is paid or you cancel the link. A Send Payment Link from checkout, by contrast, lasts 24 hours.

**Can clients pay an invoice in the client portal?**
Yes, if your spa takes card payments online. In the portal's payment history, an invoice with a balance shows a **Pay now** button that opens the same secure payment page as the invoice email. Clients can also view, print, and save their invoices there.

**The client lost the email. What do I do?**
On the Invoices page, open the row menu and choose Resend invoice email, or Copy pay link and send it to the client yourself.

**Can I change an invoice after sending it?**
Sending locks the invoice's line items. To stop the client paying the old amount, cancel the pay link from the row menu. For changing a ticket that has already been partly paid, see Processing Checkout.

**What does the Pending badge mean?**
The invoice's pay link has been outstanding for more than 30 days. The client may simply not have paid yet. If you deactivated the link in your Stripe dashboard, cancel it from the row menu and resend the invoice so the client gets a working link.


# How to Request a Deposit or Card on File in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/deposit-and-card-requests
Section: payments
Updated: 2026-10-14

When you book a client from the calendar, send them a secure link to pay a deposit or save a card on file before the appointment.

Clients who book online go through your deposit rules on your booking site. Clients you book yourself -- by phone, by DM, or at the front desk -- can get the same protection. When you create an appointment on the calendar, tick one box and SpaSphere sends the client a secure link to pay a deposit or save a card on file.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

A deposit or a card on file is what makes a client take a booking seriously. Without a way to collect one for appointments you book yourself, those are the bookings most exposed to no-shows. A request link handles it without reading card numbers over the phone: the client pays or saves the card herself, on her own device, and the money goes to your Stripe account.

## Key Capabilities

- Send a request while creating an appointment on the calendar
- Asks for a deposit or a card on file, depending on your deposit settings
- The client gets a secure link by email to a page on your SpaSphere website
- Links work for 7 days
- A paid deposit counts toward the appointment's ticket at checkout
- Cards are saved to the client's **Cards on File**, including the card used for a deposit

## Before You Start

- **Stripe Connect** must be set up. See [Setting Up Stripe](https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/setting-up-stripe).
- The client needs an **email address** on their profile. The link is sent by email.
- Your deposit settings decide what is requested. In **Settings > Appointments**, if **Require deposit** is on and the **Deposit percentage** is above 0, the client is asked for a deposit. Otherwise, they're asked to save a card on file and aren't charged. See [Booking Preferences](https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/booking-preferences).

## Sending a Request

**Step 1: Create the appointment**
On the calendar, start a new appointment and select the client and the service. See [Scheduling Appointments](https://spasphere.ai/docs/appointments/scheduling-appointments).

**Step 2: Tick the Payment box**
A **Payment** section appears. Tick **Send request for deposit** (or **Collect card on file**, if you don't require deposits). The text under the box tells you what the client will get, for example a link "to pay their 25% deposit."

If the box is greyed out, the client has no email address. Add one to their profile first.

**Step 3: Save the appointment**
Click **Book appointment**. The appointment is created, and then the request goes out to the client by email. You'll see **Appointment added**.

The deposit is your deposit percentage of the appointment's total, including add-ons.

**New appointments only**
The **Payment** section appears when you create an appointment, not when you edit one, and not for blocked time.

### If the Request Doesn't Go Out

A request can't be sent if Stripe isn't set up, the client has no email, or the appointment has been canceled. The appointment is still saved either way.

## What the Client Sees

The link opens a page on your SpaSphere website, in your brand.

- **Deposit**: "Pay your deposit." The page explains that you're requesting a deposit to confirm the appointment, shows the service and the **Deposit due**, and has a **Pay** button with the amount. "Your deposit goes directly to the business."
- **Card on file**: "Save your card on file." The page explains that you ask clients to keep a card on file and that they won't be charged now, with a **Save my card** button.

When they're done, the client sees **Deposit received** or **Card saved**. If the link has run out, they see **Link expired** and are asked to contact you for a new one.

## After the Client Responds

- A paid deposit is recorded as a payment on the appointment's ticket. At checkout, the receipt shows **Paid So Far** and **Balance Due**, and you can still change items. See [Processing Checkout](https://spasphere.ai/docs/checkout/processing-checkout).
- The card the client used -- or the card they saved -- is added to the client's [Cards on File](https://spasphere.ai/docs/clients/cards-on-file).

## Frequently asked questions

**How long does the link last?**
7 days. After that the client sees Link expired and is asked to contact you. There's no way to resend a request for an existing appointment, so collect the deposit another way, for example with Email Invoice, or save the card in person from the client's Cards on File tab.

**Can I choose a deposit or a card for each appointment?**
No. What's requested follows your deposit settings in Settings > Appointments. If Require deposit is on with a percentage above 0, clients are asked for a deposit; otherwise, they're asked to save a card.

**Can I send a request for an appointment I already booked?**
The Payment option appears only when you create a new appointment. It isn't available when you edit an existing one.

**Is the client charged when they save a card?**
No. Saving a card doesn't charge it. The card is kept on file so you can charge it later, for example at checkout.

**Where does the deposit money go?**
Straight to your Stripe account. The deposit is recorded against the appointment, so it's deducted from what the client owes at checkout.


# Your Card Reader's Screen: Your Brand on Every Reader

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/card-reader-screen
Section: payments
Updated: 2026-10-20

Put your logo, colors and welcome line on your card reader's screen, and show clients their bill on the reader at checkout.

Your card reader sits on your front desk all day, right where every client looks. Instead of a plain screen, it can show your logo, your colors and a warm welcome line. At checkout, it also shows the client their bill before they pay, so there are no surprises.

You'll find it under **Settings > Payments**, on the **Card readers** tab, in the **Your reader's screen** section. It appears once your Stripe account is connected. See [Setting Up Stripe](https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/setting-up-stripe) if you haven't connected yet.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Small details make a visit feel premium. A reader that greets clients with your name and colors looks like part of your space, not a borrowed gadget. And when the client sees each item and the total on the reader before they tap their card, they pay with confidence, and you get fewer questions at the desk.

## Key Capabilities

- Three designs, made from your website's logo and colors (and, for **Hero photo**, its photo)
- A background color of your choice behind your logo
- An optional welcome line under your name
- One click sends the screen to all your readers, at every location
- One click takes you back to Stripe's standard screen
- At checkout, the client's bill shows on the reader, and they tap **Looks good** before they pay

## Which Readers It Works With

The screen works on the **BBPOS WisePOS E** and the **Stripe Reader S700** and **S710**. SpaSphere makes the picture in the right size for each one, so you don't need to do anything different for each reader.

## Choosing Your Reader's Screen

**Step 1: Open your reader settings**
Go to **Settings > Payments** and click the **Card readers** tab. Scroll to **Your reader's screen**.

**Step 2: Pick a design**
Each design shows a preview with your own logo and colors:
- **Brand color**: your color, your logo and name in the middle.
- **Hero photo**: the photo from your website, with your logo on top.
- **Minimal light**: soft and light, with a line of your color.

**Step 3: Choose a background**
For **Brand color** and **Minimal light**, pick the color behind your logo under **Background**. You can choose the design's own color, your brand colors, white, a soft cream, or near-black, or click **Pick a color** for any color you like. **Back to default** returns to the design's own color. Your logo shows exactly as you uploaded it, so pick the color it looks best on.

**Step 4: Add a welcome line**
Type a short greeting in **Welcome line (optional)**, up to 60 characters, for example "Welcome, relax and enjoy". It shows under your name.

**Step 5: Send it**
Click **Send to my readers**. It can take a few minutes to show on the reader. Once it's sent, the button reads **On your readers**, and the line next to it tells you which design your readers show and since when.

Every design has a small "Powered by SpaSphere" line at the bottom of the screen.

**Where your logo, colors and photo come from**
The screen uses the same look as your website. The colors come from the first section of your home page when it has its own colors, otherwise from your website's main color, otherwise from the brand colors in your business settings. Your logo comes from your website, or from your business settings if your website has none. The **Hero photo** design uses the photo from the top of your home page. If your home page has no photo yet, that design shows your color instead. To change any of these, update your website, then come back and click **Send to my readers** again.

## One Screen for Every Reader

**Send to my readers** puts the screen on all your readers at once, at every location. A reader you add later gets it too. You don't need to set it up reader by reader.

To change the screen, pick a new design, background or welcome line, and click **Send to my readers** again.

## Going Back to Stripe's Screen

Click **Use Stripe's screen** (it shows once you've sent your own screen). Your readers go back to Stripe's standard waiting screen, and the line reads **Your readers show Stripe's screen.** You can send your own screen again at any time.

## The Bill on the Reader at Checkout

When you take a card payment on a reader, the client sees what they're paying for before the reader asks for their card.

**Step 1: Choose In-Person Terminal**
At checkout, choose **In-Person Terminal** as the payment method. See [Processing Checkout](https://spasphere.ai/docs/checkout/processing-checkout).

**Step 2: Pick the reader**
Under **Select Terminal**, pick the reader the client is standing at. If only one reader is online, it's picked for you. The bill appears on that reader right away: the items, any discount, the tax and the total. On a very long bill, the last items are grouped into one line.

**Step 3: Send it for the client to check**
Click **Send to Terminal**. The reader asks the client to check the bill, with **Looks good** and **Something's wrong** buttons. On your screen you'll see **Your client is checking the bill**, with the reader's name and the amount.

**Step 4: Let the client approve**
When the client taps **Looks good**, the reader asks for a tip and then their card, and the client taps, inserts or swipes. If they tap **Something's wrong**, checkout comes back to you with a note to go over the bill with them and send it again. If they don't answer, you'll see a note to send it again when they're ready. To skip the client's check, click **Start payment now**; to stop, click **Cancel**.

If the reader can't ask the client to check the bill, the payment starts straight away, as before.

If you go back, close checkout or pick a different reader before the payment starts, SpaSphere takes the bill off the reader, so the next client never sees it.

**Split and partly paid bills add up**
When part of the bill was already paid, the reader shows a **Paid already** line. When you're splitting the payment and the card covers only part, it shows a **Paid another way** line. Either way, the total on the reader is the amount you're sending to the card. See [Split Payments and Gift Cards](https://spasphere.ai/docs/checkout/split-payments-and-gift-cards).

The bill is there to help the client follow along. If the reader can't show it for any reason, checkout goes on as normal.

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**I clicked Send to my readers but my reader still shows the old screen. What do I do?**
It can take a few minutes for a reader to pick up a new screen. Make sure the reader is on and connected to WiFi, then give it a few minutes.

**Do I need to set up each reader separately?**
No. Send to my readers puts your screen on every reader you have, at every location, and readers you add later get it too.

**Why can't I pick a background for the Hero photo design?**
That design fills the screen with the photo from your website, so there is no background to choose. Pick Brand color or Minimal light if you'd like to choose the color behind your logo.

**My logo is hard to see on the screen. How do I fix it?**
Your logo shows exactly as you uploaded it. Under Background, try white, cream or near-black, or click Pick a color, until it stands out, then click Send to my readers.

**Does the bill on the reader change what the client is charged?**
No. The bill only shows the client what they're paying for. The amount charged is the payment you send from checkout, and the total on the bill matches it. A tip the client adds on the reader, or a card fee if you pass card costs on to clients, is added after the bill.

**Do I need a branded screen to show the bill at checkout?**
No. The bill shows on your reader at checkout either way, whether your readers use your own screen or Stripe's.


# Refer a Friend: How the SpaSphere Referral Program Works

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/referral-program/refer-a-friend
Section: referral-program
Updated: 2026-10-14

Share SpaSphere with another spa owner and you both get a free month. Here's how to find your link, how the reward is earned, and the full program terms.

Love running your spa on SpaSphere? Tell another owner. When a friend you refer becomes a paying SpaSphere customer, **you both get a free month** — your way of sharing the platform, and ours of saying thank you.

**Looking for client referrals instead?**
This program rewards <strong>you</strong> for referring another business to SpaSphere. If you want <strong>your clients</strong> to refer their friends to your spa and earn store credit, that's the <a href="/docs/marketing/referral-and-loyalty">Referral & Loyalty add-on</a>.

## How It Works

**Step 1: Share your link**
Every account has a unique referral link. Send it to another spa or salon owner yourself, or have SpaSphere email it to them for you.

**Step 2: They sign up and try SpaSphere**
Your friend signs up through your link and starts with the standard intro offer — 30 days for $1. The referral never changes their pricing or trial.

**Step 3: You both get a free month**
Once your friend pays their first full month, a free month is credited to both of your accounts. There's no limit — every friend who becomes a paying customer earns you another free month.

## Finding and Sharing Your Link

**Step 1: Open Refer & Earn**
In the SpaSphere admin, go to **Settings > Refer & Earn**. It's the first item under Settings, highlighted in purple.

**Step 2: Copy your link**
On the **"Give a free month, get a free month"** card, find **Your referral link** and click **Copy link**. Your link looks like `https://app.spasphere.ai/register?ref=spa_xxxxxxxxxx`.

**Step 3: Send it**
Share it however you like — text, email, DM, or in person. Anyone who signs up through that link is attributed to you automatically.

### Let SpaSphere email the invite

Prefer not to write the email yourself? Under **Or send an invite by email**, enter your friend's email address and click **Send invite**. SpaSphere emails them your link with your business name on it. It's one email with no follow-ups. If you send a lot of invites in a short time, you may be asked to wait before sending more.

### Tracking your referrals

The same card shows your **Referrals**, how many are **Pending**, and your **Free months earned** so far. You can also see these numbers and copy your link from the SpaSphere mobile app.

## When the Free Month Is Granted

**The reward is earned at the first full-price month — not at signup**
The free month for both sides is granted **only after the friend you referred pays their first full-price monthly subscription invoice.** It is never granted at signup, during the $1 introductory period, during a free trial, or on any discounted or promotional invoice. This makes sure a referral reflects a real, paying spa.

Each free month is applied as an **account credit equal to your own current monthly subscription price**, automatically applied to your next invoice — so on the $139 plan, that's a $139 credit. You don't need to enter a code or do anything; it happens on its own.

## Terms & Conditions

1. **Who can be referred.** The reward applies to a brand-new SpaSphere account that signs up using your referral link. Existing customers, returning or re-subscribing accounts, and accounts that did not sign up through a referral link are not eligible.
2. **When the reward is earned.** The free month for both you and the friend you referred is granted only after the referred account pays its first **full-price** monthly subscription invoice — not at signup, not during the $1 introductory period, not during a free trial, and not on any discounted or promotional invoice.
3. **Full price required.** If the referred account is on a coupon, discount, or other promotional pricing, the reward waits until they pay a full, undiscounted month.
4. **What the reward is.** Each free month is an account credit equal to that account's own current monthly subscription price, applied automatically to the next invoice. It has no cash value and cannot be transferred, withdrawn, or exchanged.
5. **One reward per referred account.** Each account you refer can earn the reward once — one free month for you and one for them.
6. **Unlimited referrals.** There is no limit to how many spas you can refer. Each qualifying referral earns another free month.
7. **No self-referrals.** You cannot use your own link to refer your own account.
8. **Program changes.** SpaSphere may change or end the referral program at any time. Rewards already earned will be honored.

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**When exactly do I get my free month?**
After the friend you referred pays their first full-price monthly invoice. The $1 intro month and any free-trial or discounted period don't count — the reward is tied to a real, full-price payment.

**How many spas can I refer?**
As many as you like. There's no cap. Every referred spa that becomes a paying customer earns you another free month.

**Can SpaSphere send the invite for me?**
Yes. On Settings > Refer & Earn, enter your friend's email under 'Or send an invite by email' and click Send invite. We email them your link with your business name on it -- one email, no follow-ups.

**How is the free month given to me?**
As an account credit equal to your own monthly plan price, applied automatically to your next invoice. There's no code to enter.

**What if my friend uses a discount or coupon?**
The reward simply waits. Once they pay a full, undiscounted month, you both receive your free month.

**Does my friend still get the normal $1 intro?**
Yes. The referral never changes their pricing or trial — they get the standard 30-days-for-$1 intro, plus the free month once they've paid their first full month.

**Where do I find my referral link?**
In the SpaSphere admin under Settings > Refer & Earn, on the 'Give a free month, get a free month' card. This page used to be called Resources.


# How to Generate and Export Business Reports in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/reports/generating-reports
Section: reports
Updated: 2026-10-20

Run operational reports and AI-powered intelligent reports in SpaSphere. Generate revenue, payment, tax, client, gift card, and appointment reports with CSV and PDF export.

SpaSphere's Reports section provides two complementary systems: **Operational Reports** for clean, exportable business data and **Intelligent Reports** for AI-generated insights with specific action items. Together, they give you everything from raw data for your accountant to decision-grade recommendations for your next business move. Open **Reports > Financial reports** in the left sidebar of your [SpaSphere admin dashboard](https://spasphere.ai/). The **Reports** menu also has **Memberships** and **Members** pages for membership reporting.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Good record-keeping is not just about compliance -- it drives profitability. Spas that regularly review financial reports catch billing discrepancies, identify underperforming services, and optimize pricing 2-3 times faster than those that rely on end-of-month bank statements alone. A monthly revenue report review takes 15 minutes and can uncover $500-$2,000 in missed opportunities -- from services that need a price increase to products with declining sales. SpaSphere's intelligent reports go further by telling you not just what happened, but what you should do about it, with estimated dollar impact for each recommendation.

## Two Types of Reports

SpaSphere organizes reports into two tabs:

| Type | Purpose | Output |
|---|---|---|
| **Operational Reports** | Clean tabular data for record-keeping and accounting | Summary cards + sortable data table + CSV and PDF export |
| **Intelligent Reports** | AI-powered insights with action items | Insight cards with "why it matters," actions, and impact estimates, plus CSV and PDF export |

## Generating Operational Reports

**Step 1: Open Reports and select the Operational tab**
Click **Reports > Financial reports** in the sidebar. The page opens with the **Operational Reports** tab active by default. You will see report groups organized as expandable sections: **Financial Reports**, **Appointment Reports**, **Client Reports**, **Service Reports**, **Package Reports**, **Inventory Reports**, and **Gift Card Reports**.

**Step 2: Set your date range**
Use the date filter in the top-right corner. Pick a preset (**Last 7 days**, **Last 90 days**, **This month**, **Last month**, **Last quarter**, **This year**, or **Last year**) or choose **Custom** to set your own start and end dates, then click **Apply**. By default, reports cover the last 30 days; **Gift Cards Sold** opens on the last 365 days instead. For monthly reviews, choose **Last month**. The date range applies to all reports in the operational tab, and days are counted in your business's time zone.

**Step 3: Expand a report group and select a report**
Click any group header to expand it. Each group contains one or more specific reports:

**Financial Reports:**
- Revenue Summary -- Daily revenue breakdown with services, products, tips, and taxes
- Products Revenue -- Product sales with quantity, revenue, cost, and profit margins
- Payments & Refunds -- All payment transactions with status and method
- Tips Report -- Every tipped payment, with totals by staff member and payment method
- Sales Tax by Month -- Monthly taxable sales, tax collected, exempt sales, and effective rate
- Tax by Category -- Tax collected on services vs. products

**Appointment Reports:**
- Appointments -- Complete appointment history with status and details

**Client Reports:**
- Client List -- All clients with contact info, lifetime value, and visit counts

**Service Reports:**
- Services Revenue -- Service bookings with revenue, average price, and revenue per hour
- Service Material Cost Analysis -- The product cost behind each service, based on the products recorded in your SOAP notes

**Package Reports:**
- Packages -- Package sales, enrollments, and service usage statistics. Click the arrow on a package row to see who is enrolled: client, source, enrollment date, and uses.

**Inventory Reports:**
- Inventory -- Current stock levels, reorder points, and inventory values

**Gift Card Reports:**
- Gift Cards Sold -- Cards issued in the date range, with code, purchaser, recipient, and balance

Click a report row to view its data inline.

**Step 4: Review summary cards and data**
Each report displays summary cards at the top (e.g., total revenue, total clients, average spent) followed by a sortable data table. Click any column header to sort ascending or descending. Money values are formatted with dollar signs, rates show as percentages, and counts display as plain numbers. The table shows up to 50 rows in the browser ("Showing 50 of N rows") -- export CSV or PDF for the full dataset.

**Step 5: Download CSV or PDF**
Every report row has two buttons:

- **CSV** downloads the full dataset as a spreadsheet file, named automatically (e.g., `revenue_report.csv`). It includes all rows, not just the 50 shown in the browser. This is the export you hand to your accountant or import into QuickBooks, Xero, or Google Sheets.
- **PDF** builds a formatted, multi-page PDF of the report for the selected date range. The button shows **Building…** while it works, and you'll see "PDF downloaded." when it's done. PDFs include up to 10,000 rows.

You don't need to open a report first. The buttons work straight from the report list.

**Tax report disclaimer**
The **Sales Tax by Month** and **Tax by Category** reports are for informational purposes only. SpaSphere does not provide tax advice or handle tax filing. Always consult your accountant before making tax decisions based on this data. See [Revenue Reports](https://spasphere.ai/docs/reports/revenue-reports) for what each tax report shows.

**Service Material Cost Analysis needs product costs**
This report averages the cost of the products your team records in SOAP notes for each service, and compares it with that service's revenue in the date range. Only products with a cost entered in Inventory are counted, so enter your product costs first for accurate margins.

## Generating Intelligent Reports

**Step 1: Switch to the Intelligent Reports tab**
Click the **Intelligent Reports** tab at the top of the Reports page. You will see a grid of nine report cards, each with a name, description, and a question it answers.

**Step 2: Select a report**
Click any card to open that report. SpaSphere fetches AI-generated insights for the default date range. The report loads with a summary header showing total insights, high-priority count, total potential impact in dollars, and completed count.

**Step 3: Review and act on insights**
Each insight card includes:

- **The insight** -- What SpaSphere detected (e.g., "3 clients at high risk of churning")
- **Impact estimate** -- Estimated dollar value if addressed
- **Confidence level** -- High, medium, or low, shown as filled dots
- **Why this matters** -- Explanation with supporting data, sometimes including affected clients or products
- **What to do** -- Specific action items with checkboxes you can complete
- **Take Action** -- On client-risk insights, a shortcut to [Churn Prevention](https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/churn-prevention) to reach out to those clients
- **Mark as Done** or **Dismiss** -- Track which insights you have acted on

Work through high-priority insights first -- they appear with orange or red indicators and typically have the highest impact values.

**Step 4: Export intelligent reports**
Use the actions bar above the insight list: **Export CSV** downloads the report data, and **Export PDF** downloads a formatted PDF of the insights (the button reads **Building PDF…** while it works). Use the **Refresh** button to regenerate insights with the latest data. When there's nothing left to act on, the report shows **All caught up!**

**Make intelligent reports part of your weekly routine**
Set aside 15 minutes every Monday to review one or two intelligent reports. Start with **Revenue at Risk** and **Client Momentum** -- these two reports surface the most time-sensitive issues. Acting on just one high-priority insight per week can recover $200-$500 in monthly revenue that would otherwise slip through the cracks.

## The Nine Intelligent Reports

| Report | Question It Answers | Key Metrics |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue at Risk | Where am I about to lose money? | At-risk revenue, at-risk appointment count, deposit coverage rate |
| Client Momentum | Which clients are gaining or losing momentum? | Overdue clients, at-risk LTV, average momentum score |
| Service Performance | Which services grow my business? | Revenue per minute, underperformer count, optimization potential |
| Schedule Efficiency | How much revenue am I leaving on the table? | Utilization rate, fillable gap hours, revenue left on table |
| Growth Opportunities | What is the smartest next move? | Cross-sell opportunities, package-ready clients, opportunity value |
| Staff Performance | How is my team performing? | Average utilization, revenue per hour, total tips collected |
| Inventory Intelligence | What inventory needs attention? | Low stock count, dead stock count, inventory value at risk |
| Payment Health | Where is my money stuck? | Total outstanding, average days outstanding, collection rate |
| Client Conversion | How am I converting new clients? | Conversion rate, high-value prospects, reactivation targets |

## Frequently asked questions

**What is the difference between operational and intelligent reports?**
Operational reports give you clean, structured data tables -- the kind you export to CSV and hand to your accountant. They show what happened: revenue totals, payment transactions, client lists, appointment history. Intelligent reports go a step further by analyzing that data and telling you what to do next. Each intelligent report generates insight cards with specific action items, estimated dollar impact, and confidence levels. Think of operational reports as your record-keeping tool and intelligent reports as your business advisor.

**How often should I run reports?**
For operational reports, a monthly cadence works well for most spas -- pull your Revenue Summary, Payments, and Tax reports at the end of each month for bookkeeping. For intelligent reports, weekly is ideal. Revenue at Risk and Client Momentum change frequently and surface time-sensitive issues. Schedule Efficiency and Growth Opportunities are best reviewed bi-weekly or monthly. The key is consistency: pick a day and time that works for you and make it a habit.

**Can I customize the date range for reports?**
Yes. Operational reports have presets such as Last month, Last quarter, and Last year, or choose Custom to set any start and end date. Intelligent reports use a default date range that you can adjust as well. For year-end reporting, set your date range to January 1 through December 31 to get a full annual view. SpaSphere handles the data aggregation automatically regardless of the range you select.

**How do I share reports with my accountant?**
The fastest way is to use the CSV export button on any operational report. The downloaded file opens in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet application. For intelligent reports, you can export the insights as CSV or PDF. If your accountant prefers formatted documents, click the PDF button on any operational report instead. For charts, use the PDF export on the Analytics dashboard. Many spa owners set up a monthly ritual: export Revenue Summary, Payments, and Tax CSVs and email them to their bookkeeper.

**What does 'Mark as Done' do on intelligent report insights?**
Marking an insight as "Done" updates its status and moves it out of your active view. This helps you track which recommendations you have acted on and keeps your insight list focused on unresolved items. You can also dismiss insights that are not relevant to your situation. The summary header updates in real time to show how many insights you have completed. This creates a lightweight task management workflow right inside your reports.


# How to Run Revenue and Financial Reports in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/reports/revenue-reports
Section: reports
Updated: 2026-10-20

Generate revenue summaries, payment reports, tax reports, tips breakdowns, product sales, and gift card sales reports in SpaSphere with CSV and PDF export for your accountant.

SpaSphere's financial reports give you clean, organized data for bookkeeping, tax preparation, and business analysis. From daily revenue breakdowns to per-appointment tips and gift card sales, every report is sortable and exportable as CSV or PDF. Open them from **Reports > Financial reports > Operational Reports** in the [SpaSphere admin dashboard](https://spasphere.ai/).

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Spas that maintain organized financial records save an average of 5-10 hours per month on bookkeeping and avoid costly mistakes at tax time. A misclassified payment or missed refund can create discrepancies that take hours to untangle. SpaSphere builds these reports from the invoices and payments already recorded at checkout, so there's no manual tallying at month end, and your accountant gets clean data on the first pass, saving you $200-$500 in accounting fees per quarter.

## Available Financial Reports

SpaSphere has six reports under **Financial Reports**, plus a gift card report under **Gift Card Reports**:

| Report | What It Shows | Key Columns |
|---|---|---|
| **Revenue Summary** | Daily revenue breakdown | Date, services revenue, products revenue, membership revenue, tips, discounts, tax, net revenue |
| **Products Revenue** | Product sales detail | Product name, category, quantity sold, revenue, cost of goods, gross profit, margin percent, average price |
| **Payments & Refunds** | Every payment | Date, client, amount, tip, tax, status, refunded amount, payment method |
| **Tips Report** | Every tipped appointment | Date, client, staff, service, service amount, tip amount, payment method |
| **Sales Tax by Month** | Tax by month | Period, taxable sales, tax rate, tax collected, exempt sales, order count |
| **Tax by Category** | Tax on services vs. products | Category, taxable revenue, tax collected, transaction count |
| **Gift Cards Sold** | Gift cards issued in the period | Sold at, code, original balance, current balance, active, purchaser, recipient, notes |

## Running Financial Reports

**Step 1: Navigate to Reports**
Click **Reports > Financial reports** in the left sidebar. Make sure you are on the **Operational Reports** tab (it is selected by default).

**Step 2: Set your date range**
Use the date filter in the top-right area. Choose a preset such as **This month**, **Last month**, **Last quarter**, or **Last year**, or choose **Custom** and set a start and end date, then click **Apply**. For monthly bookkeeping, **Last month** is the quickest option. For quarterly tax prep, use **Last quarter**. Dates are counted in your business's time zone.

**Step 3: Expand the Financial Reports group**
Click **Financial Reports** to expand it. You will see the six report rows listed inside.

**Step 4: Select a report to view**
Click a report row (e.g., **Revenue Summary**) to load the data inline. The report renders below the row with two sections:

1. **Summary cards** -- Totals for the period, such as total revenue, total tips, or total tax
2. **Data table** -- A sortable table with individual rows. Click any column header to sort ascending or descending.

**Step 5: Download the report as CSV or PDF**
Click **CSV** on the report row to download the full dataset as a spreadsheet. The CSV includes all rows (not just the 50 displayed in the browser) and preserves the column headers for easy import into Excel, Google Sheets, QuickBooks, or Xero. Click **PDF** for a formatted, multi-page PDF of the same report.

**Sort by net revenue to find your best and worst days**
After loading the Revenue Summary, click the **net revenue** column header to sort descending. Your highest-revenue days appear at the top. Compare them to your lowest days to understand what drives the difference -- was it a particular service, a promotion, or simply a busy Saturday?

## Revenue Summary Deep Dive

The Revenue Summary is the most commonly used financial report. Each row represents one day in your selected date range. Here is what each column means:

- **Date** -- The day the invoice was paid, in your business's time zone
- **Services Revenue** -- Services, packages, and treatment plans on the day's paid invoices
- **Products Revenue** -- Retail products sold
- **Membership Revenue** -- Recurring membership dues, shown separately from services
- **Tips** -- Tips on the day's paid invoices
- **Discounts** -- Discount amounts applied
- **Tax** -- Tax charged on the day's paid invoices
- **Net Revenue** -- The total of the day's paid invoices

**Revenue is based on paid invoices**
The Revenue Summary counts invoices that are paid in full or partially paid, on the day they were paid. An appointment that is booked but not yet paid does not appear until payment is taken. An invoice that is fully refunded drops out of the report. A partial refund is not subtracted here, so use the **Payments & Refunds** report to see refunded amounts.

## Products Revenue Report

If you sell retail products through SpaSphere, the Products Revenue report gives you margin analysis:

- **Product Name** and **Category** -- The product sold
- **Quantity Sold** -- Units sold in the period
- **Total Revenue** -- Total sales amount
- **Cost of Goods** -- Your cost basis (if entered in inventory)
- **Gross Profit** -- Revenue minus cost of goods
- **Margin %** -- Profit as a percentage of revenue
- **Avg Price** -- Average selling price per unit

This report helps you identify your most profitable products, spot items with declining sales, and decide which products to reorder or discontinue.

## Tips Report

The Tips Report lists every tipped appointment in the period, one row per tip:

- **Date**, **Client**, **Staff**, and **Service** -- Who was tipped, by whom, and for what
- **Service Amount** -- The price of the service
- **Tip Amount** -- The tip on that appointment
- **Payment Method** -- **card** or **cash**. Payments recorded as cash or another outside method (such as Venmo or Zelle) are grouped under cash.

The summary cards at the top show total tips, tips by card, tips by cash, the average tip amount, the average tip as a percentage of the service amount, and the number of appointments with tips. A per-staff breakdown is included, so you can see each team member's total for the period.

**Use tips data for payroll**
Export the Tips Report as CSV at the end of each pay period and import it into your payroll system. Because each row is a single appointment, you can check any team member's total line by line.

## Tax Reports

Two reports give your accountant the data for sales tax filing.

**Sales Tax by Month** has one row per month:

- **Period** -- The month
- **Taxable Sales** -- Sales that had tax applied
- **Tax Rate** -- The rate applied
- **Tax Collected** -- Tax charged on paid invoices that month
- **Exempt Sales** -- Sales with no tax applied
- **Order Count** -- Number of paid invoices

The summary cards include your effective tax rate for the whole period.

**Tax by Category** splits the tax you collected between **services** and **products**, with taxable revenue, tax collected, and transaction count for each. The split is based on your current tax settings, so if you've changed which of services or products you tax, older tax may be shown under the category you tax now.

**This is not tax advice**
The tax reports show the tax SpaSphere charged at checkout, based on the rates set under **Settings > Tax**. They do not constitute tax advice. Always consult your accountant to make sure you are meeting your local tax obligations. SpaSphere does not handle tax filing or remittance.

## Payments and Refunds Report

The Payments & Refunds report provides a payment-by-payment view of money movement:

- **Date** -- Payment date
- **Client** -- Who paid
- **Amount**, **Tip**, and **Tax** -- The payment and its tip and tax
- **Status** -- Succeeded, failed, or refunded
- **Refunded** -- If applicable, how much was returned
- **Method** -- How the payment was made

This report is the one to use when reconciling your Stripe payouts with your bank deposits. Sort by status to quickly find all refunded or failed payments in a period.

## Gift Cards Sold Report

Find **Gift Cards Sold** under **Gift Card Reports**. It lists every gift card issued in the date range, which is useful for reconciling month-end gift card sales and matching them to any physical cards you hand out. Because gift cards can be redeemed long after they're sold, this report opens on the last 365 days instead of the usual 30.

Each row shows:

- **Sold At** -- When the card was issued
- **Code** -- The gift card code. Older cards show only the last four characters.
- **Original Balance** and **Current Balance** -- What the card was sold for and what's left on it
- **Active** -- Whether the card can still be used
- **Purchaser** and **Recipient** -- Names and emails
- **Notes** -- Any note saved with the card

The summary cards show the total number of cards sold, their total original value, their total current value, and how many are still active. Click **CSV** on the report row to download the full list, with the summary totals at the bottom of the file.

**Gift card codes are in the export**
The Gift Cards Sold report and its CSV include full gift card codes, which work like cash. Store and share the file carefully.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I run a report for a specific service or product?**
The operational reports cover all services and products within the selected date range. To analyze a specific service, use the **Services Revenue** report and sort by the service name column. For product-specific data, use the **Products Revenue** report. If you need per-service trend analysis, the Analytics dashboard's Breakdown tab provides visual charts filtered by service.

**Why does my revenue report not match my Stripe dashboard?**
The Revenue Summary is built from paid invoices in SpaSphere, while Stripe shows card charges. The two differ when you take cash or other outside payments (included in SpaSphere, not in Stripe), when an invoice is only partially paid, or when there are partial refunds. Days also differ: SpaSphere uses your business's time zone, while Stripe may use UTC. For a payment-by-payment comparison, use the Payments & Refunds report.

**How far back can I run reports?**
SpaSphere retains your transaction data from the day you created your account. Choose Custom in the date filter to set any start and end date within your account history. For year-over-year comparisons, run the same report for This year and Last year and compare the two exports.

**Can I schedule automatic report delivery?**
Not yet. Reports are generated on demand. Open **Reports > Financial reports**, pick your dates, and click CSV or PDF. Many spa owners add a recurring calendar reminder at the end of each month.

**What happens if I refund a payment after running a report?**
A full refund removes that invoice from the Revenue Summary the next time you run the report for that period. A partial refund shows up in the Payments & Refunds report but does not reduce the Revenue Summary. If you already sent a report to your accountant, re-run it for the same period and include the Payments & Refunds export.

**Where are membership dues in my reports?**
Recurring membership dues have their own Membership Revenue column in the Revenue Summary, separate from services. For membership-specific reporting, see Reports > Memberships and Reports > Members in the sidebar.


# How to Export Spa Business Data from SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/reports/exporting-data
Section: reports
Updated: 2026-10-20

Export revenue, payment, client, appointment, inventory, and tax data from SpaSphere as CSV or PDF for accounting, payroll, and business analysis.

SpaSphere gives you several ways to get your data out: **CSV exports** for structured, tabular data you can import into spreadsheets and accounting software, **PDF exports** of any report or Analytics tab for sharing and printing, and a **full data export** of your whole account under **Settings > Import & Export**. This guide covers every export option available so you always know where to go when your accountant, payroll provider, or business partner needs data.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Locked-in data is the enemy of good business decisions. Your accountant needs clean transaction records. Your payroll service needs tip breakdowns. Your business partner wants a visual summary they can review in five minutes. SpaSphere makes all of this data accessible with a few clicks, eliminating the hours some spa owners spend manually compiling spreadsheets each month. Industry surveys show that beauty businesses with organized export workflows save 6-12 hours per month on administrative tasks -- time that can be reinvested into client care or marketing.

## Export Options Overview

| What You Need | Where to Go | Format | Contains |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue, payments, tips | Financial reports > Operational > Financial | CSV or PDF | Structured rows with all transactions |
| Sales tax | Financial reports > Operational > Financial > Sales Tax by Month / Tax by Category | CSV or PDF | Taxable sales, tax collected, exempt sales |
| Appointments history | Financial reports > Operational > Appointments | CSV or PDF | Booking details, status, client, service |
| Client list with LTV | Financial reports > Operational > Clients | CSV or PDF | Contact info, lifetime value, visit count |
| Service performance | Financial reports > Operational > Services | CSV or PDF | Bookings, revenue, avg price, revenue/hour, material cost |
| Product sales | Financial reports > Operational > Financial > Products Revenue | CSV or PDF | Quantity, revenue, cost, profit margin |
| Package data | Financial reports > Operational > Packages | CSV or PDF | Sales, enrollments, usage stats |
| Inventory snapshot | Financial reports > Operational > Inventory | CSV or PDF | Stock levels, reorder points, values |
| Gift cards sold | Financial reports > Operational > Gift Card Reports | CSV or PDF | Code, purchaser, recipient, balances |
| Intelligent report insights | Financial reports > Intelligent > (any report) | CSV or PDF | Insight details, actions, impact values |
| Visual analytics with charts | Reports > Analytics > (any tab) | PDF | Charts, metrics, formatted A4 pages |
| Everything in your account | Settings > Import & Export | ZIP of CSVs | Clients, appointments, orders, notes, SOAP notes, and more |

## Exporting CSV or PDF from Operational Reports

**Step 1: Navigate to the report you need**
Go to **Reports > Financial reports** in the sidebar. On the **Operational Reports** tab, expand the appropriate group (Financial, Appointment, Client, Service, Package, Inventory, or Gift Card Reports) and locate the specific report.

**Step 2: Set your date range**
Use the date filter at the top to define the period you want to export. Pick a preset such as **Last month** or **Last quarter**, or choose **Custom** for exact dates, then click **Apply**. Make sure the dates cover exactly the period your accountant or payroll provider needs.

**Step 3: Click CSV or PDF**
Each report row has a **CSV** button on the right side. Click it to start the download immediately. The browser downloads a file named after the report type (e.g., `revenue_report.csv`, `tips_report.csv`, `clients_report.csv`).

For a formatted document instead, click **PDF**. The button shows **Building…** while SpaSphere builds a multi-page PDF of the full report, and you'll see "PDF downloaded." when it's saved.

**Step 4: Open and verify the CSV**
Open the file in Excel, Google Sheets, or your accounting software. The CSV includes:

- **All rows** -- The full dataset, not just the 50 rows shown in the browser table
- **Readable headers** -- Column names such as **Services Revenue**, **Net Revenue**, and **Tip Amount**
- **A summary** -- Many reports add their totals below the data rows

Spot-check a few values against the summary cards in SpaSphere to confirm everything matches.

**Create a monthly export routine**
At the end of each month, export these four CSVs: Revenue Summary, Payments & Refunds, Tips Report, and Sales Tax by Month. Save them in a shared folder organized by month (e.g., `2026-02/`). This 5-minute routine gives your accountant everything they need for monthly bookkeeping and means you are always prepared for tax season. Over a year, this habit can save $1,000-$2,000 in accounting fees by delivering clean data that requires no cleanup.

## Exporting from Intelligent Reports

Intelligent reports support CSV and PDF export. The process is slightly different because you are exporting insight data rather than transaction data.

**Step 1: Open an intelligent report**
Go to **Reports > Financial reports**, open the **Intelligent Reports** tab, and click a report card (e.g., Revenue at Risk, Staff Performance).

**Step 2: Click Export CSV or Export PDF**
In the actions bar above the insight cards, click **Export CSV** for a spreadsheet, or **Export PDF** for a formatted document (the button reads **Building PDF…** while it works). The CSV includes the report type, insight details, recommended actions, impact estimates, and confidence levels. This is useful for sharing recommendations with a business partner or documenting the decisions you have made based on SpaSphere's analysis.

## Exporting PDF from Analytics

For visual reports with charts, use the analytics PDF export.

**Step 1: Go to Analytics and select a tab**
Open **Reports > Analytics** from the sidebar. Choose the tab that contains the data you want to share: Performance, Breakdown, Orders & Sales, Clients, Channels, or Upcoming.

**Step 2: Set the time range**
Use the time filter dropdown to select Last 7, 14, 30, or 90 days.

**Step 3: Click Export PDF**
Click the purple **Export PDF** button in the top-right corner, next to the time filter. SpaSphere captures the entire active tab -- all charts, cards, and metrics -- and generates a multi-page A4 PDF. The file downloads with a descriptive name like `SpaSphere-Analytics-High-Level-Performance-2026-02-21.pdf`.

The PDF export:
- Renders all charts at 1.5x resolution for clarity
- Uses a white background for clean printing
- Excludes tooltip overlays and loading indicators
- Spans multiple pages if the content is longer than one A4 page

**Wait for charts to load before exporting**
Make sure all charts on the tab have finished loading before clicking Export PDF. If you see skeleton loaders or spinning indicators, wait a moment for the data to render. SpaSphere automatically excludes loading states from the capture, but partially loaded charts may appear blank in the PDF. A fully loaded tab produces the best results.

## Exporting All Your Data

Your data belongs to you, and you can take all of it with you at any time.

**Step 1: Open Import & Export**
Go to **Settings > Import & Export**.

**Step 2: Export everything, or one record type**
Click **Download everything (ZIP)** to download a single zip file with all of your data. To download just one record type, find it under **Export Data** and click **Download CSV**. You can export **Clients**, **Appointments**, **Orders**, **Services**, **Products**, **Treatment Plans**, **Client Notes**, **SOAP Notes**, **Gift Cards**, **Coupons**, **Inventory History**, and **Providers**.

These exports aren't limited by date range, so use them for a full backup or when moving your records elsewhere. To bring data in, see [Importing Your Data](https://spasphere.ai/docs/getting-started/importing-your-data).

## Common Export Scenarios

### Monthly Bookkeeping
Export **Revenue Summary** and **Payments & Refunds** CSVs for the previous month. Send both files to your accountant. The revenue summary provides the daily aggregates they need for journal entries, while the payments report provides transaction-level detail for reconciliation.

### Payroll Processing
Export the **Tips Report** CSV for your pay period. This gives you every tipped appointment with the staff member and payment method, plus a per-staff total in the summary. Import it into your payroll system or share it with your payroll provider directly.

### Tax Preparation
Export the **Sales Tax by Month** CSV for the quarter or year. It shows taxable sales, tax collected, and exempt sales for each month, plus your effective tax rate. Add **Tax by Category** if your accountant needs the services vs. products split.

### Client Outreach
Export the **Client List** CSV to get a complete list of your clients with email addresses, phone numbers, total spend, visit counts, and lifetime value. This data feeds your email marketing campaigns and helps you segment clients by value tier.

### Investor or Partner Updates
Export a **PDF** from the Analytics Performance tab for a polished visual summary. Combine it with the Upcoming tab PDF to show booked revenue and clients due back. The branded format with charts is more compelling than raw spreadsheets for business reviews and investor meetings.

## Frequently asked questions

**What file format are CSV exports in?**
SpaSphere exports standard UTF-8 encoded CSV (comma-separated values) files. They open correctly in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, Apple Numbers, LibreOffice Calc, and any accounting software that supports CSV import. Column headers are plain names such as Net Revenue and Tip Amount, which most import tools can map. If you encounter encoding issues with special characters in client names, ensure your spreadsheet application is set to read UTF-8 encoding.

**Is there a row limit on CSV exports?**
A CSV export includes everything in your date range, up to 50,000 rows. If a report has more than that, SpaSphere tells you to pick a shorter date range rather than cutting the file short. A date range can be up to a year (366 days). PDFs include up to 10,000 rows. For most spas, a full year of data stays well within these limits. The browser table shows only 50 rows at a time, but the downloads include the full report.

**Can I import SpaSphere data into QuickBooks or Xero?**
Yes. Both QuickBooks and Xero support CSV import for transactions. Export your Revenue Summary or Payments & Refunds CSV, then use the import wizard in your accounting software to map SpaSphere columns to your chart of accounts. The date, amount, and description fields map cleanly. For the first import, your accountant may need to set up the column mapping, but subsequent imports will reuse the same template, making the process repeatable in under two minutes.

**How do I export data for a specific staff member?**
Operational reports export all staff data in a single CSV. After downloading, open the file in a spreadsheet and filter by the staff name column. For tips specifically, the Tips Report CSV includes a staff name column that you can filter or sort. This approach gives you the flexibility to create per-staff breakdowns as needed without requiring a separate export for each team member.

**Can I automate exports or set up scheduled downloads?**
SpaSphere currently supports manual, on-demand exports. Automated scheduled exports are not available at this time. However, the export process is fast -- set your date range, click CSV or PDF, and the file downloads. Many spa owners pair this with a recurring calendar reminder at the end of each month. Given the simplicity of the workflow, manual exports remain practical even for busy multi-location operators.


# How to Add and Edit Spa Services in SpaSphere Pro

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/adding-services
Section: services
Updated: 2026-10-28

Build your service menu in SpaSphere Pro: names, prices, photos, descriptions, who performs each service, and what shows on your website.

Your service menu is the heart of SpaSphere Pro. Every booking, appointment and checkout starts with a service. You'll find it under **Offerings > Services**. This guide shows you how to add a service, change one, put your menu in the order you want, and hide or delete what you no longer offer.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Your menu is often the first thing a new client looks at before booking. Clear names, honest prices, a good photo and a short description that explains the result help clients book with confidence, instead of messaging you with questions or leaving. Setting each service up once also means your calendar, checkout and website all show the same thing, so you never have to update the same price in three places.

## Key Capabilities

- Add services with a name, price, length, clean-up time, category and calendar color
- Let Sophie write the name and description for you, then edit it in your own words
- Add a photo, up to five paragraphs of description, and a list of what's included
- Choose which team members (and locations) offer each service
- Show or hide each service on your website with one switch
- Drag services into the order clients see them on your website
- See your menu as photo cards or as a compact list
- Send a "before the visit" note with the appointment confirmation and reminders

**Services live under Offerings**
**Offerings** in the sidebar opens a page with everything your spa sells: **Services**, **Add-ons**, **Packages**, **Treatment Plans** and **Memberships**, plus **Protocols**, **Forms** and **Categories** under **Behind the scenes**. You can open each one from that page or from the menu under **Offerings**. On Services, Add-ons, Packages, Treatment plans and Memberships, a row of tabs at the top lets you jump between them.

## Finding Your Way Around Your Menu

Open **Offerings > Services**. The page is called **Your menu** and tells you how many services you have (and how many are hidden online).

- **All**, **On your website** and **Hidden online** narrow the list.
- **All categories** lets you see one category at a time (it appears once you use more than one category).
- **Search services** finds a service by name.
- The two small buttons beside the search switch between **Show as cards** and **Show as a list**. Your choice is remembered on that computer.

Each card shows the price, the length (plus any clean-up time), and whether it is **On your website** or **Hidden online**. The list shows the same services in rows with **Length**, **Price** and an **On website** switch.

## Creating a New Service

**Step 1: Click New service**
On **Your menu**, click the **New service** tile. The **New service** page opens. On larger screens, a **How clients see it** card on the right updates as you type. To see the full client view, click **Preview** in the bar at the bottom.

**Step 2: Fill in the basics**
At the top of the page, type the **Service name**, then the **Price**, **Length (minutes)** and **Clean-up (minutes)**. Clean-up is time kept free after each visit to reset the room. Choose a **Category (required)**: it decides where the service sits on your menu. Need a new one? Click **Add or rename categories**. Pick a **Calendar color** so the service is easy to spot on your calendar.

**Step 3: Choose whether it shows on your website**
**Show on your website** is on by default, so clients can find and book the service online. Turn it off to keep a service for front-desk bookings only.

**Step 4: Let Sophie write it (optional)**
Click the small sparkle icon at the top right of the page (**Write the name and description with Sophie**). Tell Sophie about the service in a sentence, choose a **Style** and **Tone**, and click **Generate**. If you like the result, click **Use this name & description**. You can still change every word afterwards.

**Step 5: Add a photo**
In **Photo**, drag a photo in or click to choose one. PNG, JPEG and WebP files up to 5 MB work, and you can adjust the crop before it's added.

**Step 6: Write the description and what's included**
In **Description**, tell clients what makes this treatment special. You can write up to five paragraphs; click **Add another paragraph** for more. In **What's included**, list the highlights, one per line, like "Double cleanse" or "LED light therapy".

**Step 7: Choose who performs it**
In **Who performs it**, check each team member who offers this service. If you have more than one location, the section is called **Who and where** and also lists your **Locations**. If you're the only team member, the section shows **Your only team member** and new services are yours automatically.

**Step 8: Add the optional extras**
Further down you'll find **Booking as an extra** (see [Service Add-Ons](https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/service-add-ons)), **Before the visit**, **Questions clients ask** and **Treatment protocol**. Open only the ones you need.

**Step 9: Save**
Click **Add service** in the bar at the bottom. You'll see **Service added**, and the service is on your menu.

**Sophie needs a starting point**
Sophie works from what you tell her. One clear sentence (the treatment, how long it takes, and the result clients get) gives a much better first draft than a single word. Read the draft before you save: it's your menu, in your voice.

## Adding a Note Clients Get Before the Visit

Some services need the client to prepare: skip retinol for a few days, arrive with a clean face, remove contact lenses. The **Before the visit** section adds a note for that service to the client's appointment messages.

**Step 1: Write the note**
On the service page, open **Before the visit** and type your note, up to 2,000 characters.

**Step 2: Turn it on**
Turn on **Send this note to clients** ("Included in confirmation, reminder and reschedule emails and texts."). If the note is long, you'll see about how many text messages it will take.

**Step 3: Save**
Save the service. From then on, the note goes out with the confirmation, reminder and reschedule emails and texts for appointments with this service.

## Questions Clients Ask

In **Questions clients ask**, add common questions and your answers. Turn on **Show questions on your website** to show them on this service's page on your website. Click **Let Sophie write them** for a first draft, and read them over before you save.

## Linking a Treatment Protocol

If you use [Protocols](https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/protocols), choose one in **Treatment protocol** (or leave **No protocol**). When a service has a protocol, staff can run its steps during the appointment.

## Editing an Existing Service

Click a service card (or row) to open the **Edit service** page with everything filled in. Change what you need. The bar at the bottom shows **Unsaved changes** until you click **Save changes**, then **All changes saved**. The edit page also has an **Extras** section for pairing small upgrades with this service; see [Service Add-Ons](https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/service-add-ons).

**Booked appointments keep their details**
Saved changes show on your website, calendar and checkout right away. Appointments that are already booked keep the details they were booked with, so you can update a price or description without disturbing anyone's visit.

## Putting Your Menu in Order

Drag a service by its handle to move it. The order you set is the order clients see on your website. Dragging works when you're looking at your whole menu, so clear any filter or search first.

**Lead with what you want to sell**
Put your most popular or most profitable services first. Clients often book one of the first few they see.

## Hiding or Deleting a Service

To hide a service from your website but keep it for front-desk bookings, turn off its **On website** switch on the card or list, or turn off **Show on your website** on the service page.

To delete a service, open it and click **Delete** in the bottom bar. Confirm with **Delete service**. It comes off your menu and clients can no longer book it. Past appointments and receipts that include it stay as they are.

**Might offer it again? Hide it instead**
Deleting can't be undone. If a service is seasonal, or you might bring it back, hide it from your website instead. It keeps its price, photo, description and team.

## Frequently asked questions

**How many services can I add?**
As many as you need. Many spas keep the menu clients see online to a focused list and hide the rest from the website, so the front desk can still book them.

**Can I hide a service from clients without deleting it?**
Yes. Turn off the **On website** switch on the service's card or row, or **Show on your website** on the service page. Your team can still book it, and it keeps all its settings.

**Why can't I drag services into a new order?**
Dragging only works when you see your whole menu. Clear the search box and choose **All** and **All categories**, then drag.

**Can Sophie write my service descriptions?**
Yes. Click the sparkle icon at the top of the service page, describe the service in a sentence, pick a style and tone, and click **Generate**. Click **Use this name & description** to fill both boxes, then edit as you like.

**What happens if no team member is picked for a service?**
The service can't be booked with anyone, even if it shows on your website. Pick at least one team member for every service you offer. When someone leaves your team, check their services and pick another team member.


# How to Organize Services into Categories

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/service-categories
Section: services
Updated: 2026-10-28

Organize your services into categories like Facials, Waxing, and Body Treatments to keep your menu structured.

Categories help you organize your services into logical groups so clients can browse your menu easily. Whether you offer facials, body treatments, waxing, or injectables, categories keep everything structured on your booking page and in SpaSphere Pro. Every service must be filed under a category. You'll find them under **Offerings > Categories**.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Clients browse a menu the way they browse a shop: by aisle. When your services sit under clear headings like Facials, Body Treatments or Brows, clients find what they came for in seconds instead of scrolling past everything. Your team benefits too: the right service is quicker to find when someone calls to book.

## Key Capabilities

- Create your own categories with a name and an optional description
- Rename or remove your own categories at any time
- Start with ready-made categories that every spa gets
- Search your categories by name or description
- Assign a category to each service during creation or editing
- Categories are displayed on your public booking page to help clients find services

## Your Categories Page

Open **Offerings > Categories** (it's also on the Offerings page under **Behind the scenes**). The page is called **How your menu is grouped** and has two parts:

- **Your categories**: the ones you made. Click one to rename or remove it.
- **Ready-made**: the categories every spa starts with. They can't be renamed or removed.

Each card shows the category's name, description, a few photos of the services filed under it, and how many services it has (or **Not used yet**). Use **Search categories** to find one by name or description.

## Creating a Category

**Step 1: Click New category**
Click the **New category** tile ("Make your own, like Bridal or Men's grooming."). A **New category** window opens.

**Step 2: Name it**
Type the **Category name** (for example, "Bridal", "Body Treatments" or "Men's grooming"). **Description (optional)** is a short line about what's in it; you can leave it empty.

**Step 3: Save**
Click **Add category**. It's ready to pick on any service right away.

The **File your services** tile takes you to your services, where you pick a category on each one to place it on your menu.

**Plan your categories before building your menu**
Before creating services, set up your categories. This saves time because you can assign a category immediately when adding each service. Common categories for spas include Facials, Massage, Body Treatments, Waxing, Nails, Injectables, and Consultations. Keeping your category count between 5 and 10 strikes the right balance: enough to organize clearly, but not so many that clients feel overwhelmed browsing your booking page.

## Editing a Category

To update one of your categories, click its card under **Your categories**. The **Edit category** window opens with the name and description filled in. Make your changes and click **Save changes**. Ready-made categories can't be edited.

## Deleting a Category

To remove one of your categories, open it and click **Remove category**. A confirmation tells you how many services are filed under it; click **Remove category** again to confirm, or **Keep it** to cancel. Services filed under it stay on your menu and keep the old category name until you change it on each one.

**Reassign services first to avoid booking page issues**
Before deleting a category, make sure no active services are assigned to it. Services without a valid category may not display correctly on your booking page, which can confuse clients and lead to lost bookings. Open **Offerings > Services**, find the services in the category you plan to delete, and reassign each service to another category before removing the old one.

## Assigning Categories to Services

Every new service needs a category. You set the category during service creation and can change it at any time by editing the service.

**Step 1: Open the service form**
On the service page, find **Category (required)** near the top, under the price and length.

**Step 2: Select a category**
Choose from the list of categories, sorted A to Z. The category decides where the service appears on your booking page. Need a new one? Click **Add or rename categories** below the box.

**Step 3: Save the service**
Click **Add service** or **Save changes** to confirm. The service now appears under the selected category on your booking page and in your services list.

**Category is required to keep your menu structured**
When creating a new service, the category field is required. You must select a category before saving. When editing an existing service, the category can be changed but not removed. This requirement ensures every service is properly organized on your booking page, which improves the client browsing experience and keeps your internal service table easy to manage.

## Searching Categories

Use the **Search categories** box at the top of the Categories page to filter categories by name or description. This is especially helpful when you have a large number of categories and need to find a specific one quickly.

## How Categories Appear to Clients

On your public booking page, services are grouped by their assigned category. Clients see category headings with the services listed underneath. This makes it easy for them to browse your full menu and find the treatment they want.

Well-named categories improve the client booking experience by providing clear structure. Use concise, industry-standard names that your clients will immediately recognize.

## Frequently asked questions

**How many categories can I create?**
There is no limit to the number of categories you can create in SpaSphere Pro. However, keeping the number manageable (typically 5 to 10 for most spas) helps clients navigate your booking page more easily. Too many categories can overwhelm visitors and slow down their decision-making. If you find yourself with more than 10 categories, consider whether some can be consolidated. For example, 'Anti-Aging Facials' and 'Hydrating Facials' could be merged into a single 'Facials' category with descriptive service names to differentiate the treatments.

**Can I reorder categories on my booking page?**
Not directly. On your website, services are shown in the order you set on the Services page, and each category appears where its first service sits in that order. To move a category up, drag one of its services higher in your Services list. In the dropdown on the service page, categories are listed alphabetically.

**What happens to services if I delete their category?**
Services filed under a removed category stay on your menu and keep the old category name until you change it on each one, but the category no longer appears in the dropdown for new services. This means those services may show an outdated category label on your booking page. To avoid confusion, always open **Offerings > Services** and reassign any affected services to a different category before deleting the old one. This takes just a few minutes and ensures your booking page remains clean and professional.

**Can a service belong to multiple categories?**
No. Each service is assigned to exactly one category. If a service could logically fit into multiple groups (for example, a 'Hot Stone Facial' that blends massage and skincare), choose the category that best represents where your clients would look for it. You can also mention the cross-category benefit in the service description (for example, 'Combines massage techniques with advanced skincare') to help clients discover it regardless of which category they browse first.

**Do categories affect the calendar or appointment booking?**
Categories do not appear directly on the calendar view. Their primary role is organizing your public booking page so clients can browse services by group, and organizing your services list for your team. The category name also appears under each service's name on the Services page, and you can show one category at a time with the **All categories** filter. When your team books an appointment, the service list is grouped by category too, so a clear set of categories makes the right service quicker to find.


# How to Set Service Pricing and Durations (With Market Data)

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/pricing-and-durations
Section: services
Updated: 2026-10-28

Set prices, lengths, and clean-up times for your services, and compare your rates with local market data.

Getting your pricing and durations right is essential for profitability and client satisfaction. SpaSphere Pro lets you set each service's price, length, and clean-up time individually, and provides local market pricing data so you can benchmark your rates against competitors. Visit your [service menu](https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/adding-services) to start configuring these settings.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Price, length and clean-up time decide how full and how calm your day is. Price too low and a busy week still doesn't pay well. Book a facial too short and you rush; too long and you leave gaps nobody can book. Clean-up time gives you a few minutes to reset the room before the next client walks in. Local price data helps you see where your prices sit, so you can decide on purpose instead of guessing.

## Key Capabilities

- Set per-service pricing in USD with decimal precision
- Set each service's length in minutes for accurate scheduling
- Add clean-up time after appointments to reset the room
- Compare your prices against local market rates by service type
- View pricing tier breakdowns for your zip code
- Choose which services show on your website

## Setting Service Prices

**Step 1: Open the service settings**
In the sidebar, open **Offerings > Services** and click a service to edit it, or click the **New service** tile to create one. **Price** is at the top of the page, under the service name.

**Step 2: Enter the price**
Type the service price in the **Price** field. Prices support decimal values (for example, 85.00 or 149.50). Enter 0 for complimentary services like consultations. Prices are in US dollars.

**Step 3: Save the service**
Click **Save changes** (or **Add service** for a new service) to apply the new price. The updated price appears immediately in your services list, on your booking page, and in the checkout flow.

**Price changes protect your existing bookings**
Changing a service's price applies only to new bookings. Existing appointments retain the price that was set when they were created. This protects you from unintentionally changing charges on booked appointments and ensures clients are never surprised by a price difference at checkout. You can confidently adjust your pricing at any time without needing to audit or update your existing schedule.

## Setting Length and Clean-up Time

The length tells SpaSphere Pro how long each appointment should be. It sets the size of the appointment block on the calendar and how long the provider is booked. How often booking times start (for example, every 15 or 30 minutes) is a separate setting, **Time slot interval**, under **Settings > Appointments**.

**Step 1: Set the length**
Next to the price, enter how long the service takes in the **Length (minutes)** field. Common values are 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, or 120 minutes. The length must be at least 1 minute.

**Step 2: Set the clean-up time**
Enter the clean-up time in the **Clean-up (minutes)** field. This time is "Kept free after each visit to reset the room": for cleaning, sanitizing, or getting ready for the next client. The default is 5 minutes.

**Step 3: Verify on the calendar**
After saving, create a test appointment with this service. On the calendar, you will see the main appointment block followed by a separate light gray striped block for the clean-up time. It prevents other bookings from being placed in that gap.

**Clean-up time protects service quality and client satisfaction**
Clean-up time appears as a visually distinct hatched block after each appointment on the calendar. When you hover over it, a tooltip shows how long it is and the service name. Clients do not see clean-up time on the booking page. Setting enough clean-up time keeps your providers from feeling rushed, makes sure rooms are properly prepared, and gives clients a calm, unhurried experience, all of which directly impact your review scores and repeat booking rate.

## Showing a Service on Your Website

Each service has a **Show on your website** switch at the top of its page, next to the calendar color. You can also flip the **On website** switch right on the Services page. When it's on, the service appears on your public booking page where clients can select it. When it's off, the service is kept for front-desk bookings: your team can still book appointments with it, but clients will not see it online. In your services list, it shows **Hidden online**.

This is useful for:
- Services that are only offered to existing clients by request
- Internal-only services like "Staff Training" or "Room Maintenance"
- New services you want to set up before launching publicly

**Hidden services give you full flexibility without cluttering your menu**
Even when a service is hidden online, your team can select it when creating appointments in SpaSphere Pro. This gives you full flexibility to manage both public and private services. Many spas use hidden services for VIP add-ons, complimentary follow-ups, or staff time tracking, keeping the public booking page clean and focused on the treatments clients actually need to browse.

## Comparing Market Pricing

SpaSphere Pro provides local market pricing data so you can see how your rates compare to other spas in your area.

**Step 1: Open the Market Pricing tool**
On **Offerings > Services**, click the **Check local prices** tile ("See what spas near you charge for the same treatment."). On **Offerings > Add-ons**, use the **Local prices** button at the top. A window opens that walks you through it.

**Step 2: Select a service type**
Choose the type of service you want to benchmark (for example, Facials, Massage, Injectables). The available types are based on standard spa service categories.

**Step 3: Review pricing tiers**
SpaSphere Pro displays pricing data for your area, organized by tier. Each tier shows the price range and what level of service it typically represents. The data is based on your business zip code. Once SpaSphere Pro has more than one month of prices for your area, you also see how prices have moved.

**Step 4: Compare your rates**
Click **Compare with My Prices** to see how your current prices stack up against the market. The comparison view shows your prices alongside the local averages so you can identify opportunities to adjust.

**Use market data as a strategic starting point, not a ceiling**
Pricing data reflects averages for your area at the time it was looked up. Use it as a guideline, not an exact benchmark. Factors like your location, brand positioning, specialized certifications, and service quality should also influence your pricing decisions. Many spas price above the local average on purpose because they deliver a premium experience. Market data helps you understand where that average sits so you can position deliberately.

## How Pricing and Duration Affect Bookings

Understanding how these settings interact helps you optimize your schedule and revenue:

- **Length** determines the size of the appointment block on the calendar. A 60-minute service fills one hour on the calendar.
- **Clean-up time** adds extra space after the appointment. A 60-minute service with 10 minutes of clean-up effectively occupies 70 minutes on the calendar.
- **Price** is displayed on your booking page and used at checkout. When a deposit is configured, clients may pay a portion upfront and the remainder at the appointment.
- **Show on your website** controls whether clients can select the service online. Hidden services are still fully functional for team-created bookings.

The combination of length plus clean-up time is what SpaSphere Pro uses to calculate true availability. When a client or team member tries to book an appointment, the system checks that the full length plus clean-up time does not overlap with another booking.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I set different prices for the same service?**
Each service in SpaSphere Pro has a single base price. Two exceptions: an add-on can have an override price on a specific service (see Service Add-Ons), and a membership can give members a fixed member price. If you need different pricing tiers (for example, a junior and a senior esthetician doing the same facial), create separate services with distinct names and prices, such as 'Signature Facial, Senior Esthetician' at $150 and 'Signature Facial, Junior Esthetician' at $110. This approach also lets you write tailored descriptions for each tier, assign the correct providers, and track revenue per tier in your reporting.

**What is the minimum clean-up time I should set?**
The default clean-up time is 5 minutes, which is typically enough for basic room turnover between similar services. For treatments that require more preparation, such as sanitizing waxing equipment, changing massage linens, or resetting a facial room with fresh products, 10 to 15 minutes is recommended. Some spas set 0 minutes for consultations and quick add-on services where no room prep is needed. The key is matching clean-up time to the actual turnaround your team needs so they can deliver consistent quality without feeling rushed.

**How accurate is the market pricing data?**
Market pricing data is compiled with AI-powered research into what spas in your zip code charge. It's organized into tiers (Basic, Premium, Luxury) so you can see where your rates fall across the range of service levels rather than against a single average. Treat it as a guide rather than an exact benchmark. See Market Pricing for details.

**Can I offer a service for free?**
Yes. Set the price to 0 for complimentary services like initial consultations, follow-up check-ins, or promotional first visits. These services display a **No charge** badge on the calendar and skip the payment step entirely at checkout, streamlining the process for both your team and the client. Free services are especially useful for lead generation: offering a complimentary consultation can convert prospects into paying clients for higher-value treatments.

**Does changing the length affect existing appointments?**
No. Changing a service's length only affects new bookings going forward. Existing appointments keep the original end time that was calculated when they were created, so you will not accidentally shorten or extend appointments that are already on the books. This means you can experiment with the length (for example, extending a popular facial from 50 to 60 minutes) without disrupting your current schedule. The change takes effect the next time someone books that service.


# How to Use Market Pricing to Compare Your Spa Service Prices

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/market-pricing
Section: services
Updated: 2026-10-28

Use SpaSphere Pro's market pricing tool to see how your service prices compare to local competitors and make informed pricing decisions.

Pricing your spa services is one of the most important decisions you make as a business owner, and it is also one of the hardest to get right without data. SpaSphere Pro's market pricing tool shows you what spas in your area are charging for the same types of services, broken down by tier, so you can see exactly where your prices land relative to the local market.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Most spa owners set their prices based on gut feeling, what they charged at their last job, or a quick scan of competitor websites. The problem is that this approach misses the full picture. A facial priced at $80 might be competitive in one zip code and significantly below market in another. Under-pricing leaves money on the table on every appointment, while over-pricing without the positioning to justify it drives potential clients to competitors. Market pricing data gives you the context to make confident pricing decisions, whether that means raising your rates, holding steady, or adjusting your service tiers to match what clients in your area expect to pay.

## Key Capabilities

- View local market pricing for your service types based on your business zip code
- See pricing broken down into tiers (Basic, Premium, Luxury) with descriptions and durations
- See whether rates in your area are rising or falling, once SpaSphere Pro has more than one month of prices for your area
- Compare your actual service prices side-by-side against the market average
- Get a positioning assessment: above market, below market, or at market
- Covers all major spa service categories: facials, chemical peels, microneedling, LED therapy, waxing, lash extensions, brow services, body treatments, massage, spray tan, nail services, and more

## Viewing Market Prices

**Step 1: Open market pricing**
In the sidebar, open **Offerings > Services** and click the **Check local prices** tile ("See what spas near you charge for the same treatment."). On **Offerings > Add-ons**, use the **Local prices** button at the top instead. A window opens with the market pricing tool.

**Step 2: Select a service type**
The first screen shows a grid of service categories. Each category displays an icon and name, for example Facials, Chemical Peels, Microneedling, LED Therapy, Waxing, Lash Extensions, and more. Click the service type you want to explore.

**Step 3: Review pricing tiers**
After selecting a service type, SpaSphere Pro displays the local market pricing for your zip code. The data is organized into tiers:

- **Basic**: Entry-level services with standard inclusions and shorter durations
- **Premium**: Mid-range services with additional treatments and moderate durations
- **Luxury**: High-end services with comprehensive treatments and longer durations

Each tier shows a price range (for example, "$75 to $125"), a description of what is typically included at that tier (for example, "Cleanse, steam, exfoliation, mask"), and a duration range (for example, "45 to 60 minutes").

**Step 4: Check the trend (when available)**
Trends need more than one month of prices for your area. Once SpaSphere Pro has them, each tier shows how much its prices moved, and a **Price Trends (Last 12 Months)** chart appears below the tiers. If you don't see a trend yet, there isn't enough history for your area.

**Data is based on your business zip code**
Market pricing data is specific to the zip code on your business profile. Prices shown reflect average rates for spas in your local area. Prices for each service type are looked up the first time they are viewed for your zip code, then saved and reused. If you update your business address, the market pricing data will reflect the new location.

## Comparing Your Prices to Market

After reviewing the market tiers, click **Compare with My Prices** to see how your current service prices stack up.

**Step 1: View the comparison**
The comparison screen shows two cards side by side:

- **Your Prices**: Displays your minimum, maximum, and average price across all your services in this category, plus the total number of matching services
- **Market Average**: Displays the average market rate for this service type in your zip code

A positioning badge tells you where you stand:

| Badge | Meaning |
|-------|---------|
| **Above Market** | Your average price is more than 10% above the market average |
| **Below Market** | Your average price is more than 10% below the market average |
| **At Market** | Your average price is within 10% of the market average |

**Step 2: Review your services list**
Below the comparison cards, a list of your services that match this category is displayed with each service's name, duration, and current price. This makes it easy to identify which specific services you might want to adjust.

**Step 3: Read the positioning insight**
An insight box provides contextual guidance based on your positioning:

- **Above market**: Your prices reflect premium positioning. Make sure your service experience, branding, and reviews justify the higher rate.
- **Below market**: There may be room to increase your prices. Consider testing a small increase to see how booking volume responds.
- **At market**: Your prices are competitively aligned with your area. Focus on service quality and client experience to differentiate.

**Use market data to justify price increases**
If you have been hesitant to raise your prices, market pricing data gives you the confidence and the evidence. When your comparison shows you are below market, you know that clients in your area are already paying more elsewhere. A modest increase brings you in line with local expectations without pricing out your existing clients. Many spa owners find that a 5--10% increase has zero impact on booking volume when their prices were below market to begin with.

## How Market Data Is Generated

SpaSphere Pro uses AI-powered research to gather current pricing data for spa services across zip codes. The data is generated on demand for your location and service type, then saved and reused for your zip code. When you access a service category for the first time, there may be a brief loading period while the data is compiled. Subsequent views load instantly from the cached data.

The pricing reflects real-world rates from spas in your geographic area and is organized into tiers to account for the natural range of service levels, from basic treatments to luxury experiences. This tiered approach gives you a more nuanced view than a single average number.

## Frequently asked questions

**Where does the market pricing data come from?**
SpaSphere Pro uses AI-powered research to compile current pricing data from spas in your zip code area. The data is gathered, organized into tiers, and saved for your zip code. It reflects real-world rates across a range of service levels (basic, premium, luxury) rather than a single average, giving you a complete picture of what the local market charges.

**How often is the data updated?**
The first time anyone opens a service type for your zip code, SpaSphere Pro looks up current prices and saves them. After that, you see the saved numbers for your zip code.

**Why don't I see my services in the comparison?**
The comparison matches your services based on their category. If a service you expected to see is not listed, it may be assigned to a different category or not yet categorized. Check the service's category under **Offerings > Services** and update it if needed. Once the category matches the market pricing service type, the service will appear in the comparison.

**Should I always match the market average?**
Not necessarily. Market data is one input into your pricing strategy, not the only one. If you provide a premium experience with high-end products, advanced training, and a luxury environment, pricing above market is appropriate and expected. If you are building a new client base, pricing at or slightly below market can help attract bookings. Use the data to make informed decisions, not to blindly follow the average.

**Does market pricing account for my specific services?**
Market pricing is organized by service category (e.g., Facials, Chemical Peels) rather than individual service names. The tiers within each category account for the range of service complexity: a basic facial versus a luxury facial with multiple add-ons. When comparing, SpaSphere Pro matches your services to the category and shows your price range alongside the market range for that category.


# How to Set Up Service Add-Ons in SpaSphere Pro

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/service-add-ons
Section: services
Updated: 2026-10-28

Create optional upgrades clients can attach to a base service at booking to lift ticket size.

Service add-ons in SpaSphere Pro let you offer optional upgrades (LED therapy, dermaplane, hot stone, scalp massage) that clients can attach to a base service at booking. Each add-on carries its own price and time, automatically extending the appointment and the total. You decide where each add-on is offered: only on the services you pair it with, on every service, or everywhere at once with a single setting. You'll find them under **Offerings > Add-ons**.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Add-ons are the easiest way to raise what each visit is worth without finding new clients. A $45 LED boost added to a few facials a week adds up quickly. The catch is that clients rarely ask for upgrades they don't know about. When the upgrades show up right in the booking flow, with a photo, a short description and a clear price, clients can say yes on their own, before they even walk in.

## Key Capabilities

- Create add-ons as services with their own name, price, duration, description, and photo
- Pair add-ons with specific services, or offer an add-on on every service
- Set a different price and a maximum quantity for each pairing, and pause or remove each one
- Keep a regular service bookable on its own while also offering it as an add-on
- Clients pick add-ons on your booking site, with the appointment time and total updated as they go
- Staff add add-ons when booking from the calendar, add or cancel them on an existing appointment, and add them at checkout
- Coupons can include add-ons or target add-ons only
- **Add-On Analytics** shows attach rate, add-on revenue, and a booking funnel

## Finding Your Add-Ons

Open **Offerings > Add-ons**. The page is called **Little extras** and shows every service that clients can add to a visit: services with **Only as an extra** or **Also offer it as an extra** turned on. Each card has an **Add-on** badge, the price and length, and whether it is **On your website**. You can filter, search, and switch between cards and a list, just like on Services. The **Local prices** button shows what spas near you charge. On the service page itself, add-ons are called **extras**.

## Creating an Add-On Service

An add-on is a regular service record with a setting that makes it an add-on.

**Step 1: Create the add-on as a service**
Open **Offerings > Services** and click the **New service** tile. Fill in the name (for example, "LED Light Therapy"), price, and length just like any other service. Add a photo and description; these are what clients see when deciding whether to add the upgrade.

**Step 2: Choose how it's sold**
Open the **Booking as an extra** section of the service page ("Whether clients can add it on to another visit") and pick one:

- **Only as an extra**: clients can add it to another service, but can't book it on its own. Once this is on, an **Offer it with every service** switch appears: turn it on to offer the extra with every service automatically, or leave it off to offer it only with the services you pair it with.
- **Also offer it as an extra**: the service stays bookable on its own and is also offered as an extra on every other service, so clients can add it to another visit when there's time. Use this for something like a 20-minute scalp massage that you sell both ways.

The two switches can't both be on. Save the service with **Add service** or **Save changes**.

## Pairing Add-Ons with a Service

Pair an add-on with a specific service when it only makes sense for that treatment, or when you want a different price or quantity limit for it there.

**Step 1: Open the base service**
Open **Offerings > Services** and click the service that should offer the upgrade, such as your signature facial. Expand the **Extras** section ("Small upgrades clients can add when they book"). It only appears on a service that has already been saved.

**Step 2: Add an extra**
Click **Add an extra**. In the window that opens, pick the **Extra** from the list. You can also set a **Price with this service (optional)** (leave it empty to charge the usual price) and **Most per visit**. Click **Add extra**; it's saved to the service right away. The list shows services with **Only as an extra** turned on, leaving out the service itself and any extra already paired with it. If there are none yet, the button reads **Turn on "Only as an extra" on a service to add it here**.

**Step 3: Set the price, quantity, and visibility**
Each paired extra has its own settings, which apply only on this service. Changes save when you click out of the box:

- **Price with this service**: a different price for the extra on this service. Leave it empty to use its usual price.
- **Most per visit**: how many of this extra a client can add to one booking, from 1 to 20. Keep 1 for a simple yes or no; above 1, clients get a quantity stepper.
- **The switch** on each row pauses the extra on this service without removing it. Paused extras show **Paused**. The trash icon removes it.

**Step 4: Set the order**
Drag the grip handle, or use the move up and move down arrows, to set the order. This is the order clients see during booking, so put the upgrades you most want to sell at the top.

## Offering Every Add-On on Every Booking

If you'd rather not pair add-ons one service at a time, open **Settings > Appointments** and turn on **Show all add-ons on every booking**. When it's on, any service marked as an add-on is offered on every booking, as long as it fits in the remaining time. When it's off, add-ons appear only on the services you've paired them with (plus any add-on with **Offer it with every service** or **Also offer it as an extra** turned on).

## How Add-Ons Appear at Booking

When a client books a service that has add-ons, your booking site shows an **Add-Ons** step after they pick a date and time:

1. The client selects the base service (for example, "Signature Facial, 60 min, $120"), then a provider and a date and time
2. The **Add-Ons** step only offers upgrades that fit in the time free after that slot; if none fit, the step is skipped. It shows the available upgrades, grouped by category, with photo, name, price, and added time. Longer descriptions have a **Read more** link.
3. The client adds the ones they want. Add-ons with a maximum quantity above 1 have a quantity stepper. The running total and duration update as they go.
4. If an add-on has an intake form linked to it, the client fills it in as its own step.
5. The review screen lists the base service and each add-on separately.

If you take percentage deposits, the deposit includes the add-ons.

**Add-ons extend the appointment automatically**
A 60-minute facial with two 15-minute add-ons becomes a 90-minute appointment. Clients pick their time first, so the add-on step only offers add-ons that fit in the free time after that slot. If a client sees fewer add-ons for a tightly booked time, that's why. If you want clean-up time after an add-on, build it into the add-on's duration rather than the base service.

## Add-Ons in the Admin

**When booking from the calendar:** the new appointment form has an **Add-ons** picker ("Optional: select services to attach to this appointment."). On the calendar, add-on time shows as its own band next to the service and buffer.

**On an existing appointment:** open the appointment and use **Add an add-on** to upsell an extra after booking. SpaSphere Pro checks that the add-on fits the time available, extends the appointment, adds the add-on to the bill for checkout, and emails the client the change. When an add-on has reached its maximum quantity, its button reads **Max added**.

**Cancelling an add-on:** in the appointment's **Add-ons** list, click **Cancel add-on**. The appointment is shortened. If the appointment was already paid, SpaSphere Pro refunds up to the add-on's price to the original payment method; if it wasn't paid, nothing is refunded because nothing was charged.

**At checkout:** click **Add or Edit Items** in the order summary and open the **Add-ons** tab to add an add-on to the ticket.

## Coupons for Add-Ons

When you create a coupon under **Marketing > Coupons**, two switches control add-ons:

- **Apply to add-on services**: the discount applies to the main service and any add-ons. Leave it off to discount only the main service.
- **Add-on services only**: shown once the first switch is on. The discount applies only to add-ons, for promotions like a free LED boost with any facial.

See [Coupons](https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/coupons) for the rest of the coupon settings.

## Add-On Analytics

Open **Reports > Add-on results** to see how your upsells perform over a date range from the last 7 days to the last 12 months:

- **Bookings with add-ons**, **Add-on rate**, **Add-on income**, and **Average add-on spend**
- **Bringing in the most** and **Added most often**
- **How often each service gets an add-on**
- **From picking to booking**: how many clients saw the add-ons (when that's available), picked one, and finished booking

## Pricing Strategy for Add-Ons

| Add-on style | Typical price | Attach rate | Use when |
|--------------|---------------|-------------|----------|
| Skin enhancement (LED, dermaplane prep) | $25 to $50 | 30 to 45% | Upgrade to existing facial |
| Body enhancement (scalp, hot stone, cupping) | $20 to $40 | 25 to 35% | Massage or facial finisher |
| Premium product upgrade (mask, serum) | $15 to $30 | 15 to 25% | Treatment-specific |
| Time extension (extra 15/30 min) | $25 to $60 | 10 to 20% | Loyal clients who want more |
| Specialty technique (gua sha, lymphatic) | $30 to $60 | 15 to 25% | Trained providers only |

The sweet spot is an add-on priced at 20 to 40% of the base service that takes 15 to 25% more time. Higher prices than that and attach rates drop sharply; lower prices and you're leaving margin on the table.

## Frequently asked questions

**What's the difference between an add-on and a regular service?**
Functionally, an add-on is a regular service with a name, price, duration, photo, and description. The Only as an extra switch hides it from the standalone service list so it can only be booked alongside another service. If you want a service to be bookable on its own and also offered as an add-on, turn on Also offer it as an extra instead.

**Can I attach the same add-on to multiple base services?**
Yes. A single LED Light Therapy add-on can be paired with your signature facial, your acne facial, and any other service where it makes sense, each with its own price and maximum quantity if you want. Update the add-on service once (name, base price, duration, photo) and the change applies everywhere it's offered. To offer it on every service without pairing it one by one, turn on Offer it with every service.

**Can clients add more than one of the same add-on?**
Yes, if you allow it. Set Most per visit on the pairing to anything from 1 to 20. With a maximum above 1, clients see a quantity stepper at booking, and staff see the same stepper in the admin.

**Can clients add multiple add-ons to a single appointment?**
Yes. Each available add-on can be selected independently, and the duration and price update as the client adds each one. Clients pick their time first, so only add-ons that fit in the free time after that slot can be added.

**Why doesn't my add-on appear in the picker for a service?**
The Add an extra list on a service only shows services with Only as an extra turned on. It also leaves out the service itself and extras already paired with it. A service with Also offer it as an extra turned on doesn't need pairing: it's already offered on every other service.

**What happens to the payment if I cancel an add-on?**
If the appointment hasn't been paid, cancelling the add-on just shortens the appointment. If it has been paid, SpaSphere Pro refunds up to the add-on's price to the original payment method. The refund may be lower if the appointment was already partly refunded.

**Can I run promotions on add-ons specifically?**
Yes. On a coupon, turn on Apply to add-on services to include add-ons in the discount, and Add-on services only to discount just the add-ons.


# How to Build and Run Treatment Protocols in SpaSphere Pro

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/protocols
Section: services
Updated: 2026-10-28

Write step-by-step treatment guides, add ready-made protocols from skincare brands, and run them during the appointment.

A protocol in SpaSphere Pro is the step-by-step way you do a treatment. It records who it's for (concern, skin types, Fitzpatrick types), when not to do it, and exactly how it's done: the steps in order, how long each takes, the products and amounts used, and what clients take home. Write your own, or add one from a skincare brand in the **Brand library**. Link it to a service, and your team can follow it step by step during the appointment. You'll find protocols under **Offerings > Protocols**.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

A signature treatment is only a signature if it's done the same way every time. A protocol takes the method out of one person's head and writes it down, so a new provider can give the same facial your lead esthetician does. Because each step lists its products and amounts, you also see what a treatment costs you in product, and your stock goes down on its own when the treatment is done.

## Key Capabilities

- Steps in order, each with what to do, how to do it, how long, products and amounts, a linked service, and notes for your team
- Who it's for: concern, skin types, Fitzpatrick types, how often, and recommended sessions
- When not to do it, and what clients can expect, on every protocol
- Products to send home after the treatment
- A **Brand library** of ready-made protocols from skincare brands, with their products
- Link a protocol to the services that use it
- Run a treatment step by step from the appointment, with a timer for each step
- Products used come out of your stock when the treatment is finished
- Available in the admin dashboard and the SpaSphere Pro mobile app

## Your Protocols Page

Open **Offerings > Protocols**. The page is called **How you treat, step by step** and has three tabs:

- **My protocols**: the protocols you've written or added
- **Brand library**: ready-made protocols from skincare brands
- **Archived**: protocols you've put away

On **My protocols**, filter by **All**, **Published** or **Drafts**, or search by name. Each card shows the concern, the steps and total time. Protocols added from a brand show a **From** badge with the brand's name. Each card's menu has **View**, **Edit**, **Clone** and **Archive** (or **Restore** on an archived one).

## Adding a Protocol from a Brand

**Step 1: Open the Brand library**
Click the **Pick from a brand** tile, or the **Brand library** tab. Protocols are grouped by brand. Search by name or brand to narrow the list.

**Step 2: Look it over**
Click a protocol to see its **Steps**, the **Products used** in the treatment, and the **Take-home products**. Products you don't have yet are marked **Will be added to your inventory**.

**Step 3: Add it**
Click **Add to my protocols**. The protocol is added to **My protocols**, published and ready to use, and any products you didn't have are added to your inventory. Take-home products are added as retail products but stay hidden from your online shop until you choose to sell them. Click **Open my protocol** to change anything you like.

**When a brand updates a protocol**
If the brand changes a protocol you added, its page shows **Update available**. Click **Apply update** to bring in the brand's changes.

## Writing Your Own Protocol

**Step 1: Start from scratch**
Click the **Start from scratch** tile. The **Create Protocol** page opens with **Steps** and **Details** on the left, your protocol in the middle, and **At a glance** on the right.

**Step 2: Name it and pick a concern**
Type the **Protocol name** and an optional **Short description** ("What it treats and who it's for"). At the top, click **Pick a concern** and choose the main skin concern. A concern is needed before you can save.

**Step 3: Add the steps**
Under **Treatment steps**, click **Add the first step**, then **Add a step** for each next one. Click a step to fill it in on the right: **What to do** (for example, "Double cleanse"), **How to do it**, **How long** (from 0 minutes to 3 hours), the **Products** used with the **Amount per treatment**, a **Service** if the step matches one, and **Notes for your team**. Drag steps to change the order. The total time adds up as you go.

**Step 4: Fill in the details**
Click **Details** on the left to set **Skin types**, **Fitzpatrick** types, **How often** (Weekly, Every 2 Weeks, Monthly or As Needed), **Recommended sessions**, **Expected outcomes**, **Contraindications** (type one and press Enter), and **Products to send home**.

**Step 5: Save or publish**
Click **Save as draft** to keep working on it later. When it's ready, check "I have reviewed this protocol and confirmed it fits my professional judgment, products, and client context." and click **Publish**.

**What Publish needs**
A published protocol needs a name, a concern, at least one step, and **What to do** filled in on every step, plus the review box checked.

**Clone to build variations**
Use **Clone** on one of your protocols to make a variation, like a sensitive-skin version of your signature facial, without starting over. The copy starts as a draft.

## Viewing a Protocol and Linking Services

Choose **View** from a card's menu to see the whole protocol on one page: the number of steps, total time, how often and sessions; **Suitable for**; **Don't do this if**; **What clients can expect**; the **Treatment steps**; **Products to send home**; and the **Product cost per treatment**.

Under **Services that use this protocol**, click **Link an existing service** to connect it to a service on your menu, or **Offer as a new service** to start a new service with this protocol already linked. You can also link a protocol from the service itself, in its **Treatment protocol** section. A service follows one protocol at a time.

## Running a Treatment

When an appointment's service has a protocol, the appointment window shows the protocol with a **Start treatment** button. (You need permission to write treatment notes to see it.)

**Step 1: Start the treatment**
Open the appointment and click **Start treatment**. The treatment screen shows each step with what to do, any notes for your team, and the products used.

**Step 2: Work through the steps**
Use **Start timer** to time a step. Under **Products used**, change the amount if you used more or less. Click **Done, next step** to move on, or **Skip step** if you didn't do it. **Progress** on the left shows where you are.

**Step 3: Finish**
On the last step, click **Finish treatment**. The products from the steps marked done come out of your stock. Then click **Write treatment note**: the note starts with the steps and products filled in.

If you need to stop partway, click **Stop treatment**. Nothing comes out of your stock, and you can start it again from the appointment. Once a treatment is started, the appointment shows **Continue** (or **View** when it's finished).

**How stock comes out**
Only steps marked done count. Stock goes down in whole units: partial amounts (like 3 ml of a 50 ml bottle) add up across treatments, and one unit comes out each time they make a whole one. A product that isn't stocked at the appointment's location is left as it is.

## Draft, Published and Archived

- **Draft**: a work in progress.
- **Published**: complete and ready to use. Only published protocols can be chosen when you record a skin assessment in the mobile app.
- **Archived**: put away but kept for your records. Choose **Restore** from the card's menu to bring it back as a draft.

Protocols aren't deleted. Archive the ones you no longer use.

## Protocols in the Mobile App

In the SpaSphere Pro mobile app, open **More** and tap **Protocols** to view, create and edit protocols, and to add protocols from the **Brand Library**. Steps made on mobile have a name, description and length; add step products and linked services from the admin dashboard.

When you record a skin assessment in the mobile app, you can pick a **Recommended Protocol**. The client's skin report then includes that protocol's steps and products.

## Frequently asked questions

**What's the difference between a protocol and a service?**
A service is what clients book and pay for, with a price and length on your menu. A protocol is how that treatment is done: the steps, products and rules behind it. Linking a protocol to a service lets your team run it during the appointment, but it doesn't change your menu or website.

**Do the products in a protocol come out of my stock?**
Yes, when you run the treatment from the appointment and click **Finish treatment**. Products from the steps marked done come out of your stock. Partial amounts add up across treatments, and a unit comes out each time they make a whole one. Writing the protocol, or stopping a treatment partway, doesn't change your stock.

**Can I change a protocol I added from a brand?**
Yes. Once it's in **My protocols**, it's yours to edit. If the brand later updates it, you'll see **Update available** on its page and can choose whether to apply it.

**Who on my team can add and edit protocols?**
Team members whose role lets them edit protocols can add, edit, clone and archive them. Everyone else with access to protocols can view them.

**Why can't I save my protocol?**
Every protocol needs a name and a concern, even as a draft. To publish, it also needs at least one step, **What to do** on every step, and the review box checked.


# How to Create Treatment Plans and Enroll Clients

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/treatment-plans
Section: services
Updated: 2026-10-28

Bundle a series of services into a multi-session treatment plan with wait times, bundle pricing, and deposits, then enroll clients and track their progress.

A treatment plan in SpaSphere Pro is a multi-session series you design once and enroll clients in: for example, a six-session acne clearing series or a peel series spaced two weeks apart. You choose the services in order, set the minimum wait between sessions, and decide how it's priced and paid for. Each enrolled client then moves through the plan step by step, with their progress tracked on their profile and reminders sent when their next session is ready. You'll find treatment plans under **Offerings > Treatment Plans**.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Results-driven skin care rarely happens in one visit. When a series is sold as a plan instead of one appointment at a time, clients commit to the full course, sessions stay properly spaced, and you stop relying on memory to know who's due for what.

## Key Capabilities

- Sequence two or more services into ordered plan steps
- Set a minimum wait between sessions in days, weeks, or months
- Bundle pricing with a custom price or a percentage or fixed discount
- Deposit-based booking (fixed amount or percentage) alongside full payment
- Sell plans at checkout or enroll clients directly from their profile
- Link appointments to plan steps and track completion
- Automatic client emails for enrollment, progress, and next-session reminders
- Generate a plan name and description with Sophie

## Your Treatment Plans Page

Open **Offerings > Treatment Plans**. The page is called **Results over a series of visits**. Each plan is a card that shows whether it's **Published** or a **Draft**, how many sessions it has and over how long, the price, and whether clients **Pay in full** or pay a **Deposit to start**. Filter by **All**, **Published** or **Drafts**, or search by name.

## Creating a Treatment Plan

Click the **Build a plan** tile ("Pick the sessions, the time between them, and the price."). The **Create Treatment Plan** page opens with three parts: your services on the left, the plan in the middle, and **At a glance** on the right.

**Step 1: Add the sessions**
On the left, under **Services**, click a service to add it, or drag it into the plan. Add them in the order they should happen. A plan needs at least two sessions. Each one appears as a numbered step on the **Sessions** timeline.

**Step 2: Set the wait between sessions**
Under each session, **Then wait** sets the minimum time before the client can book the next one, in **Days**, **Weeks** or **Months**. Click a session to see its details on the right, including **Before the next session**.

**Step 3: Name and describe the plan**
At the top, enter the **Plan name** and a **Description**. The description box says "optional", but the plan can't be saved without one, so write a sentence or two about the result clients can expect. To get a first draft, click the sparkle icon and let Sophie write the name and description. Click **Use this name & description** to apply it, then edit as you like.

**Step 4: Set pricing and payment**
Click **Settings** on the left (or the **Price** or **Payment** row under **At a glance**). Under **Payment**, the plan's price starts as the total of its services. Turn on **Set custom price** to set your own bundle price, or **Apply discount** to take a percentage or fixed amount off. Turn on **Allow deposit-based booking** to let clients start with a deposit (**Fixed $** or **Percent %**). **At a glance** shows the number of sessions, how long the plan runs from start to end, and what the client pays.

**Step 5: Choose who sees it**
Under **Who sees it**, **Published** is on for a new plan. Only published plans can be sold or given to clients; turn it off to keep the plan as a draft. **Visible to clients** is for a feature that's coming soon: treatment plans will appear on your booking site, and a plan with this switch on will show up there as soon as it launches.

**Step 6: Save**
Click **Create plan** in the bar at the bottom. When you edit a plan later, the button reads **Save changes**.

**Use wait times to protect results**
Wait times reflect how the treatment works. If a peel needs 14 days of recovery, set a two-week wait. Clients can't book the next session online before the wait is over, and your team sees a warning if they book it early.

## Enrolling a Client

There are two ways to put a client on a plan:

- **Sell it at checkout.** In checkout, open the **Treatment Plans** tab, add the plan, and take payment. The client is enrolled when the payment goes through.
- **Enroll from the client's profile.** Open the client, go to the **Treatment Plans** tab, and click **Enroll in Treatment Plan**. Choose a published plan and a **Payment Status**: **Collect Payment at Checkout**, **Already Paid (External)**, or **Complimentary**. Then click **Enroll Client**.

A client can't be enrolled in the same plan twice while an enrollment is still active.

## Booking and Completing Sessions

When you book an appointment for an enrolled client, the appointment window shows a **Treatment Plan Available** banner. Check **Use plan step** to link the appointment to the client's next step. If you book before the step's wait time has passed, SpaSphere Pro warns you so you can reconsider.

To pay for a session with the plan at checkout, choose **Treatment Plan Credit** as the payment method. On **Apply Treatment Plan**, pick the step under **Available Plan Steps** and click **Apply to Treatment Plan**. The plan covers the appointment's main service for that step only; add-ons, products, and tips on the same ticket are paid with another method.

On the client's **Treatment Plans** tab, each step shows its status. Click **Complete** on a scheduled step when the session is done. When the final step is completed, the plan is marked complete.

## What Clients Receive

SpaSphere Pro emails enrolled clients automatically:

- A welcome email when they're enrolled
- An update when they complete a step
- A **Your Next Session is Ready!** reminder once the wait time has passed
- A congratulations email when they complete the plan

Clients who sign in to your client portal can follow their plan on the **Care** screen. Each plan shows its goal, which visit they're on, a progress bar, and what's been paid and what's left. Under **Your visits**, every step shows where it stands: completed, booked, ready to book from a date, not booked yet, or "Your spa will book this visit with you". When a step can be booked, a **Book** button opens that service's booking page on your website; it only appears for services clients can book online. Clients can't reschedule or cancel from the portal. See [What clients can do in the portal](https://spasphere.ai/docs/client-portal/what-clients-can-do-in-the-portal).

## Deleting a Plan

Open the plan and click **Delete** in the bottom bar (or choose **Delete** from the card's menu), then confirm. Deleting a plan removes it from your list so it can no longer be sold or assigned.

## Frequently asked questions

**What's the difference between a treatment plan and a protocol?**
A treatment plan is what the client buys and follows over time: a sequence of booked services with wait times and bundle pricing. A protocol is how an individual treatment is performed: the steps, products, and contraindications your team follows in the treatment room.

**When should I sell a membership instead of a treatment plan?**
A treatment plan is clinical: a defined result reached over a set number of sessions, and it ends when the last session is complete. A membership is ongoing care that renews every cycle until the client cancels. A common pattern is to offer a membership at the final session of a plan, so hard-won results are maintained rather than lost.

**Can a client pay a deposit and the rest later?**
Yes. Open **Settings** on the plan, turn on **Allow deposit-based booking**, and set a fixed amount or percentage. The plan card then shows **Deposit to start**.

**Can I change a plan after clients are enrolled?**
Yes, you can edit a plan at any time. Review the steps carefully before changing them, since clients are already moving through the plan.

**What does Sophie generate?**
Sophie suggests a plan name and description based on the services you added and the style and tone you choose. It doesn't choose services, pricing, or wait times; you set those yourself.

**Do I need at least two services?**
Yes. A treatment plan is a series, so it needs at least two services along with a name and description before it can be saved.


# How to Sell Session Packages in SpaSphere Pro

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/packages
Section: services
Updated: 2026-10-28

Sell a set number of sessions of one service at a package price, then redeem sessions at checkout and track each client's remaining balance.

A package in SpaSphere Pro is a prepaid bundle of sessions for one service, such as five facials or ten lymphatic drainage massages, sold at a package price. You'll find them under **Offerings > Packages**. Clients pay once up front, and each visit redeems one session from their balance. SpaSphere Pro tracks how many sessions each client has left, so neither you nor the client has to keep count.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Packages turn a one-time visit into a commitment. The client gets a better price per session, you get paid in advance, and a client with sessions left on the books has every reason to keep coming back.

## Key Capabilities

- Bundle 2 to 50 sessions of a service
- Set a percentage or fixed discount off the regular price
- Optional expiry, or sessions that never expire
- Package name and description filled in for you
- Sell packages at checkout, add them from a client's profile, or let clients buy online
- Choose whether each package shows on your website or is sold at the front desk only
- Redeem sessions at checkout with package credit
- Remaining sessions shown on each client's profile

## Your Packages Page

Open **Offerings > Packages**. The page is called **Visits, paid up front** and shows each package as a card with the saving, the price and how long clients have to use it. Filter by **All**, **On your website** or **Front desk only**, or use **Search by package or service**.

## Creating a Package

Click the **New package** tile ("Pick a service, the number of visits and a saving.").

**Step 1: Choose the service and number of visits**
Under **What's in it**, choose the service, then set the number of **Visits** with the minus and plus buttons. A package needs at least 2 visits and can include up to 50. Clients book each visit whenever suits them.

**Step 2: Set the saving**
Under **The saving**, choose **Percent off** or **Dollars off**. Tap a quick pick (10%, 15%, 20% or 25%) or type your own. Right below, you see what it **Usually** costs, the **Package price**, and what **Clients save**. The package price is the service price times the number of visits, minus the saving.

**Step 3: Check the name and description**
At the top, **Package name** is filled in from the service (for example, "Signature Facial x 6"). Change it any time. Add a **Description (optional)** that says what makes the series worth it. The sparkle icon at the top right lets Sophie write the name and description for you.

**Step 4: Set a time limit (optional)**
Under **Use within**, leave the box empty for **No time limit**, or enter a number of days. It's counted from the day the client buys the package.

**Step 5: Choose where it's sold**
Under **Online booking**, leave **Show on your website** on so clients can buy it online. Turn it off to sell it at the front desk only.

**Step 6: Save**
Click **Add package** in the bar at the bottom. It's now ready to sell.

**Pick a discount that feels like a reward**
The discount should make the package clearly better than paying per visit, without undercutting your regular pricing. Many spas price a package so one session is effectively free.

## Selling a Package

- **At checkout:** open the **Packages** tab, add the package, and take payment. The client's sessions are added to their profile when the payment goes through. If today's main service is one the package includes, a **Use 1 session today** switch appears. Turn it on and today's visit comes out of the new package, so the service isn't charged: SpaSphere Pro takes payment for the package and anything else first, then uses 1 session. The switch starts off, and payment links aren't offered while it's on.
- **From the client's profile:** open the client, go to the **Packages** tab, click **Add Package**, choose one under **Select Package**, and click **Enroll Client**. This adds the sessions without taking a payment, which is useful for packages paid for outside SpaSphere Pro or given as a gift.
- **Online:** clients can buy packages that have **Show on your website** turned on from your booking site by card. The client gets an emailed receipt, and you get an email about the sale. Online purchases require [Stripe payments](https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/setting-up-stripe) to be set up.

## Redeeming Sessions

When a client with a package comes in, pay for their service with the package instead of a card:

**Step 1: Choose Package Credit at checkout**
At checkout, select **Package Credit** as the payment method.

**Step 2: Redeem the session**
On **Use Package Credit**, click **Redeem 1 Session**. If the client has more than one package, choose **Use a different package** to pick another. Packages with no sessions left can't be selected.

A package session covers the appointment's main service only. Add-ons, products, and tips on the same ticket are paid with another method.

You can also record a session directly from the client's **Packages** tab: click **Use 1**, optionally add a **Reason** and pick **For which visit?**, then click **Confirm Usage**. A reason or visit keeps a note of the session on the client's record. This can't be undone, so use it only when the session isn't going through checkout.

Each package on the client's profile shows how many uses are remaining and when it was purchased. When every session has been used, it's marked **Fully Used**.

Clients who sign in to your client portal see their packages on the **Care** screen, with sessions left and expiry dates, plus past packages they've used up. See [What clients can do in the portal](https://spasphere.ai/docs/client-portal/what-clients-can-do-in-the-portal).

To see who bought each package, open **Reports > Financial reports**, go to **Operational Reports**, and run the **Packages** report. Expand a package's row to list its enrollments with the client, source, enrollment date, and uses.

## Refunds

- **Refunding a session paid with package credit** returns the session to the client's package instead of refunding money.
- **Refunding a package purchase** takes back unused sessions in proportion to the amount refunded. Refunds work in whole sessions: if an amount doesn't match a whole number of sessions, SpaSphere Pro shows you the amounts that do.

See [Refunds and Voids](https://spasphere.ai/docs/payments/refunds-and-voids) for how to issue a refund.

## Editing and Deleting Packages

Click a package card to edit it, then click **Save changes**. To remove one, open it and click **Delete**. Clients who already bought it keep their visits.

## Frequently asked questions

**What's the difference between a package and a treatment plan?**
A package is a prepaid set of sessions for one service that clients use whenever they like. A treatment plan is a sequence of different services in a set order, with minimum wait times between sessions.

**Should I sell a package or a membership?**
A package is bought once and ends when the sessions are used, which suits a client who always books the same treatment. A membership renews every cycle until the client cancels and carries perks like member pricing and booking benefits, which suits a regular who wants standing care. Many spas sell both.

**Can a package include more than one service?**
No. Each package covers one service. To sell a series of different services, create a treatment plan instead.

**Do packages expire?**
Only if you want them to. Leave Use within (days) empty and sessions stay on the client's profile until they're used. Enter a number and the package expires that many days after the client buys it.

**Who can create and edit packages?**
Owners and managers can create, edit, and delete packages. Service providers can view them.

**Can a client share their package with someone else?**
Package sessions belong to the client who bought them and are redeemed from that client's profile at checkout.


# How to Create and Sell Memberships in SpaSphere Pro

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/memberships
Section: services
Updated: 2026-10-28

Build recurring membership plans with included sessions, credit, and member pricing, then enroll clients, bill them automatically, and track what each member uses.

A membership in SpaSphere Pro is a recurring plan your clients pay for every month, quarter, or year. Each cycle, their benefits renew: a facial included, credit to spend, a standing discount, or perks when they book. You'll find them under **Offerings > Memberships**. SpaSphere Pro charges the card on file, tracks what each member has used, and handles pauses, cancellations, and failed payments.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Memberships turn an unpredictable calendar into revenue you can count on before the month starts. They also change how clients treat their appointments: a standing plan makes the monthly facial the default instead of a decision they have to make again each time.

## Key Capabilities

- Monthly, quarterly, or annual billing, with an optional join fee
- Nine benefit types: included sessions, service or retail credit, member discounts, member pricing, free add-ons, and booking perks
- Sold on your website, in the client portal, or in person at checkout
- Drag plans into the order clients see them, and archive plans you no longer sell
- Staff apply member benefits at checkout with one click; in the portal shop, the member discount and credit apply on their own
- Manage each member from the **Membership** tab on their client profile: pause, resume, change the billing card, reactivate, or cancel
- Minimum commitments and pause allowances
- Dues billed automatically, with failed payments retried on a schedule before anything is suspended
- Members can update their card or cancel from the client portal or a private link
- Recurring revenue, active members, and churn on the membership dashboard

**Membership, package, or treatment plan?**
A <a href="/docs/services/packages">package</a> is a prepaid set of sessions of one service. A <a href="/docs/services/treatment-plans">treatment plan</a> is a sequence of services working toward a result, and it ends when the last session is done. A membership doesn't end: it renews every cycle until the client cancels. Sell plans for a clinical goal and memberships for ongoing care.

## Your Memberships Page

Open **Offerings > Memberships**. The page is called **Plans your regulars join** and shows each plan as a card with its photo, price per cycle and number of benefits. Use **All**, **On sale** and **Archived** to see live or archived plans, and **All**, **Public site**, **Checkout only** and **Hidden** to see where each plan is sold. The **Enroll a client** tile reminds you how to sign someone up: open a client's profile, then pick **Membership** from the **More** menu.

## Creating a Membership

Click the **New membership** tile ("Set the dues, then add included visits, credit or a discount."). Three steps run down the left: **Basics**, **Benefits** and **Review**. A **What clients see** card on the right fills in as you go. Nothing is saved until you click **Create membership** at the end.

**Step 1: Name it**
Type the **Membership name** at the top (for example, "Glow Club"). The sparkle icon lets Sophie write the name and pitch for you.

**Step 2: Add a photo and pitch**
Under **Photo and pitch**, add an optional **Photo** and write **Why join**: what members get and why it's worth it.

**Step 3: Set the price and billing**
Under **Price and billing**, enter the **Price** and choose how often it's **Billed** (**Every month**, **Every 3 months** or **Every year**). Leave **Renews on its own** on so members are charged every cycle until they cancel; turn it off for a one-time charge that doesn't renew.

**Step 4: More terms (optional)**
Open **More terms** to set a **One-time join fee ($)**, a **Minimum commitment** (No commitment, 3, 6 or 12 cycles), **Max pauses (total)**, how **Tax** is treated (Exempt, Service tax or Product tax), and the **Cancellation** term (**At end of billing period** or **Immediate**) that's listed in the plan's terms. See [Cancelling a membership](#cancelling-a-membership) for how cancellations actually take effect.

**Step 5: Choose who can join**
Under **Who can join**, choose **At the front desk** (your team signs clients up at checkout, and it stays off your website) or **On your website too** (clients can join online, and your team can still sign them up at checkout). Click **Next**.

**Step 6: Add the benefits**
Add what members get each cycle, grouped as **Sessions & credit**, **Pricing** and **Booking perks**. See the benefit types below.

**Step 7: Review and create**
**Review** ("Check it, then go live") shows the card with **Why join** and **The terms**. Click **Create membership**. It goes live as soon as you save.

**Benefits lock once someone joins**
You can edit a membership's benefits freely until the first member enrolls. After that, the benefit list is locked so existing members keep what they signed up for. Price changes work the same way: current members keep the price they enrolled at.

## Ordering and Archiving Plans

On **Offerings > Memberships**, drag plans into the order you want them to appear on your booking site. The drag handles show once you have more than one live plan.

Each plan's menu has **Edit details**, **Manage benefits**, **Archive**, and **Share** for plans clients can join on your website. Archiving stops new sales and hides the plan from your booking site and checkout. Existing members keep their plan and benefits. Archived plans sit below your live plans; choose **Restore** from the menu to sell one again.

## Benefit Types

**Sessions and credit**

- **Included sessions**: free sessions of a service each cycle. Set the **Service**, **Sessions / cycle**, an optional expiry, and whether unused sessions **roll over**.
- **Service credit**: a dollar amount to spend on services each cycle.
- **Retail credit**: a dollar amount to spend on products each cycle.

**Pricing**

- **Member discount**: a standing percentage off services, retail, or both.
- **Member price**: a fixed member rate on specific services.
- **Free add-on**: an add-on included with every visit.

**Booking perks**

- **Skip deposit**: members book without paying a deposit.
- **Extended booking**: members book further ahead than everyone else.
- **Instant confirmation**: member bookings confirm without approval.

Unless a benefit rolls over, each new cycle's grant replaces the one before it, so unused sessions don't quietly stack up.

## Enrolling a Client

Open the client's profile, choose **More > Membership**, and click **Enroll in a membership**. Pick the **Plan** and a **Billing card** (a saved card is required for a recurring plan), then optionally set the **Billing day of month** (1 to 28). The join fee and first cycle are charged right away, and the dialog shows exactly what will be charged before you confirm.

You can also sell a membership from the **Memberships** tab at checkout, which enrolls the client when the ticket is paid.

Clients can join on their own when the plan's **Who can join** is set to **On your website too**:

- **On your website:** the **Memberships** page lists your public plans, each with a **Join now** button. The client saves a card and is enrolled.
- **In the client portal:** on the **Membership** screen, a client who isn't a member sees a **Get your membership** link that opens your website's membership page, where they join. See [What clients can do in the portal](https://spasphere.ai/docs/client-portal/what-clients-can-do-in-the-portal).

A client can hold one active membership at a time.

## How Benefits Apply at Checkout

At your checkout, staff apply a member's benefits by hand. Nothing is taken off until someone clicks:

- **Discounts, member prices, and free add-ons:** in the order summary, click **Apply member benefits**. The discounts are added as lines on the ticket. Apply them before entering a coupon, so the coupon is calculated on the member price.
- **An included session:** choose **Membership** as the payment method. The screen shows **This service is included in the membership**; click **Apply to Membership** and the primary service is covered at $0.
- **Credit:** on the same **Membership** payment screen, click **Apply $X membership credit** to put the member's credit toward the amount due.

Sessions are used oldest-expiring first. Included sessions and credit stay usable if a membership is paused or past due, but member discounts and booking perks only apply while it's active.

See [Applying Discounts and Tips](https://spasphere.ai/docs/checkout/applying-discounts-and-tips) for how member benefits combine with other discounts.

## Member Benefits Online

Outside your checkout, some benefits apply without staff doing anything:

- **Client portal shop:** when a signed-in member buys products, the order shows a **Member discount** line for their retail discount, and any membership credit that can pay for products is spent before their card. If the credit covers the whole order, nothing is charged to the card.
- **Online store:** when the checkout email matches an active member, the retail member discount is taken off before any promo code.
- **Online booking:** when a client books with the email on their client profile, their booking perks (skip deposit, extended booking window, instant confirmation) apply to that booking.

## Managing a Member

Open the client's profile and choose **More > Membership**. The tab shows the plan, the next billing date, auto-renew status, remaining included sessions, credit balances, and active perks. Under **Manage membership** you'll find the actions that fit the membership's current status:

- **Pause**: shown only when the plan allows pauses (**Max pauses (total)** above zero) and some are left. Billing and new benefits stop while paused. Benefits already earned stay usable, but their expiry dates keep running.
- **Resume**: restarts billing. If the member's paid period hasn't ended yet, the next charge is when it ends; otherwise it's scheduled from today.
- **Change card**: pick which card on file pays the dues, or add a new one, then click **Update billing card**.
- **Reactivate**: for a past-due or suspended membership. **Charge & reactivate** charges the outstanding cycle to the card on file, and the membership returns to active once the charge succeeds.
- **Cancel**: see below.

## Cancelling a Membership

When staff cancel from the **Membership** tab, the membership ends at the end of the current paid period by default, and benefits stay usable until then. To end it now instead, check **Cancel immediately and forfeit unused benefits (no refund)**.

When a member cancels on their own, from the client portal or their private link, the membership always ends at the end of the paid period. Only staff can cancel a membership immediately.

**Minimum commitment:** if the member is still inside the plan's minimum commitment, a cancellation is recorded but billing continues until the commitment is served, then the membership ends. The dialog shows how many cycles remain and when billing stops. Owners, admins, and managers can check **End the commitment early** to stop billing now; other staff can't.

## Renewals and Failed Payments

SpaSphere Pro bills dues automatically on each member's billing date, using their billing card. A successful charge starts the new cycle, grants that cycle's benefits, and emails the member a receipt.

If a charge fails, the membership goes **past due** right away and SpaSphere Pro retries the card 1, 3, and 7 days after the first failure. The member is emailed to update their card, and your team gets a push notification in the SpaSphere Pro mobile app. If the last retry also fails, the membership is **suspended**: no new benefits are granted and member perks stop, but benefits already earned can still be used. When the member updates their card, or you use **Reactivate**, the outstanding cycle is charged and the membership becomes active again.

## What Members Receive

Members get email for the moments that matter: a welcome when they join, a receipt each renewal, a note if a payment needs their attention or their card is updated, and a confirmation when they cancel. Every email carries a private link where they can see their benefits and next payment, update their card, or cancel on their own.

Members who sign in to your client portal can do the same from the **Membership** screen: see their plan, status, benefits, what's left to use, and recent activity; **Update card**; or **Cancel membership**. A portal cancellation always takes effect at the end of the paid period. When a renewal payment has failed, the portal's home screen asks them to update their membership card.

## Tracking Membership Revenue

Under **Reports**, the **Memberships** dashboard shows **Projected monthly dues**, **Active members**, **Leaving at renewal**, **Benefits used**, **Recently cancelled**, **Benefits still to use**, **Expired before use**, **Leaving rate, last 30 days**, and **Average member visit** compared with non-members. The **Members** roster lists everyone on a plan with their status, renewal date, and auto-renew setting; past-due rows show which retry attempt is next.

You can also turn on the **Membership Win-Back** automation to invite former members back a set number of days after their membership ends.

## Frequently asked questions

**Do memberships cost extra?**
No. Memberships are part of SpaSphere Pro, not a paid add-on.

**Can a member switch to a different plan?**
Not directly. A client holds one active membership at a time, so switching means ending the current membership and enrolling in the new one.

**What happens to unused sessions at the end of a cycle?**
That depends on the benefit. Turn on rollover and unused sessions carry forward; leave it off and each new cycle's grant replaces the last.

**Can a membership include package or treatment plan credit?**
No. Membership benefits are built from your services, and membership credit is tracked separately from packages, treatment plans, and store credit.

**Who on my team can create memberships?**
Owners, admins, and managers can create plans, enroll clients, and see the analytics. Any staff member can apply a member's benefits at checkout. Only owners, admins, and managers can end a minimum commitment early.

**Why didn't the member discount come off at checkout?**
At your checkout, member discounts aren't applied until someone clicks Apply member benefits in the order summary. The button only appears for a client with an active membership that has a discount, member price, or free add-on. Included sessions and credit are applied separately, through the Membership payment method.

**Does the plan's Cancellation setting control how members cancel?**
It's the term shown with the plan. In practice, members who cancel themselves always keep their benefits until the end of the paid period, and staff choose on the cancel dialog whether to end it at period end or immediately.

**Can I change a plan's price later?**
Yes, but the change applies to new members. Existing members keep the price they enrolled at.


# How to Set Up Your Spa Business Profile in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/business-profile
Section: settings
Updated: 2026-10-21

Configure your business name, address, contact details, address privacy, and email settings in SpaSphere.

Your business profile is the foundation of everything in [SpaSphere](https://spasphere.ai/). It determines the name clients see on your booking site, the contact information on their confirmation emails, and the address that appears on invoices and Google Maps. Getting your profile right from day one ensures a professional, consistent experience across every client touchpoint.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Accurate business information directly impacts your bottom line. Spas with complete, consistent profiles across all platforms see up to 70% higher trust scores from new clients searching online. A correct address and phone number mean fewer missed calls and walk-ins who actually find your location. Keeping your email and phone up to date ensures that appointment confirmations and reminders reach you and your clients without delay, reducing no-shows that cost the average spa $85-150 per missed appointment.

## Key Capabilities

- Set your official business name
- Update your contact email and phone number for client communications
- Client emails come from your business name, and client replies come to your business email
- Enter your full business address, with address suggestions as you type
- Hide your address from your public website, your client emails, or both
- Choose whether your business is featured on spasphere.ai
- Turn on beta features your business has been invited to try
- Add a custom message that appears at the bottom of every client email
- All fields save together in a single action with real-time validation

## Configuring Your Business Profile

**Step 1: Navigate to Business settings**
From the admin dashboard, click **Settings** in the sidebar and select **Business**. The **Business Information** page loads with six collapsible sections: **Business Profile**, **Business Address**, **Business Hours**, **Email Customization**, **Closures**, and **Beta Features**.

**Step 2: Enter your business name**
Expand the **Business Profile** section. Under **Basic Information**, enter your official business name in the **Business Name** field. Your website's address (like `your-spa-name.myspa.ai`) is no longer set here; see [Your website address](#your-website-address) below.

**Step 3: Add your contact information**
Still within the Business Profile section, enter your **Email** and **Phone** number under **Contact Information**. These details appear on your public booking site, in client emails, and in any communications sent through SpaSphere. Use the email address where you want to receive client inquiries: when a client replies to a receipt or reminder, the reply goes to this **Email**.

**Step 4: Enter your business address**
Expand the **Business Address** section and start typing in **Street Address**. Pick your address from the suggestions to fill in **City**, **State**, and **Postal Code** automatically, or type each field yourself. Add a **Suite/Unit** if you have one. This address is used for map directions on your public booking site, client-facing communications, and invoices.

**Step 5: Choose where your address is shown (optional)**
Below the address fields, the **Privacy** area has your address switches. The first two are on by default:

- **Show address on public website**: Turn this off to hide your address from your site's footer, location section, contact page, and search engine listings. The booking flow and your saved data are unaffected.
- **Show address in customer emails**: Turn this off to leave your address out of booking confirmations, reminders, and receipts.

- **Feature your business on spasphere.ai**: shows your logo (or your business name, if you have no logo) and your city in the row of practices on the SpaSphere homepage. Your city is left off if you hide your address on your website. Changes appear within an hour.

The address switches are useful if you work from home or travel to clients. You still need a full address on file for billing and payments, but clients only see it where you allow. Most home-based studios keep the email switch on so clients know where to go once they've booked, and turn it off only for fully mobile services.

**Step 6: Customize your email footer message**
Expand the **Email Customization** section. Enter a custom message in the **Message for Clients** text area. This message appears at the bottom of every client email, including appointment confirmations, reminders, updates, and cancellations. Use it for practical information like parking instructions, gate codes, or preparation tips.

**Step 7: Save your changes**
Click the **Save Changes** button in the bar at the bottom of the page. SpaSphere checks all required fields (business name, email, phone, and address) before saving. If any required field is missing, you will see a validation error listing exactly what needs to be corrected.

The **Business Hours** and **Closures** sections on the same page have their own guides: see [Business Hours](https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/business-hours) and [Holidays and Closures](https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/closures). Closures save as you add them, so they don't wait for the **Save Changes** button.

**Beta Features** lets you try new features early. Turn on **Try new features early** to use the features SpaSphere has opened to your business while they are still being tested. Beta features may change before their full release. This switch saves as soon as you flip it.

**Use your custom email footer to reduce client questions**
Adding practical details like "Free parking available behind the building" or "Please arrive 10 minutes early for your first visit" to your email footer saves your front desk from answering the same questions repeatedly. Spas that include arrival instructions in their emails report up to 20% fewer late arrivals and support calls.

## Who Your Client Emails Come From

Every email SpaSphere sends to your clients on your behalf shows your **Business Name** as the sender, so clients recognize it in their inbox. This covers booking confirmations and changes, reminders, receipts and refunds, invoices and payment requests, gift cards, packages, memberships, treatment plans, forms, review requests, referral invites and win-back emails.

Each kind of email comes from its own address, like `receipt@myspa.ai` for receipts and `reminders@myspa.ai` for reminders, so clients and their mail apps can tell them apart. None of them come from a "no-reply" address.

When a client hits **Reply**, the reply goes to the **Email** under **Contact Information**. If that box is empty, replies go to the email the business owner signs in with, unless that's an Apple private address (see below). Make sure it's an inbox you check.

**Newsletters have their own sender**
Newsletters use the **Sender name** and **Replies go to** address you confirm when you set them up. See [Newsletters](https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/newsletters).

**Signed up with Apple and hid your email?**
Apple's private addresses (ending in `@privaterelay.appleid.com`) can't receive mail from your clients, so SpaSphere never sends client replies there. Put a real business email in **Email** so replies reach you. See [Account Security](https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/account-security).

## Your Website Address

Your free website address (for example, `serenity-spa.myspa.ai`) now lives with your website, not on this page. Open **Website**, go to the **Settings** tab, and find the **Domain** section. Under **Your free SpaSphere address**, type the name you want and click **Save**. The copy button next to your current address copies it to your clipboard. This is also where you connect your own domain; see [Connecting a custom domain](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/connecting-custom-domain).

The address:
- Converts automatically to lowercase with hyphens (no spaces or special characters)
- Must be unique across all SpaSphere businesses
- Always works, even after you connect your own domain

**Your booking URL is the link to share everywhere**
Copy your website address for social media bios, email signatures, Google Business Profile, and business cards. A short, memorable name makes it easy for clients to find and remember your booking page, which can directly increase repeat bookings and referral traffic.

## Required vs. Optional Fields

| Field | Required | Used For |
|-------|----------|----------|
| Business Name | Yes | Displayed on your booking site and in client emails |
| Email | Yes | Contact information, and where client replies to your emails go |
| Phone | Yes | Displayed on your public site and emails |
| Street Address | Yes | Maps, directions, and invoices |
| Suite/Unit | No | Additional address detail |
| City | Yes | Address display |
| State | Yes | Address display |
| Postal Code | Yes | Address display |
| Show address on public website | On by default | Whether your address appears on your website |
| Show address in customer emails | On by default | Whether your address appears in confirmations, reminders, and receipts |
| Feature your business on spasphere.ai | No | Whether your logo and city appear on the SpaSphere homepage |
| Email Custom Message | No | Footer on all client emails |

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I change my website name after setting it up?**
Yes. Open Website, go to the Settings tab, and change it under Your free SpaSphere address in the Domain section. Keep in mind that changing it changes your public booking URL. Any existing links you have shared on social media, business cards, or other marketing materials will stop working. If you do change your website name, be sure to update all external links promptly. It is best to choose a permanent website name early and stick with it to avoid broken links and client confusion.

**What email address should I use for my business contact?**
Use the email address where you want to receive booking-related notifications and client inquiries. This should be a monitored inbox, such as your main business email or a dedicated bookings address. Avoid using a personal email that you check infrequently. The email you enter here is displayed on your public booking site and included in client communications, so it should look professional and be consistent with your brand. If multiple team members need access, consider using a shared inbox.

**Where do client replies to my receipts and reminders go?**
To the Email in Settings > Business, under Contact Information. The emails themselves show your business name as the sender. If you leave the Email box empty, replies go to the email the business owner signs in with, unless that is an Apple private address.

**Does the custom email message appear on all emails?**
Yes, the custom message you enter in the Email Customization section appears at the bottom of every email SpaSphere sends to your clients. This includes appointment confirmations, reminders, status updates, and cancellation notices. It does not appear on internal team notifications. The message is a great place to include universal information that applies to every visit, such as parking directions, COVID policies, or preparation instructions.

**What happens if I leave a required field empty?**
SpaSphere validates all required fields when you click Save Changes. If any required field is empty, the save action is blocked and you see a clear error message listing every missing field. The page scrolls to the validation error so you can quickly identify and fix the issues. No partial saves occur: either all fields are valid and the entire profile saves, or nothing is saved until you correct the errors.

**How does the business address affect my public booking page?**
Your business address is displayed on your public booking site's contact page and location section, and is used to generate a map for clients. It also appears on invoices and checkout receipts. Making sure your address is accurate and complete ensures that clients can find your location using Google Maps or other navigation apps. If you operate from a suite or unit within a larger building, including that detail helps clients navigate directly to your door on their first visit. If you'd rather not publish it, turn off Show address on public website.

**I work from home. Can I keep my address private?**
Yes. Turn off Show address on public website to remove it from your site's footer, location section, contact page, and search engine listings. On your contact page, the 'Location' heading becomes 'Get in Touch' so clients can still reach you by phone or email. If you also turn off Show address in customer emails, confirmations, reminders, and receipts leave it out too. Your address stays on file for billing either way.


# How to Set Your Spa Business Hours in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/business-hours
Section: settings
Updated: 2026-10-14

Configure your weekly business hours, mark closed days, and sync availability with your booking page.

Your business hours in [SpaSphere](https://spasphere.ai/) control when clients can book appointments on your public booking site. They define the operating window for your entire business, and every team member's availability is constrained within these hours. Setting them accurately from the start ensures your booking page only shows times when your spa is actually open.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Incorrect business hours are one of the most common causes of booking friction. If your hours are too narrow, you lose bookings from clients who want early morning or evening slots. If they are too wide, clients may book during times when no one is actually available, leading to awkward cancellations and a 15-20% increase in rescheduling overhead. Spas that align their listed hours precisely with their actual availability see higher booking conversion rates because clients trust that every slot shown is a real, available time. Over the course of a year, even a 5% improvement in booking conversion can translate to $8,000-$12,000 in additional revenue for a mid-sized spa.

## Key Capabilities

- Set open and close times for each day of the week in 30-minute increments
- Mark any day as closed with a single checkbox toggle
- Apply Monday's hours to all open days in one click
- Set separate hours for each location if you run more than one
- Hours displayed in 12-hour AM/PM format for easy reading
- Business hours sync automatically to your public booking page
- Business hours are saved together with your business profile in one action

## Configuring Your Business Hours

**Step 1: Open the Business Hours section**
Navigate to **Settings > Business** from the sidebar. On the Business Information page, expand the **Business Hours** accordion section by clicking on it. You will see all seven days of the week listed, each with a checkbox and time selectors.

**Step 2: Enable or disable each day**
Each day has a checkbox next to its name. When checked, the day is **open** and shows start and end time selectors. Uncheck the box to mark that day as **Closed**. Closed days display a gray "Closed" label and hide the time selectors.

**Step 3: Set opening and closing times**
For each open day, use the **start time** dropdown to select when your spa opens and the **end time** dropdown to select when it closes. Times are available in 30-minute increments from 12:00 AM to 11:30 PM, displayed in 12-hour AM/PM format (e.g., 9:00 AM, 5:30 PM).

**Step 4: Apply hours to all days (optional)**
If your spa operates on the same schedule most days, configure Monday first, then click the **Apply to all days** button that appears next to Monday's row. This copies Monday's start and end times to every other day that is currently marked as open. Days marked as closed are not affected.

**Step 5: Save your changes**
Click the **Save Changes** button in the sticky bar at the bottom of the page. Your business hours are saved as part of your overall business profile. The updated hours take effect immediately on your public booking page.

**Use 'Apply to all days' to save time during initial setup**
Most spas use the same hours for their weekdays and adjust only Saturday and Sunday. Set Monday's hours first, click Apply to all days, then individually tweak Saturday and Sunday or mark them as closed. This approach takes less than a minute compared to configuring each day separately, and it eliminates the risk of accidentally entering different hours for similar days.

## How Business Hours Affect Bookings

Your business hours determine the overall availability window for your public booking page. Here is how they interact with other scheduling features:

- **Public booking site**: Clients can only see and select time slots that fall within your business hours
- **Team member availability**: Individual provider schedules are further restricted by business hours -- a provider cannot be available outside your business hours even if their personal schedule allows it
- **Calendar view**: The admin calendar highlights your business hours and grays out times outside them
- **Appointment lead time**: Combined with your appointment lead time setting, business hours define the earliest possible booking slot

**Business hours set the outer boundary for all bookings**
If you set your hours to 9 AM - 5 PM but a provider's last service starts at 4:00 PM and runs until 5:30 PM, clients cannot book that service starting at 4:00 PM because it would extend past your closing time. Make sure your business hours account for the duration of your longest service. If your longest treatment is 90 minutes and you want the last appointment to finish by 6 PM, set your closing time to 6 PM and your booking system will automatically prevent bookings that would run past close.

## Holidays, Closures, and Multiple Locations

Your weekly hours are your regular schedule. Two other settings adjust it:

- **Closures**: For holidays, vacations, and one-off days off, add a closure in the **Closures** section of the same Business Information page instead of changing your weekly hours. See [Holidays and Closures](https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/closures).
- **Locations**: If you run more than one location, each location can have its own hours. Go to **Settings > Locations** and click the clock icon (**Set Business Hours**) next to a location. A location without its own hours uses the hours on this page. See [Multiple Locations](https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/multi-location).

## Common Business Hours Configurations

| Spa Type | Typical Hours | Notes |
|----------|---------------|-------|
| Day Spa | 9:00 AM - 7:00 PM, Mon-Sat | Closed Sunday |
| Med Spa | 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM, Mon-Fri | Closed weekends |
| Salon & Spa | 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM, Tue-Sat | Closed Sun-Mon |
| Wellness Center | 7:00 AM - 9:00 PM, Mon-Sun | Open daily |

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I set different hours for different days of the week?**
Yes, each day of the week has its own independent start and end time selectors. You can set completely different operating hours for each day. For example, you might open at 9 AM on weekdays but 10 AM on Saturdays, or close early on Wednesdays. The Apply to all days button is a convenience shortcut for the initial setup, but after applying it you can adjust any individual day. Each day also has its own open/closed toggle, so you can have some days open and others closed.

**What time increments are available for business hours?**
Business hours can be set in 30-minute increments. The time selector offers every half-hour option from 12:00 AM through 11:30 PM, displayed in 12-hour AM/PM format. This gives you sufficient flexibility for most spa operating schedules. Note that this is different from the appointment time granularity setting, which controls how appointment slots are spaced (15, 30, 45, 60, 75, or 90 minutes) within your business hours. The two settings work together: business hours define the overall window, and time granularity determines the slots within it.

**Do I need to set hours for days my spa is closed?**
No. Simply uncheck the checkbox next to any day your spa is closed. The day will display as Closed and no time selectors are shown. Clients will not be able to book appointments on closed days through your public booking page. If your spa is closed on Sundays, for example, just uncheck Sunday and it will be excluded from all booking availability. You can toggle days open and closed at any time if your schedule changes seasonally.

**How quickly do business hour changes take effect?**
Changes take effect immediately after you click Save Changes. Your public booking site reflects the updated hours right away. Any existing appointments that were already booked during the old hours remain valid and are not automatically cancelled. However, no new bookings can be created outside the updated hours going forward. If you need to cancel existing appointments that conflict with your new hours, you will need to do that manually from the calendar or appointment list.

**Can individual team members have different availability than the business hours?**
Team members can have more restrictive availability than your business hours, but they cannot be available outside of them. For example, if your business hours are 9 AM to 7 PM, a part-time provider could set their availability to 9 AM to 1 PM. But that same provider could not set availability from 8 AM to 1 PM because 8 AM falls outside your business hours. Think of business hours as the outer boundary, and individual schedules as subsets within that boundary. You can manage each provider's working hours from Team in the sidebar.


# How to Configure Booking and Appointment Preferences in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/booking-preferences
Section: settings
Updated: 2026-10-21

Set up deposits, cancellation policies, time slots, booking approval, tipping, and online booking rules for your spa.

SpaSphere's appointment settings give you granular control over how clients book, pay, and cancel appointments on your [public booking site](https://spasphere.ai/). From requiring deposits to setting cancellation windows, these preferences protect your revenue while keeping the booking experience smooth for your clients.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

No-shows and last-minute cancellations are expensive for a small spa. Requiring a deposit or a card on file gives clients a reason to show up or cancel properly, and a clear cancellation policy sets expectations upfront and reduces disputes. If you want to vet new bookings before they land on your calendar, you can hold them for approval instead. Every setting on this page is a lever that affects your revenue, your clients' experience, and how much time you spend managing the schedule.

## Key Capabilities

- Enable or disable online booking for your public site
- Hold new online bookings for your approval, or confirm them instantly (the default)
- Require deposits with a configurable percentage (or card on file only)
- Enable full advance payment for booked services
- Set a cancellation window (in hours) and choose whether clients can cancel online inside it
- Configure appointment lead time and maximum advance booking
- Choose time slot intervals (15, 30, 45, 60, 75, or 90 minutes)
- Offer every add-on on every booking, or only the add-ons paired with each service
- Allow or disable client tipping during payment
- Choose how clients see your open times: in order, with Smart Availability, or with some hidden
- Enable privacy-safe notifications that omit service and provider details from emails and texts
- Follow up automatically when a client starts booking online but doesn't finish paying

## Setting Up Your Booking Preferences

**Step 1: Navigate to Appointment settings**
From the admin dashboard, click **Settings** in the sidebar, then select **Appointments**. The page opens with your scheduling rules at the top, followed by **Appointment preferences**, **Public booking site settings**, **Booking availability**, and **Privacy**.

**Step 2: Configure scheduling rules**
Set the core timing rules at the top of the page:

- **Cancellation policy (hours)**: The minimum number of hours before an appointment that clients can cancel without penalty. For example, setting this to 24 means clients must cancel at least 24 hours in advance.
- **Enforce cancellation policy**: When on (the default), clients can't cancel online once an appointment is inside the window above. They are asked to contact you to cancel or reschedule, so you can apply your policy yourself. Turn it off if you want clients to be able to cancel online at any time.
- **Appointment lead time (hours)**: How many hours in advance an appointment can be booked. A lead time of 2 hours means clients cannot book a same-day appointment less than 2 hours from now.
- **Maximum advance booking (days)**: The furthest into the future a client can book. Setting this to 60 means clients see availability up to 60 days ahead.

**Step 3: Choose your time slot interval**
Under **Appointment preferences**, select the **Time slot interval** that matches your service structure. Options are every 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, or 90 minutes. This controls how often appointment start times appear on your booking page. For example, a 15-minute interval shows slots at 9:00, 9:15, 9:30, and so on.

**Step 4: Decide whether new online bookings need your approval (optional)**
Turn on **Require approval for new online bookings** to hold each new online booking for your review instead of confirming it right away. The client sees an "awaiting confirmation" message, the time slot is held while you decide, and you approve or decline the request under **Calendar > Pending Approval**. Appointments you create yourself are always confirmed. Leave it off and online bookings are confirmed immediately. See [Approving Online Bookings](https://spasphere.ai/docs/appointments/approving-online-bookings) for the full workflow.

**Step 5: Choose how add-ons are offered**
Turn on **Show all add-ons on every booking** to offer any service marked as an add-on on every booking, as long as it fits in the remaining time. Leave it off and add-ons appear only for the services you've paired them with.

**Step 6: Configure online booking and deposit settings**
Under **Public booking site settings**, toggle the switches for:

- **Allow online booking**: Master switch for your public booking page. Turning this off disables all client-facing booking.
- **Require deposit**: When enabled, clients must provide payment to secure their booking. Set the **Deposit percentage** to the portion of the service cost required (e.g., 50 for a 50% deposit). Set it to 0 to capture a card on file without charging.
- **Enable full payment**: Allows clients to pay the full service cost at the time of booking.
- **Allow tipping**: Lets clients add a tip during the payment flow.

**Step 7: Choose how clients see your open times**
Under **Booking availability**, pick one of three options: **Show times in order**, **Keep my day together**, or **Make me look busy**. You can only use one at a time. [Booking Availability](https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/smart-availability) explains each option in detail.

**Step 8: Configure privacy settings**
Under the **Privacy** section, toggle **Privacy-safe notifications** to remove service names, provider names, and appointment details from the emails and text messages sent to clients. This is useful for practices where clients may want discretion about the treatments they receive.

**Step 9: Save your changes**
Click **Save Changes** to apply your preferences. Changes take effect immediately on your public booking site and in the admin booking flow.

**Start with a deposit to protect your calendar**
Clients who have paid something are far more likely to show up or properly cancel. If you are hesitant to charge upfront, set the deposit percentage to 0. That captures a card on file without charging, so you have a way to collect payment later if you need to.

## When a Client Doesn't Finish Booking Online

When your online booking asks for a deposit, full payment, or a card, the client's chosen time is held while they enter their card. If they leave without finishing, SpaSphere releases the time, usually within half an hour, so someone else can book it. The booking shows as **Expired**, and nobody is charged.

SpaSphere then follows up on both sides, on its own. There's nothing to turn on.

- **The client** gets an email, *Your booking wasn't completed*. It tells them the time is no longer held and they have not been charged, shows the service, provider, and date they picked, and has a **Complete Your Booking** button to book again, plus your phone and email.
- **The provider they picked** gets a heads up: an email titled *Booking not completed* with the client's name, service, and date, suggesting a quick text or call to win the booking back. They also get a notification in the SpaSphere app, and a text if **Text notifications** is on in their team member profile.

This only happens for bookings started in the last 24 hours, so an old abandoned booking never sets off a message. Appointments your team books aren't affected. With **Privacy-safe notifications** on, the email subjects leave out the service and client name. See [Email Reminders](https://spasphere.ai/docs/notifications/email-reminders) for the other emails clients receive.

**Reach out while it's fresh**
A client who got as far as the card step wanted that appointment. A short, friendly text the same day often brings them back, and the heads up gives you the name and the time they wanted.

## How the Cancellation Window Works for Clients

Every confirmation and reminder email includes a **Cancel Appointment** link. What happens when a client uses it depends on timing:

- **Outside the cancellation window**: The client sees the appointment details and confirms with **Yes, cancel appointment** (or backs out with **Keep my appointment**). The appointment is cancelled, the slot opens up again, and the client gets a confirmation that it was cancelled.
- **Inside the window, with Enforce cancellation policy on**: The client can't cancel online. They see a message that the appointment is within your cancellation policy and are asked to contact you to cancel or reschedule, with your phone number and email shown.
- **Inside the window, with Enforce cancellation policy off**: The client can still cancel online.

SpaSphere does not charge a late-cancellation fee automatically. If a client cancels late or doesn't show, you decide whether to charge them, for example by charging the card on file at checkout.

## Make Me Look Busy

Make me look busy is now one of the three **Booking availability** options, so you can't combine it with Smart Availability. When you choose it, SpaSphere hides a percentage of your open times at random from your public booking page. You choose how much to hide, from 10% up to a maximum of 90%.

- **Clients see fewer open times**, which can make a thin calendar look established
- **Your actual availability is unchanged** in the admin calendar
- **Staff can still book** those times when scheduling over the phone or in person
- **Clients have no way to request a hidden time**, so they simply won't see it

**Use Make Me Look Busy carefully**
Hiding too many times may frustrate clients who cannot find a convenient slot and push them to book elsewhere. Start at the low end and watch how your bookings respond. The goal is a fuller-looking calendar, not one that is genuinely hard to book.

## Booking Terms and Policies

Your booking terms and cancellation policies are managed in your website settings rather than on the Appointments page. Under **Booking terms & policies**, click **Set up your public policy** to go to the Website section, where you can write and publish your policies. These terms are displayed to clients during the booking flow on your public site.

## Recommended Settings by Spa Type

| Setting | Day Spa | Med Spa | Solo Esthetician |
|---------|---------|---------|------------------|
| Cancellation Policy | 24 hours | 48 hours | 24 hours |
| Enforce Cancellation Policy | On | On | On |
| Appointment Lead Time | 2 hours | 4 hours | 1 hour |
| Maximum Advance Booking | 60 days | 90 days | 30 days |
| Time Slot Interval | 15 minutes | 30 minutes | 15 minutes |
| Deposit | 20-50% | 50% | 50% or full |
| Require Approval | Off | On if treatments need screening | Off |

## Frequently asked questions

**What is the difference between deposit percentage and card on file?**
When you set the deposit percentage to a value like 20 or 50, clients are charged that percentage of the service cost at the time of booking. The remaining balance is collected at checkout after the appointment. When you set the deposit percentage to 0, clients are required to enter their credit card information to complete the booking, but no charge is made. Their card is stored securely through Stripe so you can collect payment later. Card on file is a softer approach that reduces booking friction while still giving you payment protection.

**How does the cancellation policy work in practice?**
The cancellation policy hours define the minimum notice period for cancellations. If you set it to 24 hours, clients can cancel online through the link in their emails up to 24 hours before the appointment. With Enforce cancellation policy on (the default), a client who tries to cancel inside those 24 hours is told the appointment can't be cancelled online and is asked to contact you. SpaSphere doesn't charge a fee automatically, so you decide how to apply your policy. The policy is also shown to clients during booking so they know the rules upfront.

**Where did the Auto confirm bookings setting go?**
It was removed. Online bookings are confirmed immediately by default. If you want to review bookings before they are confirmed, turn on Require approval for new online bookings. New online bookings then wait in Calendar > Pending Approval until you approve or decline them.

**What does privacy-safe notifications do exactly?**
When enabled, privacy-safe notifications strip specific details from client-facing emails and text messages. Instead of showing the service name, provider name, and detailed appointment information, the messages use generic language like 'your appointment.' This is especially valuable for med spas, dermatology practices, and any business where clients may want discretion about their treatments. The setting applies to confirmations, reminders, and cancellations. Your internal admin views and notifications are not affected.

**Can I change the time slot interval without affecting existing appointments?**
Yes, changing the time slot interval only affects how new appointment slots are displayed going forward. Existing appointments remain at their original times and are not moved or cancelled. For example, if you change from 15-minute to 30-minute intervals, a booking at 9:15 AM stays at 9:15 AM. However, new bookings will only show options at 9:00, 9:30, 10:00, and so on. Choose your interval based on your shortest service.


# How to Manage Holidays and Closures in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/closures
Section: settings
Updated: 2026-10-20

Set up holidays, vacations, and partial-day closures so your booking page automatically blocks unavailable dates.

Closures in [SpaSphere](https://spasphere.ai/) let you mark holidays, vacations, training days, and one-off shutdowns so your public booking page automatically blocks those dates. A single closures setup covers full-day blocks, partial-day windows (early close, late open), and informational markers that show on the calendar without preventing bookings. The system ships with prebuilt holiday calendars (US Federal, Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, and US State), so most spas can opt into a year's worth of dates in a single click.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Forgetting to block a single holiday can cost a full day of revenue. A spa that takes 8–12 bookings on a typical Tuesday and forgets to close Thanksgiving will receive bookings it cannot honor, then spend hours on the phone rescheduling, and lose the trust of clients who showed up to a locked door. The reverse problem is just as expensive: blocking too many days "just in case" leaves money on the table. A well-configured closures calendar prevents both. Spas that set holidays up at the start of each year report 90% fewer same-day cancellations on observed holidays and avoid the awkward "we're actually closed" conversations that erode client confidence.

## Key Capabilities

- Pre-built calendars for US Federal, Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, and US State holidays
- One-click bulk import per category and year
- Custom closures for vacation, training, maintenance, conferences, or any one-off date
- Partial-day windows: open late, close early, or open only for a few hours
- Informational markers that flag a date on the calendar without blocking bookings
- Annual tag for closures you re-add each year (Mother's Day specials, anniversary closes, etc.)
- Closure badges on the admin calendar, so your team sees closed and informational days at a glance
- Per-year view so each year is independently planned
- Closures sync automatically to your public booking page and admin calendar

## Setting Up Holidays for the Year

**Step 1: Open the Closures section**
Navigate to **Settings > Business** from the sidebar and expand the **Closures** accordion. The first time you open it for a given year, you'll see an onboarding card that suggests the most common holiday calendars.

**Step 2: Choose which holiday calendars to observe**
US Federal Holidays is checked by default. Add any religious or cultural calendars relevant to your clientele: Christian, Jewish, Islamic, or Hindu. If your business address has a state on file, **US State Holidays** appears as an additional option for state-specific public holidays.

**Step 3: Click Apply selected**
SpaSphere creates every observed date for the year you're viewing in one batch. You'll see a confirmation toast with the total count (e.g., "Added 11 closures for 2026"). All applied dates are marked as **closed all day** by default, so clients cannot book on those dates from your public site.

**Step 4: Fine-tune individual days (optional)**
After you apply, the section shows two lists. **Suggested closures** has a switch for each holiday calendar, so you can add or remove a whole calendar for the year later. **Observed in** (followed by the year) lists every closure. Use the edit action on a row to change its name, type, or reason, turn blocking on or off, or set a partial-day window. Use the remove action to delete closures you don't observe. For example, a med spa that operates on Columbus Day can simply remove that row.

**Step 5: Switch years to plan ahead**
Use the **Calendar year** selector at the top of the section to jump between years. Each year is planned independently, so opting into 2026 doesn't automatically opt you into 2027. The onboarding card re-appears for any year where you have zero closures.

**Set up the next year in December**
Most spa owners forget to plan closures until a client calls about a specific date. Block 15 minutes in your December calendar to open next year and click through the onboarding card. The 11 federal holidays are added in a single batch, and you'll never get caught by a New Year's Day booking again.

## Adding Custom Closures

**Step 1: Click Add custom closure**
Click the **Add custom closure** button at the top of the section, next to the year selector. A dialog opens with fields for the **Closure Name**, **Closure Date**, **Type**, and how the closure should behave.

**Step 2: Pick a closure type**
Choose the type that best describes the reason:

- **Holiday**: religious, cultural, or recurring observance
- **Vacation**: owner or team time off
- **Training**: staff certification, CEU days, in-house workshops
- **Maintenance**: plumbing, renovation, equipment installation
- **Emergency**: short-notice closures (weather, illness, family emergency)
- **Personal**: personal day for the owner
- **Conference**: industry conferences, ASCP events
- **Custom**: anything else

The type is used for filtering and reporting; it doesn't change booking behavior on its own.

**Step 3: Decide whether to block bookings**
The **Block bookings** toggle controls whether clients can book on this date:

- **Toggle on (default)**: clients cannot book; the date is marked closed on your booking page
- **Toggle off (informational only)**: the calendar shows a marker but bookings still go through

Informational closures are useful for things like "owner traveling but spa is staffed" or "limited services available, call ahead" where you want clients aware but bookings should still flow.

**Step 4: Configure partial-day windows (optional)**
When Block bookings is on, you can optionally set **Reopens at** and **Closes early at** times:

- **Closes early at** only: you're open as usual until that time, then closed for the rest of the day
- **Reopens at** only: you're closed until that time, then open as usual
- **Both set**: you're open only between the two times, and closed the rest of the day. For example, **Reopens at** 10:00 and **Closes early at** 14:00 means clients can book only from 10 AM to 2 PM. **Reopens at** must be earlier than **Closes early at**.

Leave both blank for a full-day closure. There's no way to close for just a few hours in the middle of the day; for a midday break, block that time on the calendar instead.

**Step 5: Mark as recurring (optional)**
Turn on **Recurring annually** if this is a date you observe every year (Mother's Day, anniversary, recurring training). This adds an "(annual)" tag in the closures list so you remember to re-add it next year. The system does not auto-create future-year rows; you re-add the date when you set up the next year.

**Step 6: Save**
Optionally add a **Reason**. It's an internal note and isn't shown to clients. Then click **Add closure**. The date appears in your observed closures list and takes effect immediately on your public booking page.

**Closures override individual provider schedules**
A closure marked "block bookings" applies to the entire business, including providers whose personal schedule says they're available. If you need a single provider to be off but the spa to stay open, block that provider's time from the calendar or adjust their working hours under **Settings > Team** instead. Closures are business-wide, not per-provider.

## Closure Types at a Glance

| Type | Typical Use | Block bookings? | Partial-day? |
|------|-------------|-----------------|--------------|
| Holiday | Federal, religious, cultural observance | Usually yes | Sometimes (early close) |
| Vacation | Owner or team time off | Yes | Rare |
| Training | CEU days, certification, workshops | Yes | Common (half-day) |
| Maintenance | Renovation, equipment, plumbing | Yes | Common |
| Emergency | Weather, illness, family emergency | Yes | Rare |
| Personal | Owner personal day | Yes | Rare |
| Conference | ASCP, IBA, industry events | Yes | Rare |
| Custom | Anything else | Your call | Your call |

## Frequently asked questions

**What's the difference between blocking bookings and an informational closure?**
A blocking closure prevents the date from appearing as bookable on your public site: clients see no available times. An informational closure leaves bookings open but adds a marker on your admin calendar and (depending on your booking page configuration) a note for clients. Use blocking for actual shutdowns and informational for situations like 'limited services that day' or 'owner traveling but staff is here' where bookings should continue but you want internal awareness.

**Can I close just the morning or just the afternoon?**
Yes. On a blocking closure, use the Reopens at and Closes early at fields. Set Reopens at to 13:00 to be closed in the morning and open from 1 PM onward. Set Closes early at to 12:00 to be open in the morning and close at noon. Set both, say Reopens at 10:00 and Closes early at 14:00, to be open only from 10 AM to 2 PM that day. Leave both blank for a full-day closure.

**Will adding US Federal Holidays automatically include next year too?**
No. Each year is planned independently. When you click Apply selected, SpaSphere adds the holidays for the year you're currently viewing. To set up next year, use the year selector at the top of the Closures section to switch to it, then click through the onboarding card again. This design prevents surprises: you always know exactly which years you've planned.

**What happens to existing appointments when I add a closure?**
Existing appointments are not automatically cancelled when you add a closure for their date. The closure prevents new bookings going forward, but appointments already on the books remain valid. If you need to cancel or reschedule existing appointments, do that from the calendar or appointment list. A common workflow is to add the closure first, then filter your calendar to that date and reschedule the affected appointments. Your existing clients can still be contacted, but no new bookings can pile up.

**How do I remove a holiday I don't observe?**
Open the observed closures list for the year, find the row, and click the remove action. The closure is removed from that year only. If you applied a category of holidays you don't all observe (e.g., you imported US Federal but don't close for Columbus Day), simply delete the specific dates you want to skip. Next year, you can apply the same category again and trim the same dates, or skip that category entirely if it's mostly noise for your business.

**Does 'Recurring annually' auto-create the closure next year?**
No. The annual marker is a tag, not an automation. It adds an '(annual)' label in your closures list so you remember to re-add the date when you set up the next year. We designed it this way because annual dates often shift (Mother's Day is the second Sunday of May, Easter moves every year, your anniversary might fall on different weekdays). You decide each year whether to re-add the closure and what date it lands on.


# How to Run Multiple Spa Locations from One SpaSphere Account

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/multi-location
Section: settings
Updated: 2026-10-20

Add a second location to manage multiple spas, per-location hours, location-aware booking, and team assignments, all from a single dashboard.

Multi-location in [SpaSphere](https://spasphere.ai/) lets you run two or more physical spas from a single account. Each location has its own address, business hours, team working hours, and bookable calendar, but you share clients, your service menu, products, and marketing across the whole group. Adding a second location is the single change that turns on the multi-location experience: a location picker on your booking site, a location filter on the admin calendar, per-location working hours for your team, and a choice of which locations offer each service.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Multi-location growth fails when each new spa requires duplicating your software setup. Spa groups that run separate logins per location lose 8–12 hours a week to redundant data entry: the same client booked at two locations becomes two records, gift cards purchased at one don't redeem at the other, marketing campaigns have to be sent twice. SpaSphere's multi-location model treats your group as one business with multiple front doors: one client database, one inventory of services, one set of email templates, but per-location hours and calendars.

## Key Capabilities

- Add as many locations as you need, each with its own address, timezone, phone, photos, and hours
- Per-location business hours: close one location on Sundays without affecting another
- Set each provider's weekly hours per location; they work wherever you give them hours
- Choose which locations offer each service under **Locations** on the service page
- Location picker appears automatically on your booking site once you have 2+ locations
- **All Locations** filter on the admin calendar and in the mobile app
- Clients, products, and marketing are shared: set up once, work everywhere
- Emails use the address of the location the appointment is at

## Adding a Second Location

**Step 1: Open the Locations page**
Navigate to **Settings > Locations** from the sidebar. You'll see your primary location (created when you first signed up) listed. Click **Add Location**.

**Step 2: Fill in the new location's details**
Enter the location's name (e.g., "Carlsbad Studio", "Downtown Wellness Annex"), address, city, state/province, postal code, timezone, and phone number. You can also add up to 5 location images. Names should help clients distinguish between locations on the booking page. Neighborhood or district names work better than internal codes.

Check **Primary location** if this should become your main location. The primary location is the default for new appointments and the address used on emails when an appointment has no location of its own. Setting a new primary location unsets the old one.

**Step 3: Save the location**
Click **Add Location** at the bottom of the window. The location is added immediately. Once you have 2 or more locations, multi-location mode turns on automatically across the entire account, so you don't need to flip a separate switch. When you edit a location later, the button reads **Save Location**.

**Step 4: Configure per-location business hours**
Click the clock icon (**Set Business Hours**) next to any location to open its **Business Hours** window. Set the open/close times for each day, or mark a day closed. Per-location hours override the global hours for that location's calendar and booking page. The hours under **Settings > Business > Business Hours** become the default for any location that doesn't have its own hours set.

**Use per-location hours for seasonal closures**
A spa group with a beachside summer location can set that location's Sunday hours to closed during winter without affecting the main location's Sunday schedule. Per-location hours are independent: you can mark one location closed on a day the other is open.

**Step 5: Set each provider's hours at each location**
Go to **Settings > Team**, open a team member, and switch to the **Working Hours** tab. Pick a location, then set this provider's weekly hours there. A provider works at every location you give hours to; a location left with no hours means they don't work there. A dot next to a location shows it already has hours.

**Step 6: Choose which locations offer each service**
Go to **Offerings > Services** and open a service. In the **Who and where** section, under **Locations**, check the locations that offer it. Pick at least one: when clients browse services for a location, a service with no locations checked isn't listed.

## How Multi-Location Changes the Booking Flow

Once you have 2+ locations, your public booking site automatically adds a location step:

1. Client picks a service from your service list
2. A **location picker** appears showing all your locations
3. Client picks a location. If that location doesn't offer the service, they're asked to choose another location. Only providers who work at that location appear next
4. Client picks a provider (or "any available")
5. Date/time picker shows only that location's hours and that provider's availability

The same logic applies in the admin calendar and the staff mobile app: the location filter on the calendar toolbar restricts the view, and bookings created from a filtered calendar inherit that location.

**Single-location tenants don't see the location picker**
If you only have one location, none of the multi-location UI appears: no location picker on booking, no location filter on the calendar, no **Locations** list on services. This is deliberate. The instant you add a second location, every multi-location feature turns on at once. Locations can be added and edited but not deleted, so only add a second location when you are ready to use it.

## Multi-Location Setup Checklist

| Step | Done? |
|------|-------|
| Primary location address and hours verified | |
| Second location created with address and timezone | |
| Per-location business hours configured for both | |
| Each provider has working hours at their location(s) | |
| Every service has the right locations checked under Locations | |
| Booking site tested: location picker appears for clients | |
| Admin calendar filtered by location to verify per-location views | |
| Staff briefed on which location filter to use on the mobile app | |

## Frequently asked questions

**Are clients shared across locations or kept separate?**
Shared. A client who books at your downtown location and then books at your beachside location is the same client record: one history, one set of intake forms, one set of payment methods on file. This is intentional: most spa groups want to see consolidated client history regardless of which location someone visits. If a client never crosses between your locations, you'll just see one location in their history; if they're a regular at both, you'll see both. Marketing emails also go to one contact record, not duplicated per location.

**Can I have different services at different locations?**
Yes. Your service menu is shared across the account, but each service has a **Locations** list where you choose which locations offer it. If a service needs equipment that exists at only one location, select only that location. If a client picks a location you didn't select, they're asked to choose another one. Check at least one location for every service so clients can find it.

**How do business hours work when a team member is assigned to multiple locations?**
The team member's bookable time at a given location is the intersection of (a) their personal availability and (b) that location's business hours. If your member is available 9 AM-6 PM and the location is open 10 AM-5 PM on Mondays, the booking page shows 10 AM-5 PM on Mondays for that member at that location. If the same member also works at a second location open 8 AM-8 PM, their availability there is 9 AM-6 PM. Members appear independently in each location's calendar.

**Will reports show me location-by-location performance?**
Not yet. Reports and analytics cover the whole business; they don't have a location filter today. To see what's happening at one location, use the location filter on the calendar.

**Can I delete a location?**
The Locations page lets you add and edit locations, but not delete them. To stop taking bookings at a location, uncheck it in each service's Locations list and remove your providers' hours there. Existing appointments stay on the calendar so you can fulfill them. Contact SpaSphere support if you need a location removed entirely.

**Does the staff mobile app support multi-location?**
Yes. The staff mobile app has a location filter on its calendar, supports the same service and team location settings, and shows times in each location's timezone.


# Booking Availability: How Clients See Your Open Times

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/smart-availability
Section: settings
Updated: 2026-10-14

Choose how online booking presents your open appointment times: in clock order, steered toward appointments you already have, or with some times hidden.

Online booking decides what your day looks like. If clients can pick any open time, the first two bookings can leave you with a 9am and a 4pm and nothing in between. **Booking availability** lets you choose how your open times are presented instead.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

A scattered day costs you the same hours as a full one. Two appointments placed four hours apart occupy the whole day but only pay for two services, and the gap is rarely long enough to be worth going home for. Steering new bookings next to appointments you already have means the same number of clients finishes earlier, which is time back rather than revenue lost.

## Key Capabilities

- Choose one of three ways to present your open times, business-wide
- Score each open time by how well it fits next to appointments you already have
- Offer only the times within a window around existing appointments, with the rest one click away
- Show full availability automatically on days with nothing booked
- Hide a percentage of open times when you would rather look fuller

## Where to Find It

In the SpaSphere admin, go to **Settings > Appointments**. The **Booking availability** section sits below your public booking site settings, under the heading *Choose how clients see your open appointment times.* Click **Save Changes** at the bottom of the page to apply your choice.

The three options are exclusive -- you are on exactly one of them at a time, because they work against each other.

**Times are always listed in clock order**
Whichever option you pick, your booking page lists the times it offers in clock order, grouped into **Morning**, **Afternoon**, and **Evening**. The options change *which* times clients see, not the order they appear in.

## Show Times in Order

> Clients see every available time, from earliest to latest.

The default, and the simplest. Every time you are available is listed, and nothing is hidden. Choose this if your day is usually full anyway, or if you would rather clients simply pick what suits them.

## Keep My Day Together (Smart Availability)

> Show times that fit next to appointments already on my calendar first.

SpaSphere scores each available time by how much of your day it would waste and how much usable space it would leave behind. The times that fit best are the ones next to an appointment you already have.

When this is on, a second setting appears: **Clients see**.

**Step 1: All available times, with the best fits first**
Nothing is hidden. Every open time is still offered on your booking page, in clock order. This is the safest choice -- a client who needs an unusual hour can always find it.

**Step 2: Show a window before and after an already booked appointment**
Your booking page offers only the times within a set window either side of an appointment already on your calendar. Everything else moves behind a **See all available times** link, so a client who needs a different hour can still find it. The choices cover 1, 2, 3, or 5 time slots either side, and each one is labeled in minutes or hours for your own time slot interval, for example **Show 1 hour before and after an already booked appointment**. With 15-minute slots, for example, 2 time slots is a 30-minute window.

The window starts where your calendar is actually free again, so any buffer after an appointment is taken into account.

**An example.** You are booked from 10:00 to 10:30 AM and a client wants a 60-minute service. The 10:30 AM start is the best fit, because the new appointment runs straight on from the one you already have and leaves no gap.

**Empty days are left alone**
On a day with nothing booked yet, there is nothing to group around, so the setting does not apply and clients see every available time. The first booking of any day is never restricted.

## Make Me Look Busy

> Hide some of my open times at random, so my calendar looks fuller than it is.

A different idea entirely: rather than steering clients, this removes a share of your times from the booking page. Choose how much to hide under **Hide**, from **10%** to **90%**.

**Hidden times cannot be asked for**
There is no escape hatch here. Clients cannot see the times this hides and have no way to request them. Your own calendar is unchanged, so you can still book those times yourself -- but a client browsing your booking page simply will not see them.

Hiding 100% is not offered, because it would leave your booking page with nothing on it at all.

## Which One Should I Choose?

- **Booked solid most weeks?** *Show times in order.* There is little to group and no reason to hide anything.
- **Quiet patches you want to close up?** *Keep my day together* is built for this. Pick a window to steer new bookings next to the ones you have, and clients can still reach every other time through **See all available times**.
- **New, or coming back from a quiet season?** *Make me look busy* can make a thin calendar feel established -- at the cost of real bookable times.

## Frequently asked questions

**Does Smart Availability ever hide a time I am actually free?**
Not with 'all available times, with the best fits first' -- every time you are genuinely available is offered. With a window, times outside it are not shown at first, but they are never removed: clients reach them with the 'See all available times' link. A day that has open times always shows at least some of them.

**Why are my times not listed best fit first?**
The booking page always shows times in clock order, grouped into morning, afternoon, and evening. A list sorted by fit rather than by time reads as scrambled to clients, so the options on this screen control which times are shown rather than the order.

**What happens on a day with nothing booked?**
Clients see every available time. There is nothing on the calendar to group new bookings around, so the setting steps aside for that day. This means the first booking of any day is never restricted.

**How wide is the window?**
It is worked out from your own time slot interval, so the setting means the same thing on every calendar. A spa booking in 15-minute intervals and one booking in hours will see different minute values for the same choice, and the screen always shows you the real figure before you save.

**Can I set this per provider?**
Booking availability is a single business-wide choice. Every provider's booking page follows the same setting.

**Does this change my own calendar?**
No. Every one of these options changes only what clients see on your public booking page. Your admin calendar always shows your true availability, and you can book any open time yourself.


# How to Manage Add-ons, Perks, and Billing in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/add-ons-and-billing
Section: settings
Updated: 2026-10-20

Turn on add-ons like Referral & Loyalty, Private Shop, and Unlimited Email Marketing, see what they cost, claim partner perks, and manage your subscription.

Your SpaSphere subscription includes the full platform. A small number of optional features, called **add-ons**, are billed separately, so you only pay for them if you use them. This guide covers the **Add-on Store**, what each add-on costs and how to turn it on or cancel it, the **Perks** page of partner discounts included with your subscription, and where to manage your subscription and payment method.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Add-ons are for specific ways of growing: a referral program that runs itself, or selling a professional line that doesn't allow open online sales. Knowing exactly what each one costs, and that you can cancel any time without losing your setup, lets you try one without a long commitment. Perks are partner discounts you already pay for as part of your subscription, so they're worth a look.

## Key Capabilities

- **Three optional add-ons**: **Referral & Loyalty**, **Private Shop**, and **Unlimited Email Marketing**, each billed monthly
- **Checkout through Stripe**, with the add-on switching on automatically after payment
- **Cancel any time**: a canceled add-on stays active until the end of the billing period
- **Member Perks**: partner discounts included with your subscription, with a running total of what you've claimed
- **Billing** page (**Settings > Billing**) to check your plan and open Stripe's billing portal

## Add-ons at a Glance

| Add-on | What it does | Price |
|---|---|---|
| **Referral & Loyalty** | Automatic referral invites, a personal referral link for every client, loyalty store credit, and a dashboard showing the revenue each program brought in | $29/month |
| **Private Shop** | Sell client-exclusive products only to clients signed in to your client portal, for brands that don't allow open online sales | $29/month |
| **Unlimited Email Marketing** | No monthly limit on newsletters and marketing automations, subject to fair use. Booking and appointment emails are always free | $14.99/month |

Prices are shown on each add-on's button before you check out.

## Turning On an Add-on

Only the account owner can add or cancel add-ons. Other team members see **Contact an account owner to enable.**

**Step 1: Open the Add-on Store**
In the sidebar, go to **Settings > Add-on Store**. The page, **Do more with SpaSphere**, shows a card for each add-on with what it includes and its price.

**Step 2: Check out**
Click the button on the card, for example **Add Referral & Loyalty - $29/month**. You'll go to a secure Stripe checkout page to pay.

**Step 3: Wait for it to switch on**
Back in SpaSphere, the card shows that your payment went through and that the add-on will switch on in a moment. The card updates on its own, so you don't need to refresh. Once it's active, the card says **Included in your account.**

**Step 4: Start using it**
Click the card's button to open the add-on: **Open dashboard** for Referral & Loyalty, **Open Inventory** for Private Shop (it opens the **Retail** page), or **Open Newsletters** for Unlimited Email Marketing.

**Found a locked page?**
If you open an add-on's page without the add-on (for example, **Marketing > Referral & Loyalty**), you'll see a page explaining what it does, with an **Add** button that starts the same checkout, and a **See all add-ons** link.

## Referral & Loyalty

Referral & Loyalty turns happy clients into new bookings. Once it's on:

- **Referrals on autopilot** -- after checkout, SpaSphere sends the client a referral invite. When their friend books, store credit is applied automatically.
- **Refer a Friend** -- every client gets a personal referral link they can share by text, email, or QR code. Friends get a welcome offer, and referrers earn store credit.
- **Loyalty & store credit** -- reward repeat visits with credit that's applied at checkout.
- **Revenue dashboard** -- see the revenue each program collected, net of refunds, next to what it cost.

Open it from **Marketing > Referral & Loyalty**. For setup, see [Referral and Loyalty](https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/referral-and-loyalty).

## Private Shop

Some professional skincare brands don't allow their products to be sold openly online. Private Shop lets you sell those products anyway, to your own clients, because the buyer has to sign in first:

- **Portal-only products** -- flag a product as client-exclusive, and it can only be bought by clients signed in to your client portal.
- **Hidden from open checkout** -- a guest can never check out with a client-exclusive product. On your public website it appears as a locked teaser that unlocks once a client signs in, or, if **Shop Visibility** is turned off, it isn't shown at all.
- **Your normal shop is untouched** -- all your other products keep selling on your website and in the portal as they do today.

After you add Private Shop, mark products as client-exclusive in **Retail**. See [Private Shop](https://spasphere.ai/docs/inventory/private-shop). Private Shop sells through the client portal, so your clients need portal access to buy. See [Client Portal Overview](https://spasphere.ai/docs/client-portal/client-portal-overview).

## Canceling an Add-on

**Step 1: Open the Add-on Store**
Go to **Settings > Add-on Store**.

**Step 2: Click Cancel on the add-on's card**
Confirm when asked. The add-on stays active until the end of your current billing period.

**What happens when Private Shop ends**
When a canceled Private Shop reaches the end of its billing period, your client-exclusive products stop selling everywhere. Nothing is deleted: the products and their settings come back if you subscribe again.

## Member Perks

Your subscription includes discounts from SpaSphere partners. Go to **Settings > Perks** to open **Member Perks**. The header shows how many perks are included with your subscription.

**Step 1: Browse the perks**
A banner at the top shows the total value of partner discounts **Available to you** this year, how many perks you've claimed, and their claimed value. Filter by category with the chips (**All**, each category, or **Saved**), search with **Search perks or partners…**, or sort by **New first** or **Highest value**.

**Step 2: Open a perk**
Click a perk to see its details. Depending on the partner, the main button either opens the partner's website or shows you a code with a **Copy** button. The details also cover **How to redeem** and the **Terms**.

**Step 3: Count it toward your savings**
Once you've signed up for a perk, tick **I'm using this perk**. It then counts toward the savings total in the banner. Just opening a perk doesn't count it.

**Step 4: Save perks for later**
Click the heart on a perk card, or **Save** in its details, to add it to your **Saved** filter.

## Managing Your Subscription

Go to **Settings > Billing** to open **Your plan**. The **Subscription** card shows whether your subscription is active, your current billing period, and any introductory period or pending cancellation.

- Click **Manage plan and payment** to open Stripe's secure billing portal, where you can update your payment method, view and download invoices, or cancel your subscription.
- If you're in your introductory period without a card on file, click **Subscribe**. If your subscription has lapsed, click **Subscribe again**.

**Add-ons are separate from your plan**
Add-ons are billed separately from your base subscription. To add or cancel an add-on, use the **Add-on Store**, not the billing portal.

Looking to earn by referring other spa owners to SpaSphere? That's **Settings > Refer & Earn**. See [Refer a Friend](https://spasphere.ai/docs/referral-program/refer-a-friend).

## Frequently asked questions

**How much do add-ons cost?**
Referral & Loyalty and Private Shop are each $29 a month, and Unlimited Email Marketing is $14.99 a month, billed monthly on top of your base subscription. The exact price is shown on the add-on's button before you check out.

**Can I cancel an add-on at any time?**
Yes. Click Cancel on the add-on's card in the Add-on Store (Settings > Add-on Store). It stays active until the end of the current billing period, and then switches off.

**Do I lose my setup if I cancel?**
No. For Private Shop, your client-exclusive products stop selling at the end of the billing period, but nothing is deleted. They come back if you subscribe again.

**Why can't I add an add-on?**
Only the account owner can add or cancel add-ons. If you're a manager or service provider, ask your account owner. If the button says Currently unavailable, contact SpaSphere support.

**The add-on is still showing as activating. What should I do?**
The add-on normally switches on within moments of payment, and the card updates by itself. If it's taking longer, the card says so. Your payment has gone through, so wait a few minutes and reload the page. If it still hasn't switched on, contact support.

**Are perks an extra charge?**
No. Member Perks are included with your SpaSphere subscription. Each perk's terms are set by the partner, so check the Terms in the perk's details before you sign up.


# How to Connect Google Calendar, Google Places, and Flodesk

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/integrations
Section: settings
Updated: 2026-10-19

Connect SpaSphere to Google Calendar, your Google Business Profile, and Flodesk from Settings > Integrations. Learn what each one sends, where, and how to turn it off.

SpaSphere connects to three outside services from one page: **Google Calendar**, so your appointments show up next to the rest of your life; **Google Places**, so your Google rating and reviews can appear on your website and in review requests; and **Flodesk**, so your client segments flow into your email marketing. Open it from **Settings > Integrations** in the sidebar. Each one has its own card, and a **Connected** or **Not connected** badge shows at a glance what's switched on. (With two-way Google Calendar sync, the Google Calendar card has no badge, because each team member connects on their own.)

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Every app you have to check separately is a chance to miss something. With Google Calendar connected, a new booking lands on the calendar you already look at on your phone. With your Google Place ID saved, happy clients go straight to your Google review page and new visitors see your star rating on your booking site. With Flodesk connected, the client lists you would otherwise export by hand, like new clients, VIPs, or clients you haven't seen in 60 days, stay current on their own.

## Key Capabilities

- Send SpaSphere appointments to Google Calendar automatically, including changes and cancellations: into one business calendar, or into each team member's own
- With two-way sync, let each team member's new Google events keep clients from booking them online at those times
- Show your Google rating and recent Google reviews on your website
- Send review requests straight to your Google review page
- Add clients to matching Flodesk segments as they join SpaSphere segments (leaving a segment in SpaSphere does not remove them in Flodesk)
- Test, update, or disconnect each connection from the same page

**Which way information flows**
Flodesk and the business Google Calendar only receive information from SpaSphere: nothing you change there comes back. Google Places brings your Google rating and reviews in. With two-way Google Calendar sync, each team member's new busy Google events come back in, but only to block that person's online booking times. Google never changes a SpaSphere appointment.

## Google Calendar

The **Google Calendar** card ("Sync your appointments with Google Calendar") lets an owner or manager choose how your business syncs. Your business uses one of these, never both:

- **One calendar for the business**: every appointment goes into one Google Calendar. Nothing comes back into SpaSphere. This section explains this mode.
- **Each person syncs their own**: each team member connects their own Google Calendar from their profile. Their appointments go into it, and new events they add in Google stop clients from booking them online at those times. See [Google Calendar Sync](https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/google-calendar-sync) for how it works, who sees what, and which mode to pick.

In **One calendar for the business**, there is one connection for the whole business: appointments for every provider go to the main calendar of the Google account that signs in. Only owners and managers can connect or disconnect it.

### Connecting Google Calendar

**Step 1: Open the Google Calendar card**
Go to **Settings > Integrations**. The **Google Calendar** card is first on the page. Make sure **One calendar for the business** is selected. Read **What happens when you connect** if you want a quick reminder of what it does.

**Step 2: Click Connect Google Calendar**
Click **Connect Google Calendar**. SpaSphere takes you to Google's sign-in page.

**Step 3: Sign in and allow access**
Sign in with the Google account whose calendar you want your appointments on, then allow SpaSphere to manage events on your calendar.

**Step 4: Check the confirmation**
Google sends you back to the Integrations page. A green **Google Calendar connected successfully!** message appears and the card's badge changes to **Connected**. If something went wrong, a red message explains why -- for example, if you closed the Google screen without allowing access. Click **Connect Google Calendar** to try again.

### What Shows Up in Google Calendar

Once you're connected, SpaSphere keeps your Google Calendar up to date as you work:

- **New appointments** appear as soon as they're booked, whether you book them or a client books online.
- **Changes** to the time, provider, service, location, client, add-ons, or notes update the same Google event.
- **Cancelled or deleted appointments** are removed from Google Calendar.
- **Online bookings waiting on payment** appear once the payment goes through.

Each event is titled with the service and client name (for example, *Signature Facial - Jane Smith*) and uses your location's timezone. The event description lists the **Client**, **Service**, **Provider**, **Duration**, and **Status**, a time breakdown when the appointment has add-ons, and any client notes and staff notes. Events also get a Google Calendar color based on the service color. Google offers only 11 event colors, so it won't always be an exact match.

**Client names are visible to anyone who can see that calendar**
Event titles and descriptions include client names and notes. If you share your Google Calendar with family or coworkers, they will see these details too. Consider connecting a Google account you use only for work.

**Appointments booked before you connected**
SpaSphere sends appointments as they're booked or changed. An appointment that was already on your SpaSphere calendar before you connected appears in Google Calendar the next time it's edited.

### Disconnecting Google Calendar

Click **Disconnect Google Calendar** on the card. SpaSphere removes its access to your Google account and stops sending updates, and the badge returns to **Not connected**. Events that are already in Google Calendar stay there; delete them in Google if you no longer want them.

## Google Places

The **Google Places** card ("Pull reviews and ratings from Google Maps") is where you save your Google Place ID -- the unique ID Google gives your Google Business Profile. Once it's saved, SpaSphere uses it to:

- Show your Google rating, review count, and recent Google reviews on your website, when you check **Google Reviews** under **Website > Settings > Features & Navigation** or add a Google Reviews block in the Builder. When someone views your website and the saved reviews are more than a day old, SpaSphere fetches fresh ones from Google. Google shares up to five reviews at a time.
- Offer **Google reviews** as an option for **Send review requests to** under **Marketing > Settings**, so review requests take clients straight to your Google review page.
- Show the Google review prompt to clients who rate you at or above your minimum rating. See [Collecting and Managing Reviews](https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/reviews).
- Make the **Google review** option available in the [QR Code Generator](https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/qr-code-generator).

### Saving Your Google Place ID

**Step 1: Find your Place ID**
Search for your business with Google's Place ID Finder tool. Your Place ID is a string of letters and numbers that usually starts with **ChIJ**. The card's **How to find your Place ID** tips suggest copying the URL from your Google Maps page, but that link isn't the ID, and SpaSphere can't use it. Use the Place ID Finder instead.

**Step 2: Paste it into SpaSphere**
In **Settings > Integrations**, paste the ID into the **Google Places ID** field on the **Google Places** card.

**Step 3: Click Connect Google Places**
Click **Connect Google Places**. A green **Google Places ID saved successfully!** message appears and the badge changes to **Connected**.

**Paste the ID only, not the whole link**
Paste only the Place ID itself (for example, ChIJ...). If you paste a full Google Maps web address, SpaSphere can't load your reviews and your website won't show them. SpaSphere doesn't check the ID when you save it, so if your Google reviews don't appear on your website, double-check this field first.

To change the ID later, for example after you move, paste the new ID and click **Update Google Places**.

## Flodesk

The **Flodesk** card ("Sync clients to your Flodesk email marketing") sends your clients into Flodesk, organized into the same segments you see in SpaSphere, so you can email each group from Flodesk.

### Connecting Flodesk

**Step 1: Copy your Flodesk API key**
Log in to your Flodesk account and go to **Account Settings > Integrations > API key**. Copy your API key.

**Step 2: Paste it into SpaSphere**
In **Settings > Integrations**, paste the key into the **Flodesk API Key** field on the **Flodesk** card. SpaSphere stores it encrypted and only ever shows the last four characters.

**Step 3: Click Connect Flodesk**
Click **Connect Flodesk**. SpaSphere checks the key with Flodesk before saving it. If the key is wrong, you'll see **Invalid API key. Please double-check your Flodesk API key and try again.**

**Step 4: Let SpaSphere set up your segments**
When the key works, SpaSphere creates matching segments in your Flodesk account. A green message starting **Flodesk connected!** shows how many segments it created or matched, and the badge changes to **Connected**.

### What Syncs to Flodesk

- **Segments.** When you connect, every active SpaSphere segment gets a Flodesk segment whose name starts with **SpaSphere_**, such as **SpaSphere_New_Clients**, **SpaSphere_VIP_Client**, **SpaSphere_Inactive_60_Days**, and **SpaSphere_Birthday_Month**, plus one for each of your service categories. If Flodesk already has a segment with the same name, SpaSphere uses it instead of creating a duplicate.
- **Clients.** When a client joins a SpaSphere segment, they're added to Flodesk as a subscriber in the matching segment, with their email, first name, last name, and phone number. When they leave a segment in SpaSphere, they stay in the Flodesk segment; remove them in Flodesk if needed.
- **Timing.** SpaSphere sends changes every few minutes, and rechecks time-based segments, like clients you haven't seen in 60 days or clients with a birthday coming up, about once an hour.
- **Who's included.** Only clients with email notifications turned on and an email address on file are sent. Clients whose email has bounced are skipped.

**Turning off a client's email doesn't remove them from Flodesk**
If a client asks to stop receiving emails, turning off their email notifications in SpaSphere stops future updates for them, but it doesn't remove them from Flodesk. Unsubscribe them in Flodesk too.

### Testing, Updating, and Disconnecting Flodesk

Once you're connected, the card shows **Connection Details**: your **API Key** (last four characters), **Last tested**, **Last sync**, how many **Segments** are mapped to Flodesk, and the **Last error** if something failed. If the badge shows **Error**, Flodesk rejected the last check.

- **Test Connection** checks your saved key with Flodesk and shows **Connection test passed!** when it works.
- To use a different key, paste it into **Update API Key** and click **Update Flodesk**.
- **Disconnect** stops SpaSphere from sending anything more to Flodesk and shows **Flodesk disconnected**. Subscribers and segments already in Flodesk stay there.

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**Who can connect integrations?**
Owners and managers. Integrations is under Settings in the sidebar and needs an active SpaSphere subscription. Flodesk and the one-calendar Google Calendar connection belong to the whole business, so whoever connects them connects them for everyone. With two-way Google Calendar sync, each team member connects their own Google Calendar from their profile in Settings > Team.

**Can each provider sync to their own Google Calendar?**
Yes. An owner or manager picks Each person syncs their own on the Google Calendar card, and then each team member connects their own Google Calendar from their profile. See Google Calendar Sync for the details.

**If I add an event in Google Calendar, does SpaSphere block that time?**
Only with two-way sync (Each person syncs their own). Then new busy events in the calendars you pick block your online booking times. With One calendar for the business, the sync only goes from SpaSphere to Google, so add a block time or closure in SpaSphere instead.

**Why aren't my Google reviews showing on my website?**
Check two things. First, the Google Places ID field in Settings > Integrations should hold only the Place ID (usually starting with ChIJ), not a Google Maps link. Second, Google Reviews must be checked under Website > Settings > Features & Navigation, or a Google Reviews block added to a page.

**What happens in Flodesk when I disconnect?**
SpaSphere stops sending new subscribers and segment changes. Everything already in Flodesk, including subscribers and the SpaSphere_ segments, stays there until you remove it in Flodesk.


# Account Security: Signing In, Passkeys and Two-Step Verification

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/account-security
Section: settings
Updated: 2026-10-21

Sign in with Google, Facebook, Apple, your email and password, or a passkey, and keep your SpaSphere account safe with two-step verification and a list of the devices you're signed in on.

Your SpaSphere account holds your clients, your calendar and your money, so it deserves a good lock. You can sign in the way that suits you: with Google, with Facebook, with Apple, with your email and a password, or with a passkey that uses your face or fingerprint. **Account security** is where you see and change all of it.

You'll find it under **Settings > Account security**. Everyone on your team has their own Account security page for their own sign-in.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

A front desk computer gets shared, a phone gets lost, a password gets reused somewhere else. Each one is a way into your business. A passkey can't be guessed or phished, two-step verification stops someone who learned your password, and the device list lets you close any door you left open, all in a couple of clicks.

## Key Capabilities

- Sign in with **Google**, **Facebook**, **Apple**, your **email and password**, or a **passkey**
- Add passkeys, give each one a name you'll recognize, and remove ones you no longer use
- Set a password, or change the one you have
- See which Google, Facebook and Apple accounts you're connected to, and disconnect one
- Turn on two-step verification with an authenticator app
- Create recovery codes for the day you lose your phone
- See every computer, tablet and phone you're signed in on, and sign any of them out

## Signing In

Go to [app.spasphere.ai](https://app.spasphere.ai). The **Sign in to SpaSphere** page gives you every way in:

- **Google**, **Facebook** or **Apple**: one click with an account you already have.
- **Username** and **Password**: type your email address in the **Username** box, then your password, and click **Sign In**. Tick **Remember me** to stay signed in on your own computer.
- **Sign in with Passkey**: use your face, fingerprint or device PIN. You need to add a passkey first (see below).

Forgot your password? Click **Forgot Password?** and we'll email you a link to choose a new one. New to SpaSphere? Click **Sign up**.

**The SpaSphere phone app**
The latest SpaSphere app for iPhone and Android offers **Sign in with Google**, **Sign in with Apple**, **Sign in with Facebook** and **Sign in with email**. See [Using the Mobile App](https://spasphere.ai/docs/mobile-app/using-the-mobile-app).

## Your Account Security Page

The page has three parts:

- **How you sign in**: your passkeys, your password, and the Google, Facebook and Apple accounts you're connected to.
- **Two-step verification**: your authenticator app and your recovery codes.
- **Where you're signed in**: every computer, tablet and phone that's signed in to your account.

Each item shows what you have set up, with a green check mark when it's ready, like **Your password is set** or **2 passkeys set up**.

When you change something, SpaSphere takes you to a secure page to do it, and may ask you to sign in again first, just to be sure it's you. When you're done, you come back to Account security and a note at the top tells you what changed.

**Sign out from other devices**
When you add a passkey, change your password or set up two-step verification, the secure page has a **Sign out from other devices** box, ticked for you. Leave it ticked to sign out everywhere else at the same time. Untick it to stay signed in on your other devices.

## Passkeys

A passkey lets you sign in with your face, your fingerprint or your device PIN instead of a password. Nobody can guess it, and it only works on the real SpaSphere site, so a fake sign-in page can't steal it. That's why it's marked **Recommended**.

**Step 1: Click Add a passkey**
In **Settings > Account security**, under **Passkeys**, click **Add a passkey**.

**Step 2: Click Register**
On the **Passkey Registration** page, click **Register**. Your computer or phone asks for your face, fingerprint or PIN. Confirm, and you're done.

**Step 3: Give it a name**
Back in Account security, your new passkey is in the list with the date you added it. Click **Rename** to give it a name you'll recognize, like "My iPhone", and click **Save**.

Next time, click **Sign in with Passkey** on the sign-in page. Add a passkey on each computer or phone you use, or use one saved in your password manager across your devices. To add more, click **Add another passkey**.

To remove a passkey, click **Remove** next to it. SpaSphere asks you to confirm it's you first. You can't remove your only way to sign in: add a password or another passkey first.

## Your Password

If you signed up with Google, Facebook or Apple, you don't have a password yet, and the page says **No password yet**. You can add one any time, so you can also sign in with your email.

**Step 1: Click Set a password**
In **Settings > Account security**, under **Password**, click **Set a password**. If you already have one, the button says **Change password**.

**Step 2: Type your new password twice**
On the **Update password** page, type your new password in **New Password** and again in **Confirm password**, then click **Submit**.

Back in Account security, it says **Your password is set**. From now on you can sign in by typing your email in the **Username** box and your password below it.

## Google, Facebook and Apple

If you sign in with Google, Facebook or Apple, each one has its own row under **How you sign in**, with the account it's connected to, like **Connected as you@yourspa.com**.

To connect one, choose **Google**, **Facebook** or **Apple** on the sign-in page. Use the account with the same email as your SpaSphere account, and SpaSphere asks you to confirm it's you before connecting the two.

To stop using one, click **Disconnect** and confirm. If it's your only way to sign in, the page says so and hides **Disconnect**: add a passkey or a password first, so you never lock yourself out.

### Signing Up with Apple and Hide My Email

When you sign up with Apple, Apple lets you hide your email and share a private address instead (it ends in `@privaterelay.appleid.com`). That address works for signing in, but your clients can't email it: Apple only passes on mail from senders it knows.

If your business email is still that private address, SpaSphere shows an **Add your business email** notice at the top of the page to anyone who can edit your business settings. Until you add one, client replies to your receipts and reminders can't reach you.

**Step 1: Click Add business email**
Click **Add business email** on the notice. It opens **Settings > Business**.

**Step 2: Enter the email clients should use**
Under **Business Profile**, in **Contact Information**, type the email you want clients to write to in **Email**, and click **Save Changes**. The notice goes away.

You still sign in with Apple as before. The business email only changes where clients reach you. See [Business Profile](https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/business-profile).

## Two-Step Verification

With two-step verification on, signing in with your password also asks for a 6-digit code from an authenticator app on your phone. Someone who learns your password still can't get in. We recommend it for every owner.

**Step 1: Click Turn on**
In **Settings > Account security**, under **Two-step verification**, find **Authenticator app** and click **Turn on**.

**Step 2: Scan the code**
On the **Mobile Authenticator Setup** page, open an authenticator app on your phone, like Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator or 1Password, and scan the code. If your app can't scan, click **Unable to scan?** to get a code you can type in instead.

**Step 3: Enter the 6-digit code**
Type the 6-digit code your app shows in **One-time code**. Give the phone a name in **Device Name**, like "My iPhone", and click **Submit**.

Back in Account security, **Authenticator app** says **On**. You can rename or remove the app, or click **Add authenticator** to add a second phone.

### Recovery Codes

Recovery codes get you in if you lose your phone. Each code works once.

**Step 1: Click Create recovery codes**
Under **Two-step verification**, find **Recovery codes** and click **Create recovery codes**.

**Step 2: Save them somewhere safe**
You'll see 12 codes. Click **Print**, **Download** or **Copy** and keep them somewhere safe, like your password manager. They won't be shown again.

**Step 3: Finish**
Tick **I have saved these codes somewhere safe** and click **Complete setup**.

Account security then shows how many codes you have left, like **12 of 12 codes left**. When you're running low, click **Make new codes**. New codes end your old ones, so SpaSphere asks you to confirm first.

## Where You're Signed In

**Where you're signed in** lists every computer, tablet and phone signed in to your account, like **Chrome on Mac OS X**, and when each was last used. The one you're on says **This device**.

- To sign one out, click **Sign out** next to it. It's signed out right away.
- To sign out everywhere except where you are now, click **Sign out all other devices**.

This is the quick fix when a shared front desk computer changes hands, or a phone goes missing.

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**Which way of signing in is the safest?**
A passkey. It uses your face, fingerprint or device PIN, can't be guessed, and won't work on a fake sign-in page. If you use a password, turn on two-step verification too.

**I signed up with Google. Can I also sign in with my email?**
Yes. In Settings > Account security, click Set a password under Password. Then you can sign in with your email and that password, or with Google, whichever is handy.

**What do I type in the Username box?**
Your email address, the same one your SpaSphere account uses.

**Does two-step verification apply when I sign in with Google, Facebook, Apple or a passkey?**
No. It asks for the code when you sign in with your password. Google, Facebook and Apple have their own security, and a passkey already needs your face, fingerprint or PIN.

**I lost my phone with my authenticator app. How do I get in?**
Sign in with your email and password, and use one of your recovery codes instead of the app code. If you have a passkey on another device, or sign in with Google, Facebook or Apple, you can use those too. Then remove the lost phone from Account security and set up your new one. If you're stuck, email support@spasphere.ai.

**Why is there no Disconnect or Remove button?**
That item is your only way to sign in, and removing it would lock you out. Add a passkey or a password first, and the button appears.

**Can I change the email address I sign in with?**
Not from Account security yet. Email support@spasphere.ai and we'll help you.

**Can I sign in to the phone app with my email and password?**
Yes, in the latest version of the SpaSphere app. Tap Sign in with email. The app also offers Google, Apple and Facebook.

**I signed up with Apple and hid my email. Will my clients be able to reach me?**
Not at Apple's private address. Add the email you want clients to use in Settings > Business, under Contact Information. Until you do, SpaSphere shows an Add your business email notice at the top of the page.


# Google Calendar Sync: One Business Calendar or Each Person's Own

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/google-calendar-sync
Section: settings
Updated: 2026-10-20

Choose how SpaSphere works with Google Calendar: one business calendar for every appointment, or two-way sync where each team member connects their own.

SpaSphere can work with Google Calendar in two ways, and your business picks one. With **One calendar for the business**, every appointment goes into a single Google Calendar. With **Each person syncs their own**, every team member connects their own Google Calendar: their SpaSphere appointments land there, and the personal plans they add in Google keep clients from booking them online at those times. You choose the mode in **Settings > Integrations**, on the **Google Calendar** card. In two-way sync, each person then connects from their own profile in **Settings > Team**.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Most estheticians already live in Google Calendar. The school pickup, the dentist, the weekend away: it's all there. When your booking site doesn't know about those plans, a client books right on top of them, and you end up apologizing and rescheduling. Two-way sync closes that gap. You keep adding your personal plans in Google the way you always have, and SpaSphere quietly keeps those times off your booking site. Your appointments show up in the same calendar you check on your phone, so your whole day is in one place.

For a team, the question is different: who should see what? A front desk that books for everyone may want one shared calendar with every appointment in it. A team of independent providers usually wants the opposite: their own calendar, their own plans kept private, and only a simple "busy" showing to everyone else. SpaSphere lets you choose the model that fits how your spa actually runs.

## Key Capabilities

- **Two modes, one choice per business**: one shared business calendar, or each person syncs their own
- **Personal Google events block online booking**, for the person who added them, never for the whole spa
- **Appointments go into each person's own Google Calendar**, in the calendar they choose
- **Pick your calendars**: several calendars can block your booking times; one calendar receives your appointments
- **Private by default**: owners and managers see **Unavailable**, not your event's title or place
- **Optional SpaSphere Team calendar** that shows when teammates are unavailable, with no client details
- **SpaSphere stays in charge**: nothing you do in Google ever moves or cancels a SpaSphere appointment
- **Works from the SpaSphere app too**: connect and change your settings from your phone

## The Two Ways to Sync

| | One calendar for the business | Each person syncs their own |
|---|---|---|
| **Who connects** | An owner or manager, once, for the whole business | Each team member, for themselves |
| **Where appointments go** | Every appointment, for every provider, into the main calendar of one Google account | Each person's own appointments, into a calendar they choose in their own Google account |
| **Does Google block booking times?** | No. Nothing comes back into SpaSphere | Yes. New busy events in the calendars a person picks block their online booking times |
| **Teammates' busy times in Google** | Every provider's appointments are already in the one calendar | Optional SpaSphere Team calendar, with names and times only |
| **Where to set it up** | **Settings > Integrations** | **Settings > Integrations** to turn it on, then **Settings > Team** for each person |

A business uses one mode or the other, never both at once. That keeps every appointment in exactly one place, so nothing shows up twice.

## Which Mode Should I Pick?

**You work on your own.** Pick **Each person syncs their own**. You're the only person, so "your own calendar" and "the business calendar" are the same thing, and you get the part that matters most: the plans you add to Google keep clients from booking you at those times.

**Your front desk runs one shared calendar for everybody.** Pick **One calendar for the business**. Every appointment, for every provider, lands in one Google Calendar with the client name, service and notes. It's a good fit when one person books for the whole team and wants the full picture in Google. Keep in mind that nothing comes back: if a provider has a personal appointment, someone still needs to add a block time in SpaSphere.

**Each provider manages their own day.** Pick **Each person syncs their own**. Every provider connects their own Google account, sees only their own appointments in it, and their personal events keep their own booking times clear. A provider who doesn't use Google simply doesn't connect; everything in SpaSphere works for them as before.

**A team where people want to see each other's availability.** Pick **Each person syncs their own**, and anyone who wants it turns on **Show team availability in my Google Calendar**. They get a separate **SpaSphere Team** calendar showing when teammates are unavailable, without client names or anyone's private event titles. This also works for a front desk person or manager who isn't booked for services: they can connect their own Google account just to see the team's busy times.

**Not sure? Think about whose plans you need to protect**
If the main thing you want is for personal plans to stop clients from booking at the wrong time, pick **Each person syncs their own**. If the main thing you want is one Google Calendar with every client appointment in it, pick **One calendar for the business**.

## How Individuals and Teams Fit Together

Two-way sync is built around one idea: **your Google Calendar is yours.** A few rules follow from that.

- **Each person connects their own account.** Google asks the person who owns the account to sign in, so nobody can connect a Google Calendar for someone else. Not even an owner.
- **One Google account per person.** A Google account can be connected to only one team member in your spa. If two people try to share one, SpaSphere says **This Google account is already connected to another team member. Each person needs their own Google account.**
- **Your events block only you.** When you add a lunch with a friend in Google, it blocks your booking times. It never closes the spa or blocks a teammate.
- **Your event details stay private.** Owners and managers, who can see everyone's schedule in SpaSphere, see that you're **Unavailable**, not the title or place of the event, unless you choose to share them. Other providers don't see your block times in SpaSphere.
- **Teammates see times, not clients.** The optional SpaSphere Team calendar shows "Jane unavailable" from 2:00 to 3:00. Never which client, which service, or why.
- **SpaSphere stays the source of truth.** Google can block your time, but it never moves, cancels or changes an appointment in SpaSphere.

## Choosing Your Mode

Only owners and managers can switch the mode. Other team members don't see Settings > Integrations.

**Step 1: Open the Google Calendar card**
Go to **Settings > Integrations**. The **Google Calendar** card shows two choices: **One calendar for the business** and **Each person syncs their own**. The one your business uses now is highlighted.

**Step 2: Click the mode you want**
Click the choice that isn't highlighted. SpaSphere asks you to confirm, because switching changes things for everyone (see below).

**Step 3: Confirm**
Click **Switch** (or **Switch back**). The card updates straight away. In two-way sync, the card shows **Two-way sync is on. Each team member connects Google Calendar from their profile in Team.** with a **Go to Team** link.

### What switching to two-way does

The business Google Calendar stops getting new appointments, SpaSphere forgets that Google account, and asks Google to remove its access. If you want to be sure, check [myaccount.google.com/permissions](https://myaccount.google.com/permissions) for that account. **Nothing is deleted from Google**: every appointment already in the business calendar stays there. Those appointments won't update in Google anymore, even if they change in SpaSphere. From then on, each team member connects their own Google Calendar.

### What switching back to one calendar does

Every team member's Google Calendar gets disconnected. Nothing is deleted from anyone's Google Calendar except the **SpaSphere Team** calendar. If Google can't be reached for someone at that moment, their SpaSphere Team calendar may stay in their Google account, and they can delete it in Google. Appointments already in their calendars stay there but stop updating. To start sending appointments to a business calendar again, click **Connect Google Calendar** on the card and sign in, because the earlier business connection was removed when you switched to two-way.

**Switching deletes nothing from Google**
In either direction, appointments SpaSphere already put in Google stay where they are. If you no longer want them, delete them in Google Calendar.

## One Calendar for the Business

In this mode, an owner or manager clicks **Connect Google Calendar** on the card and signs in with the Google account whose calendar should hold the appointments. Every appointment, for every provider, goes to that account's main calendar, and changes and cancellations follow. Nothing you change in Google comes back into SpaSphere. The full details, including what each event shows, are in [Integrations: Google Calendar](https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/integrations#google-calendar).

## Two-Way Sync: Connecting Your Google Calendar

Once two-way sync is on, each person connects for themselves. You need to be signed in to SpaSphere with your own login.

**Step 1: Open your profile**
Go to **Settings > Team** and click your own name. Open the **Google Calendar** tab. (The tab only appears when your business uses two-way sync.)

**Step 2: Click Connect Google Calendar**
Read the short note: **Only Google Calendar events created after you connect will sync to SpaSphere. Existing events won't be imported or affect your availability.** Then click **Connect Google Calendar**.

**Step 3: Sign in to Google and allow access**
Sign in with your own Google account. Google asks you to let SpaSphere see and edit your calendar events, see your list of calendars, and make its own calendar (used only for the optional SpaSphere Team calendar). Allow them all.

**Step 4: Back in SpaSphere**
Google sends you back to the Team page, your profile opens on the **Google Calendar** tab, and you see **Google Calendar connected.** The tab shows **Connected as** your Google email and **Syncing for the first time**, which changes to **Last synced** a moment later.

To start you off, SpaSphere uses your main Google calendar both ways: it blocks your booking times, and it receives your appointments. Change that any time (next section).

**Connecting from the SpaSphere app**
In the app, open your profile in Team and tap **Google Calendar**, then **Connect Google Calendar**. Google opens in your phone's browser. When you're done, the page says **Google Calendar is connected** and **Go back to the SpaSphere app to finish.** Switch back to the app, and it shows **Google Calendar connected.** once the connection is in.

## Choosing Your Calendars

Once you're connected, the **Google Calendar** tab on your profile shows your settings. Only you see this part. Click **Save Google Calendar settings** when you're done, and you'll see **Google Calendar settings saved.**

**Calendars that block my availability.** Tick every Google calendar whose new busy events should block your online booking times. The list shows the calendars in your Google account, including ones other people share with you. Only tick calendars about your own time: a busy event in a shared family calendar will block you too.

**Send my SpaSphere appointments to.** Pick the one calendar that should receive your SpaSphere appointments. Only calendars you're allowed to edit appear here.

A few things to know when you change these:

- **A calendar you tick later starts fresh.** Only events created after you tick it can block you. Events already in it don't count.
- **Unticking a calendar** stops its events from blocking you right away. If you tick it again later, it starts fresh again.
- **Changing where appointments go** moves your upcoming appointments that are already in Google to the new calendar. Past ones stay where they are.
- **The SpaSphere Team calendar never appears in either list.** It's for looking, not for blocking, and that keeps the two from feeding each other.

## What Blocks Your Online Booking

A Google event in one of your blocking calendars keeps clients from booking you online at that time when all of this is true:

- **It was created after you picked that calendar.** For your main calendar, that's when you connected. Events that already existed don't count, and editing an older event later doesn't make it count either.
- **It shows you as Busy.** Events you set to **Free** in Google don't block.
- **It's a regular event or an Out of office event.** Focus time, working location and birthdays don't block.
- **If it's an invitation, you said Yes or Maybe.** An invitation you haven't answered, or declined, doesn't block. (Otherwise anyone who knows your email could close your booking times.)
- **It hasn't ended yet.**

All-day events block the whole day in your business's time zone. A repeating event blocks every time it repeats, and SpaSphere keeps filling in the next 60 days as time goes on. Move or delete the event in Google, and SpaSphere frees or moves the block to match.

On your SpaSphere calendar, a Google event shows as a light gray block with a calendar icon and the person's name. Hover over it to see the person's name and **Unavailable**, plus the event title underneath if you're allowed to see it. It can't be moved or edited in SpaSphere. Clicking it shows **This time comes from Google Calendar. Change it in Google Calendar.**

**Need an older event to block you?**
Events from before you connected don't block, on purpose: SpaSphere never pulls in your past calendar. If an older event matters, add it again in Google (a new event counts) or add a [block time](https://spasphere.ai/docs/appointments/scheduling-appointments#creating-block-times) in SpaSphere.

## What Goes Into Your Google Calendar

Your SpaSphere appointments go into the calendar you picked in **Send my SpaSphere appointments to**:

- **Only appointments booked after you connected.** Appointments that were already on your SpaSphere calendar before then stay out of Google, even if they change later or are moved to you from a teammate.
- **Changes follow.** A new time, service, client, add-ons or notes update the same Google event.
- **Cancelled, declined and expired appointments are removed**, and so are bookings still waiting for payment.
- **Moved to a teammate?** The appointment leaves your Google Calendar. It goes into theirs if they're connected and the appointment was booked after they connected. If your Google Calendar needed reconnecting when it moved, SpaSphere can't reach it, so delete that event in Google yourself.

Each event is titled with the service and client, for example *Signature Facial - Jane Smith*. The description lists the **Client**, **Service**, **Provider**, **Duration** and **Status**, a time breakdown when there are add-ons, and any client notes and staff notes.

**Your Google Calendar will show client names**
If you share your Google Calendar with family or friends, they'll see your clients' names and notes too. Consider sending appointments to a calendar only you can see.

Google never changes SpaSphere. If you edit or delete one of these appointment events in Google, the appointment in SpaSphere stays exactly as it is, and the next change you make in SpaSphere puts the event back the way SpaSphere has it.

## What Your Team Sees

Your Google events are private by default. Anyone else who can see your schedule on the SpaSphere calendar, including owners and managers, sees **Unavailable** for those times. Only you see the title and place.

When your business has at least two team members who are **Available for Booking**, your Google Calendar tab has a **Privacy and team** section:

- **Share my Google event details with the team.** Turn this on and anyone who can see your schedule in SpaSphere also sees the title and location of your Google events. Otherwise your team only sees that you're unavailable.
- **Show team availability in my Google Calendar.** Adds the SpaSphere Team calendar (next section).

SpaSphere keeps only what it needs from a blocking event: its time, title and location. It never stores the event's description, guest list or meeting links.

Owners and managers can see whether a team member is connected and when they last synced. They never see which Google account someone used or which calendars they picked.

## The SpaSphere Team Calendar

Turn on **Show team availability in my Google Calendar** and click **Save Google Calendar settings**. SpaSphere adds a separate calendar called **SpaSphere Team** to your Google account. You can show, hide or recolor it in Google like any other calendar.

**What it shows.** A block like *Jane unavailable* for each teammate who is **Available for Booking**, covering their appointments, their block times (including their own Google busy times) and their time off. Back-to-back stretches are joined into one block, and blocks are split at midnight. It covers today through the next 60 days, and keeps rolling forward. Teammates show up whether or not they use Google themselves.

**What it never shows.** Client names, services, the reason for a block time, or anyone's Google event titles. Just a name and a time.

**It never gets in your way.** Team blocks are marked **Free** and have no reminders, so they don't make you look busy in Google or ping your phone. SpaSphere never reads this calendar back, so a teammate's busy time never blocks you.

**Turning it off** tells SpaSphere to delete the SpaSphere Team calendar from your Google account. If Google can't be reached at that moment, the calendar may stay, and you can delete it in Google Calendar yourself.

**If SpaSphere asks you to reconnect**
At Google's sign-in, you can untick the permission that lets SpaSphere make its own calendar. Everything else works without it, but turning on team availability then asks you to reconnect. Click **Reconnect** and allow it this time.

## How Quickly Changes Show Up

- **From SpaSphere to Google:** when an appointment is booked, changed or cancelled, it usually reaches Google within seconds.
- **From Google to SpaSphere:** Google lets SpaSphere know when one of your blocking calendars changes, and SpaSphere fetches the change right away. As a backup, SpaSphere also checks every blocking calendar every 5 minutes, so even if Google's notice gets lost, a change usually shows up within a few minutes. If Google itself is having trouble, SpaSphere keeps retrying, and a change can take longer to arrive. Your booking site picks up the new block at the same time.
- **SpaSphere Team calendar:** changes are gathered for about a minute and then written together, so a busy morning of edits doesn't flood your calendar.

## Disconnecting, Unticking and Removing

| What you do | What happens |
|---|---|
| **Disconnect** (you, or an owner or manager) | Your Google events stop blocking your booking times right away. Appointments already in your Google Calendar stay there but stop updating. SpaSphere deletes what it stored from your Google account, asks Google to remove its access, and tries to delete the SpaSphere Team calendar. If Google can't be reached at that moment, you can remove SpaSphere at [myaccount.google.com/permissions](https://myaccount.google.com/permissions) and delete the Team calendar in Google yourself. |
| **Untick a blocking calendar** | Events in that calendar stop blocking you right away. |
| **Turn off team availability** | SpaSphere tries to delete the SpaSphere Team calendar from your Google account. If it's still there, delete it in Google Calendar. |
| **Change where appointments go** | Upcoming appointments already in Google move to the new calendar. |
| **Delete a team member** | Same as disconnecting them. Their busy times also leave teammates' SpaSphere Team calendars. |
| **Switch the business back to one calendar** | Everyone is disconnected, as above. |

To disconnect yourself, open the **Google Calendar** tab on your profile and click **Disconnect**, then **Disconnect** again to confirm. You'll see **Google Calendar disconnected.** If you reconnect later, it works like a fresh start: only events and appointments created after that count.

### For owners and managers

Open a team member in **Settings > Team** and go to their **Google Calendar** tab. You'll see **Connected** and when they last synced, or **Not connected. Jane connects their own Google Calendar from their profile.** You can't connect anyone, but you can disconnect them, for example when someone leaves. Click **Disconnect** and confirm **Disconnect Jane's Google Calendar?**

If Google had already stopped accepting that person's connection (their tab says they need to reconnect), SpaSphere can no longer reach their Google account, so the **SpaSphere Team** calendar may stay there. They can delete it in Google Calendar themselves.

## Troubleshooting

**My Google event isn't blocking my booking times.** Check that the event was created after you picked its calendar, that it shows you as **Busy** (not Free), that it's a regular event (not focus time or working location), and that, if it's an invitation, you said Yes or Maybe. Then check that its calendar is ticked under **Calendars that block my availability**. Changes can take a few minutes to arrive.

**An appointment isn't in my Google Calendar.** Only appointments booked after you connected go to Google. Bookings still waiting for payment show up once they're paid. Also check that a calendar is chosen under **Send my SpaSphere appointments to**.

**"Google stopped accepting this connection. Until you reconnect, your Google events don't block your booking times."** Google stopped letting SpaSphere in, for example because SpaSphere's access was removed in your Google account settings. Nothing syncs until you click **Reconnect** and sign in again, and your Google events stop blocking your booking times in the meantime, so clients may book times you're busy in Google. When you do, SpaSphere catches up on your upcoming appointments. If the person can't reconnect (they left, say), an owner or manager can disconnect them.

**I deleted a Google calendar, or lost access to a shared one.** At the next sync, SpaSphere stops reading it: its events stop blocking your booking times, and it's unticked under **Calendars that block my availability**. If it was also the calendar receiving your appointments, pick a new one under **Send my SpaSphere appointments to** and click **Save Google Calendar settings**.

**"This Google account is already connected to another team member."** Each person needs their own Google account. Sign in with a different one, or have the other team member disconnect first.

**"Please allow SpaSphere to see and edit your calendar events and see your list of calendars."** You unticked a permission on Google's screen. Click **Connect Google Calendar** again and leave those boxes ticked.

**"Two-way Google Calendar sync isn't turned on for this business."** An owner or manager needs to pick **Each person syncs their own** in **Settings > Integrations** first.

**I don't see a Google Calendar tab.** The tab appears only when your business uses two-way sync, and only on existing team members. Team members who aren't owners or managers see it on their own profile only.

**My own profile says I connect "from their profile".** Your SpaSphere login isn't linked to that team member profile, so SpaSphere can't tell it's you. Contact support@spasphere.ai to get them linked.

**I don't see Privacy and team.** It appears when your business has at least two team members who are **Available for Booking**.

**I can't pick a calendar under Send my SpaSphere appointments to.** Only calendars you're allowed to edit are listed. A calendar someone shared with you as view-only can block your time, but it can't receive your appointments.

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**Does the sync really run every 5 minutes?**
Most changes arrive sooner. Google tells SpaSphere when one of your blocking calendars changes, and SpaSphere fetches the change right away. SpaSphere also checks every blocking calendar every 5 minutes as a backup, in case Google's notice gets lost. Appointments go from SpaSphere to Google within seconds.

**Can we use both modes at the same time?**
No. A business uses one calendar for the business or each person syncs their own, never both. That way an appointment is only ever in one place.

**Who can switch between the two modes?**
Owners and managers, in Settings > Integrations. Switching asks you to confirm first.

**Can an owner connect Google Calendar for a team member?**
No. Google asks the account owner to sign in, so each person connects their own, from their own profile. An owner or manager can see whether someone is connected and can disconnect them.

**Will switching modes delete anything from Google Calendar?**
No. Appointments already in Google stay there. The only thing SpaSphere deletes is the SpaSphere Team calendar, when someone disconnects, turns team availability off, or the business switches back to one calendar.

**Can a Google event move or cancel a SpaSphere appointment?**
Never. Google events can only block your online booking times. Appointments are always managed in SpaSphere.

**Does my whole Google Calendar get copied into SpaSphere?**
No. Only new busy events in the calendars you pick, created after you picked them, and only their time, title and location. Your team sees Unavailable unless you choose to share details.

**Can my manager see what's in my Google Calendar?**
Not unless you turn on Share my Google event details with the team. Without it, owners and managers see the same thing as everyone else: that you're unavailable.

**Can two of us share one Google account?**
Not in the same spa. Each Google account can be connected to one team member. Each person needs their own Google account.

**What happens to my Google Calendar if I leave the spa?**
When you're disconnected or removed from the team, appointments already in your Google Calendar stay there and the SpaSphere Team calendar is removed. SpaSphere's access to your Google account is removed too.

**Does two-way sync stop my team from booking me in SpaSphere?**
Clients can't book you online at those times. Your team can still book you in SpaSphere: the Google time counts like any block time, so SpaSphere warns them about the overlap and asks them to confirm before saving.


# How to Connect SpaSphere to Claude and ChatGPT

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/connect-claude-and-chatgpt
Section: settings
Updated: 2026-11-02

Add SpaSphere to Claude or ChatGPT by hand with a custom connector, sign in with your owner account, and start running your business from a chat.

You can ask Claude or ChatGPT to update your services and hours, build pages on your website, write blog posts and newsletters, and tell you how bookings are going. Each change waits for your yes before SpaSphere saves it.

SpaSphere is on its way into Claude's and ChatGPT's app directories, where adding it will take one click. Until then, you can add it yourself in a few minutes with the steps below. You only need to copy a few values exactly as they appear here.

**What you need**
- Your **SpaSphere owner login**. Staff logins can sign in, but SpaSphere turns down every request from them.
- **Claude**: any plan, including Free (Free allows one custom connector). Use Claude on the web or the desktop app.
- **ChatGPT**: a paid plan that shows **Add custom MCP server** under **Plugins > Add**, on chatgpt.com. If you don't see that option, your plan doesn't offer it yet. Use Claude instead, or wait for the SpaSphere app in ChatGPT's directory.

## The values you'll copy

| Setting | Claude | ChatGPT |
|---|---|---|
| Server URL | `https://mcp.spasphere.ai/mcp` | `https://mcp.spasphere.ai/mcp` |
| OAuth client ID | `spasphere-mcp-claude` | `spasphere-mcp-chatgpt` |
| OAuth client secret | Leave blank | Leave blank |
| Scope | Not needed | `spasphere-mcp` |

The client ID is different for each assistant. Use the one in that assistant's column.

## Connect SpaSphere to Claude

**Step 1: Open your connectors**
In Claude, click **Customize** in the sidebar, then **Connectors**. Click **Add** at the top right and choose **Add custom connector**.

**Step 2: Name it and paste the server URL**
Type **SpaSphere** as the name and paste `https://mcp.spasphere.ai/mcp` as the MCP server URL. Click **Continue**. Claude checks the server for a moment.

**Step 3: Choose Use your own OAuth client**
Leave **Authentication** on **Sign in now**. Under **OAuth client**, choose **Use your own OAuth client** (not Register automatically), and type `spasphere-mcp-claude` as the OAuth client ID. Leave the client secret blank.

**Step 4: Add it and sign in**
Scroll down and click **Add**. A SpaSphere sign-in page opens. Sign in with your owner login, the same way you sign in to the SpaSphere app. If you're already signed in to SpaSphere in this browser, this step can finish on its own.

**Step 5: Check that it's connected**
SpaSphere now shows in your connectors with a **Disconnect** button and a list of its tools. You can choose, per tool, whether Claude asks you first before using it.

Start a new chat and try something like "What services do I offer, and what do they cost?" If Claude doesn't use SpaSphere, click the **+** in the chat box and make sure SpaSphere is turned on under connectors.

**On a Claude Team or Enterprise plan**
An owner of your Claude organization adds the connector once with the steps above. Then each person clicks **Connect** on SpaSphere in their own Connectors settings and signs in with their SpaSphere owner login.

### Using Claude Code

In Claude Code you can add the full SpaSphere plugin, which includes the connector and its skills. Run these two commands, then sign in when asked:

```
/plugin marketplace add SpaSphere/spasphere-claude-plugin
/plugin install spasphere@spasphere
```

## Connect SpaSphere to ChatGPT

**Step 1: Open Plugins**
On chatgpt.com, click **Plugins** in the sidebar. Click **Add** at the top right and choose **Add custom MCP server**.

**Step 2: Name it and paste the server URL**
Type **SpaSphere** as the name. A description is optional. Under **Connection**, keep **Server URL** selected and paste `https://mcp.spasphere.ai/mcp`. Leave **Authentication** on **OAuth**. You can skip the icon.

**Step 3: Open Advanced OAuth settings**
Scroll down and click **Advanced OAuth settings**. A panel opens on the right. ChatGPT fills in SpaSphere's sign-in addresses for you, so you only change three things in it.

**Step 4: Enter the client ID**
Set **Registration method** to **User-Defined OAuth Client**. Type `spasphere-mcp-chatgpt` as the **OAuth client ID**, leave the client secret blank, and set **Token endpoint auth method** to **none**.

**Step 5: Set the scope**
Under **Default scopes**, make sure **spasphere-mcp** is checked. Type `spasphere-mcp` in **Base scopes**.

**Step 6: Turn off OIDC**
Scroll to **OpenID support** and uncheck **OIDC enabled**. If you leave it on, ChatGPT asks SpaSphere for extra permissions it doesn't need, and the sign-in can fail.

**Step 7: Create the plugin**
Back on the left, check **I understand and want to continue**, then click **Create as a plugin**.

**Step 8: Connect and sign in**
Click **Connect SpaSphere**, then sign in with your SpaSphere owner login on the page that opens. If you're already signed in to SpaSphere in this browser, ChatGPT connects right away and shows a "connected" message.

**Step 9: Start a chat**
SpaSphere now shows under **Plugins > Personal**. Click it, then **Try in chat**, and ask something like "Show me my business hours."

## What the assistant can and can't do

- **You confirm each change.** For prices, hours, forms and other settings, the assistant shows you what it is now and what it will be. SpaSphere saves it after you say yes.
- **Drafts wait for you.** Website pages, blog posts and newsletters stay as drafts with a preview link until you tell the assistant to publish or send.
- **Client details stay in SpaSphere.** The assistant never sees your clients' names, contact details, appointments, invoices or payments. Insights are totals only. It can't take a payment, give a refund or delete anything.

## Troubleshooting

- **Claude says "A connector with this URL already exists."** SpaSphere is already in your connectors. Open it from the list instead of adding it again. If it isn't working, remove it there and add it again with the steps above.
- **The sign-in page shows an error, or asks for a long list of permissions.** Check the client ID for typos and that it matches the assistant (`spasphere-mcp-claude` for Claude, `spasphere-mcp-chatgpt` for ChatGPT). In ChatGPT, make sure **OIDC enabled** is unchecked and the only scope is `spasphere-mcp`.
- **It connected to the wrong business.** Disconnect, sign out of SpaSphere in that browser, and connect again with the owner login of the right business.
- **A tool is missing, or ChatGPT says "Unknown tool".** We add tools over time and the assistant keeps the old list. Disconnect and connect again (in ChatGPT, also refresh the page), then start a new chat.
- **ChatGPT has no Add custom MCP server option.** Your ChatGPT plan doesn't offer custom servers. Claude works on every plan, including Free.

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**Who can connect SpaSphere to an assistant?**
The business owner. You sign in with your SpaSphere owner login, and the connection reaches your business only. If a staff member connects with their own login, SpaSphere answers every request with a note that only the business owner can use it.

**Does it cost extra?**
No. The connector is part of SpaSphere. Newsletters you send through it count toward your plan's monthly emails, the same as newsletters sent from the app. Your Claude or ChatGPT plan is billed by Anthropic or OpenAI as usual.

**Will I need to set it up again when SpaSphere is in the app directories?**
No. The connector you add by hand keeps working. Once SpaSphere is listed, you can add it from the directory in one click instead if you prefer.

**Can the assistant change something without asking me?**
No. Changes to your services, hours or settings, and publishing or sending anything, wait for your yes in the chat.

**How do I disconnect?**
In Claude, open Customize, then Connectors, click SpaSphere and choose Disconnect or Remove. In ChatGPT, open Plugins, click SpaSphere, then Manage. You can also email support@spasphere.ai and we'll turn off its access.


# Privacy and Security: How We Protect Your Business and Your Clients

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/privacy-and-security
Section: settings
Updated: 2026-11-05

How SpaSphere keeps your clients' information private and safe: where it's stored, how it's locked, who can see it, how card payments work, and what you can do to keep your account secure.

Your clients trust you with their names, phone numbers, skin history and photos. You trust us with all of it. This page explains, in plain words, how SpaSphere keeps that information private and safe, and the few simple things you can do to help. For the overview, see [Privacy & Security](https://spasphere.ai/features/privacy-and-security).

## The Short Version

- Your clients' information is stored in secure data centers in the **United States**.
- Everything is **encrypted**: while it travels between your device and SpaSphere, and while it's stored.
- **Card numbers never reach SpaSphere.** Payments are handled by Stripe, one of the most trusted payment companies in the world.
- **Your business is walled off** from every other business on SpaSphere.
- **Your team only sees what their role allows.**
- Intake forms, signed consents and treatment photos are kept **private**, not on public links.
- **Your client list is yours.** We don't sell it and never will, and we don't share your clients' information with other companies for their own use.

## Where Your Information Lives

SpaSphere runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers in the United States, the same kind of infrastructure banks and hospitals use. Your appointments, client records, forms and files are stored there.

We back up your information automatically every day, so if something goes wrong we can bring it back.

## Encryption, in Plain Words

Encryption scrambles information so it can only be read with the right key. SpaSphere uses it in two places:

- **On the way.** Every page and app screen in SpaSphere, your booking site and your client portal use a secure connection (the little lock in your browser's address bar). Nobody on the same Wi-Fi can read what you type.
- **In storage.** Your client records, forms, photos and files are encrypted where they're stored, so a stolen disk would be unreadable.

Custom domains for your booking site get their own security certificate automatically. You don't need to set anything up.

## Card Payments

When you or your client enters a card, the card number goes straight to **Stripe**, our payment partner. It never touches SpaSphere's servers. Stripe meets PCI DSS Level 1, the highest security standard in the card industry.

SpaSphere only keeps what you need to recognize a saved card, like **Visa ending in 4242**. We never store the full card number or the security code. The same is true for payments in person with a card reader or Tap to Pay on your phone.

## Your Business Is Walled Off

Many businesses use SpaSphere, and each one is kept completely separate. Every time anyone opens a page in SpaSphere, we check who they are and which business they belong to, and only show that business's information. Another spa can never see your clients, and you can never see theirs.

## Who on Your Team Sees What

Each person on your team signs in with their own account and has a role:

- **Owner**: sees and manages everything, including billing and revenue.
- **Manager**: helps run the business day to day.
- **Provider**: sees the calendar and the clients they need to serve. Providers don't see your revenue reports.

We check roles on our side, not just on the screen, so changing a page can't unlock something a role isn't allowed to see. When someone leaves your team, remove them to end their access. See [Managing Team Members](https://spasphere.ai/docs/team/managing-team-members).

## Intake Forms, Consents and Photos

Intake answers, signed consent forms, and treatment and before-and-after photos are stored **privately**, not on a public web address. These files don't have a permanent address that could be shared or found. Instead, each time someone on your team opens one, SpaSphere creates a fresh link just for that moment, and the link expires within 15 minutes. That short life is what protects the file: if a link gets copied, forwarded or left in a browser's history, it soon stops working. To see the file again, someone has to sign in to your SpaSphere account and open it, which creates a new link.

Before-and-after photos only appear on your website if **you** choose to publish them in your gallery.

Owners can download a 30-day activity log from **Clients > Files** (click **Activity log (30 days)**), showing who on your team opened or downloaded which files.

## Signing In Safely

Every person on your team can protect their own account:

- **Passkeys**: sign in with your face, fingerprint or device PIN. Nobody can guess them, and they don't work on fake sign-in pages.
- **Two-step verification**: a 6-digit code from an authenticator app, on top of your password.
- **Sign in with Google, Facebook or Apple.**
- **Where you're signed in**: see every device signed in to your account and sign out any of them, like a lost phone or an old front desk computer.

Set these up in **Settings > Account security**. See [Account Security](https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/account-security).

## Texts and Emails to Your Clients

- Clients who text **STOP** stop getting texts from your business. They can text **START** to opt back in.
- Marketing emails only go to clients who are subscribed, and every email has an unsubscribe link.
- Appointment reminders and receipts go only to the client they're about.

## AI Features

Some SpaSphere features use AI, like help writing posts and messages, the business assistant, skin assessment reports, and sorting the messages in your inbox. These features run through a trusted AI partner under a business agreement.

**Your clients' names and contact details stay with us.** Before anything leaves SpaSphere, we take out client names, email addresses, phone numbers and birthdays and put a placeholder in their place, like **[First Name]**. The AI sees only what it needs to do the job, like skin concerns or how many weeks since a last visit.

On **SpaSphere Forms**, the forms your clients fill out and the photos they upload are never sent to AI at all.

When the answer comes back, SpaSphere puts the real details back in, on our side. So the finished report or message still greets your client by name, and the AI never knew it.

Information sent for these features is used only to give you the answer, and it's never used to train AI models.

## Can SpaSphere Staff See My Data?

Only when you ask us for help. Support is given only by authorized members of our team, only at your request, and every time someone opens your account it's documented. We never browse client records out of curiosity.

## We Never Sell or Share Your Clients' Information

Your client list belongs to you. **We don't sell it, rent it or trade it, and we never will.** We don't give your clients' information to other companies for their own marketing or any other use.

To run SpaSphere, a few trusted partners do their one job with only what that job needs: Stripe processes a card payment, a texting service delivers your appointment reminder, an email service delivers your receipt.

We may look at totals across many businesses, like how many appointments are booked on a Friday, to improve SpaSphere. Those numbers are combined and stripped of anything that could identify a client.

## Your Data Is Yours

- **Export it any time.** Download your clients, appointments, services, products, notes, SOAP notes, gift cards and more as spreadsheet files. See [Exporting Data](https://spasphere.ai/docs/reports/exporting-data).
- **Delete your account.** Send a request on the [Delete Your Account](https://spasphere.ai/delete-account) page, and we'll permanently delete your business data, client records and appointments within 5 business days.
For the full legal details, read our [Privacy Policy](https://spasphere.ai/privacy-policy).

## Your Part: Five Simple Habits

Security is shared. We protect the platform, and a few things only you can do:

1. Give everyone on your team their **own** sign-in. Never share one account.
2. Turn on **two-step verification** or add a **passkey**, especially for owners.
3. Give each person the **role** they need, and remove people the day they leave.
4. Keep your computers and phones **locked** with a passcode and up to date.
5. Take care with files you **download or print**. Once they leave SpaSphere, they're in your hands.

## FAQ

## Frequently asked questions

**Is my clients' information safe in SpaSphere?**
Yes. It's stored in secure US data centers, encrypted while it travels and while it's stored, walled off from every other business, and only visible to your team according to their roles. Intake forms, consents and treatment photos are kept private, not on public links.

**Is my clients' data encrypted?**
Yes. Everything is encrypted on the way between your device and SpaSphere (the lock in your browser), and encrypted where it's stored.

**Where is my data stored?**
In Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers in the United States.

**Does SpaSphere store my clients' card numbers?**
No. Card numbers go straight to Stripe, our payment partner, and never touch SpaSphere's servers. We only keep the card brand and last 4 digits so you can recognize a saved card. Stripe meets PCI DSS Level 1, the highest card security standard.

**Is SpaSphere PCI compliant?**
Card payments in SpaSphere are handled entirely by Stripe, which is certified PCI DSS Level 1. Because card numbers never reach SpaSphere, you don't handle card data yourself when you use SpaSphere payments.

**Can other businesses on SpaSphere see my clients?**
No. Every business is kept separate. Each time someone opens a page, SpaSphere checks which business they belong to and only shows that business's information.

**Can my providers see my revenue?**
No. Providers don't see revenue reports. Owners see everything, including billing and revenue. Roles are checked on our side, not just on the screen.

**Are intake forms and before-and-after photos private?**
Yes. Intake answers, signed consents and treatment photos are stored privately. When your team opens one, SpaSphere creates a link that works for 15 minutes at most. After that, viewing the file again needs a new link from someone signed in to your account. Before-and-after photos only appear on your website if you publish them in your gallery yourself.

**Can SpaSphere employees see my client records?**
Only when you ask us for help. Support is given only by authorized members of our team, only at your request, and every time someone opens your account it's documented.

**Do you sell my client list?**
No, and we never will. Your client list belongs to you. We don't sell, rent or trade it, and we don't give your clients' information to other companies for their own use. Partners like Stripe or our texting service only get what they need to do their one job, like processing a payment or delivering a reminder.

**Do you share my clients' information with third parties?**
No. We don't sell or share your clients' information with other companies for their own use. A few partners help run SpaSphere, like Stripe for payments and our texting and email services, and they only get what they need to do that one job. We may use combined totals across many businesses to improve SpaSphere, stripped of anything that could identify a client.

**Does SpaSphere use my clients' information to train AI?**
No. And before anything goes to our AI partner, client names, emails, phone numbers and birthdays are swapped for placeholders like [First Name], and SpaSphere puts the real details back in when the answer comes back. On SpaSphere Forms, client submissions and uploaded photos are never sent to AI. Information sent for AI features is used only to give you the answer, and it's never used to train AI models.

**Is SpaSphere HIPAA compliant?**
SpaSphere's standard plans don't include a Business Associate Agreement (BAA). If your practice is a HIPAA covered entity and needs a BAA, email support@spasphere.ai and we'll talk it through with you.

**How do I protect my account?**
Go to Settings > Account security. Add a passkey or turn on two-step verification, and check Where you're signed in to sign out any device you don't recognize. Give everyone on your team their own sign-in, and remove people the day they leave.

**Can I require two-step verification for my whole team?**
Each person turns on two-step verification for their own account in Settings > Account security. We recommend asking everyone on your team, and especially owners, to turn it on.

**Can I get a copy of all my data?**
Yes. You can export your clients, appointments, services, products, notes, SOAP notes, gift cards and more as spreadsheet files at any time. See Exporting Data in the help center.

**How do I delete my account and my clients' data?**
Send a request on the Delete Your Account page at spasphere.ai/delete-account. We permanently delete your business data, client records and appointments within 5 business days.

**Do you back up my data?**
Yes. SpaSphere backs up your information automatically every day, so it can be restored if something goes wrong.

**What happens if a client texts STOP?**
They stop getting texts from your business right away. They can text START to opt back in. Marketing emails go only to subscribed clients, and every one has an unsubscribe link.

**I think someone got into my account. What do I do?**
Go to Settings > Account security, click Sign out all other devices, and change your password. Then turn on two-step verification or add a passkey. Email support@spasphere.ai and tell us what happened, and we'll help you check your account.


# How to Manage, Edit, and Remove Team Members in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/team/managing-team-members
Section: team
Updated: 2026-10-20

Update team member profiles, assign services, set text notifications and license details, and remove team members from your SpaSphere dashboard.

Every spa and salon runs on its people. The Team Members page in [SpaSphere](https://spasphere.ai/) gives you a single place to manage everyone who provides services at your business -- from estheticians and massage therapists to nail technicians and managers. New members join by invitation. Once they're on your team, you control which services they offer, upload profile photos for your booking site, choose whether they're texted about their bookings, record their esthetician license, and toggle whether they appear on your public calendar.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Staffing mistakes are among the most expensive problems a spa can face. An unassigned service provider means empty appointment slots that could be generating $80-150 per hour in revenue. When team member profiles are incomplete -- missing photos, bios, or service assignments -- your public booking page looks unprofessional and clients book with less confidence. The average spa loses $1,200-2,400 per month per provider in unfilled slots caused by scheduling mismatches and incomplete profiles. Keeping your team roster accurate in SpaSphere ensures that your online booking calendar always reflects reality, clients can find and book with the right provider, and your front desk team never accidentally schedules someone for a service they do not perform.

## Key Capabilities

- **Searchable team roster** with real-time filtering by name, email, or phone number
- **Detailed member profiles** including name, email, phone, bio, and profile photo
- **Text notifications** so a provider gets a text when their appointments are booked, cancelled, or rescheduled
- **Esthetician license details** (state, type, number, and expiration date) kept on the member's profile
- **Service assignments** grouped by category, with a select-all for each category
- **Booking availability toggle** to show or hide a member from the calendar and public booking
- **Bio visibility control** to display or hide a member's bio on your public About page
- **Profile photo upload** with built-in 1:1 crop for consistent, professional headshots

## Viewing Your Team Roster

Go to **Settings > Team** to open the **Team Members** page. It shows a table of every team member with their **Name**, **Email**, **Phone**, **Role**, and **Status**, and the number of members on your team under the page title. The business owner can change someone's role right in the **Role** column: pick **Owner**, **Manager**, or **Provider**, then confirm. See [Inviting Team Members](https://spasphere.ai/docs/team/inviting-team-members) for what each role can do.

Use the **Search team members...** field above the table to filter the list. Results update as you type. Invitations that haven't been accepted yet are listed under **Pending Invitations** below the table, where you can **Resend** or **Cancel** them.

## Adding a Team Member

To add someone to your team, click **Invite Team Member** and send them an email invitation. They join by signing in with Google, Facebook, or their email and a password, and then appear in your team list. There is no way to add a member directly without an invitation. See [Inviting Team Members](https://spasphere.ai/docs/team/inviting-team-members).

## Completing a Team Member's Profile

**Step 1: Open the member's profile**
Click the member's row in the team table. The **Edit Team Member** modal opens with three tabs: **Personal Information**, **Services**, and **Working Hours**. When your business uses two-way Google Calendar sync, a fourth tab, **Google Calendar**, appears too (see [Google Calendar Sync](https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/google-calendar-sync)).

**Step 2: Set booking availability**
At the top of the Personal Information tab, the **Available for Booking** toggle controls whether this member appears on your calendar and allows clients to book with them. When toggled off, the member can still access the dashboard but will not show up in the booking flow or on the calendar. Leave this on for anyone who serves clients directly.

**Step 3: Turn text notifications on or off**
Below it, the **Text notifications** switch controls whether SpaSphere texts this team member when their appointments are booked, cancelled, or rescheduled. It needs a phone number on the profile. For the alerts the business owner receives, see [Notification Preferences](https://spasphere.ai/docs/notifications/notification-preferences).

**Step 4: Enter personal information**
Fill in the required fields:

- **Full Name** -- The member's display name (required)
- **Email** -- A valid email address (required)
- **Phone Number** -- The member's phone number (required). You can't save the profile without it.

Optionally, add a **Bio** that describes the member's specialties and experience. Check the **Show bio on About page** checkbox to display this bio on your public website.

**Step 5: Add their esthetician license (optional)**
In the **Esthetician license (optional)** section, choose the **License State** and **License Type**, and enter the **License Number** and **Expiration Date**. To remove a saved license, click **Clear**. Keeping the license here gives you one place to check each provider's license details and renewal date.

**Step 6: Upload a profile photo**
Scroll down to the **Member Photo** section. Click the upload area or drag and drop an image, then crop it. A square photo (1:1 ratio) of at least 400x400 pixels is recommended, so every team member photo displays consistently on your booking page and website.

**Step 7: Assign services**
Switch to the **Services** tab. Your services are grouped by category. Check the box next to each service this team member is qualified to perform, or use the checkbox on a category to select all of its services at once. At least one service must be selected before you can save.

**Step 8: Configure working hours**
Switch to the **Working Hours** tab to set the member's weekly schedule. Each day of the week has a checkbox to mark it as available. For available days, you can add one or more time slots with specific start and end times. Click **Copy business hours** to start from your business hours.

Click **Add Time Slot** to create split shifts -- for example, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM for a member who takes a midday break. If you have more than one location, you set hours separately for each location. See [Scheduling Availability](https://spasphere.ai/docs/team/scheduling-availability).

**Step 9: Save the team member**
Click **Save Team Member** at the bottom of the modal. SpaSphere saves the profile, their availability schedule, and the profile photo if one was provided. A "Member updated" notification confirms the changes were saved.

**Complete profiles drive more bookings**
Team members with a professional photo and a written bio receive significantly more online bookings than those with blank profiles. Clients browsing your booking page want to see who they are booking with. Take five minutes to upload a headshot and write two to three sentences about each provider's specialties -- this small investment directly increases booking conversion on your public site.

## Editing a Team Member

To edit a member later, click their row in the team table. The **Edit Team Member** modal opens with the same three tabs, pre-filled with the member's current information. Make your changes across any tab and click **Save Team Member** to update the record.

Common edits include updating a member's phone number, adding new services they have been trained on, adjusting working hours for seasonal schedule changes, or toggling booking availability when a member goes on leave.

## Removing a Team Member

To delete a member, open their profile by clicking their row, then click the **Delete Team Member** button at the bottom-left of the modal. A **Delete Team Member?** dialog explains what will happen. Confirm to remove the member.

**Deletion is permanent and immediate**
Deleting a team member immediately revokes their system access and invalidates any active sessions. Their availability records, time-off data, and role assignments are also removed. This action cannot be undone. If a team member is leaving temporarily -- for maternity leave, sabbatical, or seasonal layoff -- toggle their **Available for Booking** switch off instead of deleting their record. This preserves their profile, service assignments, and schedule for when they return.

## Frequently asked questions

**How many team members can I add to SpaSphere?**
SpaSphere does not impose a hard limit on the number of team members you can add. Whether you are a solo esthetician managing one profile or a multi-location spa with dozens of providers, the platform scales with your business. The searchable team roster remains responsive regardless of team size, so you will never need to remove old records to keep things fast. Your subscription plan determines how many active bookable providers are included, but you can always add non-bookable staff such as front desk or managers.

**Can a team member provide services at multiple locations?**
Yes. If your business has more than one location, the Working Hours tab lets you pick a location and set this provider's weekly hours there. They work at every location where they have hours. For example, you might set Monday through Wednesday hours at one location and Thursday and Friday at another. Their hours at two locations can't overlap. Service assignments apply to the whole profile, so the provider offers the same services wherever they work.

**What does the Available for Booking toggle do exactly?**
When the Available for Booking toggle is turned on, the team member appears on your appointment calendar and on your public booking page, allowing clients to select them when scheduling an appointment. When the toggle is turned off, the member is hidden from both the calendar view and the client-facing booking flow, but they retain full access to the SpaSphere dashboard. This is useful for managers or front desk staff who need to use the system but do not provide services, or for temporarily removing a provider from the schedule without deleting their profile.

**Can I control what shows on the public booking page for each member?**
Yes. SpaSphere gives you granular control over each member's public visibility. The Available for Booking toggle determines whether the member appears in the booking flow at all. The bio text and the Show bio on About page checkbox control whether the member's description appears on your website's About page. The profile photo, if uploaded, displays alongside the member's name when clients are choosing a provider during booking. By configuring these settings for each team member, you control exactly how your team is presented to the public.

**Will SpaSphere remind us when a license is about to expire?**
SpaSphere stores each provider's license state, type, number, and expiration date on their profile, so you have them in one place. Keep an eye on the expiration date yourself and update it after each renewal.

**Why can't I save a team member's profile?**
The profile needs a full name, an email, a phone number, and at least one service. If you have more than one location, a provider who is available for booking also needs hours at at least one location, and their hours at different locations can't overlap. SpaSphere shows which field needs attention.

**What happens to existing appointments if I delete a team member?**
Deleting a team member removes their profile, availability records, and role assignments from the system. However, existing appointment records that reference the deleted member are retained for historical reporting purposes. The appointments will show the member's name but the provider will no longer be an active, selectable option for future bookings. If you need to reassign upcoming appointments before removing the team member, edit those appointments first to assign a different provider, then proceed with the deletion.


# How to Invite Service Providers and Assign Roles in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/team/inviting-team-members
Section: team
Updated: 2026-10-20

Send email invitations to service providers and managers, assign roles, and manage pending invites.

Growing your spa team should be as simple as sending an email. SpaSphere's invitation system lets you bring new service providers and managers onboard by sending them a secure email invitation right from your dashboard. The invited person clicks the link, signs in with Google, Facebook, or their email and a password (or signs up, if they're new), and joins your team -- no back-and-forth with IT. You control what role each person gets before the invitation goes out, and you can track every pending invite until it is accepted.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Onboarding delays cost real money. Every day a new provider waits for system access is a day they cannot be booked, which translates to $400-800 in lost appointment revenue per day for an experienced esthetician or therapist. Manual onboarding -- creating accounts, setting passwords, configuring permissions -- typically takes 30-60 minutes of admin time per person and introduces security risks when credentials are shared over email or sticky notes. SpaSphere's invitation flow eliminates this entirely: you type an email, pick a role, and the system handles everything else. Each person signs in with their own account, so nobody shares a password.

## Key Capabilities

- **One-click email invitations** sent directly from the Team Members page
- **Role selection** to assign Service Provider or Manager permissions at invite time
- **Sign in with Google, Facebook, or email and password**, plus passkeys and two-step verification
- **Pending invitation tracking** with status badges showing whether an invite is active or expired
- **Invitation details** including the role assigned, date sent, and expiration time

## Sending an Invitation

**Step 1: Open the Invite modal**
Go to **Settings > Team** to open the **Team Members** page, then click the **Invite Team Member** button in the top-right corner. The **Invite Team Member** dialog opens. Invitations are the only way to add someone to your team: there is no form for adding a member directly.

**Step 2: Enter the provider's email address**
Type the email address of the person you want to invite in **Email Address**. This must be the email they will use to sign in. SpaSphere validates the email format before allowing you to send.

**Step 3: Select a role**
Choose from two roles using the **Role** dropdown:

- **Service Provider** -- Clients' care plus the front desk: booking, approvals, and checkout for everyone. No business-wide money, refunds, marketing, or settings. This is the right role for estheticians, massage therapists, nail technicians, and any other hands-on provider.
- **Manager** -- Runs the day to day, including sales and reports. No bank account, taxes, SpaSphere plan, or role changes. Assign this role to office managers, spa directors, or anyone who oversees operations.

**Step 4: Send the invitation**
Click **Send Invitation**. SpaSphere sends an email to the address you entered with a secure link. A success notification confirms the invitation was sent. The invitation now appears in the **Pending Invitations** section at the bottom of the Team Members page.

**Each person signs in their own way**
When the invited person clicks the link in their email, they can sign in with Google, with Facebook, or with their email and a password. Someone new to SpaSphere clicks **Sign up** on the sign-in page first. Whichever way they choose, it must use the email address you invited, and that email must be verified. Once they sign in, they join your team with the role you assigned. Each team member can then add a passkey or turn on two-step verification in [Account Security](https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/account-security).

## Tracking Pending Invitations

After you send an invitation, it appears in the **Pending Invitations** table below the active team members table, with a count in its title. Each row shows:

- **Email** of the invited person
- **Role** assigned to the invitation
- **Status** -- either **Pending** (waiting for acceptance) or **Expired** (the invite link has timed out)
- **Sent** -- the date the invitation was sent
- **Expires** -- the date the link stops working
- **Actions** -- **Resend** and **Cancel**

If an invitation expires before the recipient clicks the link, its status changes to **Expired**, and anyone opening the old link is told the invitation has expired. Click **Resend** to email the invitation again, or **Cancel** to withdraw it. Only owners and managers can invite, resend, or cancel.

## Finishing the New Member's Profile

When the invitation is accepted, the new member appears in your team list. Click their row to open **Edit Team Member** and finish their profile before they take bookings:

- **Phone Number** -- required before you can save the profile
- **Services** -- the services they perform (at least one)
- **Working Hours** -- their weekly schedule
- **Available for Booking** -- whether clients can book them
- **Text notifications** -- whether SpaSphere texts them when their appointments are booked, cancelled, or rescheduled
- **Esthetician license (optional)** -- state, type, number, and expiration date

See [Managing Team Members](https://spasphere.ai/docs/team/managing-team-members) for each field.

## Understanding Roles

SpaSphere has three roles. You pick Service Provider or Manager when you invite someone, and the business owner can change anyone's role later from the **Role** column on the Team Members page.

| Role | What they can do |
|------|------------------|
| **Owner** | Everything, including the bank account, taxes, your SpaSphere plan, and changing roles |
| **Manager** | Runs the day to day, including sales and reports. No bank account, taxes, SpaSphere plan, or role changes |
| **Service Provider** | Clients' care plus the front desk: booking, approvals, and checkout for everyone. Their dashboard shows their own day and numbers. No business-wide money, refunds, marketing, or settings |

**Start with least privilege**
When in doubt, invite new team members as Service Providers. This gives them everything they need to care for clients and run the front desk without exposing business-sensitive settings like billing and team management. The owner can change their role later if their responsibilities expand. This approach follows the security principle of least privilege and protects your business data while still empowering your providers to do their jobs effectively.

## Frequently asked questions

**What happens when someone accepts an invitation?**
When the invited person clicks the link in their email, they sign in with Google, Facebook, or their email and a password, using the email address you invited (someone new clicks Sign up first). Once they sign in, SpaSphere adds them to your business and assigns the role you selected when sending the invitation. The person immediately appears in your active team members list and can begin using the dashboard. You will want to complete their profile -- adding their phone number, a bio, photo, service assignments, and working hours -- to make them bookable on your public calendar.

**Can I invite someone who does not have a Google account?**
Yes. They can sign in with Facebook, or with their email address and a password. Whichever they choose, it must use the same email address you sent the invitation to.

**What should I do if an invitation expires?**
Invitations have an expiration window to protect security. If the recipient does not click the link before it expires, its row in Pending Invitations shows Expired on the Team Members page. To resolve this, click Resend on that row to email the invitation again. If a provider consistently misses their invitation, reach out to them directly and make sure they check their spam or promotions folder.

**Can I change someone's role after they have joined?**
Yes. The business owner opens Settings > Team, picks a new role (Owner, Manager, or Provider) in that person's Role column, and confirms. The change takes effect right away and signs that person out, so they sign in again with the new access. You can't change your own role. In most spas, most team members are Service Providers, with Manager reserved for one or two key staff members.

**Is there a limit to how many invitations I can send?**
SpaSphere does not limit the number of invitations you can send. You can invite as many service providers and managers as your business needs. Each invitation is independent, so sending multiple invitations at once is perfectly fine. However, your subscription plan may determine how many active bookable team members are included, so check your plan details if you are scaling your team significantly. Non-bookable roles like managers do not typically count against provider limits.


# How to Set Team Member Working Hours and Availability in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/team/scheduling-availability
Section: team
Updated: 2026-10-20

Configure weekly schedules, copy your business hours, add split shifts, and set hours per location for each member of your spa team.

Your booking calendar is only as accurate as the availability you set for each team member. SpaSphere lets you configure a weekly schedule for every provider on your team -- down to the specific hours they work each day -- so clients can only book during times your staff is actually available. You can start from your business hours, set different hours per day, create split shifts for midday breaks, mark entire days as unavailable, and, if you have more than one location, set separate hours at each location.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Incorrect availability settings are one of the top causes of no-shows, double bookings, and client frustration in the spa industry. When a booking calendar shows open slots during hours a provider is not actually working, clients book appointments that must be rescheduled -- damaging trust and costing your front desk 10-15 minutes per rescheduling call. Research shows that spas with accurate, real-time availability see 20-35% fewer scheduling conflicts and a measurable increase in client satisfaction scores. Conversely, providers whose availability is too restrictive lose bookable hours. An esthetician with a $120 average ticket who is incorrectly marked unavailable for just two hours per week loses over $12,000 in potential annual revenue. Getting availability right is one of the highest-ROI configuration tasks in your entire SpaSphere setup.

## Key Capabilities

- **Day-by-day control** with individual checkboxes for each day of the week
- **Multiple time slots per day** to support split shifts, lunch breaks, and irregular schedules
- **Start and end time pickers** for precise scheduling
- **Copy business hours** to fill a provider's week from your business hours in one click
- **Per-location hours** for providers who work at more than one of your locations, with overlaps flagged
- **Default schedule** pre-configured as Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
- **Real-time sync** with the booking calendar so changes take effect immediately

## Configuring Working Hours

**Step 1: Open the team member's profile**
Go to **Settings > Team** to open the **Team Members** page, then click the team member whose availability you want to configure. The **Edit Team Member** modal opens with three tabs.

**Step 2: Switch to the Working Hours tab**
Click the **Working Hours** tab at the top of the modal. Under **Weekly Schedule**, you will see one section per day of the week, Monday through Sunday. Each day has a checkbox and an area for time slots. If you have more than one location, pick a location first (see [Working at More Than One Location](#working-at-more-than-one-location) below).

**Step 3: Start from your business hours (optional)**
Click **Copy business hours** to fill the week with the hours your business is open: the days you're open are switched on with your opening hours, and the days you're closed are switched off. You'll see "Business hours copied". Review the schedule, adjust it, and save. If your business hours aren't set yet, you'll see "No business hours set yet". Set them under **Settings > Business** first (see [Business Hours](https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/business-hours)).

Copying is a one-time fill. A provider's hours never change on their own when you later change your business hours.

**Step 4: Enable or disable days**
Check the box next to a day to mark it as a working day. Uncheck it to mark the provider as unavailable for the entire day. By default, Monday through Friday are enabled and Saturday and Sunday are disabled.

When you check a previously disabled day, SpaSphere adds a time slot as a starting point, usually 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. If the provider already works at another location that day, the new slot is placed in their free time instead. You can modify these times or add additional slots.

**Step 5: Set time slots for each day**
For each enabled day, configure the working hours by setting the start and end time using the time pickers. For a standard workday, you might set 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM or 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM depending on your spa's hours.

**Step 6: Add split shifts if needed**
If a team member works a split schedule -- for example, mornings and evenings with a break in between -- click the **Add Time Slot** button on that day to create an additional time slot. You can add as many slots as needed.

For example, to set up a split shift:
- Slot 1: 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM (morning block)
- Slot 2: 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM (afternoon/evening block)

To remove a time slot, click the trash icon next to it.

**Step 7: Save the schedule**
After configuring all the days and time slots, click **Save Team Member** at the bottom of the modal. SpaSphere saves the availability schedule and immediately reflects the changes on your booking calendar. Clients will only see open appointment slots during the hours you have configured.

**Split shifts prevent phantom availability**
If your providers take lunch breaks or have gaps between clients, use split shifts rather than one continuous time block. A single 9 AM to 7 PM block tells the booking system the provider is available during lunch, which can result in bookings during times the provider is not actually working. Creating two slots -- 9 AM to 12 PM and 1 PM to 7 PM -- accurately reflects reality and prevents clients from booking into break times. This simple adjustment can eliminate two to three rescheduling conversations per week per provider.

## Working at More Than One Location

If your business has more than one location, the **Working Hours** tab starts with a location picker. Pick a location, then set this provider's weekly hours there. A provider works at every location where they have hours. A location marked **no hours** is one they don't work at.

**Step 1: Pick a location**
Click a location name at the top of the **Working Hours** tab. A dot next to a location means the provider already has hours there.

**Step 2: Set the weekly hours for that location**
Set days and time slots as described above. Hours the provider already works at another location on the same day are shown for reference, marked with a red **\*** and that location's name. You can't edit them from here.

**Step 3: Fix any overlaps**
A provider can't be in two places at once, so this location's hours can't overlap their hours at another location. A time slot that overlaps is outlined in red with a warning under it, and you can't save until you fix it. Working at two locations on the same day is fine, as long as the times are different.

**Step 4: Repeat for other locations, then save**
Pick the next location and set its hours, then click **Save Team Member**. A provider who is **Available for Booking** needs hours at at least one location. Otherwise you'll see "Give this provider hours at at least one location."

To add or edit your locations, see [Multi-Location](https://spasphere.ai/docs/settings/multi-location).

## Common Schedule Patterns

Here are some typical schedule configurations for spa businesses:

**Standard full-time (Mon-Fri)**
- Monday through Friday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
- Saturday and Sunday: Disabled

**Extended hours with weekends**
- Monday through Thursday: 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
- Friday: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
- Saturday: 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
- Sunday: Disabled

**Split shift with midday break**
- Monday through Friday, Slot 1: 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM
- Monday through Friday, Slot 2: 2:00 PM - 6:30 PM
- Saturday: 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
- Sunday: Disabled

**Part-time (3 days per week)**
- Tuesday: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
- Thursday: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
- Saturday: 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
- All other days: Disabled

## How Availability Affects Booking

Once you save a team member's schedule, SpaSphere uses their availability to determine which appointment slots to display on your calendar and your public booking page. Only time slots that fall within the member's configured working hours -- and that are not already occupied by existing appointments -- appear as bookable.

If you change a provider's hours for a given day, new bookings will follow the updated schedule immediately. However, existing appointments that fall outside the new hours are not automatically cancelled -- you will need to review and reassign those manually if a conflict arises.

**Review existing appointments before reducing hours**
Before shortening a team member's working hours or disabling a day, check their calendar for any existing appointments that would fall outside the new schedule. SpaSphere does not automatically cancel or move existing bookings when you change availability. Reducing a provider's hours without checking for conflicts can result in appointments that overlap with non-working time, leading to no-shows and client dissatisfaction. A quick glance at the calendar before saving schedule changes prevents this issue entirely.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I set different hours for each day of the week?**
Yes. SpaSphere allows you to configure independent time slots for each day of the week. Monday can be 9 AM to 5 PM, Tuesday can be 10 AM to 8 PM, and Wednesday can be disabled entirely. There is no requirement for days to match. This flexibility is essential for spas where providers work varied schedules or rotate between different shift patterns. Each day's checkbox and time slot configuration is completely independent of every other day.

**How do I handle a provider who rotates weeks or has an alternating schedule?**
SpaSphere's Working Hours tab configures a single weekly pattern that repeats every week. If a provider works alternating weeks -- for example, Week A on Monday/Wednesday/Friday and Week B on Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday -- you will need to update their schedule at the start of each rotation. For providers with truly irregular schedules, set their availability to cover all possible working days and manage specific day-off exceptions through your scheduling workflow. The Working Hours configuration is designed for recurring weekly patterns, which covers the vast majority of spa scheduling needs.

**What is the default schedule for new team members?**
A new team member starts with a default schedule of Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with Saturday and Sunday disabled. This default gives you a reasonable starting point that you can customize to match the member's actual working hours. Most spa owners adjust the default during the initial setup process -- for example, extending evening hours on certain days or enabling Saturday for providers who work weekends. The defaults are never locked in and can be changed at any time.

**If I change my business hours, do my providers' hours change too?**
No. Provider hours are set per team member and are never updated automatically from your business hours. After changing your business hours, open each provider's Working Hours tab and adjust their schedule, or click Copy business hours to start again from the new business hours.

**Can I add more than two time slots to a single day?**
Yes. SpaSphere does not limit the number of time slots you can add to a single day. Each click of the Add Time Slot button creates an additional slot with its own start and end time. While most providers need at most two slots per day -- a morning block and an afternoon block with a lunch break in between -- you can add three or more if the schedule calls for it. Each slot operates independently, so the booking system treats each one as a separate window of availability.

**Do availability changes affect the public booking page immediately?**
Yes. When you save a team member's updated working hours, the changes take effect immediately on both the internal calendar and the public booking page. New clients visiting your booking page will only see appointment slots that fall within the updated schedule. This means you can respond quickly to schedule changes -- if a provider calls in sick, disabling their day removes all open slots for that day from the public booking page instantly, preventing new bookings from coming in for a time when no one is available to serve them.


# How to Build Your Spa Booking Website with SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/building-your-website
Section: website-builder
Updated: 2026-10-21

Your spa website from start to finish: pick a design, add and arrange sections, publish when ready, and set up pages, banners, and tracking.

Every [SpaSphere](https://spasphere.ai/) business gets a full-featured public booking website at `https://your-spa-name.myspa.ai`. You can also **connect your own custom domain** (like `yourspa.com`) yourself, so clients see your own name in the address bar. The **Website** section of your admin dashboard is where you build everything clients see: page layouts, pages and navigation, your blog, social links, banners, and analytics tracking. A live preview shows each change as you make it. Your edits save on their own as a draft, and clients only see them once you click **Publish**.

## Your Website in Five Steps

1. **Pick a design.** Try designer-made **Blueprints** on your own site and build the one you love. See [Choosing a Design](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/choosing-a-design).
2. **Make it yours.** Swap in your own words and photos, and add or rearrange sections (this page).
3. **Fine-tune the look.** Colors, fonts, logo, and favicon. See [Customizing Your Theme](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/customizing-theme).
4. **Fill in your pages.** About Us, Policies, FAQ, Gallery, and your own custom pages. See [Managing Website Pages](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/managing-website-pages).
5. **Publish, then connect your domain.** See [Connecting a Custom Domain](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/connecting-custom-domain).

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Your booking website is your 24/7 revenue generator. Over 60% of spa bookings now happen online, and most clients research a spa's website before their first visit. A professional, well-configured site with clear services, polished branding, and obvious booking buttons can increase conversion rates by 25-40% compared to a generic directory listing. Every page you turn on, from a gallery showcasing your work to Google Reviews building social proof, adds a layer of trust that converts browsers into booked clients.

## Key Capabilities

- **Connect your own custom domain** (e.g., `yourspa.com`) yourself, in about 10 minutes
- Start from one of 20 designer-made **Blueprints** (see [Choosing a Design](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/choosing-a-design)), then build pages from 40 ready-made sections you can drag into place
- Add your own custom pages at their own URLs (see [Managing Website Pages](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/managing-website-pages))
- Choose which pages appear on your site and rename their menu labels
- Add a **Client Portal** link to your site header
- Connect your social media profiles (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok)
- Add a site-wide banner and a booking-flow banner
- Add Google Analytics 4 or Google Tag Manager tracking
- Edit at your own pace: changes save as a draft and go live only when you click **Publish**
- Restore an earlier version of your site from **History**
- Hide your business address from the public site when you work from home

## The Website Tabs

Click **Website** in the sidebar. The page has four tabs across the top:

| Tab | What it's for |
|-----|---------------|
| **Builder** | Arrange sections on your home page and custom pages, set your brand look, navigation, footer, and floating button, with a live preview |
| **Pages** | Titles, SEO, and colors for each built-in page, plus your custom pages |
| **Blog** | Write and publish blog posts (see [Blog Management](https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/blog-management)) |
| **Settings** | Site-wide settings: Domain, Your Website, Features & Navigation, Social Links, Banners, and Analytics & Tracking |

**Improve SEO with Sophie**, **History**, and **Publish** sit on the right of the tab bar and stay visible on every tab. There's no Save button for your site's content, because you never need to save by hand:

- **Your edits save on their own.** Clicks, toggles, and dragged sections save right away. Typing saves a moment after you stop, or as soon as you click out of the field. Next to **Publish** you'll see **Saving…** and then **Saved**.
- **Saved isn't live yet.** Your edits go into a draft that only you and your team see. An **Unpublished changes** badge reminds you that your draft is different from your live website.
- **Publish when you're ready.** Click **Publish** and you'll see **Your website is live**. If there's nothing new to publish, the button is greyed out and its tooltip reads "Your live website matches your draft."

Pressing ⌘S (Ctrl+S on Windows) out of habit is fine: it saves your draft right away, but it doesn't publish. If your connection drops, you'll see **Couldn't save · Retry**. SpaSphere keeps trying on its own, and your changes are safe.

Changed your mind about everything since your last publish? Open the three-dot menu next to **Publish** and choose **Discard unpublished changes**. Your draft goes back to match your live website, and the changes you discarded stay in **History** in case you want them back.

**Website editing needs a computer**
The Website section is built for a laptop or desktop screen. On a phone you'll see a **Desktop required** message with a link to preview your live site instead. The one exception is the **Domain** section on the **Settings** tab, which works on a phone so you can set up or fix your domain from anywhere. Only owners and admins can edit and publish your website's content.

## Building Your Pages in the Builder

**Step 1: Pick the page to edit**
Open the **Builder** tab. The **Editing** menu at the top of the left panel shows which page you're working on. It starts on **Home**. Open it to switch to one of your custom pages, or choose **Add a new page** to create one.

**Step 2: Add sections**
Click **Add a section** under your **Page Sections** list. The **Add a section** picker opens with a search box ("Search: reviews, photos, booking...") and filter buttons for each group. With no search or filter, it starts with **Popular with estheticians**. Click a section to add it to the end of your page, then drag it to where you want it.

Sections that can only appear once on a page, such as **Hero Section** or **Booking Button**, show **Already on this page** once they're in use. **Reviews** opens a second step where you pick one of four styles: **Client Reviews**, **Google Reviews**, **Testimonials**, or **Featured Review**.

| Group | Sections |
|-------|----------|
| Welcome & About | Hero Section, Meet the Founder, Text & Photo, Big Statement, Why Choose Us, Visit Timeline, Visit Story, Location & Map, Areas You Serve |
| Treatments & Booking | Treatment Menu, Signature Treatments, Skin Concerns, Link List, Booking Button, Book Now Banner, Closing Invitation |
| Photos & Results | Before & After, Photo Gallery, Photo Highlights, Photo or Video Banner, Video |
| Reviews & Trust | Client Reviews, Google Reviews, Testimonials, Featured Review, Trust Numbers, Certifications, Brands You Use, Questions & Answers |
| Shop & Offers | Packages, Memberships, Shop, Featured Products, Announcement Bar |
| Stay in Touch | Email Signup, Flodesk Signup, Blog Posts |
| Layout | Scrolling Text, Divider Line, Extra Space |

At the bottom of the picker, **Set up how this page shows in Google** adds the page's search title and description (it's not a visible section).

**Step 3: Arrange and edit sections**
Drag a section by its handle to reorder it. Hover a section for its **Duplicate** and **Remove** buttons, and use its switch to turn it off without deleting it. Click a section to open its settings. Most sections have their own color fields, so one section can stand out without changing the rest of the page.

**Step 4: Set site-wide styling**
Five items are pinned around the **Page Sections** list. Above it: **Blueprints** (complete home page designs, see [Choosing a Design](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/choosing-a-design)), **Brand Look & Feel** (color swatches, colors, fonts, logo, favicon) and **Navigation & Branding** (header colors, menu order, dropdowns, nav position). Below it: **Footer** and **Floating Button**. See [Customizing Your Theme](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/customizing-theme).

**Step 5: Preview and publish**
Switch the preview between **Desktop** and **Mobile**, use **Refresh preview** if it looks stale, or click **Open preview in new tab** to see your draft in a full browser tab. Your changes save on their own as you go. When you're happy, click **Publish** to put them on your live website.

### Sections worth knowing

- **Blog Posts**: shows posts from your blog. Choose **Mode**: **Latest**, **By category**, or **Selected** (pick specific posts). Set an optional title, subtitle, and **Limit**, choose which details to show (category, excerpt, date, author), and add a **View all posts** link.
- **Memberships**: shows your membership plans. Choose **All memberships** or **Selected only**, set **How many to show**, a title and subtitle, and optionally **Show a link to the full memberships page**.
- **Email Signup**: a signup form that saves emails to your Leads list. See [Lead Capture](https://spasphere.ai/docs/marketing/lead-capture).
- **Link List**: a stack of titled buttons, each with its own link. Handy as a link-in-bio page.
- **Photo or Video Banner**: a banner with a background video, landscape or vertical (Reels and TikTok work). MP4 or MOV, up to 100 MB and 90 seconds.
- **Client Reviews**: shows reviews you've published from **Marketing > Reviews**, as a carousel or grid.
- **Brands You Use** logos can each link to the brand's site, **Featured Products** has its own title and subtitle, and a **Book Now Banner** button can link to any web address, email (`mailto:`), or phone number (`tel:`).

### A second button in the hero

When your **Hero Section** uses one of the designed hero layouts (every Blueprints V2 design has one), it can show two buttons side by side. Open it and, under the main button, check **Show second button** (it's on unless you turn it off). Then set **Second button text** (it defaults to "View Services") and choose a **Second button link**: any page, a single service, product, package, or membership plan, or another website (see [Choosing Where a Button Goes](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/managing-website-pages#choosing-where-a-button-goes)). A common pairing is "Book Now" plus "View Services" or "Gift Cards". The **Earth & Fern** style shows a second button with the classic hero too.

### Your logo and a soft photo fade in the hero

A designed hero can show your logo above the title: turn on **Show a logo above the title** in the **Hero Section** and set its size with **Logo width**. With the **Slideshow** design you can also turn on **Fade the photo into the text panel** and choose where the fade starts (**Color covers**) and how long it runs (**Fade length**). See [Managing Website Pages](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/managing-website-pages#editing-your-home-page).

### Starting from a Blueprint

Click **Blueprints** at the top of the left panel to try complete home page designs on your own site. Click one to preview it, click another to compare, then choose **Build My Site Using This Layout** or **Cancel**. Building replaces your home page sections, hero text, colors, and fonts, but only in your draft: clients see it once you click **Publish**. The full walkthrough, including what Build keeps, is in [Choosing a Design](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/choosing-a-design).

## Configuring Site-Wide Settings

**Step 1: Open the Settings tab**
Click the **Settings** tab. Its sections are **Your Website**, **Features & Navigation**, **Social Links**, **Banners**, and **Analytics & Tracking**.

**Step 2: Set your website title and description**
In **Your Website**, enter your **Website Title** (shown in browser tabs and search results) and your **Website Description** (the snippet under your title in Google). Keep the title under 60 characters and the description between 130 and 160 characters.

**Step 3: Choose which pages appear**
Open **Features & Navigation**. Check each page you want on your site: **Services**, **Shop**, **Packages**, **Memberships**, **Gift Cards**, **Gallery**, **Care Instructions**, **FAQ**, **About Us**, **Policies & Terms**, **Contact Us**, **Blog**, and **Client Portal**. The **Tools** group has its own checkboxes for **Client Forms**, **Skin Type Quiz**, and **Ingredient Checker**.

Checking a page adds it to your site menu; unchecking removes it. For Services, Shop, Gallery, About Us, and Contact Us, a small box appears next to the checked item where you can type a different menu label, such as "Treatments" instead of "Services".

Below the list, check **Google Reviews** to show your Google reviews on your site. If you haven't added your Google Places ID yet, you'll see a **Configure Google Places ID** button that takes you to **Settings > Integrations**.

**Step 4: Add a Client Portal link (optional)**
Check **Client Portal** in **Features & Navigation** to add a "Client Portal" link to your site header. Clients use it to sign in with a one-time code sent to their email and see their upcoming visits and account. The checkbox only controls the link: the portal itself works whether or not you show the link. See [Client Portal Overview](https://spasphere.ai/docs/client-portal/client-portal-overview).

**Step 5: Connect your social media**
Open **Social Links** and paste the full URL for each profile: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and TikTok. Social icons appear in your site footer.

**Step 6: Set up banners (optional)**
Open **Banners**. There are two:

- **General Banner**: shown on all pages of your public website. Use it for holiday hours, a new service, or a seasonal promotion. It shows as a strip of centered text in your brand color. (The **Animate banner** switch only makes a difference with the classic hero of the **Coastal Gilt** style.)
- **Booking Banner**: shown only during the booking flow. Use it for deposit requirements or preparation notes.

Switch a banner on, then type your message.

**Step 7: Add analytics tracking (optional)**
Open **Analytics & Tracking** and enter either or both:

- **Google Analytics 4 (GA4)**: your Measurement ID, in the format `G-XXXXXXXXXX`
- **Google Tag Manager (GTM)**: your Container ID, in the format `GTM-XXXXXXX`

If you use other tools, such as a Meta Pixel, add them through your Google Tag Manager container. For a full walkthrough with a video, see [Connecting Google Analytics](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/connecting-google-analytics).

**Step 8: Publish your changes**
Your settings save to your draft as you go. When you're ready for clients to see them, click **Publish** in the tab bar. One exception: **Your free SpaSphere address** in the **Domain** section has its own **Save** button and changes right away.

**Your Memberships page appears on its own**
Your site's Memberships page shows automatically once you have at least one active membership plan with **Public site** visibility, and hides again if you have none, whatever the **Memberships** checkbox says. That way your site never advertises a page with nothing to buy. See [Memberships](https://spasphere.ai/docs/services/memberships).

**Enable Google Reviews to build instant trust**
If you have a Google Business Profile, connect your Google Places ID in **Settings > Integrations**, then check **Google Reviews** under **Website > Settings > Features & Navigation**. Displaying real client reviews on your booking site is one of the most effective trust signals. Spas that show Google Reviews on their booking page see up to 35% higher conversion from first-time visitors.

## Restoring an Earlier Version

Made a change you regret? Click **History** in the tab bar to open **Version history**. SpaSphere keeps the steps you take while editing (such as "Added Testimonials") and every version you publish, each with when it happened. The newest are at the top; click **Show older versions** to see more. The version your clients see right now has a **Live version** badge.

**Step 1: Choose a version**
Click **Restore** next to the version you want.

**Step 2: Check the preview**
A confirmation shows what that version contains: its hero title and subtitle, theme, and number of pages.

**Step 3: Restore**
Click **Restore**. That version becomes your draft, and your current draft stays in History in case you want it back. Your live website doesn't change until you click **Publish**.

## Hiding Your Business Address

If you work from home or travel to clients, you may not want your street address on your website. Go to **Settings > Business**, open **Business Address**, and under **Privacy** turn off **Show address on public website**. Your address is hidden from the site footer, the location section, the contact page, and search engine listings, and the contact page heading changes from "Location" to "Get in Touch". Your booking flow and saved data are unaffected.

A separate switch, **Show address in customer emails**, controls whether the address appears in booking confirmations, reminders, and receipts. Most home-based estheticians keep this on so clients know where to go after they book.

## Connecting Your Own Custom Domain

Your site comes with a free address at `your-spa-name.myspa.ai`. If you own a domain like `yourspa.com`, you can connect it yourself so clients see your own name in the address bar, and links from your Instagram bio, Google Business Profile, and business cards all point to an address you own.

Go to **Website > Settings > Domain** and click **Connect your domain**. A setup window walks you through three steps: add your domain, add a few records at the company that manages your domain (SpaSphere shows you exactly what to copy), and SpaSphere secures your site and takes it live. It takes about 10 minutes of your time. Once it's live, visitors to your myspa.ai address are sent to your domain automatically. The full walkthrough is in **[Connecting a Custom Domain](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/connecting-custom-domain)**.

## Recommended Setup Checklist

Use this checklist to ensure your website is complete and ready for clients:

- [ ] Custom domain connected (your biggest SEO advantage)
- [ ] Website title set with your business name and primary keyword
- [ ] Meta description written (130-160 characters) highlighting your unique value
- [ ] Services page checked and all services added
- [ ] About Us page checked with team information
- [ ] Contact Us page checked
- [ ] Policies & Terms page checked with your cancellation and booking policies
- [ ] Logo and favicon uploaded in **Builder > Brand Look & Feel**
- [ ] Design picked from **Blueprints**, with your own photos and words in place of the samples
- [ ] Hero image, headline, and booking button set on your home page
- [ ] Social media links added for all active profiles
- [ ] Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager added
- [ ] Google Places ID connected and Google Reviews checked (if applicable)
- [ ] Client Portal link added, if you want clients to find the portal from your site

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I connect my own domain like yourspa.com?**
Yes, and you can do it yourself. Go to Website > Settings > Domain and click Connect your domain. SpaSphere shows you the records to add at the company that manages your domain, checks them for you, and adds the secure padlock once they're right. Your myspa.ai address then sends visitors to your domain automatically. See the custom domain guide for the full steps.

**Why does having my own domain matter vs. using a platform URL?**
When your site lives on someone else's address, the links you share build up their name, not yours. With your own domain, your Instagram bio, Google Business Profile, business cards, and blog links all point to an address you own, and it stays yours wherever your business goes.

**How do I get my Google Reviews to show on my website?**
Add your Google Places ID in Settings > Integrations. You can find it by searching for your business with Google's Place ID Finder tool. Then go to Website > Settings > Features & Navigation and check Google Reviews. You can also add a Google Reviews section to any page in the Builder (under Reviews in Add a section).

**How do I add Google Analytics or a Facebook Pixel?**
Go to Website > Settings > Analytics & Tracking. Enter your Google Analytics 4 Measurement ID (G-XXXXXXXXXX), your Google Tag Manager Container ID (GTM-XXXXXXX), or both. They save on their own; click Publish to add them to your live site. SpaSphere doesn't have a separate field for a Facebook (Meta) Pixel, so add it as a tag inside your Google Tag Manager container.

**What happened to the Info, Theme, Front page, and Pages content tabs?**
They were replaced by the Builder, Pages, Blog, and Settings tabs. Your home page layout, including the hero, is now edited in the Builder. Colors, fonts, logo, and favicon moved to Builder > Brand Look & Feel. Page titles and SEO are on the Pages tab, and feature toggles, social links, banners, and analytics are on the Settings tab.

**What is the difference between the general banner and the booking banner?**
The general banner appears at the top of every page on your public website. It is ideal for announcements like holiday schedules or seasonal promotions. The booking banner appears only during the booking flow. Use it for deposit requirements or preparation instructions. Both banners can be active at the same time.

**Do changes show up immediately or is there a delay?**
Your edits save on their own as a draft, so clients don't see them yet. They go live the moment you click Publish, and you'll see 'Your website is live'. The Unpublished changes badge in the tab bar tells you when your draft has edits that aren't live yet. If you publish something by mistake, open History, restore an earlier version, and click Publish again.

**Does the Client Portal checkbox turn the portal on or off?**
No. It only adds or removes the Client Portal link in your site header. The portal works for your clients either way.

**Can I edit my website from my phone?**
Not yet. Website editing needs a laptop or desktop screen. On a phone, the Website section shows a Desktop required message with a link to preview your live site. Only the Domain section under Settings works on a phone.

**What do the Tools features (Skin Type Quiz, Ingredient Checker) do?**
These are value-added pages grouped under Tools in Features & Navigation. The Skin Type Quiz guides clients through a Fitzpatrick skin type assessment. The Ingredient Checker lets clients look up skincare ingredients. Client Forms gives clients a page with your intake and consent forms. Each has its own checkbox, and the enabled ones appear together in a Tools menu on your site. You can add your own links to that menu too, in Builder > Navigation & Branding.


# How to Choose a Design for Your Spa Website with Blueprints

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/choosing-a-design
Section: website-builder
Updated: 2026-10-20

Try 20 designer-made Blueprints on your own site, compare them side by side, then build the one you love. Nothing changes until you choose Build.

A **Blueprint** is a complete home page design, made by a designer for spas and estheticians: the layout, the sections, the colors, the fonts, and sample photos. Instead of starting from a blank page, you pick the one that feels like you, see it on your own site, and build it with one click. You'll find them in **Website > Builder > Blueprints**.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Most clients decide in a few seconds whether a website feels right for them. A design that matches your studio, calm and clinical or warm and botanical, tells them they're in the right place before they read a word. Blueprints give you that polished look without hiring a designer, and you can try as many as you like on your own site before you commit.

## Key Capabilities

- **20 designs in Blueprints V2**, each with its own layout, color palette, font pairing, and photo style
- **Filter by mood**: **Dark**, **Minimal**, **Natural**, **Editorial**, **Bold**, **Playful**, **Calm**, **Warm**, **Clinical**, **Fresh**, and **Retail**
- **Preview on your own site**: click a design and it appears in the live preview, with your business name, treatments, and reviews
- **Compare freely**: click one design after another; nothing is kept until you choose Build
- **Designed hero layouts** like an arched portrait, a photo mosaic, a slideshow, or a full-screen video
- The original six layouts are still there under **Blueprints V1**

## Trying a Design

**Step 1: Open Blueprints**
Click **Website** in the sidebar and open the **Builder** tab. At the top of the left panel, click **Blueprints**. The list of designs opens on the right, next to your preview.

**Step 2: Pick a collection and a mood**
The switch at the top shows **Blueprints V2** (the 20 newer designs) or **Blueprints V1** (the six original layouts: **Growth**, **Results**, **Luxe**, **Holistic**, **Bold**, and **Starter**). In V2, use the mood buttons to narrow the list, or leave it on **All**. The design you're using now shows an **In use** badge.

**Step 3: Click a design to preview it**
Click any design. Your home page in the preview changes to that design right away, and the card shows **Previewing**. If you were editing a custom page, the Builder switches to **Home** for you, because Blueprints design your home page.

A bar under the preview reads **Previewing "[name]" blueprint**, with two buttons: **Cancel** and **Build My Site Using This Layout**.

**Step 4: Compare a few**
Click another design to swap it in. Try it on **Mobile** too, using the phone button above the preview. While you're previewing, the preview is look-only: you can't edit sections yet, and **Publish** is greyed out with the note "Finish or cancel the blueprint preview first."

**Step 5: Build it, or cancel**
- **Cancel** (or press Esc) puts your home page back exactly as it was. Switching to another page in the **Editing** menu cancels the preview too.
- **Build My Site Using This Layout** makes the design yours. It goes into your draft, so your clients still see your current site.

**Step 6: Make it yours, then publish**
After you build, the Builder is editable again. Click each section to swap in your own words and photos (see below), then click **Publish** in the tab bar when you're happy.

**Your live site never changes on its own**
Previewing, building, and editing all happen in your draft. Clients keep seeing your current website until you click **Publish**. If you build a design and change your mind, open **History**: the step is listed as "Applied a blueprint", and you can restore the version from before it.

## What Build Changes, and What It Keeps

**Build replaces:**

- **Your home page sections.** The home page gets the design's sections in the design's order. Any sections you had on your home page are replaced.
- **Your hero text.** The headline, subtitle, button text, and button link come from the design. Change them to your own in the **Hero Section**.
- **Your colors and fonts.** The design's colors, heading and body fonts, button shape, and corner rounding apply to your whole site, including your other pages.

**Build adds:** it turns on the pages the design links to, such as **Services**, **About Us**, **FAQ**, **Contact Us**, and **Google Reviews**, plus **Shop** or **Gallery** for some designs. It never turns a page off.

**Build keeps:** your custom pages and their sections, the content of your built-in pages on the **Pages** tab (About Us, Policies, FAQ, and so on), your blog, your menu labels, your social links and banners, and your domain.

## Making the Design Yours

Every design comes with sample headlines and stock photos so you can see how it looks. Some sections fill in from your business on their own; others need your words and photos.

| Section | Where its content comes from |
|---------|------------------------------|
| **Signature Treatments** | Your own treatments, from your service menu |
| **Featured Review** | Your Google reviews, or reviews clients left through SpaSphere. It stays hidden until you have reviews to show. |
| **Location & Map** | Your business address |
| **Hero Section**, **Big Statement**, **Visit Story**, **Photo Gallery**, **Photo Highlights**, **Meet the Founder**, **Closing Invitation** | Sample words and photos: replace them with your own |
| **Trust Numbers** | Sample figures, like "60 min" or "12 wk": change them to numbers that are true for you |
| **Scrolling Text** | Sample words: type your own treatments or values |

Click a section in the **Page Sections** list to open its settings on the right, change the text, and upload your photos. Each edit saves to your draft on its own.

**Your own photos make the biggest difference**
Clients want to see you, your room, and your results. Start by replacing the hero photos and the gallery with your own. Natural light and a tidy treatment room look more trustworthy than any stock photo.

## Choosing a Hero Design

The hero is the big first section of your home page. In Blueprints V2, each design comes with its own hero layout, and you can switch it any time. Click your **Hero Section**, and under **Hero design**, open **Design**:

| Design | What it looks like |
|--------|--------------------|
| **Classic (theme hero)** | One photo or video behind your headline, with the classic hero settings |
| **Cinema (video or moving frames)** | A full-width video, or photos that move slowly |
| **Arch portrait** | Portrait photos in arched frames |
| **Photo mosaic** | Several photos in a mixed grid |
| **Editorial headline** | A large magazine-style headline with photos |
| **Slideshow** | Photos that change one after another |
| **Panorama with glass card** | One wide photo with your words on a frosted card |
| **Fanned prints** | Photos laid out like printed snapshots |
| **Framed poster** | One photo in a poster-style frame |

With a designed hero, you'll also see **Small line above the title** (for example "Facial studio"), **Background**, and **Hero photos**, which tells you how many photos that design shows. Your headline, subtitle, and buttons are in the fields below and stay the same when you switch designs. Designed heroes can show a second button: see **Show second button** under the main button.

## Only Want New Colors?

If you like your layout and only want a fresh palette, you don't need a Blueprint. Open **Brand Look & Feel** in the Builder and pick a **Color Swatch**. A swatch changes your colors (or colors, fonts, and layout for a full style) and leaves every section and word on your site as it is. See [Customizing Your Theme](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/customizing-theme).

## Frequently asked questions

**Will trying a Blueprint change my live website?**
No. Previewing is look-only, and even after you choose Build, the new design is only in your draft. Clients see it once you click Publish.

**I built a design and don't like it. How do I go back?**
Click History in the tab bar, find the version from before the step called 'Applied a blueprint', and click Restore. It becomes your draft. If you hadn't published yet, you can also open the three-dot menu next to Publish and choose Discard unpublished changes.

**Does a Blueprint change my other pages?**
Their sections and content stay as they are. Your colors and fonts are site-wide, though, so every page takes on the new design's colors and fonts.

**Do I have to use the sample photos?**
No, and we recommend replacing them. Click each section with photos, such as the Hero Section or Photo Gallery, and upload your own.

**Why don't I see the Build button?**
Build shows in the bar under the preview while you're previewing a design on your home page. If you switch to another page, the preview is cancelled. Go back to Blueprints and click the design again.

**What's the difference between Blueprints V1 and V2?**
Blueprints V1 are the six original layouts built from the classic sections. Blueprints V2 are 20 newer designs with their own palettes, font pairings, hero layouts, and photo-led sections. Both work the same way: preview, then Build or Cancel.


# How to Customize Your Spa Website Theme and Branding in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/customizing-theme
Section: website-builder
Updated: 2026-10-20

Pick a color swatch, set brand colors and fonts, upload your logo and favicon, style your header and footer, and give individual pages their own colors.

Your booking website's visual identity sets the tone before a client ever reads a word. [SpaSphere's](https://spasphere.ai/) theme settings give you control over your color swatch, colors, fonts, logo, and favicon, so your booking site reflects the same professionalism and aesthetic that clients experience in person at your spa. When one page needs to look different, **Page Colors** let you change that page without touching the rest of your site.

**Want a whole new design instead?**
Theme settings change how your current sections look. To change the layout of your home page too, start from a **Blueprint**: a complete design with its own sections, colors, and fonts. See [Choosing a Design](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/choosing-a-design).

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

First impressions on the web happen in under 50 milliseconds. A cohesive, branded website signals professionalism and trustworthiness, which directly impacts whether a new visitor books or bounces. For spas, where the experience is everything, a website that matches your in-person aesthetic creates a seamless brand journey from discovery to doorstep.

## Key Capabilities

- Start from a color swatch: 25 **Palettes** change only your colors, and 7 **Full styles** also set your fonts and layout
- Set your primary and secondary colors
- Style inner pages: page background, text, title banner, and button text colors
- Choose separate fonts for body text and headings
- Set corner rounding, button style, and section spacing
- Upload your logo and adjust its size, and upload a favicon
- Set header, footer, and floating booking button colors
- Give any single page its own colors with **Page Colors**, down to individual elements like price badges or the booking step indicator
- See every change in the live preview before you publish

## Where Theme Settings Live

Theme settings are in the **Builder** tab. Click **Website** in the sidebar and open **Builder**. In the left panel, **Brand Look & Feel** and **Navigation & Branding** sit above the **Page Sections** list, and **Footer** and **Floating Button** sit below it. All four apply to your whole site:

| Section | What it controls |
|---------|------------------|
| **Brand Look & Feel** | Color swatches, colors, inner page colors, fonts, layout, logo, favicon |
| **Navigation & Branding** | Header background and text colors, menu items, nav position |
| **Footer** | Footer background and text colors |
| **Floating Button** | The booking button that follows visitors as they scroll: button color and button text color |

Hero colors are set on your **Hero Section** itself, and most other sections have their own color fields too.

## Customizing Your Theme

**Step 1: Open Brand Look & Feel**
In the **Builder** tab, click **Brand Look & Feel** above the **Page Sections** list. Its settings open on the right.

**Step 2: Pick a color swatch (optional)**
**Color Swatches** is the first thing you see. The line at the top shows your **Current swatch**. If your colors came from a Blueprint, it says so (for example "Porcelain blueprint colors"), and if you've picked colors by hand, it says **Custom colors**. Use the mood buttons (**All**, **Serene**, **Botanical**, **Luxury**, **Bold**) to narrow the list, then click a swatch to apply it. There are two kinds:

- **Palettes** (colors only): change your colors and keep your fonts and layout as they are.
- **Full styles** (colors, fonts and layout): change your colors, fonts, and layout together: **Evergreen Classic**, **Coral Clinic**, **Coastal Gilt**, **Moonlit Gold**, **Earth & Fern**, **Rust & Cobalt**, and **Peach Sorbet**.

If you've just changed colors by hand and they don't match any swatch, SpaSphere asks before replacing them: choose **Keep my tweaks** to cancel, or **Apply** followed by the swatch's name. Your sections, text, and pages stay as they are either way. Moving from one swatch to another doesn't ask.

**Step 3: Set your brand colors**
Under **Colors**, set:

- **Primary Color**: your main brand color, used for buttons, links, and accents across the site
- **Secondary Light Color**: a softer color used for light backgrounds and subtle highlights

**Step 4: Style your inner pages**
Under **Inner Pages**, set the colors used on pages other than your home page:

- **Page Background**
- **Content Text Color**: paragraph text and lists
- **Title Banner Background** and **Title Banner Text**: the band at the top of each page with its title
- **Button Text Color**: the text inside buttons, which use your primary color as their background

**Step 5: Choose your fonts**
Under **Typography**, pick a **Body Font** for body text, navigation, and general content, and a **Heading Font** for headings. A different heading font adds hierarchy and personality.

**Step 6: Set the layout feel**
Under **Layout**, choose:

- **Border Radius**: from **Sharp** through **Subtle**, **Soft**, **Rounded**, **Rounder**, and **Extra Rounded** to **Pill**
- **Button Style**: **Sharp**, **Rounded**, or **Pill**
- **Section Spacing**: **Compact**, **Standard**, or **Generous**

**Step 7: Upload your logo**
Under **Logo**, upload your **Logo Image**. A PNG with a transparent background, 200-400px wide, works best. Then use the **Logo Size** slider (20-80) to set how large it appears in your header.

**Step 8: Upload your favicon**
Under **Favicon**, upload your **Favicon Image**, the small icon in browser tabs and bookmarks. Use a square image, 32x32px or 64x64px.

**Step 9: Style your header, footer, and floating button**
Click **Navigation & Branding** to set **Header Background Color** and **Header Text Color**. Click **Footer** to set **Footer Background Color** and **Footer Text Color**. Click **Floating Button** to set its **Button Color** and **Button Text Color**.

**Step 10: Publish your changes**
Your theme changes save on their own as a draft. Click **Publish** in the tab bar to put them on your public booking site.

**Match your primary color to your in-spa branding**
Your primary color should be the same color you use on business cards, signage, and in-spa decor. This consistency creates instant brand recognition when a client moves from your website to your physical location. If your brand color is dark, pair it with a light secondary color for contrast. If your brand color is vibrant, use a neutral page background so the color pops without overwhelming the design.

## Hero Colors and Image Settings

Your home page hero has its own styling. In the Builder, click your **Hero Section**:

- **Styling**: **Hero Text Color**, **Hero Background Color** (shown behind the hero before the image loads), and **Overlay Color**
- **Image & Layout**: **Hero Overlay Darkness** and **Image Height**
- **Text Box Settings**: an optional box behind the hero text, with its own background color and opacity, for busy images

If your hero uses one of the designed layouts from a Blueprint, the color fields it offers start empty and show **Design default** (only the designs with words over a full photo, such as Cinema, Panorama, and Framed poster, have an **Overlay Color**). Set one to override the design, and use **Use the design's color** to go back.

For the best result with the classic hero, upload a 16:9 image (such as 1920x1080px) and check that your hero text stays readable against the image and overlay in the preview.

## Colors for a Single Page

Your theme applies everywhere, but sometimes one page should look different: a darker Gallery, or a soft background on your Policies page. **Page Colors** let you do that without changing your theme.

**Step 1: Open the page**
Go to **Website > Pages** and open the page you want to change. Page Colors are available on Shop, Services, About Us, Contact Us, Policies & Terms, Care Instructions, FAQ, Gallery, Booking Flow, and every custom page.

**Step 2: Open Page Colors**
At the bottom of the page's section, click **Page Colors**.

**Step 3: Set the page's colors**
Set any of four colors for this page: **Headings & links**, **Body text**, **Buttons & badges**, and **Background**. Leave a field empty to keep using your brand colors. SpaSphere automatically darkens or lightens colors where needed so text stays readable. Use **Reset to automatic** to clear a color.

**Step 4: Fine-tune individual elements (optional)**
Open **Individual elements** to color specific parts of the page, such as the **Page header**, **Service cards**, the **Book Now button**, **Product cards**, the **Price** badge, **Team member cards**, or **FAQ category tags**. Each element inherits from the page's colors unless you set it.

**Step 5: Publish**
Your Page Colors save on their own. Click **Publish** in the tab bar to make them live. A dot next to **Page Colors** shows which pages have their own colors.

**Styling the booking steps**
The **Booking Flow** section on the Pages tab has only Page Colors. Use it to color the steps clients book through, including the **Step indicator**, **Date picker**, **Time buttons**, **Summary cards**, **Client details form**, and **Payment section**. These colors apply to every step, including the confirmation screen.

## Color Settings Reference

| Setting | Where | What it controls |
|---------|-------|------------------|
| Primary Color | Brand Look & Feel > Colors | Buttons, links, accents |
| Secondary Light Color | Brand Look & Feel > Colors | Light backgrounds, highlights |
| Page Background | Brand Look & Feel > Inner Pages | Background of inner pages |
| Content Text Color | Brand Look & Feel > Inner Pages | Paragraph text and lists |
| Title Banner Background / Text | Brand Look & Feel > Inner Pages | The title band at the top of each page |
| Button Text Color | Brand Look & Feel > Inner Pages | Text inside buttons |
| Header Background / Text | Navigation & Branding | Your site header and menu |
| Footer Background / Text | Footer | Your site footer |
| Button Color / Button Text Color | Floating Button | The floating booking button |
| Hero Text, Hero Background, Overlay | Hero Section > Styling | Your home page hero |
| Page Colors | Pages tab > [page] | One page, or single elements on it |

**Choose readable fonts over decorative ones**
For body text, stick with clean, readable fonts. Save decorative or script fonts for headings only. Clients scanning your services or policies need to read quickly, and readability directly impacts whether they finish booking.

**Images are automatically optimized**
When you upload a logo, favicon, or hero image, SpaSphere automatically compresses and converts it to WebP format for fast loading. Large images are resized to appropriate dimensions without visible quality loss. This means your site stays fast even with high-resolution photos, which matters because page load speed directly affects search engine rankings and client bounce rates.

## Frequently asked questions

**What image format should I use for my logo?**
PNG with a transparent background is the recommended format for logos. This allows your logo to sit cleanly on any background color without a visible bounding box. Aim for an image 200-400 pixels wide. Larger images work fine because SpaSphere will resize them, but very small images may appear blurry when scaled up. After uploading, use the Logo Size slider to find the right balance in your header.

**How do I make my hero text readable over a busy photo?**
Open your Hero Section and raise Hero Overlay Darkness, or change the Overlay Color. You can also turn on a text box behind the headline under Text Box Settings, with its own color and opacity. Always check the live preview on both Desktop and Mobile.

**Can I use different colors for different pages?**
Yes. Your theme sets the colors for the whole site, and Page Colors let you override them on a single page. Go to Website > Pages, open the page, and click Page Colors. Set headings and links, body text, buttons and badges, or background, and leave the rest empty to keep your brand colors. Individual elements lets you go further, such as recoloring just the price badges on your Services page.

**What size should my favicon be?**
Use a square image, either 32x32 pixels or 64x64 pixels. The favicon appears in browser tabs, bookmark lists, and mobile home screen shortcuts, so it needs to be recognizable at very small sizes. Use a simplified version of your logo, like just the icon mark, your initials, or a distinctive shape, rather than your full logo with text.

**How do I reset my theme colors?**
There's no one-click reset. To undo a change, click History in the tab bar and restore an earlier version. It becomes your draft, and it goes live when you click Publish. To start fresh, pick a swatch under Brand Look & Feel > Color Swatches. A palette replaces only your colors; a full style replaces your colors, fonts, and layout. Your sections, text, and pages stay as they are. Picking the swatch you're already on changes nothing.

**What happened to the Theme tab?**
Theme settings moved into the Builder tab. Colors, fonts, logo, and favicon are under Brand Look & Feel; header colors are under Navigation & Branding; and footer colors are under Footer.


# How to Manage Your Spa Website Pages and Content in SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/managing-website-pages
Section: website-builder
Updated: 2026-10-21

Edit your home page hero, add custom pages, and set titles, SEO, and colors for your services, shop, about, policies, FAQ, gallery, and care instructions pages.

Your [SpaSphere](https://spasphere.ai/) booking website is made of three kinds of pages. Your **home page** is built from sections in the **Builder** tab. Your **built-in pages** (Services, Shop, About Us, Contact Us, Policies & Terms, Care Instructions, FAQ, and Gallery) are edited on the **Pages** tab. And **custom pages** are ones you create yourself, at your own URL, for promotions, landing pages, or anything the built-in pages don't cover.

## Why This Matters for Your Spa

Each page on your website serves a role in the client journey from discovery to booking. Your homepage hero section has approximately 3 seconds to capture attention and communicate your value. An "About Us" page with your story and team photos increases trust by up to 52% for first-time visitors. Policies and care instructions pages reduce support calls by setting expectations before the appointment. And a gallery page with before-and-after photos is the single most persuasive content type for aesthetic services, converting up to 3x more visitors than pages without visual proof.

## Key Capabilities

- Build your home page from drag-and-drop sections, with a designed hero that can show two buttons and your logo
- Point your website's buttons at a page, a single service, product, package, membership plan, blog post, or another website
- Create up to 49 custom pages, each at its own URL, from a starter layout or a copy of an existing page
- Put custom pages in your main menu or under a "More" dropdown
- Set a title, subtitle, SEO title, and SEO description for every built-in page, or let Sophie write the search titles and descriptions for you
- Override colors on a single page with **Page Colors**
- Build multi-section About Us pages with images or YouTube and Vimeo videos
- Write policies with a rich text editor
- Create pre-care and post-care instruction categories
- Build an FAQ page with optional categories
- Create before/after and showcase gallery sections
- Reorder your site menu, add your own links and dropdowns, and add your own links to the Tools menu
- Privacy Policy and Terms of Service pages, linked from every design's footer

**Where did the Front page tab go?**
The old **Front page** and **Pages content** tabs were replaced. Your home page, including the hero, is now edited in the **Builder** tab, and the content of your other pages is on the **Pages** tab.

## Editing Your Home Page

**Step 1: Open the Builder**
Click **Website** in the sidebar, then the **Builder** tab. The **Editing** menu at the top left shows **Home**.

**Step 2: Write the hero's words and buttons**
Click **Hero Section** in your **Page Sections** list. Its settings open on the right in three groups: **Content**, **Layout**, and **Colors**. **Content** is open; click a group's name to open or close it.

Under **Content**, enter your **Title** (main headline), pick a **Title font** if you want one other than your site's heading font, and add a **Subtitle**. Set the **Button text** (for example, "Book Your Experience") and choose its **Button link** (see [Choosing Where a Button Goes](#choosing-where-a-button-goes)). With a designed hero you also get **Small line above the title**, **Title size**, and **Show second button**, with its own **Second button text** and **Second button link**.

**Step 3: Add your logo above the title (designed heroes)**
With a designed hero, turn on **Show a logo above the title**. Leave **Logo (empty uses your site logo)** empty to use the logo from **Brand Look & Feel**, or upload a different one just for the hero. Then open **Layout** and drag **Logo width** (60 to 600px, 280px to start) until it looks right.

**Step 4: Choose the hero background**
With a designed hero, upload your photos under **Hero photos**: it tells you how many that design shows. With the classic hero, go to **Background** and choose **Image** or **Video**.

- **Image** -- a wide photo such as 1920 x 1080 works best.
- **Video** -- an MP4 (H.264) up to 60 seconds, 1920x1080, and 30 MB. SpaSphere makes a poster image automatically and shows it first. **Disable video on mobile** and **Disable on data-saver networks** are on by default to keep your site fast. With a designed hero, a video plays only in the **Cinema** design.

Under **Layout**, pick the **Design** (**Classic (theme hero)** or a designed layout, see [Choosing a Design](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/choosing-a-design#choosing-a-hero-design)), then fine-tune the controls that design offers, such as **Photo fit** (classic hero only), **Text position**, **Text alignment**, **Height**, **Overlay darkness**, and **Text box behind the words**. Not every design has every control. **Colors** sets the text, background, overlay, and button colors.

**Step 5: Soften the photo into the text (Slideshow design)**
The **Slideshow** design puts your words on a calm panel next to the photos. To blend the photo into that panel, open **Layout** and turn on **Fade the photo into the text panel**. Two sliders appear:

- **Color covers**: how much of the photo, starting from the edge next to your words, is covered by solid panel color.
- **Fade length**: how far the fade runs after that.

A line under the sliders tells you how much of the photo still shows clearly, such as "About 50% of the photo shows clearly." On a phone the photo sits below your words, so the fade runs from its top edge.

**Step 6: Add the rest of your home page**
Click **Add a section** under your **Page Sections** list to add more: **Treatment Menu**, **Meet the Founder**, **Reviews**, **Before & After**, **Memberships**, **Blog Posts**, **Location & Map**, and more. Drag sections to reorder them. The full list is in [Building Your Website](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/building-your-website).

**Step 7: Publish your changes**
Your changes save on their own as a draft. When you're ready, click **Publish** in the tab bar and your home page updates on your public site.

**Write a hero headline that speaks to client outcomes**
Instead of "Welcome to Our Spa," try "Reveal Your Most Radiant Skin" or "Your Journey to Relaxation Starts Here." Headlines that focus on the client's desired outcome convert significantly better than generic welcomes. Pair it with a clear CTA like "Book Your Experience" or "Reserve Your Spot" rather than a vague "Learn More." The hero section is your highest-converting real estate -- every word counts.

## Choosing Where a Button Goes

Most button and link fields in the Builder use the same picker: the hero's two buttons, **Book Now Banner**, **Link List**, **Announcement Bar**, **Photo or Video Banner**, **Text & Photo**, **Questions & Answers**, the buttons on your About Us sections, and the buttons in the designed sections. (The **Booking Button** section works differently: it books with you directly, and most of its styles let you pick a **Service to highlight**.) Click the field and pick where the button goes, or type in the **Search...** box to find something fast.

The list is grouped:

- **Pages**: Home and each built-in page you have turned on.
- **Custom pages**: the pages you created.
- **Book a service**: "Book" plus a service name opens the booking page for that one service.
- **Services**, **Products**, **Packages**, **Memberships**, and **Blog posts**: open the page for one item. Each group appears only when that page is turned on in **Website > Settings > Features & Navigation**.
- **Somewhere else**: choose **Another website** and paste the full address, like `https://www.instagram.com/yourspa`. If you leave off `https://`, SpaSphere adds it for you.

Only items clients can actually see are listed: services hidden from online booking and add-on-only services, products that are inactive, hidden from the shop, or **Portal Sale Only**, and membership plans that aren't active with **Public site** visibility are left out. Fields where a link is optional, such as the **Announcement Bar**, also offer **No link**.

## Creating Custom Pages

Custom pages live at their own address on your site, such as `yourspa.myspa.ai/bridal-facials`, and are built from the same sections as your home page.

**Step 1: Start a new page**
On the **Pages** tab, click **Add page** at the top. Or, in the **Builder**, open the **Editing** menu and choose **Add a new page**.

**Step 2: Name it and set the URL**
Enter a **Page name** and a **URL**. The URL is filled in from the name, and you can change it. Some URLs are reserved for pages SpaSphere already provides, such as `services`, `blog`, `booking`, or `portal`, and can't be used.

**Step 3: Pick a starting point**
Under **Start with**, choose **Blank**, **About** (story, testimonials, call to action), **Contact** (location, FAQ, call to action), or **Promo / Landing** (hero, content, proof, call to action). Or choose a page under **Or duplicate from an existing page** to copy it.

**Step 4: Add it to your menu (optional)**
Check **Add to navigation**, then pick **Direct link** (its own item in the main header) or **Under "More" menu** (grouped with other secondary pages in a dropdown). If your menu is already crowded, SpaSphere suggests the "More" menu.

**Step 5: Create and publish**
Click **Create page**. The page is added to your draft and opens in the Builder so you can add sections. It isn't live until you click **Publish**. To change its sections later, pick it from the Builder's **Editing** menu, or click **Edit in Builder** on the Pages tab.

Your site can have up to 50 pages in total, counting your home page, so up to 49 custom pages, with up to 50 sections on each page.

### Changing or removing a custom page

On the **Pages** tab, custom pages are listed below the built-in ones. You can also reach a custom page's settings from the gear icon next to it in the Builder's **Editing** menu. For each custom page you can:

- Change the **Page name** or **URL**. If you change the URL of a published page, visitors who use the old address are sent to the new one.
- Turn **Show in navigation** on or off and choose its **Placement**
- Set an **SEO title** and **SEO description**
- Set **Page Colors** for just that page
- Click **Edit in Builder** to change its sections
- Click **Duplicate page** to copy it, or **Delete page** to remove it. Deleting also removes any menu link to the page and any buttons elsewhere on your site that pointed to it.

## Editing Your Built-In Pages

**Step 1: Open the Pages tab**
Click the **Pages** tab. Each page has its own section: **Shop**, **Services**, **About Us**, **Contact Us**, **Policies & Terms**, **Care Instructions**, **FAQ**, **Gallery**, and **Booking Flow**, followed by your custom pages.

**Step 2: Set the page header and SEO**
Open a page and fill in its **Page Header**: a **Title** and **Subtitle** shown at the top of the page. For example, you might title your Services page "Our Treatments" with the subtitle "Expertly crafted services for every skin type." Then set the page's **SEO Title** and **SEO Description** for search results.

Menu labels are set in one place for the whole site: **Settings > Features & Navigation**.

**Step 3: Build your About Us page**
Open **About Us**. Beyond the title and subtitle, you can:

- Write **About/Bio Text** that appears above your content sections
- Add **Content Sections**, each with a title, paragraphs, and optional media: an image (portrait 3:4 recommended) or a YouTube or Vimeo video, positioned left, right, or center
- Add an optional button to each section that links to another page, such as Services or Gift Cards

**Step 4: Write your Policies and Terms**
Open **Policies & Terms**. Add as many content sections as you need with **Add Content Section**. Each section has a rich text editor for bold text, lists, and headings, and you can drag sections to reorder them.

**Step 5: Set up Care Instructions**
Open **Care Instructions**. Build categories for **Pre-Care** (what to do before a treatment) and **Post-Care** (what to do after). Each category has a title, an icon, and the instructions. Use line breaks for bullet points.

**Step 6: Create your FAQ**
Open **FAQ**. Add question-and-answer pairs, each with an optional category (for example, "Booking") that clients can filter by.

**Step 7: Build your Gallery**
Open **Gallery**. Create sections that are either **Before/After** (paired transformation photos) or **Showcase** (single images). Each image can have a caption, alt text for screen readers, and a category.

**Step 8: Style the booking flow (optional)**
**Booking Flow** has no text to write, since the booking steps take their wording from the service being booked. It has **Page Colors** for the step indicator, date picker, time buttons, and other parts of the booking steps, including the confirmation screen.

Every built-in page and custom page has a **Page Colors** section for giving just that page its own colors. See [Customizing Your Theme](https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/customizing-theme).

**Use care instructions to reduce post-treatment support calls**
Clients who receive clear pre-care and post-care instructions are less likely to call with questions or concerns after their appointment. For med spas and aesthetic practices, this can reduce post-treatment support calls by 40-60%. This proactive communication also demonstrates professionalism and builds client confidence in your expertise.

## Helping Google Find Your Pages

Each page has a search title and description: the blue headline and the short snippet people see in Google. You can write them yourself, page by page: for built-in pages and custom pages, in the SEO fields on the **Pages** tab; for your home page, in the Builder with **Add a section > Set up how this page shows in Google**.

Or let Sophie, your AI website assistant, write them all for you:

**Step 1: Open Sophie**
Click **Improve SEO with Sophie** in the tab bar. Sophie looks at every page on your website, your treatments, your city and the areas you serve, and your notes in Sophie's Voice, so it sounds like you.

**Step 2: Let Sophie write**
Click **Improve My SEO**. It usually takes under a minute. If your latest edits are still saving, Sophie asks you to save first, so she works from your current site.

**Step 3: Review page by page**
For each page, you see a **Current search preview** and a **Suggested search preview**. Edit the **Title** or **Description** if you like (**Back to Sophie's wording** undoes your edit), or turn off **Use this on my website** to keep a page as it is. Click **Next page**, or **Review all changes** to see everything at once.

**Step 4: Approve, then publish**
Click **Approve and update**. The new titles and descriptions go into your draft. Click **Publish** to make them live. Google decides when to visit your pages again, so it can take a few days to a few weeks to see the change in search.

Sophie can do this up to six times an hour. Changed your mind? Open **History** and restore the earlier version.

## Organizing Your Site Menu

Your menu is managed in the **Builder**. Click **Navigation & Branding** above the **Page Sections** list:

- **Drag** menu items to change their order
- Switch items on or off, or edit their label and URL
- **Add link** to point to any page or outside site
- **Add dropdown** to group several links under one menu item
- Rename the **Tools** menu and add your own links to it (see below)
- Choose a **Nav Position**: **Logo Left · Nav Right**, **Nav Center**, or **Logo Center · Nav Split**

Checking or unchecking a page under **Settings > Features & Navigation** adds or removes its menu item for you.

### Adding your own links to the Tools menu

The **Tools** menu groups your client tools. Your enabled tools (Client Forms, Skin Type Quiz, Ingredient Checker) always come first, and links you add are listed after them. Use it for things like an aftercare video, a pre-visit checklist, or your Instagram.

**Step 1: Open the Tools menu**
In **Navigation & Branding**, find **Tools** under **Menu links** and click the arrow next to it to open it.

**Step 2: Add a link**
Click **Add child link**. Enter a **Label** (what clients see) and a **URL**: a page on your site, such as `/instructions`, or a full web address starting with `https://`. Check **Open in new tab** for outside sites, then click **Add**.

**Step 3: Rename or hide the menu (optional)**
Click the pencil to change the menu's name, or the eye to hide it. The Tools menu can't be deleted. To remove one of your links, click the **x** next to it.

Your Tools menu shows on your site as long as at least one tool is turned on or you've added at least one link. Like every Builder change, new links go live when you click **Publish**.

## Privacy Policy and Terms of Service

Every SpaSphere website comes with three ready-made policy pages, with your business name filled in:

- **Privacy Policy** at `/privacy-policy`
- **Terms of Service** at `/terms-of-service`
- **SMS Terms & Privacy** at `/sms-policy`, for clients who agree to get text messages from you

The footer of every design links to **Privacy Policy** and **Terms of Service**, so clients can always find them, and the privacy and terms pages link to the text message terms. The contact line on these pages uses your business email and your location's phone number. If neither is set, it shows SpaSphere's support email instead, so keep your business email and phone up to date in **Settings**.

The wording of these pages is the same for every spa and can't be edited, because phone carriers check these exact pages before they approve business texting. To share your own cancellation, booking, or refund rules, use your **Policies & Terms** page (see [Editing Your Built-In Pages](#editing-your-built-in-pages)).

## Page Configuration Quick Reference

| Page | Where to edit | Key settings |
|------|---------------|--------------|
| Home | Builder (Editing: Home) | Blocks, hero, two hero buttons |
| Custom pages | Builder and Pages tab | Blocks, name, URL, menu placement, SEO, Page Colors |
| Shop | Pages tab | Title, subtitle, SEO, Page Colors |
| Services | Pages tab | Title, subtitle, SEO, Page Colors |
| About Us | Pages tab | Title, subtitle, bio, content sections with images or video, SEO, Page Colors |
| Contact Us | Pages tab | Title, subtitle, SEO, Page Colors |
| Policies & Terms | Pages tab | Title, subtitle, rich text sections, SEO, Page Colors |
| Care Instructions | Pages tab | Title, subtitle, pre-care and post-care categories, SEO, Page Colors |
| FAQ | Pages tab | Title, subtitle, questions with categories, SEO, Page Colors |
| Gallery | Pages tab | Title, subtitle, before/after and showcase sections, SEO, Page Colors |
| Booking Flow | Pages tab | Page Colors only |

## Frequently asked questions

**How many content sections can I add to my About Us page?**
There is no fixed limit. Each section includes a title, paragraphs, optional media (an image or a YouTube or Vimeo video), and an optional button. You can use sections to tell different parts of your story -- your founding story, your philosophy, your team. Three to five well-crafted sections usually strike a good balance between depth and readability.

**Can I reorder the pages in the navigation menu?**
Yes. In the Builder, click Navigation & Branding and drag menu items into the order you want. You can also add your own links, group links under a dropdown, and rename items. To change a built-in page's menu label, such as 'Services' to 'Treatments', type it next to the page under Website > Settings > Features & Navigation.

**How many custom pages can I create?**
Up to 49. Your site can have 50 pages in total, and your home page counts as one. Each page can have up to 50 sections. A custom page can't use a URL that SpaSphere already uses for a built-in page, such as services, blog, booking, or portal.

**What happens to links if I change a custom page's URL?**
Visitors who use the old URL are sent to the new one, so links you've shared keep working. If you delete a page instead, SpaSphere removes its menu link and clears buttons on your site that pointed to it.

**How do gallery before/after sections work?**
A before/after section displays image pairs showing a transformation. Each item has a 'before' and an 'after' image, plus an optional caption, alt text, and category. Showcase sections display single images without the comparison layout. You can mix both types in your gallery. Before/after photos are particularly powerful for aesthetic services -- they give visual proof of your results.

**Can a button on my website open my Instagram or another site?**
Yes. In the button's link field, choose Another website under Somewhere else and paste the full address. SpaSphere adds https:// if you leave it off. The same picker can also send a button to a single service's booking page, a product, a package, a membership plan, or a blog post.

**Can I edit the Privacy Policy or Terms of Service pages?**
No. Their wording is the same for every spa, with your business name and contact filled in, because phone carriers check these pages before they approve business texting. Write your own cancellation, booking, and refund rules on your Policies & Terms page instead.

**Where do I edit the text on my home page?**
In the Builder. Click a section in the Page Sections list to edit its text, images, and colors. The hero's headline and buttons are in the Hero Section.


# How to Connect Your Own Custom Domain to SpaSphere

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/connecting-custom-domain
Section: website-builder
Updated: 2026-10-14

Connect your own domain (like yourspa.com) to your SpaSphere booking website yourself, in about 10 minutes, with step-by-step help on screen.

Your SpaSphere website comes with a free address like `your-spa-name.myspa.ai`. If you own a domain such as `yourspa.com`, you can connect it so clients see your own name in the address bar. You do it yourself from **Website > Settings > Domain**, and SpaSphere walks you through every step. It takes about 10 minutes of your time.

## Why Your Own Domain Matters

When your booking site lives on your own domain, the name clients remember, bookmark, and share is yours.

- **You keep what you build.** Links from your Instagram bio, your Google Business Profile, and your business cards all point to your own name.
- **Clients remember it.** `yourspa.com` is short, professional, and easy to say out loud.
- **It moves with you.** The domain belongs to you, not to a booking platform.

Connecting a domain is included in your SpaSphere plan. The secure padlock (SSL) is included too, and it renews on its own.

## Before You Start

- **A domain you own.** You can buy one from a company like GoDaddy or Namecheap if you don't have one yet.
- **The login for the company that manages your domain.** That's usually where you bought it. You'll add a few settings there in step 2.
- **Owner or admin access** in SpaSphere. Only owners and admins can connect or disconnect a domain.

You can connect a main domain like `yourspa.com` (SpaSphere sets up `www.yourspa.com` for you too) or a subdomain like `book.yourspa.com` if you want to keep an existing website on your main domain. You can connect one domain to your account.

## How to Connect Your Domain

**Step 1: Open your domain settings**
Click **Website** in the sidebar, open the **Settings** tab, and find the **Domain** section. You'll see your current site address and a card called **Use your own web address**. Click **Connect your domain**. A setup window opens with three steps: **Add your domain**, **Point it to SpaSphere**, and **Secure it and go live**.

**Step 2: Step 1: Add your domain**
Under **Your domain**, type just the name, like `yourspa.com` (no `https://` needed). Then check the box under **Your free address stays yours**: your free myspa.ai address stays reserved for you, and once your domain is working, visitors to it are sent to your domain automatically. Click **Continue**.

**Step 3: Step 2: Point it to SpaSphere**
SpaSphere shows you the exact records to add, each as a card with a **Type**, a **Host** (some companies call it "Name"), and a **Value** (or "Points to"), with buttons to copy each one. For a main domain like `yourspa.com` there are three:

| What it does | Type | Host | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Prove the domain is yours** | TXT | `_spasphere-verify` | A one-time code shown on your screen |
| **Send yourspa.com to your website** | A | `@` | The SpaSphere addresses shown on your screen |
| **Make www.yourspa.com work too** | CNAME | `www` | `public.spasphere.ai` |

Always copy the values from your own setup window. The TXT code is unique to you, and the A record may list more than one address. When it does, add the record once for each address.

For a subdomain like `book.yourspa.com`, you add the TXT record and one CNAME record pointing to `public.spasphere.ai` instead.

Each card shows **To do**, **Checking**, or **Done**, and a **Your next step** box tells you the one thing to do now. If SpaSphere can tell which company manages your domain (for example GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, Squarespace Domains, or Wix), it names it, links to it, and tells you where to click.

**Step 4: Let SpaSphere check**
SpaSphere checks your records on its own: every minute at first, then less often as time goes on. Most changes show up within minutes, but some take a few hours. Click **Check again now** if you'd rather not wait. You don't have to keep the window open: click **I'll finish later**, and the **Domain** section shows where you left off with a **Continue setup** button.

**Step 5: Step 3: Secure it and go live**
Once your records are right, SpaSphere adds the padlock (a secure connection) for you. This usually takes a minute or two, and there's nothing you need to do. When it's done, you'll see **Your website is connected!** and your domain shows as **Live**. Anyone who visits your myspa.ai address is sent to your domain automatically.

**Typing the Host**
Most companies add your domain to the Host on their own, so type only the short part, like `www` or `_spasphere-verify`. Typing the full name can turn it into `www.yourspa.com.yourspa.com`. If your provider won't accept `@`, leave the Host empty.

## What the Status Means

In **Website > Settings > Domain**, your domain shows one of these:

| Status | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| **Setting up** | SpaSphere is waiting for your DNS records | Click **Continue setup** and add the records still marked **To do** |
| **Almost live** | Your records are right and SpaSphere is securing your site | Nothing. Click **View progress** if you're curious |
| **Live** | Your website is working on your own domain | Nothing. Click **Visit** to see it |
| **Needs attention** | Setup hit a snag | Click **See what to fix**, fix what's marked, then click **Try again** |
| **Needs a quick fix** | Your domain was live, but something changed in its settings, so some visitors may not reach your site | Click **See how to fix** and put the record back |
| **Disconnecting** | You disconnected the domain | Nothing. Your free address unlocks in about 10 minutes |

If you don't finish adding your records within 7 days, setup stops and shows **Needs attention**. Open it and click **Try again** when you're ready.

## Fixing Common Problems

- **An old record is in the way.** If your domain used to point to another website, an old A record (or an IPv6 "AAAA" record) can send visitors there instead. SpaSphere names the exact row to delete under **Your next step**.
- **Cloudflare.** Set each record to "DNS only" (grey cloud), not "Proxied".
- **GoDaddy.** If there's already an "A @ Parked" record, edit or delete it.
- **Namecheap.** Delete the default "URL Redirect" or parking records first.
- **Squarespace Domains.** Remove the Squarespace Defaults preset if it points the domain somewhere else.
- **Wix.** Edit the existing A record and the CNAME for `www` instead of adding new ones.
- **A security setting blocks the padlock.** Some domains have a "CAA" record that only allows certain companies to secure the site. SpaSphere tells you exactly what to add or delete.

Stuck? Email support@spasphere.ai and we'll sort it out with you.

## Changing or Disconnecting Your Domain

- **Before your domain is live**, click **Cancel setup**, then **Stop and remove**. Nothing on your website changes, and you can connect the same domain or a different one any time.
- **After your domain is live**, click **Disconnect** in the **Domain** section and confirm. Your myspa.ai address stops sending visitors to your domain and keeps working on its own, and SpaSphere finishes removing the domain in about 10 minutes.

While a domain is connected, your free myspa.ai address can't be renamed. It unlocks again after you disconnect.

## After Connecting Your Domain

Once your domain is live:

- **Update your Google Business Profile** to point to your new address
- **Update your social media links** (Instagram bio, Facebook page, TikTok link)
- **Update your email signature and business cards** with your new address
- **Submit your sitemap** to Google Search Console at `yourspa.com/sitemap.xml`

## Common Scenarios

### "I already have a website on my domain"

If you have a website at `yourspa.com` built somewhere else, you have two options:

1. **Replace it.** Connect `yourspa.com` to SpaSphere, and your SpaSphere site becomes your main website.
2. **Use a subdomain.** Keep your current site at `yourspa.com` and connect `book.yourspa.com` to SpaSphere. Then add a "Book Now" button on your current site that links to it.

### "I don't have a domain yet"

Buy one from any domain company. Pick something short, easy to spell, and close to your business name. Then follow the steps above.

### "My domain is on Squarespace or Wix"

You can still connect it. Find their DNS settings and add the records SpaSphere shows you. The setup window tells you where to click for both.

## Frequently asked questions

**Is connecting a custom domain included in my SpaSphere plan?**
Yes. There's no extra charge for connecting your domain or for the secure padlock (SSL). You only pay the company you bought the domain from.

**Will my old myspa.ai address still work?**
Yes. Once your domain is live, anyone who visits your myspa.ai address is sent to your domain automatically, so old bookmarks and shared links keep working.

**Why are there three records to add?**
The TXT record proves the domain is yours and changes nothing on your website. The A record sends yourspa.com to your SpaSphere website, and the CNAME record makes www.yourspa.com work too, so your site opens whether or not clients type www.

**Can I connect more than one domain?**
Not right now. You can connect one domain to your account. To switch to a different domain, disconnect the current one first.

**How long does it take?**
Adding the records takes about 10 minutes. Most changes show up within minutes, but some take a few hours. Once your records are right, securing your site usually takes a minute or two.

**Do I need technical knowledge to set this up?**
No. SpaSphere shows you exactly what to copy and where, one record at a time, and tells you the one next step. If you get stuck, email support@spasphere.ai.

**Can I do this from my phone?**
Yes. The Domain section works on a phone, so you can add your records and check progress from anywhere. Your other website settings work best on a computer.


# How to Connect Google Analytics to Your Spa Website

Source: https://spasphere.ai/docs/website-builder/connecting-google-analytics
Section: website-builder
Updated: 2026-10-14

Add your Google Analytics 4 Measurement ID to your SpaSphere website to see who visits, where they come from, and which pages they read before they book.

Google Analytics shows you how people find your website and what they do there: which Instagram post sent them, which treatment page they read, and how many of them went on to book. Connecting it takes about a minute. You paste one ID into SpaSphere, publish, and Google starts counting visits on every page of your site, including your booking pages.

## Before You Start

You need a Google Analytics 4 property for your website. If you already use Google Analytics, you have one. If not, create one at [analytics.google.com](https://analytics.google.com): click **Admin**, then **Create** and **Property**, and when Google asks for a data stream, choose **Web** and enter your website address (your own domain, or your `yourname.myspa.ai` address).

## Find Your Measurement ID

**Step 1: Open your data stream in Google Analytics**
In Google Analytics, click **Admin** (the gear at the bottom left). Under **Data collection and modification**, click **Data streams**, then click your website's stream.

**Step 2: Copy the Measurement ID**
The **Measurement ID** is at the top right of the stream details. It starts with `G-` and looks like `G-4KX7P2M9QD`. Copy it exactly as Google shows it.

## Add It to SpaSphere

**Step 1: Open Website, then Settings**
Click **Website** in the sidebar, then the **Settings** tab at the top.

**Step 2: Open Analytics & Tracking**
Click **Analytics & Tracking** ("Understand where your clients come from") to open it.

**Step 3: Paste your Measurement ID**
Paste the ID into **Google Analytics 4 (GA4)**. It must start with a capital `G-`, followed by letters and numbers. SpaSphere saves it as a draft automatically.

**Step 4: Add your Tag Manager ID (optional)**
If you use Google Tag Manager, paste your container ID (it starts with `GTM-`) into **Google Tag Manager (GTM)**. Most spas only need the Google Analytics ID.

**Step 5: Click Publish to make it live**
Click **Publish** in the tab bar. When you see **Your website is live**, tracking is on for every page of your site.

## Check That It Works

Open your live website in a new browser tab and click around for a moment. Then, in Google Analytics, go to **Reports** and open **Realtime**. Your visit should appear within a minute or two.

**Don't see your own visit?**
Ad blockers and some privacy settings stop Google Analytics from counting you. Try your phone with Wi-Fi turned off, or ask a friend to open your site. Also check that the ID starts with a capital `G-` and has no spaces: an ID in any other format is ignored.

## Good to Know

- **One place for each tag.** If your Google Tag Manager container already includes a Google Analytics tag for the same ID, leave the GA4 field empty. Adding both counts every visit twice.
- **Facebook (Meta) Pixel and other tools** go inside your Google Tag Manager container. SpaSphere doesn't have separate fields for them.
- **Previews aren't counted.** The builder's preview never loads your tracking, so editing your site doesn't add fake visits.
- **Changing or removing the ID** works the same way: edit or clear the field, then click **Publish**.

## Frequently asked questions

**Where do I find my Google Analytics Measurement ID?**
In Google Analytics, go to Admin, then Data streams under Data collection and modification, and click your website's stream. The Measurement ID starting with G- is at the top right.

**Do I need Google Tag Manager too?**
No. Most spas only need the Google Analytics 4 Measurement ID. Use Google Tag Manager if you also want other tools, such as a Meta Pixel, on your site.

**Does it track my booking pages?**
Yes. Once you publish, Google Analytics runs on every page of your website, including the pages clients use to book.

**I pasted the ID but nothing shows in Google Analytics. What's wrong?**
Check three things: you clicked Publish after pasting it, the ID starts with a capital G- with no spaces, and an ad blocker isn't hiding your own visit. Then look at Realtime again.