Add a session by hand

Not every booking comes through your website. For sessions arranged by text, DM or in person, add the session yourself. No online payment is needed.

Where to start

• New booking, on Bookings or Calendar (or + New > Booking at the top of any page). You pick the client on the same form.
• A client's page, at Book a session by hand. It's already for that client.
• Book by hand on an inquiry, under More. It makes them a client and opens that form.

Pick the client (New booking)

Under Who it's for, choose them from Client. With a long list, type a name or email in Find a client to narrow it.

For someone new, leave Someone new (fill in their details below) selected and fill in New client's name, Their email and Their phone (optional). These fields only show while Someone new is picked. If that email already belongs to a client, the booking goes on their record. The new client is only added once the booking goes ahead.

Fill in the session

• Package: one of yours, Custom, just for this booking (name it, and set its price and length in the fields below; it won't appear in Packages or on your website), or Decide later (pick it on the booking's page once you know).
• Date and Start time.
• Location, and What are you shooting?
• Price (leave empty for package price), if you agreed on a different price.
• Length in minutes (optional), if it differs from the package.
• Already paid (optional) and Paid with (Venmo, Zelle, Cash, Check or Other), if they've paid something.
• Payment plan: The package's usual, One balance payment, or 2 to 6 payments. Plan payments are a month apart, the last a week before the session. You can change the dates and amounts on the booking's page.
• Contract to sign and Questionnaire: the package's own (the default), another of yours, or none. Preview shows the one picked. For the questionnaire you can also choose The standard questions in their portal.

Leave Email them a "You're booked" confirmation ticked to send them the confirmation with their portal link. Then click Add session (or Book it on the New booking page).

What happens

• The booking is confirmed straight away and opens on its own page.
• The time goes on your Calendar and in the client's portal, and on Google Calendar if it's connected.
• Any open inquiry from the same email is marked Booked.
• Anything you entered as already paid is recorded as the deposit.

Things to know:

• The session gets its own time on your schedule, not one of your open times. Any free open time it overlaps is blocked, so nobody can book over it online.
• If the time overlaps another session, or falls inside the buffer you keep between sessions, you get a warning instead. Pick another time, or tick Add it anyway if it overlaps another session and click the button again.
• A date that has passed is usually a slip, so you're asked first. If you really are recording an earlier session, tick It's in the past on purpose and click the button again.
• If you untick the confirmation, the client gets no email. Use Email portal link on the booking's page to send them their portal later.
• Later payments can be recorded on the booking's page. See A booking's page.