How to add appointment booking to your app

Appointment booking in an app means a list of slots, a way to take one, and a day view for you. With AppCub you can start with a diary only you use on your phone, or connect your own Supabase database so customers and staff book and see slots from their own phones.

Updated 2026-11-09

Two kinds of booking app

A diary app is for you and your front desk. Customers still message or call, and you put the booking in the app. It works on one phone, keeps its data on that phone and works offline. It is the quickest to start with.

A customer booking app lets customers see free slots and book themselves. Their phones and yours need to see the same slots at the same moment, so the bookings must live in a database. In AppCub, connect your own Supabase database from the chat (Supabase has a free plan). For customers to have their own accounts, the same database gives email and password sign-in.

Screens a booking app usually needs

Services: name, price and how long each takes
Book: pick a service, a date and a free slot, then confirm with name and phone number
Today: the day's appointments in time order, with call and WhatsApp buttons
All bookings: search by name or number, filter by date or staff
Settings: opening hours, breaks, closed days and slot length

Rules that prevent trouble

One slot, one booking: a slot disappears from the list once it is taken
A gap between appointments if you need cleaning or setup time
A limit on how far ahead people can book, for example 14 days
A clear way to cancel or move, and the notice you need
Statuses such as booked, came, no-show and cancelled, so you can see patterns

Confirmations and reminders

After a booking, a WhatsApp button can open a chat with the confirmation ready: date, time, service and address. A person taps send; nothing goes out by itself. The app can also show a reminder on the phone it is installed on at a set time, for example the evening before each appointment, so you or your staff remember to message the customer. These reminders work on the installed app and may arrive a few minutes late.

One phone cannot make a notification appear on another person's phone, so do not plan on the app pinging customers. Plan on a WhatsApp reminder that your staff send.

Payments with bookings

If you take an advance, add a payment button using your own Razorpay account, connected from the chat, or a Pay via UPI button. The money goes to you.

With AppCub

Describe it, for example: "A booking app for Glow Salon, Indore. Services with price and duration. Customers pick a service, date and free 30-minute slot, Monday to Saturday 10 am to 8 pm. Today screen for the owner with WhatsApp confirm buttons. Reminder on my phone at 8 pm for tomorrow's bookings." AppCub shows the plan first, and seeing it is free.

Questions

Can customers book from their own phones?

Yes, once you connect your own Supabase database from the chat, so every phone sees the same slots.

Can the app send booking reminders to customers?

It can open WhatsApp with the reminder ready for your staff to send. It cannot send messages or notifications to customers by itself.

Can I have different slots for each staff member?

Yes. Ask for staff in the plan, each with their own days and hours.

Will two people be able to book the same slot?

Not when bookings are in a shared database; a taken slot is no longer offered. Test it with two phones before you launch.

Can I take an advance payment when someone books?

Yes, with your own Razorpay account connected from the chat, or a Pay via UPI button. The money goes to you.

Does it work without the internet?

A diary app kept on one phone works offline. A customer booking app needs the internet to see live slots.

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