Are you planning to use Acuity for your massage therapy practice? You’re in luck! In fact, our founder Gavin first created Acuity to help his mom manage her massage therapy practice, so you’re in good hands.
Let’s take a look at some common features that can help you make the most out of your Acuity account.
Don’t worry, you don't have to have everything set up to start letting clients book - focus on getting your Availability and Appointment Types set up and go from there!
Appointment Types
In Acuity, an Appointment Type is what the client schedules with you for a specific date and time. You can create an Appointment Type for each type of session you offer.
For example, if you offer a 60-Minute Swedish Massage - that would be one Appointment Type. If you also offer a 60-Minute Hot Stone Massage, that would be another Appointment Type.
If you have offerings of the same type of massage with different durations (for example, a Swedish Massage that lasts 60 minutes, 75 minutes, or 90 minutes), you can either create an Appointment Type for each duration or you can use Add-ons to add extra time. (We’ll talk more about Add-ons in a bit.)
Do you need some time between clients to write notes, reset your massage table, or just take a break? You can add padding to your Appointment Types to ensure you have some time to breathe between clients.
Read more about setting up your Appointment Types here!
Availability & Calendars
If you are a one-person practice, chances are you're only going to need one calendar in Acuity. When you set up Appointment Types, they are offered on the calendar in your account. By default, only one appointment can be scheduled on a calendar at a time, so you can avoid overbooking.
Remember to set your Availability so that clients can begin to book appointments with you.
Need to set different Availability for certain types of appointments? No problem! Learn more about setting up your Availability by Appointment Type.
Do you have staff members or work out of multiple locations? You can create a calendar for each staff member or location on our Growing Business and Powerhouse Player plans.
Add-ons
Add-ons are an easy way to add extra time or additional services to an Appointment Type. Want to offer an aromatherapy upgrade or add an extra 15 minutes to a client’s massage? Add-ons will be the way to go here!
Click here to check out our guide on using Add-ons.
Gift Certificates, Packages, and Subscriptions
Want to offer gift certificates for your services? You can do that with Acuity, too! Click here to check out our gift certificate guide.
Do you also sell packages that include regular massages over a period of time? If so, you may be interested in our Packages or Subscriptions features.
These Packages or Subscriptions will allow clients to pay an upfront cost, and in exchange they'll receive a code that will let them book each one of the sessions included in what they've purchased.
Gift Certificates, Packages, and Subscriptions can all be set up by going to Business Settings > Packages & Gift Certificates in your account.
*Note: Gift Certificates, Packages, and Subscriptions are only available on the Growing Business and Powerhouse Player plans created on or after October 16, 2017.
Intake Forms
If you need to have clients acknowledge an informed consent form or collect additional information from your clients when they schedule their appointments/sessions, you can use Intake Forms and link them to your Appointment Types as needed.
This Intake Form will show on your Client's Scheduling Page after your client is asked to enter their Name, Phone Number, and E-mail Address. You can choose to make the Intake Form required - this will require clients to fill it out before being able to schedule. Clients can also access their forms after an appointment has been scheduled by clicking on the Change/Cancel Appointment button in their appointment notifications.
Payment
Want to collect money through Acuity for appointments and packages? Acuity integrates with Stripe, Square, or PayPal.
Click here to learn more about accepting payments in Acuity.
Customizing E-mail Notifications
If you’d like to customize the notifications your clients receive about their appointments, you can! Feel free to add in your logo and colors, include any additional information a client should know. Make these notifications your own!
If you need to customize your notifications by Appointment Type, you can do that as well. Check out our guide on that here.
More Complex Setups
If you have a more complicated setup, Acuity can likely still meet your needs, but we'll need a bit more information from you in order to come up with the best solution.
The more details we have about your needs, the easier it will be for us to come up with a customized solution for you!
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