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Want the scoop on Online Bookings in Pabau 2?
The all-new version of our Online Booking platform is set to drop and we can’t wait for our customers to get their hands on it. With lots of clever new features such as cross-selling, upselling, packages, and even AI, the updated version of our online booking tool – Pabau Connect – works even harder for you and your business.
👋An introduction to online bookings
This is an in-depth guide to online bookings based on a webinar we ran with our CEO and founder William Brandham and our Head of Marketing Oliver Sherrington. This was a first look at the Pabau Connect portal and how online bookings in Pabau 2 work.
The webinar covered everything from:
- How you can use service groups to help reduce churn
- Our amazing new Echo AI tool for writing service descriptions
- How to use upselling and cross-selling to increase spend
- And LOADS more! It’s definitely worth a rewatch!
Online bookings in Pabau 2 – Q&A
Head straight to the Q&A to see if your question was answered!
Want more resources? We’ve got plenty:
- Learn more on our dedicated our Online Bookings feature page
- Check out our Knowledgebase guide to setting up the online booking portal
- Read about our customers who are using Online Bookings
And without any further ado, let’s get into detailing those all-new features!
20 powerful Pabau features that will help you get more online bookings
1. Customizable booking platform
With Pabau, you can tailor the look and feel of the online booking experience to your requirements. Add reviews, staff names and job titles, descriptions – or keep it simple.
Why use this feature?
Every clinic is different. You might want to show your latest reviews on your online booking platform or you might not. You might want clients to be able to select a particular member of staff or you might not. While some other software can be a little limited in terms of customizability, Pabau enables you to create a fully tailored experience.
2. Ability to group services
Do you offer lots of services? We’ve added a function to group your services by category so that clients can find and book what they need quicker. No more scrolling… and scrolling.
Why use this feature?
No prospective customer wants to scroll through loads of different services. But if you have a large number of services, that’s the reality. You can now add service groups or categories. For example, you can create a consultation service category. Within that, you have injectables consultations, laser consultations, filler treatment consultations, and so on.
3. See other services during booking
The other services you offer will now be viewable at the top of the screen while a client is going through the booking process to encourage them to browse other treatments.
Why use this feature?
How can you nudge clients to book other treatments if they can’t see what you offer? Instead of being locked into booking one service, clients will continue to see your other services at the top of the screen as they go through the booking process.
⚡️4. Showstopper feature: Echo AI⚡️
One of the coolest new features is Echo AI, which you can use for writing service descriptions. Simply hit the generate button and – ta-dah – the AI will take care of it.
Why use this feature?
Don’t have time to write a million and one descriptions for your services? We hear you. This feature will help you create professional-looking service descriptions in just one click. Use it to write out your service descriptions in full or as a starting point before you tailor the content to your brand. Because nothing is worse than a blank page, right?
5. Easy-edit service descriptions
We’ve also made improvements to help you write better descriptions of your services. This will in turn encourage more clients to complete the process and make a booking.
Why use this feature?
Having super clear descriptions on your online booking portal = more bookings. If you don’t list your services clearly then it may lead to confused clients who aren’t 100% confident in what you’re offering. And the thing is: confused clients don’t book.
6. Virtual consultations made simple
Do you offer telehealth services? This is really simple to set up in Pabau and we’ve made these really easy to distinguish from in-person consultations in the online booking platform.
Why use this feature?
There’s a much higher demand for virtual consultations now. Before Covid-19, only around 10% of clients would use telehealth services. Now, that figure is around 50-60%. Not every practice will want to offer telehealth services but making them clearly differentiated on your online booking platform is key and, again, helps clients book what they want more easily.
7. Easy-to-navigate availability
Want clients to be able to see upcoming availability at a glance? Our clean calendar design in Pabau 2 will help them quickly see what appointments are available.
Why use this feature?
It makes it easy for everyone. There’s no back and forth over email or social media trying to find a suitable time. Clients can quickly see what appointments you have over the next few weeks. Everything is sorted by morning, afternoon, and evening and colour-coded for ease.
⚡️8. Showstopper feature: client-specific deposit rules⚡️
As well as being able to charge flat fees, percentages, or full payment deposits you can also create deposit rules based on the type of client – if they’re a new client, for example.
Why use this feature?
You might want to lower the friction for new clients at your practice, in which case you can create a low % deposit for any new client bookings. On the other hand, you might decide that new clients no-show a lot so you can add a high % for new client bookings. We said at the beginning that Pabau is really customizable, and this is just another example.
9. Hold appointments in the diary
We noticed clients would proceed to payment and then drop off at a high rate. Now, Pabau holds the appointment for seven minutes to give them a chance to make their payment.
Why use this feature?
It’s another feature that will improve the user experience and help boost conversions. Because we hold that appointment for several minutes, there’s less risk of the client getting their card and then coming back to find that the slot they intended to book has been booked by someone else. It will appear greyed out in your calendar until it goes through.
10. Store cards on file
You can store card details on file so that clients don’t have to input their card details into Pabau every time they book an appointment. It’s low-effort, high impact for the client.
Why use this feature?
Number one reason: because it’s what clients expect. No one wants to have to type in their card when they’re booking an appointment these days. They want to be able to get it done in a handful of clicks. This is another feature that will stop clients from dropping out of the booking process and help you get more bookings.
11. Set cancellation policies
As well as being able to set deposit policies you can also set up cancellation policies to set clear expectations at the time of booking. With a card on file, this is much more effective.
Why use this feature?
Having cancellation policies helps reduce no-shows. You can adjust what you charge, ranging from zero charge to a strict cancellation policy, and you can also adjust this depending on when the client cancels. Cancelling an hour before may be higher than 12 hours before. The client consents by checking a box at the time of booking.
12. Sell packages online
Packages have been around for a while in Pabau – as we know they’re vital for our medi aesthetic and med spa customers. But now, you can sell them online!
Why use this feature?
We keep going back to this point, but it’s another way to increase the spend of your clients. Instead of buying a single treatment, you can group together various treatments as an all-in-one package, therefore encouraging clients to spend more money with you.
13. Upselling in Pabau
The upselling feature will encourage customers to spend more. Instead of simply buying one treatment you can recommend savings they’d make if they bought a package.
Why use this feature?
We always end up talking about ordering Domino’s online here, but let’s go with it. If you order a pizza it might suggest that you order a deal and save a percentage in the process. It’s the same thing – this feature will suggest packages that will save the client money.
⚡️14. Showstopper feature: Cross-selling⚡️
We’ve introduced cross-selling in Pabau so that products (or additional services) are linked to services and then recommended to clients when they make a booking.
Why use this feature?
Again, this is another feature that will increase your clients’ spending. If someone books a service you can recommend retail products as part of the sale. However, you can also link additional services so if someone is having a facial you can recommend additional services as part of the package. It’s another revenue-boosting feature for you!
15. Self-serve cancellation feature
Using Pabau, clients can book, edit, and cancel their appointments from the client portal. This means less admin work for you and an easier booking experience for clients.
Why use this feature?
In the past, clinics sometimes didn’t want to give their customers too much control of online booking because they were concerned clients would just cancel their appointments. But, in reality, if they’re gonna cancel, they’re gonna cancel – you might as well make it simple for them. This removes the manual workload for you and your team.
16. Sell gift vouchers
Gift vouchers are a great way to reward both new and current clients. We’ve refreshed how discounts look in Pabau so that you can build loyalty with your client base.
Why use this feature?
You don’t need us to tell you that gift vouchers are a great marketing play. You can reward loyal clients with seasonal discounts or you can sell them on your online booking platform where they can be purchased by friends, family, and your clients. Treat yourself, right?
17. Clients can add their own medical information
We’ve taken the feature above one step further. Now, clients can add medical information such as allergies and medical conditions to the client portal in Pabau 2.
Why use this feature?
Again, it’s another way of gathering the critical information you need in a less manual way. It’s not a replacement for adding it into the system yourself or via your forms. Plus, it’s important to note that clients won’t be able to free type into the client portal – instead, it uses our integration with the BNF database. The information will be pulled into the client card in Pabau.
18. Patch test feature
We’ve added a patch test feature. You can store patch tests within the EMR section of the client card and make it so that a patch test is required as part of the booking process.
Why use this feature?
This is an interesting one. It’s essentially a way of adding friction back into the booking process. If you want to set up services so that they can’t be booked without a patch test, you can do that. It’s entirely up to you, some clinics might want to add this extra friction, others won’t.
19. Set up multiple forms as one workflow
If a client books multiple treatments you can send all the relevant forms to them as part of one workflow, rather than sending three separate email communications.
Why use this feature?
One, it keeps it simple and, two, it improves the experience for the customer. Instead of receiving three separate emails from you, having to open them individually, and complete the forms, this system will enable clients to complete all the forms in one. It’s cleaner and simpler for the client but it still ensures you have all your forms in place before the client arrives.
20. Make forms a requirement
You can switch on a toggle to make forms part of your online booking process. This means a booking won’t go through unless the form has been completed there and then.
Why use this feature?
For starters, it’s a way to get a high quality of bookings. If you toggle this on, it’ll filter out the people who aren’t that serious and will probably end up cancelling. It also saves time in-clinic. If you want to keep the time that clients spend in the clinic at a minimum so you can run a really tight ship, this is a really useful feature.
❓FAQs on online bookings in Pabau 2
What if a client has a package on their account for the service they are booking? Can they use it to pay for the service?
If someone has purchased a package on their Pabau account, the package will seamlessly integrate with our new online booking system.
Basically, they can just go book an appointment from the My Packages option in the booking portal.
In fact, the actual booking journey is much simpler when you book an appointment from Packages, because if the client has a package with 6 courses of facial treatment, then they are probably going to book that service.
Can we tailor the cancelation policy to each individual?
Yes. You will be able to customize the cancelation policy based on labels.
In Pabau, we have a feature called Labels, which you can use to add labels to your clients like VIP, Big Spender, and other titles.
So, for instance, if you’ve labeled a client as VIP, you can set a different policy for that individual as opposed to others.
If a client buys an individual treatment, something that we also offer a package for, will they get prompted to buy the package when they try and select the single treatment?
Yes, this feature will also be integrated into the booking process.
Although it’s not available right now, it will be in the next 3-4 weeks, and individuals will be prompted to purchase a package even if they initially intend to only buy a single service.
So is it possible to have recommended products or treatments at the end of the checkout process before payments similar to e-commerce websites?
This feature is coming soon and will work similarly to the process of ordering a Domino’s pizza, where you’re offered additional items, like cookies, at checkout.
So if the client books a service, for example, a hair loss treatment, then automatically certain products will flag up, and it will suggest other products or services for them to buy.
Is there a way to use the package for a mixture of different classes?
In Pabau, Packages can only be used for the same services. However, we have a feature called Bundles, and Bundles allows you to do exactly that.
So when you create a bundle you can add different services or packages into the bundle.
In short, yes, this is possible, but it’s achieved using Bundles, not the Packages feature.
Can you get a link to a specific service only, i.e. for marketing campaigns?
Yes, clinics will be able to use dynamic links.
This is one of the major functionalities Pabau 1 lacks but Pabau 2 will have. With Pabau 2, practices won’t have to navigate through all campaign steps, because we’ve built specific service links as part of the leads newsletter system.
👉Newsletter campaigns are a significant improvement in Pabau 2 that Pabau 1 clinics have not used yet, and it’s all integrated within the newsletter system!
How do the newly released conversion tracking and lead management functionalities work?
In Pabau 2, clinics can easily do conversion tracking and manage leads through three viable options — Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager and Facebook Pixel.
You can access all three functionalities in Setup —> Online Bookings (under Products & Services) —> Customize —> Analytics. On the same page, you can also track conversions by creating a custom confirmation page or URL and adding it to the website you want clients to be sent to after the online booking. This should be a ‘thank you’ page that confirms the booking.
Whatever else you want to include, and choosing the tracking type to use, is up to you!
Keep in mind, that practices who use Pabau 1 can link up their Google Tag manager and track their progress from there.
What happens if a patient completes a booking but doesn’t fill out a medical form?
There are two answers to that question. One, if the patient completes the form online, from their bookings, that process will be tracked through Google Analytics.
As for the actual online form, Pabau 2 has a cool feature you can use, called Last History completed. You can use this function to identify if someone has or hasn’t completed their forms before their appointment.
👉In Pabau 2, you can also set up notifications, so when a patient completes a form, you’ll receive an email. Plus, more automation features are in the works for Pabau 2!
Can patients update their medical history in Pabau 2?
Yes. In their client dashboard card, clients can access and update their Medical history file under EMR—> Forms-> Medical History icon (in the top right).
This is a perfect opportunity for clinics to allow patients to manage their information from one place, and ensure everything is correct, especially allergies, drugs, and other prescriptions. It’s another big value add to online bookings in Pabau 2!
👉Clinics who are moving from Pabau 1 to Pabau 2 have to look at their current forms and speak to Pabau’s customer support team to update and preserve them.
Can I apply a discount code automatically?
It’s coming very, very soon! For the time being, in Pabau 2, you can apply discount codes manually. Automatic discounts are ‘under construction’ right now, and will be called Promotions. This way, clinics will be able to automatically set up a discount code and have it apply between certain dates.
My patients are children. Parents are filling in their online booking, and putting their names rather than the children’s names. Do you have any solutions?
For now, we’re brainstorming. Since children are underage, having the parents’ names on their online booking is a must, so treading carefully is due on our part. But, we’d love to hear what you think! Please join our community site, a.k.a forum, and share your suggestions and ideas — we check our forum daily and appreciate your insights!
Will Pabau 2 Connect offer the ability to choose which clients can view specific bookable services?
Currently, this option isn’t available on a client-specific basis, but it would be a valuable addition.
It would be great to discuss this feature on our Community Forum and gather input from clients. Feel free to visit Community.pabau.com and share your thoughts!
Can the client view how much credit they have from the Client Portal?
Absolutely! Not only can clients view their credit balance, but they also have the option to add credit to their account directly from their Client Portal.
Think of the Client Portal Login Dashboard as the nerve center of their interaction with your clinic. Within this dashboard, clients gain access to a broad overview, including invoices, upcoming and past appointments, package details, and any outstanding payments.
The Client Portal is a very useful tool offering clients a single, organized platform where they can access their complete clinic history. This eliminates the need for them to search through endless emails and provides a more streamlined and efficient experience.
Does the new booking system allow for the option for two services to be bookable online?
When you are setting up a service, and go to the Online Booking tab, you have the fantastic option to tailor the booking availability based on specific client criteria.
You can choose whether the service is open for booking exclusively to Existing clients, New clients, or even make it accessible to both groups. Furthermore, you have the power to determine that the service becomes bookable only when clients have met certain preconditions.
For example: If your clinic provides Botox treatments, you can set it up so that clients can book the Botox service only if they’ve already scheduled a Consultation with you before. This way, you’re able to offer a more personalized and targeted booking experience.
Will Pabau 2 Connect link to stock if a clinic has set up their online shop?
That is a really good question, because we’ve started working on an entire feature that is being scoped out around exactly that. It is part of our medium to long-term roadmap, and we’re dedicated to making it a reality.
If you went on and spent thousands building your own online shop with a web developer – it might look and perform exceptionally well. However, we’ve had some clients that have built their own online shops, and realized later on that whilst it looks good, it’s a bit hard and challenging to run because it’s not integrated with their online booking system.
So our goal is to build something similar to what we’ve done with our online bookings – a system that’s not only functional but also simplifies the process of purchasing and shipping products. We’re committed to making this user-friendly and intuitive just like Pabau 2.
The main difference to what we would offer apart from already existing platforms is the integration with your Pabau system. This means that when you make a product sale, it’s automatically deducted from your stock.
Would you allow to use the online booking feature on our domain name working as a white label?
Yes, but the concept of ‘white label’ can have varied interpretations.
While we don’t currently offer extensive features for customization to the point where you can rearrange elements as you wish, we do offer a solution that allows you to utilize your own domain name. We’ve had many clients that use a masked domain name which is possible with Pabau.
Online bookings in Pabau 2
Pabau’s online booking system is designed to help you run a successful practice. It saves you time, reduces admin, and helps you get more customers – while also creating a really seamless customer journey. Here’s a quick round-up…
✅You can take bookings 24/7
Free up your phone lines (and your staff) with an online booking system
✅Designed for medical and healthcare practices
Our software is specific, not generic. It’s designed for you, not stretched to fit you
✅It builds your forms into the booking process
Automatically send out your medical questionnaires and consent forms
✅Helps you reduce no-shows
Reduce last-minute cancellations with service and client-specific deposits
✅It puts clients in control (if you wish!)
Clients can edit, reschedule or cancel their appointment from the system
We hope you’re as excited as we are about online bookings in Pabau 2!
