Free Booking (Book without Payment)
Use Free booking when you want customers to book a time slot without paying online. The app will still create appointments and keep your calendar organized, no checkout step.
💡 When to use Free booking
Section titled “💡 When to use Free booking”Free booking works well for:
- Consultations / trials – first visit is free, you charge later if needed
- In-person services paid on site – pay in cash or card at your location
- School visits / tours / demo sessions – booking only, no fee
- Services handled by invoice – you bill customers manually afterwards
If you need customers to pay online, use Paid services (Pay to book) instead.
Demo: https://demo-app-v2-tipo-appointment-booking.myshopify.com/products/couples-spa-package (password: 1234)
⚙️ How to set up a Free service
Section titled “⚙️ How to set up a Free service”Step 1: Open Services
Section titled “Step 1: Open Services ”- Open the app > click Services
- Click New service button
Steps 2: Choose a service type
Section titled “Steps 2: Choose a service type ”Full-day booking
Best for services that take a whole day (event rental, photoshoot day).
- Customers book an entire day
- Paid via Shopify checkout
Regular booking
Best if you collect payment offline.
- Customers book a time slot
- No Shopify checkout required
Multi-day booking (without checkout)
- Customers book multiple days
- No checkout
Step 3: Create the service product in Shopify
Section titled “Step 3: Create the service product in Shopify ”The app creates/uses a Shopify Product for your service. In the Add product screen:
- Title: e.g., Yoga class
- Status: Active
- Price:
- Set the price to $0, or
- Keep a regular price (if you still want to show a value), the app will ignore it for checkout when using free booking.
Click Save.
Step 4: Configure service settings
Section titled “Step 4: Configure service settings ”👥 Capacity
Set how many people can book the same time slot.
- Example:
1for 1-on-1 appointments - Example:
5for group sessions
⏱️ Duration
Choose how long each booking takes:
- Quick buttons (30, 60, 90, 120 min…)
- Or Custom
- If your service supports it, you can choose:
- Less than a day
- Multiple days
Example: Haircut = 60 min
Step 5: Choose payment type
Section titled “Step 5: Choose payment type ”Choose No payment required
Step 6: Set Availability
Section titled “Step 6: Set Availability ”In the Availability section, click Manage
- Assign team members to this service (required). If you have not had a team member, create a new one.
- Their schedules determine what time slots are available
Step 7: Customize more settings (Optional)
Section titled “Step 7: Customize more settings (Optional) ”- In Location field, enter the location of the service
- Color: helps identify bookings in the calendar
- Questions & Add-ons: collect info (name, preferences) or sell add-ons
- Advanced settings: booking rules, lead time, buffer time, etc. (if available)
Step 8: Save your changes
Section titled “Step 8: Save your changes”🛠️ Set up free form
Section titled “🛠️ Set up free form”Next, set up custom fields to collect customer data for the free appointment:
- Open the app > click Settings > scroll down to Customer account
- Enable the field(s) you want to show
- Set up field label and set as required if needed
- Click Save
🌐 How it works on your storefront
Section titled “🌐 How it works on your storefront ”- Customer opens the service product page.
- Clicks the Book now / Schedule button.
- Chooses date, time, and fills in their details.
- Clicks Confirm booking.
Because the service is “No payment required”:
- There is no payment method step.
- Shopify checkout is skipped.
- The appointment is created immediately and appears in your app & calendar.
📋 How it looks in admin
Section titled “📋 How it looks in admin”After a customer books:
- You’ll see the appointment under Appointments in Tipo.
- The order/payment section in Shopify is not created for this booking (unless you manually create one).
- You can still:
- Reschedule
- Cancel
- Add notes
▶️ A Tutorial video
Section titled “▶️ A Tutorial video ”✅ Quick comparison: Free vs Paid services
Section titled “✅ Quick comparison: Free vs Paid services”| Type | Booking flow | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Book without payment | Customer books → appointment created → no checkout | Free |
| Pay to book – Pay now | Customer books → goes to checkout → pays immediately | Paid appointments |
| Pay to book – Pay later | Customer books → appointment created → invoice sent | Invoice / offline payment workflows |
Q: Can I change a free service to paid later?
Section titled “Q: Can I change a free service to paid later?”Yes. Just edit the service, change Choose payment type to Pay to book, and save
Q: Will customers still get confirmation emails?
Section titled “Q: Will customers still get confirmation emails?”Yes. Confirmation and reminder emails (if enabled) work the same for free and paid bookings.
Q: Do I need a price set in Shopify for free bookings?
Section titled “Q: Do I need a price set in Shopify for free bookings?”Not required. You can set the price to $0 or leave your normal price, the important part is the “Book without payment” option inside Tipo.
🙋 Still need support?
If you still need help, please feel free to contact us at hi@tipo.io. We’ll be happy to assist you further.