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
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.
⚙️ How to set up a Free service
Step 1: Open Services
Open the app > click Services
Click New service button
Steps 2: Choose a service type
On Choose service type, select one of these:
Full-day booking (with checkout)
Best for services that take a whole day (event rental, photoshoot day).
Customers book an entire day
Paid via Shopify checkout
Regular booking (without checkout)
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
Tip: If you want customers to pay online, choose a “with checkout” type.
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
👥 Capacity
Set how many people can book the same time slot.
Example: 1 for 1-on-1 appointments
Example: 5 for 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
Under Choose payment type, choose Book without payment
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)
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
🛠️ 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
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 “Book without payment”:
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
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
✅ 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
❓FAQ
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?
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?
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 [email protected]. We’ll be happy to assist you further.
