Paid Service (Pay to book)

Use Pay to book when you want customers to confirm their appointment only after they pay. The app connects your booking flow with Shopify checkout so you get confirmed, paid bookings.

💡 When to use “Pay to book”

Perfect for services where payment is required or recommended:

• Salon & spa appointments

• Classes & workshops (yoga, dance, courses)

• Consultations & sessions (therapy, coaching, beauty)

• Events with limited seats where no-shows are costly

• Tours, rentals, or experiences requiring upfront payment or deposit

If you don’t want to charge online, use Free booking (no payment) instead.

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⚙️ How to set up a Paid service (Pay to book)

Step 1: Open Services

• Open the app > click Services

• Click New service button

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Steps 2: Choose a service type

On Choose service type, select one of these:

Regular booking (with checkout)

Best for normal appointments (haircut, consultation).

• Customers book a time slot

• Payment is completed via Shopify checkout

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

Multi-day booking (with checkout)

Best for bookings across multiple days (retreat, multi-day rental).

• Customers book a date range

• Paid via Shopify checkout

Tip: If you want customers to pay online, choose a “with checkout” type.

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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., Cycling

• Status: Active

• Category: choose the closest match (optional)

• Price: set your service price (for checkout services)

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

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Step 5: Choose payment type

Find Choose payment type > select Pay to book.

You’ll see these options under it:

• Pay now – customer must pay immediately at checkout

• Pay later – a draft order & invoice are created; customer pays later

• Allow customer to choose pay now or pay later – customer picks at booking time

You can choose one of these depending on your workflow (more on this below).

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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

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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 the service.

Click Save at the top right of the service page. Your service is now a paid service (Pay to book).

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✅ How your service works on your online store

• Customer opens the service product page.

• Clicks the Book now / Schedule button.

• Selects a date, time, and fills in required details.

• Payment step:

  • If Pay now: they are redirected to Shopify checkout to pay

  • If Pay later: booking is confirmed, and they receive an invoice

  • If Customer chooses: they pick Pay now or Pay later in the booking popup

Once complete:

• The appointment appears in the Appointments list in the Tipo app.

• A corresponding order or draft order appears in Shopify (depending on the payment option).

Video

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📋 How it looks in admin

After a customer books a paid service:

• In Tipo app > Appointments, you’ll see the booking with its status and payment note.

• In Shopify Orders

  • Pay now → a regular paid order is created.

  • Pay later → a draft order / invoice is created, awaiting payment.

You can still:

• Reschedule or cancel appointments

• Manually mark payments as received (for Pay later)

• Communicate with the customer as usual

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✅ Quick comparison: Free service vs Paid service

Type	Payment step	Booking status	Best for
Free booking	No payment – booking only	Appointment created, no order	Free
Pay to book – Pay now	Checkout immediately after booking	Appointment + paid order	Online paid services, deposits, no-show control
Pay to book – Pay later	Invoice / draft order sent after booking	Appointment + draft order (unpaid)	Invoice workflows, offline payments
Customer chooses	Customer selects Pay now or Pay later	Depends on selected option	Flexible or mixed payment models

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❓ FAQ

Q: Can I switch a service from free to paid later?

Yes. Edit the service, change Choose payment type from Book without payment to Pay to book, set a price, and save.

Q: What happens if a customer abandons checkout (Pay now)?

The appointment is not confirmed until payment succeeds. You’ll see the status/order in Shopify if they complete payment.

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🙋 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.