Please Note: This guide is only applicable to users accessing our new Express v2 system. If you have not had your system updated to this version of Express you can contact support@rushcliff.com to see if you are eligible for an upgrade.
To set up your Express system to enable online booking you will need to add Online Settings for your Practitioners, their Availability and your Appointment Types.
You will need to make at least one Practitioner, their Availability, and at least one Appointment Type available for Online Appointment Booking.
Please Note: You will need to be logged in to Express as the System Administrator to access and modify these settings.
Section 1 - User Settings
Navigate to the settings menu in the top right-hand corner and then select Users.
Select an existing user to modify or add a new user and enable the online booking settings by ticking the box labelled Display on Online Booking:
For more details on adding or modifying a user in Express please read this guide.
Section 2 - Diary Availability
In the System Settings menu again, select Diary Availability and here you will see all the practitioners that you have set up with their availability.
Find the practitioner's name and tick the boxes under the calendar icon to make all of the selected practitioner's availability visible for Online Booking or you can select to only make certain sessions available to book.
For example, if you have a practitioner that might work Tuesdays from 10am to 6pm but you only want to make certain times available for online bookings you could split that availability into 2 sessions as follows:
If you only tick one of those sessions for Online Booking availability then only that session will be available to book online.
The Online Booking Availability tick box will need to be ticked for any practitioners and any sessions that you want to make available to book online.
Section 3 - Appointment Types
In the System Settings menu again, select Appointment Types and here you can tick the calendar icon again to make certain appointment types available to book online.
Tip: For more information on adding or modifying Diary Availability or Appointment types in Express, you can read this guide.
Section 4 - Using the Admin Module
PPS Online Booking v5 includes a web-based admin module that allows you to manage certain aspects of your Online Booking service without the need to log in to PPS. This includes access to your Holding page and some customisable features of how you want to display your Online Booking page. Please read this guide for full details on accessing and using the Admin Module.
There is a setting in the Admin Module that we would recommend that you change when you first log in which will turn 'Location filtering' off for Express-only systems that do not have Locations set up.
Log into your admin module by following the steps in the guide linked above and then navigate to Client Online Booking Process > Appointment Filter.
You will then need to tick Location Off and Practitioner Off as follows:
Section 5 - Integrating Online Booking into your Website
With the Admin Module, you will get a link to launch your online Booking page through a Holding Page but if you have your own website and want to integrate the Online Booking code directly into your website you can read this guide where you will find the instructions.
Important: You might require a web developer or someone with the skills to make these changes on your website for you. The PPS Support Team wont be able to assist with queries regarding integrating or web development.
Section 6 - Viewing Appointments Booked Online Bookings in Express
When a client books an appointment through Online Booking, the appointment slot is reserved in your diary and any details the client entered during the booking process are recorded. At this point, no client record is added to your PPS system or linked to the appointment.
The Appointment will look as follows:
When you first click on the appointment you will be prompted to match the client details associated to the booking with an existing client in your PPS database or to create a new client record if there are no appropriate matches.
At first, the Match Client screen will show with any other clients in your system that might have the same First Name, Surname, date of Birth, Email or Contact Number:
If no details match that client then you can select to Add Client which will let you create a new client record with the details entered during booking:
If the Match Client screen finds a client in your system that matches the Online Booking then you can select that client by double-clicking on the right name: