How To Set Up A New Scheduler Service

How to Create a Scheduler Service in PhotoBiz

Overview

PhotoBiz Scheduler allows clients to book appointments directly through your website. You can create free or paid services for consultations, portrait sessions, mini-sessions, meetings, and other appointments.

This guide explains how to choose a Service Type, enter the main service details, and create a new Scheduler Service. After creating the service, you will continue with the availability settings for either a Recurring service or a Custom Dates service.

By the end of this guide, your service will be saved and ready for you to add its booking schedule.

Prerequisites

You do not need a merchant account to create a free service or accept appointments without collecting payment.

To collect payment during booking, you must have an active merchant account connected through the ECommerce Dashboard.

Choose a Service Type

Before creating the service, decide how often clients should be able to book it.

Recurring: Select this option for services offered on an ongoing weekly schedule, such as consultations, studio sessions, or regularly available appointments.
Custom Dates: Select this option for services offered only on specific dates and times, such as mini-sessions, holiday events, school portraits, workshops, or pop-up sessions.

Choose carefully. You cannot change a Recurring service to Custom Dates, or a Custom Dates service to Recurring, after the service has been created.

If you need a different Service Type later, you must create a new service.

STEP ONE

This opens the Scheduler Dashboard, where you can manage your services, appointments, availability, and booking settings.

STEP TWO

Click SERVICES at the top of the Scheduler Dashboard.

The Services section displays the Scheduler services currently saved in your account.

STEP THREE

Click NEW to begin creating a Scheduler Service.

Choose Recurring or Custom Dates as the Service Type. You can also assign the service to a Category to help organize similar services in your account.

Remember that the Service Type cannot be changed after you create the service.

New Service Button

Service Type

Choose between a Recurring or Custom Date service.

STEP FOUR

Enter a clear Service Name that tells clients what they are booking. Use the Description field to explain what the service includes and what clients can expect.

Enter a Service Duration between 15 and 1440 minutes. The Service Duration determines how long the appointment lasts and the amount of time between the available start times shown for the service.

Enter a Price if you charge for the service. Turn on Charge Tax if sales tax should be added to the service price.

Use the Active setting to choose how clients can book the service. Select Yes, For Booking Only to accept appointments without collecting payment. Select Yes, For Booking and Payment to collect payment during booking. Select No (Inactive) when the service should not be available for clients to book.

FINAL STEP

Click CREATE SERVICE to save the service and open its additional settings.

Your next step is to configure when clients can book the service. The Availability options will depend on the Service Type you selected.

For a Recurring service, continue with How to Set Up a Recurring Scheduler Service. You will choose whether the service uses your global hours of operation or its own Limited Schedule.

For a Custom Dates service, continue with How to Set Up Mini-Sessions in PhotoBiz Scheduler. Mini-sessions and other Custom Date Services use the same setup process.

The service will not display available booking times until its Availability settings have been configured.

STEP FIVE

Use the Details tab to review and update the main service settings.

You can edit the service name, description, Appointment Duration, price, tax setting, category, and Active setting.

Click SAVE CHANGES after making updates.

Understanding the Active Setting

The Active setting controls whether clients can book the service and whether payment is collected during the booking process.

Yes, For Booking Only: Clients can schedule an appointment without submitting payment.
Yes, For Booking and Payment: Clients schedule the appointment and submit payment during booking.
No (Inactive): The service is not available for clients to book.

To use Yes, For Booking and Payment, you must have an active merchant account connected through the ECommerce Dashboard.

How Service Duration Controls Available Start Times

The Service Duration determines how long the appointment lasts and the amount of time between available start times for that service.

The service’s Availability settings determine the days and hours when clients can book. PhotoBiz uses the Service Duration to calculate the available start times within those hours.

For example, if a service is available from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM:

Service Duration	Booking Times Shown
15 minutes	9:00, 9:15, 9:30, 9:45, etc.
30 minutes	9:00, 9:30, 10:00, 10:30, etc.
45 minutes	9:00, 9:45, 10:30, 11:15, etc.
60 minutes	9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, etc.

You can create multiple Scheduler Services with different Service Durations and Availability settings.

When clients select a service on your live website, they only see the available dates and start times calculated for that service.

Services Shorter Than 15 Minutes

The minimum Service Duration for a Scheduler Service is 15 minutes.

To offer 5-minute or 10-minute appointments, use a booking form through the Form & Contract Builder. Predesigned booking form templates are available for these shorter appointment types.

See How to Create a Booking Form for complete instructions.

Additional Service Settings

After creating the service, you can use its additional tabs to customize the booking experience:

Details: Update the service name, description, duration, price, tax setting, category, or Active setting.
Image: Upload a photograph to represent the service on your booking page.
Options: Add products, upgrades, extended time, or other optional selections.
Availability: Control the days and hours when the service can be booked.
Instructions: Add preparation details, policies, location information, or other notes for clients.
Thank You: Customize the message displayed after booking and add other email notification recipients.
Email Automation: Create automatic reminders or follow-up emails.
SEO & Search: Add a meta title, meta description, and keywords for the service.
Tags: Add tags to organize the service and support your website’s on-site search.

For complete instructions about optional service selections, see How to Add Options and Sub-Options to Scheduler Services.

What Your Clients Will See

Clients will see available dates and times based on the service duration and availability you've configured.

Here’s an example of what a client may see:

Availability: Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM EST
Appointment Duration: 15 minutes
Blackout Dates: Vacation from July 7–11 (marked unavailable)

This setup results in a calendar view that shows appointment times every 15 minutes, excluding the blocked-out dates.

Troubleshooting & FAQs

Why are no available times appearing?

Creating the service does not automatically create booking times. Open the service’s Availability tab and configure the schedule for the Service Type you selected.

For a Recurring service, confirm that your global hours of operation are configured or that you have added a Limited Schedule.

For a Custom Dates service, confirm that you have added each date with a Start Time and End Time.

Why are the available start times too far apart?

Open the Details tab and review the Service Duration. A longer Service Duration creates more time between each available start time.

For example, a 60-minute duration displays a new start time every 60 minutes. A 30-minute duration displays a new start time every 30 minutes.

Why is the service not collecting payment?

Confirm that the Active setting is set to Yes, For Booking and Payment. You must also have an active merchant account connected through the ECommerce Dashboard.

Can I change the Service Type?

No. You cannot change a Recurring service to Custom Dates or a Custom Dates service to Recurring after the service has been created. You must create a new service with the correct Service Type.

Get Personalized Scheduler Help

PhotoBiz 1-on-1 Coaching Services can help you plan your services, appointment availability, and online booking workflow.

Learn more about PhotoBiz 1-on-1 Coaching Services.

Need Help?

Support Hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm EST

Phone: 866.463.7620

Support Channels: Phone, Live Chat, Support Ticket

NEXT: ADD SCHEDULER TO MY WEBSITE

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