FAQ
Questions we're asked most often, and the places setup tends to get stuck.
For step-by-step instructions, see the User guide. For error messages, see Troubleshooting.
Pricing and plans
Is there a fee per booking?
No. You pay only the plan's monthly price: $0 on Free, $19.99 on Basic and $49.99 on Pro.
Can I try it for free?
On Free, you can take up to 10 bookings in total with one published menu, at no charge. Basic and Pro are free for the first 7 days of your first subscription.
If I cancel a booking, do I get one of my 10 Free bookings back?
Cancelling a booking on the Bookings page doesn't change the total. A booking whose order you cancel in Shopify is taken out of the count.
Can I take bookings at more than one location?
Yes, on Pro. Free and Basic allow one active location.
Taking bookings
Can I take free bookings, or bookings paid in store?
Yes.
- A product priced at 0 can be booked. When Get started creates a new product, leave the price at 0 for a free booking
- Marutto Booking doesn't use the product's price or shipping settings to decide whether a booking goes through. If an in-store visit doesn't need an address, set the product in Shopify as one that doesn't require shipping
- An unpaid order (for example, pay in store) still confirms the booking once the order is created
Can I take several customers at the same time?
Set the bookable resource's capacity to 2 or more. With a capacity of 10, up to ten parties can book the same time. This works for workshops, information sessions and similar events.
→ 2. Booking menus and resources
Can customers book without choosing a staff member?
In the theme editor, turn on the booking calendar block's setting that shows a "No preference" option. When two or more bookable resources are available, "No preference" appears at the top, and whoever is free is assigned when the booking is made.
Can customers tell me their requests when booking?
Turn on "Show the note field" in the booking calendar block, and customers can add a note when booking (up to 500 characters). The note appears in the "Memo" column on the Bookings page, labeled "Customer", and in the bookings CSV.
To ask specific questions, such as allergies or agreeing to your policies, create booking questions on the "Booking rules" tab in "Settings". For each question, you choose which menus it is asked for and whether an answer is required.
The customer's name, email and phone come from the order's contact details.
Can I limit how far ahead bookings can be made?
Set the "Booking window" in "Settings" → "Booking rules" (1–730 days). How close to the start time bookings are accepted is set with "Booking cutoff".
Can I manage bookings taken by phone or in store?
Yes, add them with "Add manual booking" on the "Bookings" page. They appear in the same list and calendar as bookings from your store. Manual bookings also count toward your plan's limit.
Cancellations and changes
Can customers cancel or reschedule on their own?
Yes, on My Page. Until the booking menu's cancellation deadline, they can cancel or change the date and time. Rescheduling is limited to open times with the same menu, the same staff and the same location.
→ 4. Add the calendar to your store
Is a cancelled booking refunded automatically?
No. The app never refunds automatically. If a refund is needed, issue it from the order page in Shopify.
What happens to the booking if I cancel the order in Shopify?
The order's booking is cancelled too. The same happens if you fully refund the booking's line item. In both cases, only bookings that haven't started yet are cancelled.
Notifications
Are confirmation emails and reminders sent?
Marutto Booking doesn't send emails to customers itself. When a booking is confirmed, Shopify sends its order confirmation email. To show the booking time in it, edit the notification template. Reminders and other messages are sent with Shopify Flow on Pro.
Are waitlisted customers notified automatically when a slot opens?
No. The waitlist on the Bookings page shows "Slot opened", so contact the customer yourself.
Calendars and integrations
Does it sync with Google Calendar?
On Pro, you can subscribe to confirmed bookings in Google Calendar and other calendar apps, with a subscription URL per bookable resource or per location. You can also add a single booking to Google Calendar or download it as an ICS file.
→ 8. Calendar sync and Sidekick
Can events in Google Calendar block out booking times?
No. Subscriptions go one way, from the app to the calendar, and events in your calendar app don't affect availability in the app. To stop bookings on a day, close that day in the bookable resource's shifts.
What can I do with Shopify Flow?
On Pro, Marutto Booking sends triggers to Flow when a booking is confirmed, cancelled, rescheduled or marked as a no-show, 24 hours before it starts and after the visit. Build workflows in Flow to automate customer tags, staff emails and more. The triggers include the Shopify customer, so you can also email customers with Shopify's marketing automations.
Triggers aren't sent for bookings that can't be matched to a Shopify customer, such as manual bookings added without choosing a customer.
→ 9. Automate with Shopify Flow
Can I ask Sidekick about my bookings?
Yes. Ask Sidekick in Shopify admin questions such as "What bookings do I have tomorrow?" or "Which bookings were cancelled this week?" and it answers using Marutto Booking's booking data. It's available on all plans. Sidekick only reads bookings; it doesn't add, change or cancel them.
→ 8. Calendar sync and Sidekick
Customers
Is customer management only on Pro?
No. The customer list, customer profiles, customer notes and the customer list CSV export are on every plan. Only finding lapsed customers and syncing Shopify customer tags are Pro.
→ 6. Customers and customer records
How is what I write in customer records stored?
What's entered in customer records is stored encrypted.
The same customer has been split into two
Candidates appear under "Possible duplicates" on the customer profile. If they're the same person, merge them from the customer page in Shopify admin. Their bookings, notes and records in this app are then combined automatically.
Your store
Which themes does it work with?
Online Store 2.0 themes such as Dawn and Horizon. If your theme doesn't support app blocks, "Store status" on the home page shows "Theme not supported".
Can I change how the booking calendar looks?
Yes, in the booking calendar block's settings in the theme editor. You can choose the color theme (Match theme, Light, Dark, Custom), accent color, spacing, corner radius, width and alignment, the date picker (monthly calendar or horizontal date strip) and more.
→ 4. Add the calendar to your store
Does it work in stores in other languages?
Yes. The booking calendar is available in Japanese, English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, Czech and Turkish, and follows the language your store is shown in.