When clients can book your services online at any time, from any device, you spend less time on scheduling and more time delivering great work. Setting up your service menu in Thryv Business Center lets you define exactly what you offer, how long each service takes, where it happens, what it costs, and who on your team provides it. Once your services are configured, all the critical details pre-fill automatically every time you or a staff member books an appointment. This article covers how to create and manage your services, configure each service setting, and enable online booking for your clients.

This article covers the following:

• How to set up and update your services
• How to configure Service Info
• How to set the service Location
• How to set Duration and Availability
• How to configure service pricing
• How to assign staff to a service
• How to configure Booking Options
• How to customize Client Notifications
• How to customize the Scheduling Request Form
• How to enable online scheduling

How to Set Up and Update Your Services

To access your service menu, click Settings in the left-hand navigation, then click My Services. Your account includes a few default services that you can customize to match your business. Services you create are publicly displayed on your client portal, website, and social media by default. To prevent a service from appearing publicly, use the Hide option in the service menu.

Your service menu can include two types of bookable items. A 1 on 1 appointment is a service between you or a staff member and one client. Clients choose from your available time slots when booking. A Group event is a service set for a specific date and time with multiple participants. Clients register until all available spots are taken. Group events can be set as a single occurrence or repeat on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Drag and drop services in the list to reorder how they appear on your service menu.

To manage an existing service, hover over the service name and click the three-dot menu icon that appears to the right. The following options are available:

• Edit - Open the service to make changes.
• Create package - Create a package for this service. Available for paid services only. See how to create a service package for full instructions.
• Hide - Remove the service from your public service menu without deleting it. Use this option for services you want to offer privately or disable temporarily.
• Clone - Create a copy of the service with the same settings. Useful when you have similar services that only need minor adjustments.
• Grab link - Copy a direct link to the service to use in emails, social media, or other communications.
• Delete - Permanently remove the service from your menu.

How to Configure Service Info

The Service Info section is where you name your service, upload or customize the service image, write a description for clients to read when booking online, and choose whether the service is displayed or hidden on your service menu.

How to Use AI to Write Your Service Description

To write a service description using the AI Assistant, click the magic wand icon in the description field to open the AI Assistant. Click one of the available prompts to generate or rewrite the description. The description will be automatically rewritten based on the prompt you select. If the result is not what you need, try a different prompt. It is normal for the AI to require multiple iterations before producing the ideal text.

How to Set the Service Location

The Location section defines where or how the service will take place. Select the option that matches how the service is delivered:

• Face To Face - The appointment happens in person. Choose from the following sub-options:
  • My Business Address - Displays your business address as it appears under Settings then Business Info.
  • Other address - Enter a custom address that will appear whenever this service is booked.
  • Client Will Set The Address at Booking - Defaults to the client's address on file in your CRM. If the client does not have an address on file, the contact's address will be used.
• Over The Phone - Schedules a phone call. Choose from the following sub-options:
  • Client will call you - Sends the client your business phone number as it appears under Settings then Business Info.
  • You will call client - Sends you a reminder with the client's phone number.
• Online - The meeting takes place through a video conference. Choose from the following sub-options:
  • Skype - Enter your Skype address to send to the client.
  • Other - Enter a link for another video conferencing platform such as Zoom.

How to Set Duration and Availability

The Duration and Availability section controls how long each service takes and when clients can book it. Set the Duration field to define the length of the service.

Preparation time lets you block time before each appointment. Use preparation time to allow for travel between appointments, a break between client meetings, or any other buffer you need. Preparation time prevents back-to-back bookings automatically.

Online booking calendar intervals determines the minimum gap between the starting times of available time slots for the service. By default, the interval is set to match the service duration. Adjust the interval when you want time slots to begin at a specific frequency, such as every 4 hours, or when you need extra time between appointments beyond the service duration. The formula is: Online booking calendar interval equals appointment duration plus any additional buffer time needed between appointments. For example, a 60-minute appointment with 15 minutes needed between appointments would use a 75-minute online booking calendar interval.

By default, clients can book all services during your regular business hours. Regular business hours are configured under Settings then Availability and calendar. To set availability that applies only to this specific service, select Service has different availability. A day-by-day schedule will appear where you can define the hours clients can book the service for each day of the week.

How to Configure Service Pricing

The Price section lets you define whether the service has a fee, how the fee is displayed to clients, and how payment is collected. The following pricing options are available:

Free services:

• Free - Display a Fee - The service will be listed as "Free" on your service menu. Use this option when you want clients to see that the service costs nothing.
• Free - Don't show a fee - No fee information will be shown when clients view or book the service.

Paid services: To collect payment online, you must first configure your payment gateway under Settings then Payments. For full instructions, see how to get started with collecting payments online.

• Paid - Suggest to pay at time of booking - The fee is displayed and clients are asked to pay during booking. If the client does not pay online, the booking is still confirmed but marked as not paid. The charge appears as Not Yet Due in your Bookings and Invoices view. On the day of the appointment the charge changes to Due and is added to the client's account balance. The following day it becomes Overdue. To require manual review before confirming unpaid bookings, click Settings then Online Scheduling Options then Accept Appointments then Manually.
• Paid - Require to pay at time of booking - Clients must pay to complete the booking. The booking process will not finish until payment is made. The payment is automatically marked as confirmed once processed. If this service is booked manually without collecting payment, the charge is added to the client's account balance as Due, and becomes Overdue the following day. For a full guide to client account balances, see how client account balances work in Thryv Business Center.
• Paid - Display fee only (no upfront payment) - The fee is shown to clients but no payment is collected during booking. After the booking is confirmed, you can issue an invoice or record a payment manually. The charge appears as Not Yet Due in your Bookings and Invoices view, changes to Due on the day of the appointment, and becomes Overdue the following day.
• Price Varies - Display as "For a fee" - Use this option when the price for the service varies and you do not want to list a fixed amount. The service is displayed as "For a fee" when clients book it. You can discuss the price with the client and issue an invoice or record payment afterward.

How to Assign Staff to a Service

The Staff section lets you select which staff members provide each service. Assigning staff to a service is useful when staff members specialize in specific services or when you want clients to choose their preferred staff member during booking.

If you assign multiple staff members to a service, check the Display Combined Availability option to control how staff selection is presented to clients. The following options become available:

• Display staff selection first, then add the No Preference option - Clients can choose a specific staff member or select No Preference. If a specific staff member is selected, the client sees that staff member's availability. If the client selects No Preference, the client sees the combined availability of all assigned staff members and the system automatically assigns the booking to an available staff member.
• Don't display staff selection - No staff selection is shown to clients. The client sees the combined availability of all assigned staff members and selects a time. The system automatically assigns the booking to an available staff member. Use this option when all assigned staff members can equally provide the service and time selection is more important than staff selection.

How to Configure Booking Options

The Booking Options section controls how and when clients can book the service online. The following settings are available:

• Accept appointments - Set to Manually if you want to review and confirm each booking request before it is confirmed. Set to Automatically if you want bookings to be confirmed as soon as a client selects an available time. Note that if the service requires upfront payment, those booking requests must still be accepted manually.
• Advance notification - Set the minimum amount of time required between the current moment and the earliest time a client can book the service. For example, if advance notification is set to 3 hours and the current time is 1:00 pm, the earliest available booking time will be 4:00 pm.
• Limit future bookings - Set a limit on how far in advance a client can book the service. For example, if the limit is set to 1 week, clients can only book within the next 7 days. Selecting Not Set means there is no limit on how far in advance clients can book.

How to Customize Client Notifications for a Service

The Client Notifications section lets you send appointment notifications for a specific service that are different from your default notification settings. Use this setting when a particular service requires a unique message to clients.

Click Customize to open the notification editor for the service and write the message that will be sent to clients who book the specific service.

How to Customize the Scheduling Request Form

The Scheduling Request Form section lets you customize the form clients complete when booking the service. Each service can have its own unique form. The form includes two types of fields:

Fields available in all scheduling request forms displays the fields you have defined under Settings then Client Card. These fields appear on every new booking request. Returning clients are recognized automatically by their email address and will not be asked to fill in the client card fields again.

Additional fields for this service lets you add fields that are specific to the service. Clients are asked to complete these fields every time they book the service, including returning clients. Use service-specific fields to collect information about the client's preferences or any details that help you deliver a better service.

To add a new field to the scheduling request form, click Add/Edit, then click Add Field, then select the field type from the dropdown. The available field types are:

• Single Line Field - A single-line text input for short answers.
• Multi-Line Field - A larger text input for longer answers spanning multiple lines.
• Drop Down Field - A dropdown menu from which the client selects one option.
• Checkbox - A checkbox field that can be set to checked or unchecked by default.
• Datepicker - A date field that lets clients pick a date from a calendar.

After selecting the field type, configure the field using the following options:

• Label - The title of the field as it will appear to clients on the booking form.
• Required - Check this box if the field must be completed by the client before the scheduling request can be submitted.

How to Enable Online Scheduling for Your Services

To allow clients and prospects to book services directly from your website, client portal, emails, or social media pages, you must enable the online scheduling option in your settings. To enable online scheduling, click Settings in the left-hand navigation, then click Online Booking Options. Check the box next to I offer online scheduling.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I offer a service only to specific clients without making it public?
Yes. Use the Hide option in the three-dot menu next to the service to remove it from your public service menu. Hidden services can still be booked manually from your calendar or sent directly to clients using the Grab link option.

Does this article cover setting up group events?
This article covers adding a group event to your service menu. For a full guide to configuring and managing group events, see Set Up a Group Event in Thryv Business Center.

Does this article cover setting up service packages?
No. This article covers individual service settings only. For instructions on creating a service package, see how to create a service package in Thryv Business Center.

Does this article cover configuring payment settings?
No. This article covers the pricing options available within each service setting. For instructions on setting up your payment gateway to accept online payments, see how to get started with collecting payments online.