📖 Glossary
Online booking glossary
The words you'll meet when you start taking bookings online, explained simply.
Online booking systemBooking linkTime slotDouble bookingNo-showMinimum noticeBooking windowCalendar inviteBooking marketplaceBooking commissionPer-seat pricingEmbed codeWebhookMagic link
- Online booking system
- Software that lets customers book an appointment themselves on a web page, showing only times that are actually free and confirming the booking automatically.
- Booking link
- A web address (for example freecita.com/b/your-business) that opens a business's booking page. It can be shared on WhatsApp, Instagram, Google Maps or a website.
- Time slot
- A specific start time a customer can book, generated from the business's opening hours, the service duration and the slot interval.
- Double booking
- When two customers book the same time. Good booking systems prevent it by checking availability at the moment of booking.
- No-show
- A customer who books but doesn't turn up or cancel. Calendar invites and easy cancellation help reduce no-shows.
- Minimum notice
- The shortest time before an appointment when it can still be booked, for example 2 hours or 1 day.
- Booking window
- How far into the future customers are allowed to book, for example 1 month or 3 months ahead.
- Calendar invite
- An email attachment (iCalendar/.ics) that adds the appointment to Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar, and removes it if the booking is cancelled.
- Booking marketplace
- An app that lists many businesses so consumers can discover and book them, usually charging businesses subscriptions and/or commissions.
- Booking commission
- A percentage of the appointment price that some booking apps charge, often on a new client's first booking.
- Per-seat pricing
- A pricing model where the business pays an extra monthly fee for each staff member who uses the software.
- Embed code
- A small piece of HTML you paste into your website to show your booking page inside it, so customers book without leaving your site.
- Webhook
- An automatic HTTP message sent to another system when something happens, for example a new booking, so it can be copied into a CRM or spreadsheet.
- Magic link
- A one-time sign-in link sent by email instead of a password. Freecita's expire after 20 minutes and work only once.