Everything you need to manage your BookWithZara account. Can't find what you're looking for? Email us at hello@bookwithzara.ca
You have three URLs:
Booking page: bookwithzara.ca/yoursalon — share with clients for online booking
Admin panel: bookwithzara.ca/yoursalon/admin — manage your services, hours, and stylists
Dashboard: bookwithzara.ca/yoursalon/appointments — view and manage all bookings
Best places: Instagram bio, Google Business Profile, business cards, your website, and text messages to clients who call. The more places you share it, the more bookings you'll get.
Your admin PIN was provided when your account was set up. It's a 4-digit code that protects your dashboard. If you've forgotten it, email hello@bookwithzara.ca and we'll reset it.
Admin panel → Hours tab → set open/close times for each day → toggle "Closed" for days off → Save. Changes take effect immediately.
Admin panel → Services tab. To add: fill in service name, category, duration (minutes), and price, then click Add. To edit: click any existing service. To remove: toggle it to inactive.
Buffer time is the gap between appointments. Set it in Admin panel → Salon Info. If you set 15 minutes, there will always be at least 15 minutes between the end of one appointment and the start of the next.
Admin panel → Hours tab → click "+ Add Break" under any day. Set a start time, duration (15 min to 2 hours), and optional label (Coffee, Lunch, etc.). Up to 5 breaks per day. Clients won't see slots during break windows.
Admin panel → Stylists tab. To add: fill in name, bio, and optionally their Google Calendar ID. To deactivate: click Deactivate (keeps their history). To remove permanently: click Remove.
Each stylist has their own 4-digit PIN. When they log in, they see only their own bookings and blocked dates. The owner PIN shows everything.
Not required, but strongly recommended. Without it, bookings only live in your BookWithZara admin panel — you'll need to check the site to see your schedule. With it, every confirmed booking automatically appears on your Google Calendar, and it also prevents double-bookings by checking your calendar for conflicts.
Follow these steps:
bookwithzara-calendar@bookwithzara.iam.gserviceaccount.comYou're done. Every new booking will now appear on that calendar automatically.
Yes. Each stylist can have their own Google Calendar ID in Admin panel → Stylists tab. If a stylist has one set, their bookings go to their personal calendar. If not, bookings fall back to the salon's main calendar. Set up each stylist calendar the same way as the salon one (create → share with the service account → paste the ID).
Common causes:
@group.calendar.google.com at the endbookwithzara-calendar@bookwithzara.iam.gserviceaccount.comIf it still doesn't work after checking these, email hello@bookwithzara.ca and we'll help.
Yes. Calendar sync is optional — leave the field blank during signup and add it anytime from your Admin panel → Salon Info. Bookings still work without it; they just don't automatically appear on Google Calendar.
Admin panel → Overview tab → scroll to the Theme section. Click any theme to preview it, then confirm to apply. Changes go live immediately on your booking page.
Ten themes across two tiers:
Premium themes are a one-time $29 unlock that gives you access to any two premium themes of your choice. Once unlocked, you can switch between your owned themes anytime, free. Standard themes are always free to switch.
Not yet — this is on the roadmap. For now, choose the theme closest to your brand. If you need something more custom, email hello@bookwithzara.ca and we can talk about a one-off custom theme.
Yes. Click any theme in the picker and you'll see a live preview of your actual booking page in that theme. Click "Apply" to make it live, or close the preview to keep your current theme.
You set your own cancellation policy in Admin panel → Salon Info. It's displayed to clients on the booking confirmation screen before they book.
In your dashboard, click the "+" or "Walk-in" button. Fill in the client's name, service, and time. The system will check for conflicts before confirming.
Three automatic emails:
All emails are themed to match your salon's brand.
You get notified whenever a customer books, cancels, or joins the waitlist. Notifications go to the email in Admin panel → Salon Info. If you want a different email for notifications than the one on your account, you can set it there.
Not yet — SMS reminders are on the roadmap. For now, all reminders are via email. Email us if this is important to you and we can prioritize it.
When your booking page has no available times on the date a customer wants, they see a "Join Waitlist" option instead of just being turned away. They enter their name, email, phone, and the service they want. Their entry lands in your admin panel's Waitlist tab.
Admin panel → Waitlist tab → find the customer → click "Notify". They'll get an email letting them know an appointment is available, with a link to book. Once notified, they're marked as notified so you don't email them twice.
No — we let you decide when to reach out, because most salons want to sort by loyalty, service value, or timing before offering the slot. You send the notification, they book themselves via the standard booking flow.
Not currently. Customers pay at your salon the way they always have — you continue using whatever payment method you use today (cash, card terminal, e-transfer, Square, etc.). BookWithZara handles booking, not payment.
Not yet. Deposit and prepayment support is planned — email us if this is a dealbreaker for you and we'll bump its priority.
Right now billing is handled manually — after your free first month, we'll invoice you monthly by email. In the near future we'll add automatic card billing via Stripe. Your rate is locked in for the life of your account regardless of when we add automatic billing.
For each booking, we store: customer name, email, phone number, service booked, appointment date and time, and any notes they add. That's it. No payment info, no personal ID, no medical info.
All salon and booking data is stored in Google Firestore in a Canadian data centre. Servers are in Toronto (Oracle Cloud). No data leaves Canada.
Yes. Email hello@bookwithzara.ca and we'll send you a CSV export of all your bookings, customer contacts, and settings within 3 business days. No lock-in.
No. We don't sell data. We don't share data with advertisers. The only third parties involved are the services we use to make the product work: Google (Firestore, Calendar), Resend (email delivery), and Oracle (hosting). Read the full Privacy Policy for details.
Zara AI is currently in development and not yet available to new clients. If you're interested in being an early user when she launches, email hello@bookwithzara.ca and we'll add you to the list. The booking page product works independently — you don't need Zara to use BookWithZara.
In your dashboard, there's a toggle to pause Zara. When paused, she stops replying to messages. Turn her back on anytime with one click.
Yes. Every message is logged in your Zara Inbox tab. You can read full conversations, see booking outcomes, and review flagged conversations anytime.
Common causes: hours not set, date is blocked, all slots are taken (waitlist shows instead), or Google Calendar ID not connected. If none of these solve it, email us at hello@bookwithzara.ca.
After 5 wrong PIN attempts, you're locked out for 5 minutes. Just wait and try again. If you've forgotten your PIN entirely, email hello@bookwithzara.ca.