Set up Mangomint so new clients book a consultation first

What the setup looks like

A new client who opens your booking page should see one thing to book: the consultation. Everything else comes after that visit, and the front desk should not have to catch wrong bookings by phone.

Mangomint gets you there with one setting. A service category can be set so it shows in online booking only through a direct link. Mangomint's help pages say this is useful when you need to limit online booking access.

So the plan looks like this:

• The consultation is its own service, visible on the public booking page.
• Every treatment category sits behind a direct link.
• After the consultation, the front desk sends the treatment link, which you find under Apps > Services > Online Booking.

The intake form rides on the consultation, and the confirmation message tells the new client what happens next. The steps below follow that order, and each one names the setting the way Mangomint names it.

Step 1: Make the consultation its own service

If consultations live as a note on a treatment, or as a free add-on, give them a service of their own. Call it something a new client understands at a glance, like "New client consultation". Put it in a category with nothing else in it, because the setting in Step 2 works on a whole category.

Then turn it on for online booking:

The Available in online booking toggle is in the consultation's settings in the Services app. Turn it on, and add a service description there, which clients see in online booking.

Use the description to say who the consultation is for. One or two plain sentences is enough: this is the first visit for new clients, and treatments are booked after it. Keep the rest to practical things, like how long to plan for and where to park.

Step 2: Put the treatments behind a direct link

Now take every treatment category off the public page. For each one:

1. Select the category and go to the Advanced tab.
2. Select Edit.
3. Turn on the toggle called Only show in online booking with direct link.

Do this for every treatment category, the small ones and the seasonal ones too. A category you skip stays on the public booking page, where a new client can book it. When you finish, open your booking page in a private browser window, the way a stranger would, and check that the consultation is the only thing left.

Be clear with your staff about what this setting does. It hides a category from the main booking page, and it does not check who is booking. Anyone who has the direct link can book what is behind it. That works for a med spa, as long as the link goes out after the consultation and not before.

Step 3: Book the treatment after the consultation

Once the consultation is done, the client needs a way to the treatment. Mangomint gives the front desk two.

Send the direct link

Each single service has its own direct booking link under Apps > Services > Online Booking. Copy the link for the treatment and send it to the client before they leave, so they can pick a time from the car or at home. You can also add these links to flows.

Returning clients who already had their consultation use the same links. Keep a short list of them at the front desk so nobody has to hunt.

Start an Express Booking

If the client wants to book before walking out, use Express Booking. Staff start the appointment, and the client gets a text with a link to finish the booking. Until they finish, the appointment is marked Pending completion. Look for that label at the end of each day, and nudge anyone who has not finished.

Step 4: Attach the intake form to the consultation

The intake form belongs on the consultation, not on every visit. In Mangomint, a form template lets you choose which services or service categories require the form, and how often it goes out. Pick the consultation service, and set how often to match how often you want fresh answers.

Once the template is turned on, the form goes out in the automated messages. Clients can also fill it in from the confirmation screen right after they book online or finish an Express Booking. That screen is a good moment to ask, because the client already has the phone in hand.

Then check it the way a client would. Book the consultation with your own phone number and see whether the form shows up in the text.

Step 5: Write the confirmation words

The confirmation is where you tell a new client what happens next. Open the Settings app, select Automated Messages, then select Customize to add your own text.

Keep it short and plain. Here is sample text you can paste and change:

Your consultation is booked. Please fill out the intake form before you arrive. After your visit, the front desk will send you a link to book your treatment.

The text says nothing about results, and it does not promise a treatment. It says what to do before the visit and what happens after it.

If your confirmation also goes to treatment bookings, that sample will read wrong there. A flow can carry a message just for consultations. Use the Appointment booked trigger, which starts when an appointment is booked on the calendar or online, and filter it to the consultation service. Put the consultation words in the flow, and keep the main confirmation general.

Before you call it done, select Send a test and enter your own email address or phone number. Read the message on your phone the way a new client would, and fix anything that sounds stiff.

What to do

• Open the Services app and make sure the consultation is its own service with Available in online booking turned on.
• Go through every treatment category, and on the Advanced tab turn on Only show in online booking with direct link.
• Open your booking page in a private window and check that only the consultation shows.
• Set the intake form template to the consultation service.
• Turn on Include form requests for each automated text message.
• Add the confirmation words, then use Send a test to reach your own phone.
• Ask Mangomint how intake answers are stored and which staff can see them.

If you would rather have someone build the booking side of a med spa website, Your Wish Is Our Code works with small businesses in Los Angeles, and a written plan comes before a price.