Services
Services are the bookable offerings that customers can schedule appointments for. In Sesami, services are linked to Shopify products and configured with durations, resources, locations, and other settings.
What are Services?
A Service in Sesami represents a bookable offering such as:
A 60-minute massage
A 30-minute haircut
A 2-hour photography session
A 90-minute group class
Each service is connected to a Shopify product and configured with:
Duration (product variants like "30 Minutes", "1 Hour", "90 Minutes")
Resources (team members, rooms, equipment needed)
Locations (where the service is offered)
Availability (when the service can be booked)
Special features (group appointments, instant booking, etc.)
Creating a Service
Create the Shopify product
In Shopify Admin, go to Products > Add product
Enter a clear product title (e.g., "Haircut", "Massage", "Consultation")
Do NOT include duration in the title
Add variants for different durations:
Click Add variant
Create variants like "30 Minutes", "1 Hour", "90 Minutes"
Set the price for each duration
Add description, images, and other product details
Save the product
Best practice: Use variants for different durations of the same service rather than creating separate products.
Assign locations (if using multi-location)
If you have multiple locations:
Under Locations & Resources, click Add Location
Select the location(s) where this service is offered
Assign resources for each location
Save your changes
See: Locations
Assign resources
Resources are what your service needs to be bookable:
Under Resources, select required resource types:
Team member - Staff who deliver the service
Room - Physical space needed
Equipment - Tools or machines required
Optionally, assign specific resources (or leave it open to any available resource of that type)
Save your changes
Important: Every service must have at least one resource type assigned, or no availability will appear!
See: Resources
Key Service Features
Once your service is created, you can enable additional features:
Instant Booking
Skip the Shopify checkout for faster bookings:
Just Book - No Shopify order created (perfect for free consultations)
Book + Create Order - Create Shopify order with manual payment capture
Booking happens in just 3 steps: pick a time, enter details, confirm.
See: Instant Booking
Group Appointments
Allow multiple customers to book the same time slot:
Perfect for classes, workshops, tours, seminars
Set maximum number of participants per slot
Available on Pro and Premium plans
See: Group Appointments
Cancellations & Rescheduling
Let customers manage their own bookings:
Allow customers to cancel appointments
Allow customers to reschedule appointments
Set how many hours before appointment changes are allowed
Option to automatically refund on cancellations
Available on Pro and Premium plans
See: Cancellations, Rescheduling and Refunds
Same Day Bookings
Control whether customers can book on the same day:
Disable same day bookings entirely
Round-up starting interval - Set minimum advance notice (15 or 30 minutes)
See: Same Day Bookings and Round Up Starting Interval
Buffer Times
Add time between appointments for preparation:
Before each appointment - Prep time
After each appointment - Cleanup time
Before first appointment of the day - Opening setup
Buffer times appear only in the admin calendar, not for customers.
See: Buffer Times Between Bookings
Flexible Slots
Control when customers can book:
Set slot intervals (15, 30, 45, or 60 minutes)
Service-specific configuration
Match booking times to your actual operations
See: Flexible Slots
Storefront Calendar Start Date
Set a specific start date for the booking calendar:
Calendar opens to your chosen date instead of today
Perfect for seasonal services, future events, or pre-sales
See: Storefront Calendar Start Date
Online Meeting Links
Add virtual meeting links for online appointments:
Add Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, or Teams links
Include in confirmation emails automatically
Can be set per team member or per service
See: Adding Online Meeting and Conferencing Links
Managing Services
View all services
In Sesami > Services, you can:
See all services linked to Shopify products
View service status (enabled/disabled)
Access configuration for each service
See which locations each service is offered at
Edit a service
Go to Sesami > Services
Find the service and click Manage
Make your changes
Save
Changes take effect immediately.
Remove a service
To remove a service from Sesami:
Go to Sesami > Services
Find the service and click Manage
Scroll to Remove Service
Type Remove to confirm
Click Remove again
Important: This removes the service from Sesami's booking system but does NOT delete the product from your Shopify store.
Service Configuration Checklist
Before launching a service, verify:
Best Practices
Use clear names - "60-Minute Massage" is better than "Massage Package A"
Use variants for durations - Don't create separate products for each duration
Assign resources carefully - Ensure required resources are actually needed
Set realistic buffer times - Don't make buffers so long that availability disappears
Test customer experience - Book a test appointment to see what customers see
Configure locations first - If using multi-location, set up locations before services
Troubleshooting
Service not appearing in Sesami
Check:
Product is created in Shopify with proper variants
Product variants use correct format: "30 Minutes", "1 Hour", "90 Minutes"
You've refreshed the Sesami services page
No time slots appearing for service
The most common issue! Check:
Resources are assigned to the service
Availability is set for assigned resources
Timezone is correct in Sesami Settings
Booking window allows future bookings
No block-offs covering all available dates
Customer can't complete booking
Check:
Service is enabled
Resources have availability for the selected time
Selected location (if multi-location) has resources assigned
No conflicting bookings at that time
Related
Quickstart Guide - Complete setup walkthrough
Resources - Assign team members, rooms, equipment
Locations - Multi-location setup
Instant Booking - Skip checkout
Group Appointments - Multi-participant bookings
Set Up Resource Availability - Configure working hours
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