How to add services with durations, prices, and buffers

Your service menu is the engine behind your whole calendar: get the durations and buffers right and every online slot is real, every gap is yours, and nobody gets double-booked. Get them wrong and you are running 20 minutes behind by 10am. This guide shows you how to add services in Opraly so the schedule does the math for you.

Before you start

Jot down each service with three numbers: how long it really takes (door to door, not best case), what you charge, and how much clean-up or turnaround time you need after it. That is everything you need to build a clean menu.

This menu is what powers your online booking page, so a little care here pays off everywhere.

Step 1: Add a service

Go to Services and add a new one. Give it a clear, customer-facing name — “Gel manicure,” not “GM-2.” Add a short description if the name needs context. The name is what a customer reads on your booking page, so write it for them, not for your back office.

Step 2: Set an honest duration

Duration is the single most important field. Opraly only offers slots that actually fit the service, so:

• Use your real average time, including consultation and finishing.
• If a service varies a lot, set the duration to the longer end — better a small gap than a guest left waiting.
• For services that span hours (colour, a chauffeur transfer, a treatment course), set the true length so the rest of the day stays bookable.

Step 3: Set the price and capture timing

Enter the price customers see. Then choose the capture timing that fits the service:

• Prepaid — already paid via a package or gift card.
• Pay-before — collect the full amount at booking.
• Deposit — take a portion now, the rest at the visit.
• Pay-after — charge the card on file once the service is done.

Match the timing to risk: a quick walk-in can be pay-after, while a four-hour transformation deserves a deposit. More on that in How to take deposits and reduce no-shows.

Step 4: Add a buffer

A buffer is protected time before or after a service that customers cannot book over. Use it for:

• Cleaning a station or sanitising a room.
• Resetting a table or returning a car to the rank.
• Notes, charting, or a quick breather.

Even a 10-minute buffer stops the day from compounding into chaos. Set it per service, because a beard trim and a full colour need very different turnarounds.

Step 5: Assign the service to staff

Tick which staff members perform each service. Now the booking page only offers a provider the things they actually do, and “any available” matching stays accurate. Pair this with each person’s working hours and availability so real slots, real people and real durations all line up.

Step 6: Organise the menu

Group related services into categories so a long menu stays scannable — Hair, Colour, Treatments, or Transfers, Hourly, Airport. A tidy menu converts better because customers find what they want in seconds.

Tip: Create separate entries for genuinely different versions of a service (Short, Medium, Long hair) rather than one entry with a note. Accurate durations beat a footnote every time.

Common pitfalls to avoid

• Under-booking the duration. “It usually only takes 25 minutes” is how you end up 40 minutes behind. Book the realistic time.
• Skipping buffers. Back-to-back with zero turnaround looks efficient on paper and feels frantic in real life.
• Duplicating prices into the name. Put the price in the price field so reports and payments stay accurate.
• One mega-service. Split variations so each books the right length.

Quick reference

Per-industry notes

• Beauty and spa — variations by hair length or add-ons; buffers for clean-up. See /industries/beauty.
• Clinics and med-spas — link consent or intake forms to the relevant treatments at /industries/health.
• Classes — model sessions and packs rather than one-off slots; see /industries/classes.

Connect services to the rest of Opraly

A service is not an island — once it exists, you can attach the things that make a visit run smoothly:

• Forms — link an intake or consent form so it is collected before the relevant treatment.
• Memberships and packages — bundle services into packs or recurring plans, with prepaid capture timing handled automatically.
• Gift cards — let customers buy and redeem against your services.
• Reporting — every service feeds sales, utilization and retention reports, so you can see which ones actually pay.

Set the service up well once, and all of this just works on top of it.

A simple build order

If you are starting from a blank menu, this sequence avoids rework:

1. Add your categories first (Hair, Colour, Treatments…).
2. Add services into each, with honest durations.
3. Set prices and capture timing.
4. Add buffers for turnaround.
5. Assign staff to each service.
6. Book a test appointment to confirm the slot length and price look right.

Twenty minutes of careful setup here saves hours of “why is the calendar wrong?” later.

A clean menu is the difference between a calendar that protects your day and one that fights you. Build it once, keep durations honest, and online booking takes care of the rest.

Start free and build your service menu in minutes.