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How to Book Sessions in Practice Better: A Complete Guide

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Practice Better gives you several ways to schedule and manage client sessions, whether you want clients booking themselves or prefer to handle scheduling yourself. This guide walks through the essential setup steps and points you to detailed guides for each part of the process.

In this article:

For Practitioners: Setting Up Your Booking System

Step 1: Creating Your Services

Before you can book sessions, you'll need to set up the services you offer. 

Our setup wizard can help you create your first few services, or follow the steps below:

  1. Go to My Practice > My Services from the navigation bar.
  2. Click the Fast Action Button in the bottom-right corner and select Add service.
  3. Fill in details, including service name, description, duration, and pricing.
  4. Set service methods (In Person, Online/Video Chat, By Phone, or a combination).
  5. Configure booking options like buffer time and availability increments.

Learn more about Working with Services in Practice Better →

Step 2: Setting Your Availability

You can enable clients to schedule themselves through your bookings page. Define when clients can book your services:

  1. Go to My Schedule > My Availability.
  2. Click the Fast Action Button to add availability slots.
  3. Specify days, times, and which services are available during these slots.
  4. Set recurring availability for regular scheduling patterns.

Learn more about Managing Your Availability →

Step 3: Sharing Your Booking Link

Make it easy for clients to book sessions with you:

  1. Click the Settings icon in the top-right corner.
  2. Select Share My Link (or My Links & Widgets) to access your Website Links & Widgets page.
  3. Copy your Public Bookings Page link, or create custom booking links for specific services.
  4. Add these links to your website, email signature, or social media profiles.

If you offer services meant for a specific audience, such as a referral partner or a particular client group, you can create a custom bookings page that shows only select services rather than your full public page. Learn more about Customizing Your Bookings Page → 

You can share a direct booking link for one specific offering – a great way to direct prospects and clients to exactly what you want them to do. Learn more about Linking Your Practice Better Booking Options to Your Website →  

If you'd rather schedule sessions yourself, see Booking Client Sessions from the Practitioner Portal →

Step 4: Managing Booking Requests

When a client requests a session through your Bookings Page, that request enters your practice as a Booking Request, an unconfirmed session awaiting your review. The client sees this as a "pending booking" in their portal until you take action.

  1. View pending requests in your Booking Requests dashboard widget.
  2. Confirm the session to add it to your calendar, or suggest an alternative time.
  3. Clients receive automatic notifications based on your action.

Learn more about Managing Client Booking Requests →

To skip manual review, use Practice Better Automations to confirm 1-1 bookings or package requests automatically:

For Clients: How to Book Sessions

Your clients can book sessions in several ways:

Learn more about How to Schedule a Session From the Client Portal →

Booking Sessions on Behalf of a Client

As a practitioner, you can book a session directly from a client's record instead of waiting for them to self-schedule. This works differently from client self-booking in a few important ways:

  • No automatic charge: If the service requires payment, booking on the client's behalf doesn't trigger a charge automatically. You'll need to send and process an invoice as a separate step.
  • No detailed description shown to client: Any description written in the service, package, or program settings only displays on your public Bookings Page. It won't appear in the confirmation email sent to the client when you book for them.

Learn more about Booking Client Sessions from the Practitioner Portal →

Rescheduling and Canceling Sessions

Clients can reschedule or cancel their own sessions from the Client Portal or through links in their email notifications, subject to whatever cancellation and rescheduling policy you've configured.

Rescheduling a Session as a Practitioner

You can reschedule a client's session yourself from several entry points:

  • My Schedule > My Bookings: Click Reschedule next to the session to open the Update Session modal.
  • Client's Bookings & Packages tab: Click Reschedule next to the session to open the same modal.
  • My Schedule > My Calendar: Click the session to open the preview, then click Edit to open the Update Session modal.
  • Session Details page: Click Update Details / Reschedule.

In the Update Session modal, update the Date and Time fields to the new session time.

  • A checkbox labeled "Send a notification about this update" appears in the bottom-left corner of the modal and is checked by default. We recommend adding a note in the "Note to client" field to let them know their session has been moved.
  • You can reschedule to virtually any day or time, regardless of your set availability or existing sessions. If the new time conflicts with another event on your calendar, you'll see a warning: "We found conflicts in your schedule," and the confirm button will change to Schedule with conflicts. You can still proceed, but the conflict won't be automatically resolved.

Unlike client-initiated rescheduling, a practitioner-initiated reschedule updates the existing session record directly rather than creating a new one.

Canceling a Session as a Practitioner

You can cancel a client's session from the same entry points used for rescheduling:

  • My Schedule > My Bookings: Click the More Options menu (3 dots) next to the session and select Cancel.
  • Client's Bookings & Packages tab: Click the More Options menu (3 dots) and select Cancel.
  • My Schedule > My Calendar: Click the session to open the preview, then click the More Options menu (3 dots) and select Cancel.

A confirmation pop-up appears with:

  • A checkbox labeled Notify client of this cancellation (checked by default).
  • An optional text field to add a note about the cancellation.

Click Confirm to finalize the cancellation, or Cancel to go back without canceling the session.

Rescheduling a Session as a Client

Clients can reschedule their own sessions directly from the Client Portal or through the reschedule link in their email notifications, provided the change falls outside any restriction window you've set.

When clients reschedule their session, the original one is canceled, and a new session is created. This new session may be automatically confirmed, depending on the practitioner’s automation settings. 

Canceling a Session as a Client

Clients can cancel their own sessions directly from the Client Portal or through the cancellation link in their email notifications, provided the cancellation falls outside any restriction window you've set.

Learn more about How to Cancel or Reschedule Your Appointment from the Client Portal → 

Advanced Booking Features

Practice Better offers additional scheduling options to enhance your practice:

Getting Help

Have questions about the booking process? Our support team is here to help.

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