How does consultation-first booking work?
Consultation-first booking means a treatment stays locked online until the client has Completed or Booked a required consult (or other prerequisite service). In Bella Booking this is configured as prerequisite services on the treatment — not by hiding the service, and not by misusing a free membership as a gate.
Why clinics use consultation-first rules
Many treatments should not be booked until a practitioner has assessed suitability — skin procedures, laser, body treatments, or any service with contraindications.
- Protect clients from booking a treatment they are not ready for
- Keep the treatment visible on your menu so people understand the pathway
- Avoid phone-tag when someone tries to book the treatment directly online
- Let your team still override from the dashboard when a walk-in consult happens in person
Hiding the treatment entirely loses demand. Asking every client to call defeats online booking. A prerequisite gate is the middle path: visible, bookable only when the rule is met.
Prerequisite services vs similar features
| Feature | Question it answers |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite services | Has this client Completed or Booked service A before they can book treatment B online? |
| Service variants + eligibility | Should this client see the initial price/duration or the returning one? |
| Booking approval | Should this booking wait for staff confirmation before it is confirmed? |
| Membership requirement | Is the client on a plan that includes or discounts this service? |
Do not misuse a free membership as a consultation gate. Memberships and prerequisites solve different problems — Bella’s prerequisite services are built for consultation-first.
Completed vs Booked mode
Completed
The prerequisite appointment must be marked Completed before the treatment unlocks online. Use this when the consult must genuinely have happened — for example, a patch test or clinical assessment that cannot be same-cart.
Booked
Any non-cancelled booking of the prerequisite counts — including adding both the consult and the treatment to the same cart. Use this when planning a consult-plus-treatment pathway in one online session is fine.
If you list more than one prerequisite, choose whether the client must satisfy Any or All of them. Keep the list short so the booking page stays understandable.
Cancelling the prerequisite later does not retro-cancel a treatment already booked under Booked mode. Choose Completed when the consult must have happened before treatment day.
What clients see online
Treatments with unmet prerequisites stay visible but locked, with a clear path to book the missing service. That keeps your menu honest — clients see what you offer and how to unlock it — instead of wondering why a treatment disappeared.
- Locked treatments remain on the booking page
- Clients get a clear path to book the consult / prerequisite
- Your team can still override from the dashboard
- Configured on the service menu, enforced on the booking page
How to set it up
- 1Create (or confirm) your consultation service with the right duration, price, and forms.
- 2Open the treatment (or bundle) that must follow the consult.
- 3Add the consult as a prerequisite service.
- 4Choose Completed or Booked mode.
- 5If you add several prerequisites, set Any or All.
- 6Test as a new client on your booking page — confirm the treatment is locked with a path to the consult, then unlocks after the rule is met.
- 7Brief your team that dashboard override still exists for edge cases.
Attach your intake or consent form to the consultation service so paperwork arrives before the assessment — separate from the prerequisite gate itself.
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