The client booking portal is one of Barclo's most valuable features. It's a dedicated web page, with your own link, where clients can browse your services, pick a date and time, and request or confirm a booking without involving you at all. It works on any device, at any hour, and sends you a notification when something comes in.
The big win: Instead of fielding booking requests by text and WhatsApp, you share one link. Clients do it themselves. You wake up to bookings already in your calendar.
Turning on the portal
Go to Settings → Portal. You'll see a toggle: Enable client portal. Switch it on. That immediately activates your booking page and client login.
If the toggle is off, clients can't book online. They'll see a placeholder if they visit your link. Turn it on only when you're ready: your working hours are set, at least a few services are created, and your cancellation policy is in place.
Your booking link
Once the portal is on, your booking link is shown in Settings → Portal:
app.barclo.co.uk/book/{slug}
Replace {slug} with the booking page name you chose (see Business settings). Click Copy link to copy it to your clipboard, then paste it wherever clients can find it. Your public profile sits at app.barclo.co.uk/site/{slug}. See Public profile.
Where to share your booking link
- Your Instagram bio (“Book online”)
- Your Facebook page and Facebook groups you're part of
- Your email signature
- A pinned post or story highlight on social media
- Any existing website you have
- A printed flyer or business card (the short slug is easy to type)
- In your WhatsApp status or auto-reply message
What clients experience, the booking flow
Here's exactly what a client sees when they visit your booking link:
- Enter their contact details and accept terms. Phone number, first name, last name, email, plus the terms tick-box. Returning clients can log in instead using email + password (with a “Forgot your password?” link if needed).
- Add their pet(s). They select an existing pet or add a new one, pet details go straight into your Barclo pet records.
- Pick a service. They see all your services that have “Show on client booking page” ticked, with the name, duration, and price.
- Pick a date, slot and any paid extras. Depending on the service type, they pick from available calendar dates and times, or from available walk slots with remaining capacity shown, then choose any paid extras.
- Review. They see a full summary, service, date/time, pet(s), a price breakdown, and your cancellation policy.
- Confirm. If you're in Approval required mode, they're told the booking is requested and you'll confirm. If you're in Direct booking mode, it's confirmed immediately and added to your calendar.
Controlling which services appear online
Not every service needs to be bookable through the portal. For a service to appear on the portal, the service must have Show on client booking page ticked (in Services). Switch it off for services that are by-quotation-only, invitation-only, or not yet ready to go public, they stay in Barclo for your own use but clients won't see them.
The client login area
Clients who've booked through the portal can log in to their own client area, a private page where they can see their upcoming bookings, their pet's details, and their invoice history.
Returning clients sign in with their email and password. A “Forgot your password?” link is always available on the login screen. New portal clients can set a password after their first booking.
To give an existing client access: open their profile in the Clients section and click Invite to Portal, or use Send Reset Password if they need a new password. They'll receive an email with a link to set up their login. Once they're in, they can update their contact details, add pets, and view their bookings, reducing the number of “What time is my appointment?” messages you receive.
New clients who book through the portal are automatically created in your Clients list, you don't need to add them manually. Their contact details and pet come in from the booking form.