Get clients online · Guide 24
Client booking portal
Your clients book, sign, pay, message you and see their visit reports themselves, at any hour, from one link.
Clients have two ways in. Your booking page at app.barclo.co.uk/book/your-link is for anyone, new or returning, with no account needed. The client portal at app.barclo.co.uk/portal is where a client signs in to see their bookings, pay invoices, sign forms, read visit reports, message you and book again. Both work on any phone or computer.
Turning online booking on
Everything is in Settings › Bookings:
- How clients book: choose Clients ask, I approve (requests wait for you on Today), Clients book themselves (confirmed straight away), or I'll handle bookings myself (clients cannot book online; you add every booking). This applies to every service.
- Your booking link: switch on Let clients book and manage things online, choose your link name (lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens), then use Copy or Preview.
Only services with Show on your booking page switched on can be booked online. You set it on the last step of each service in Services; switch it off for services you only book yourself. Your public profile has a Book now button that leads to the same booking page.
Share your booking link in your Instagram bio, Facebook page, email signature, WhatsApp status and on flyers. Clients book themselves and you wake up to bookings already in your calendar.
What clients go through when they book
What
They pick a service, with its price.
Who
On the booking page they give their name, email address and phone number and agree that you can use their details to manage their bookings. Barclo emails them a 6-digit code to check the email is theirs; once it is checked, a returning client sees their pets. Then they choose their pets or add a new one. Signed in to the portal, they go straight to their pets.
When
They pick a day and a time, a session, a run of days for day care, or drop-off and collection days for a stay, depending on the service. Some services can also be booked Regularly, weekly, fortnightly or monthly. They only see a time as available or not; they never see how many places you have.
Extras
Any paid extras and questions you have set up for the service.
Sign
Only if one of your forms is set to Before they can book and they have not signed it yet. They read it, type their name and tick to agree, and are emailed a copy. See Forms.
Check
The price, VAT if you are registered, your cancellation policy and terms to tick if you ask for them, and a box for anything you should know.
They then see Booked (with an email of the details) or, when you approve requests, Request received, and you will confirm it by email. A new client on the booking page is offered Set a password so they can sign in to the portal later. New clients are added to your Clients list automatically.
When a card is needed
If you take card payments and ask for payment or a deposit on booking (see Payments), the client enters their card before the booking is made:
| How you take bookings | The client sees | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Clients book themselves | Pay £x | The card is charged and the booking is confirmed. |
| Clients ask, I approve | Hold £x and request | The amount is held on their card, not taken. It is taken when you approve, and released if you decline. A hold lasts 6 days: Barclo emails you 2 days before it ends, and if it ends the request stays waiting for you and the client is told. |
Signing in to the portal
Clients sign in at app.barclo.co.uk/portal with their email address and password, and can use Forgot your password? to reset it. A client gets a password by setting one after booking on your booking page, or when you invite them: open the client in Clients and, from the ··· menu, choose Invite to the client portal. Reset their password is in the same menu.
A paused client cannot sign in or book until you make them active again, and an archived client cannot use the portal at all.
What clients can do in the portal
On a phone the portal has Home, Bookings, Book, Messages and More along the bottom; on a computer the same pages run down the side. It shows your business name and logo at the top.
- Home: their next booking, anything waiting on them (an invoice to pay, a request you have not answered yet, missing pet details), any packages, and recent visit reports.
- Bookings: upcoming and past bookings, and their regular bookings. Ask to cancel (or Ask to stop for a regular booking) sends you a request, showing your cancellation policy first; nothing is cancelled or refunded until you decide. If you use the waitlist, the days they are waiting for show here too.
- Book: the same booking flow, without the details and code. Only shown while you take bookings online.
- Messages: their conversation with you. See Messaging.
- Pets: each pet with its vaccination state. They can edit their pet's details, health and behaviour and add documents.
- Invoices: each invoice with what is left to pay, Download PDF, and Pay £x by card when you take card payments.
- Visit reports: every report you have sent, newest first, with photos.
- Forms: anything you have asked them to sign, signed in one go, and View copy for everything signed before.
- Profile: contact details and address, emergency contact, how to get in (only if you visit their home), and their password.
Clients who use more than one business on Barclo can switch between them in the portal. Each business only ever sees its own clients' details.
Questions
Do clients need an account to book?
No. Anyone can book on your booking page with their email address and a 6-digit code. An account is only needed to sign in to the portal later.
Can clients see how busy I am?
No. Clients only see whether a day or time can be booked, never how many places are left or who is working.
Guide: Capacity