Getting started

Signing up

Signing up is free and takes about two minutes. There's no card needed: you get a 14-day free trial with every feature. If a friend sent you their referral link, your trial is 28 days instead.

On the Set up your account page you'll be asked for:

• Your first and last name
• Your email address and a password (at least 8 characters)
• Your business name
• What you do: Dog walker, Groomer, Boarder, Daycare, Sitter, Trainer, Multi-service or Other. You can change this later in Settings.

Press Create my account and you're in. Barclo sets up your booking link from your business name and gives you a starting set of opening hours, so you only need to check them.

Confirm your email

Next you'll see Check your email. Open the link we sent you within 24 hours (check your spam folder if it isn't there), or press the button to send another. Your trial has already started either way.

Your first visit: the setup checklist

The first time you sign in you see Welcome to Barclo, with a progress bar and two lists:

• Before you start: When are you open? and Add your first service. Nobody can book you until both are done.
• When you're ready: about your business, your sessions (only if a service runs at set times), sharing your booking link, how you get paid, your first client and your first booking. Each has a Later button.

Rows tick themselves off as you go. Once you have a service you can press Hide checklist: it shrinks to a small progress button at the top of Today. The Quick start walks through every row.

Today, your home page

Today is where Barclo opens. At the top are anything that needs your attention (a plan reminder, an unconfirmed email, forms still to sign). Then:

• Tiles for bookings today, what you've been paid this month, what you're waiting to be paid, and requests (when clients ask and you approve).
• Waiting for you: booking requests to accept or decline.
• Today's schedule: today's bookings in time order.
• Messages (only when something is unread) and Waiting to be paid, with a quick way to send a reminder.
• If you use them, cards for the Waitlist and Daily logs.

Press New booking to add a booking from here. Today and visits covers this page in full.

The menu: where everything lives

On a computer the menu runs down the left. On a phone, the bar at the bottom holds Today, Calendar, Messages and Bookings, and More opens everything else.

At the bottom you'll also find Report a problem, which sends a note straight to us, and your name, with My profile and Log out.

Do things in any order

Barclo doesn't make you finish set-up in order. You can add a client before a service, or write your policies before your hours. The checklist order is simply the smoothest path: for example, you'll have a service ready before you try to make a booking.