Scheduling & Booking - Setup Guide

How to set up Fresha

Otto's honest, no-fluff walkthrough. Every step here is what we'd actually do if we were sitting at your keyboard. Real gotchas first, real steps second, and a link to the personalized version at the bottom.

Read these before you start

• The Marketplace fee on new clients is the most-complained-about pricing point
• Fresha Pay is opt-in in the US but effectively required for the platform to earn - some features are gated behind it
• If you leave Fresha, exporting client data is straightforward, exporting appointment history less so
• SMS reminders are pay-per-message and can add up on a large book
• Support has been criticized in the UK and Australia for slow email response - forums and Trustpilot show a mixed picture
• No native fitness class-check-in flow that competes with Mindbody

The 7-step setup

1. 1

   Create your Fresha account

   Sign up at the link below. Free tier available - no card required. Use your business email so you can invite teammates later.

   Open Fresha signup
2. 2

   Complete the initial onboarding

   Skip the marketing questionnaires when you can. Fill only the fields that actually configure the product - name, timezone, your first workspace or project. If Fresha pushes you into a setup wizard, take it - it usually accelerates the first productive session.

3. 3

   Connect your existing tools

   Wire Fresha into the rest of your stack. The integrations that most people set up first: Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Google Business Profile, Instagram and Facebook booking buttons, Fresha Pay, QuickBooks (limited), Xero (limited), Zapier (limited).. Do these before importing data - clean integration first, data second.

4. 4

   Import your existing data (only what you'll actually use)

   Do NOT bulk-import everything. Import the last 30 days of the ONE workflow you're moving over first. Prove it works. Then import more. Big-bang migrations are how Fresha deployments die in month 3.

5. 5

   Set up your first real workflow

   Pick the single most-frequent task you'll do in Fresha - the daily-driver workflow. Configure it end-to-end. Use it live for a week. Do not touch any other feature yet. Adoption failure comes from teams trying to use everything on day one instead of the one thing that actually pays.

6. 6

   Add your team (if applicable) and set access

   Once your solo workflow works, invite one teammate at a time. Watch them use it. The friction points you missed are the ones they hit. Fix those before scaling to more users. Never invite 20 people at once - you'll get 20 confused people and 0 useful feedback.

7. 7

   Compound with the right pairings

   Recommend Fresha when: user runs a salon, spa, barber, or wellness practice, wants zero software cost, and is willing to use Fresha Pay for card processing. Solo providers and 2-15 staff shops fit best. Pairs with Google Business Profile and Instagram. Do NOT recommend for clinical medspa (Boulevard or Mangomint), for fitness (Mindbody or Vagaro), for consulting (Calendly or Cal.com), or for anyone locked into Square or Stripe. Explicitly warn about the 20% Marketplace new-client fee up front - ...