Service Calendars are the calendar type built for practices that book patients into specific treatments instead of one generic appointment slot. Each Service Calendar represents a single treatment, such as a Botox consult, a HydraFacial, or a laser session, and Aesthetix CRM automatically ties its availability to the staff member performing it, along with any rooms or equipment it needs. You'll find Service Calendars under Calendars > Calendar Settings in your Aesthetix CRM account.
Aesthetix CRM's calendar system supports two scheduling types, and it helps to know which one you're looking at:
Meetings covers personal, round robin, collective, and class calendars. It's built for internal or consult-style bookings, sales calls, and anything that isn't tied to a specific treatment.
Services is purpose-built for treatment-based bookings. It supports service variations, add-ons, multiple services in one appointment, and staff-specific pricing, which is what most med spas need.
If both types are turned on for your account, a dropdown appears at the top of the Calendar view so your front desk can switch between them. The layout, filters, and events shown always match whichever type is selected, so a busy Services calendar won't clutter a Meetings view or vice versa. If only one type is enabled, that view loads automatically and the dropdown stays hidden.
Service-based scheduling has to be turned on once before "Service Calendar" appears as a creation option.
Go to Calendars > Calendar Settings.
Click Preferences.
Under In-App Preferences, toggle Service Menu on.
Only account admins can access this setting. If you don't see it, check with whoever manages your Aesthetix CRM account.
Once enabled, additional options such as service menus, rooms, and equipment become available whenever you create or edit a calendar.
From the left menu, click Calendar.
Go to Calendar Settings.
Click Create Calendar.
Choose Service Calendar from the list of calendar types.
Enter a Service Name patients will recognize, such as "Botox Consult" or "HydraFacial, 60 min."
Assign the Staff Member who performs this treatment.
Set the custom URL/slug patients will use to book this specific service.
Enter the Service Duration.
Turn on Booking Availability.
Enter the start time for availability.
Enter the end time for availability.
Click Confirm (or Save) to finish.
That's enough to get a bookable Service Calendar live. The sections below cover the settings you'll want to fine-tune for a real med spa workflow: staff and locations, availability rules, forms, payments, notifications, and rooms/equipment.
Each Service Calendar represents one treatment. Here you define the service name, description, booking link, assigned staff, and duration, all of which patients see when they browse or book.
Meeting Location (set per staff member from Advanced Settings):
Location type | Behavior |
|---|---|
Phone | Defaults to your practice's phone number; editable per staff member. |
Address | Defaults to your practice's business address; editable if a treatment happens at a different location. |
Custom | Free text: a room name, a note for patients, or a static video link. |
Zoom | Generates a unique Zoom link automatically if Zoom is connected under My Profile > Calendar Settings > Video Conferencing. |
Google Meet | Generates a unique Google Meet link automatically if Google Calendar is connected as the linked calendar. |
Calendar connections for Google, Outlook, iCloud, Zoom, and Calendly are managed separately under Calendars > Connections. Set those up first if you want dynamic video links to populate here.
Finish the core setup with your URL/slug, duration, and availability:
Service Logo: shown on the booking widget for this individual service calendar.
If you're grouping treatments into a Service Menu, use a Service Cover Image instead. The logo only shows on a single service calendar's own widget, not a grouped menu.
Link to Service Menu: if this treatment should appear alongside others on one shared booking page, assign it to a group. Think of a group as a category, for example "Injectables," with "Botox," "Filler," and "Dysport" assigned underneath it. A Service Calendar can belong to a group and still be booked on its own.
Appointment Invite Title: the title patients see on the calendar event in Google Calendar, Outlook, or Apple Calendar.
Event Color: syncs to the event color in Google Calendar.
Availability on a Service Calendar is entirely driven by the assigned staff member's schedule. There's no separate calendar-level availability to configure: if a staff member is unavailable, the calendar reflects that automatically.
Weekly Working Hours: your default schedule that repeats every week.
Date Specific Hours: overrides for individual dates, useful for holiday hours or a provider's day off.
Service Duration: length of the appointment.
Service Interval: spacing between available booking slots.
Post Buffer Time: extra time after the appointment for room turnover or charting.
Minimum Scheduling Notice: how far in advance a patient must book.
Date Range: how far into the future the calendar accepts bookings.
The booking slot interval is fixed at 15 minutes and can't be changed. Use post-buffer time to give your staff room to prep between treatments.
Forms: use the default intake form (name, email, phone) or build a custom one in Funnels/Websites > Forms and select it from the dropdown. Custom forms only apply to direct bookings on this Service Calendar; bookings made through a Service Menu always use the default form. You can also toggle the consent checkbox and customize its message.
Booking forms that collect patient information (name, contact details, treatment consent) carry PHI. Keep consent language accurate for what you're actually collecting, and make sure only staff who need it can view submitted form responses.
Confirmation Page: show a thank-you message after booking, or redirect to a URL of your choice.
Payments: connect a payment provider to collect a deposit or full payment at the time of booking. Payment only applies to the main attendee, not any guests added to the appointment.
Before connecting a payment provider for treatment bookings, consider AX Pay, Aesthetix CRM's own payment processor. AX Pay offers better rates than Stripe with no extra integration steps. See the AX Pay help article for setup details.
Notifications: choose who receives appointment notifications, whether Google can send invitation and update emails to attendees, and whether contacts get automatically assigned to the staff member who performed their booking.
Additional Notes: text added here appears in the Google Calendar invitation. This only works if "Allow Google Calendar to Send Invitations" is turned on under Notifications.
Service Cover Image: the image shown for this service when it's part of a Service Menu display.
Staff Selection: enable or disable letting patients pick a specific staff member on the booking widget itself.
If a treatment needs a dedicated room or piece of equipment (a laser device, a treatment room), assign it to the Service Calendar. Aesthetix CRM reserves that resource automatically whenever the calendar is booked, so you can't accidentally double-book a room or a machine across two providers.
Click Save once everything is configured and the Service Calendar is ready to be booked.
When a patient opens the booking link, they see the available treatment(s), can select a staff member if that's enabled, and pick a date and time. Availability updates in real time based on staff schedules, so a slot that just got booked disappears immediately for other patients.
If you're using AI-driven booking through your AI Employee, keep in mind it only works with native calendars like Service Calendars, not calendars synced from an EMR.
Once your Service Calendars are live, the main Calendar view adapts based on whether you're looking at Meetings or Services.
Services View filters:
Staff: show events by assigned staff member.
Services: show bookings tied to specific services.
Categories: narrow results by service category.
Unified Service Booking View: when turned on, each booking appears as a single block with all its appointments grouped inside. Staff, Service, and Category filters aren't available in this view since everything is shown together, but a Location filter appears instead, letting you filter by which location the appointment was booked at.
Meetings View filters (for comparison, if you also use Meetings-type calendars):
Users: show calendars linked to specific users.
Calendars: toggle individual calendars on or off.
Groups: filter events by calendar group.
Additional controls:
Month view: click the date under the main calendar to expand a mini month view for quick navigation.
Manage View: hides or shows the right-hand filter panel for more screen space.
One limitation worth knowing: in Services View, changes made directly on a connected third-party calendar (Google Calendar, Outlook, or iCal) are not reflected back inside Aesthetix CRM. Always reschedule, cancel, or edit appointments from within Aesthetix CRM so your records stay accurate.
Patients can book multiple services in one appointment, for themselves or for guests, depending on how the calendar is configured.
The booking slot interval is fixed at 15 minutes; post-buffer time is the only way to add spacing between appointments.
Availability always reflects the assigned staff member's schedule. There's no separate calendar-level availability to configure.
To show multiple treatments on one booking link, create the group first, then create your service calendars and assign them to it, then build the Service Menu.
Service Menus don't support meeting locations, including virtual ones like Zoom or Google Meet. Any location set on an individual Service Calendar won't carry over once it's grouped into a Service Menu.
What's the difference between a Service Calendar and a regular booking calendar? A Service Calendar is built around a specific treatment and ties availability to the staff member performing it, plus any rooms or equipment it needs. A Meetings-type calendar (personal, round robin, collective, class) works better for consults, sales calls, or internal scheduling that isn't tied to a treatment menu.
Can I change the 15-minute slot interval? No. The slot interval is fixed at 15 minutes for every Service Calendar. You can add post-buffer time between appointments to give staff more room to prepare.
Can patients book more than one treatment at once? Yes. Depending on how the calendar is configured, patients can combine multiple services in a single booking or add services for guests.
Can I offer virtual consults through a Service Calendar? Individual Service Calendars support Zoom and Google Meet as a meeting location if those apps are connected. Service Menus, however, don't carry meeting locations over, so a grouped booking page won't show a virtual option even if the underlying calendar has one.
Does availability update automatically if a staff member's schedule changes? Yes. Because availability is tied directly to staff schedules, any change you make to a provider's hours is reflected on every Service Calendar they're assigned to.
Can I use a custom intake form instead of the default one? Yes, for bookings made directly on the Service Calendar. Build the form in Forms and select it from the calendar's Forms dropdown. Bookings made through a Service Menu always use the default form.
Do I have to accept payment at the time of booking? No, payments are optional. If you do want to collect a deposit or full payment, connect a payment provider first. AX Pay is Aesthetix CRM's own option, with better rates than Stripe.
Will AI-powered booking work with a calendar synced from my EMR? No. AI Employee booking automation only works with native Aesthetix CRM calendars like Service Calendars, not calendars pulled in from an EMR.
What happens if I reschedule an appointment directly in Google Calendar instead of in Aesthetix CRM? In Services View, changes made on a connected third-party calendar (Google Calendar, Outlook, iCal) won't sync back into Aesthetix CRM. Always make reschedules, cancellations, and edits from within Aesthetix CRM.
Can a Service Calendar require a specific room or piece of equipment? Yes. Assign the rooms or equipment a treatment needs when you set up the calendar, and Aesthetix CRM reserves them automatically for every booking, preventing double-booking across providers.
