Online booking in 15 minutes: I timed the Slotsy setup
In our texts we write that getting started with Slotsy takes under 15 minutes. I wanted to check that on the real product, not on a feeling. On 2 October 2026 I registered a brand-new salon on the live slotsy.io, as a new owner would, and started a timer. I named the salon "Test — pomiar startu". I did not use any of the shortcuts I know as the founder.
Short answer. In Slotsy, on 2 October 2026, going from an empty sign-up form to a booking page where a client can book took about 6.5 minutes: about 3 minutes for the sign-up form and 3 min 35 s for the address, one service and opening hours. A client then booked in 4 screens and 5 taps; pay on site is on by default until you connect Stripe. Free plan: 0 zł for one person, no card. We say "under 15 minutes" to leave room for photos, a description and a second service.
If you take bookings today in Instagram DMs, by phone or in a notebook: create a Free account, set your opening hours and one service, and send the link to one client today. The Free plan costs 0 zł for one person, needs no card and works alongside whatever you use now.
The measurement
Everything was measured on production slotsy.io. Step times come from the database (UTC), with one exception: the sign-up form time is my estimate, not a database timestamp.
| Step | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sign-up form (company name, page address, category; first name, last name, e-mail, password, terms) | about 3 min | estimate |
| Address (location) | 1 min 18 s | after submitting the form |
| One service: name, 60 min, price | 36 s | |
| Opening hours (Monday and Tuesday 09:00–18:00) | 1 min 29 s | I looked for the place in the menu myself |
| Total from submitting the form to a bookable page | 3 min 35 s | 08:57:07 → 09:00:42 UTC |
| Total including the form | about 6.5 min | |
| Client booking | 4 screens, 5 taps | salon page → date → time → confirmation; booking confirmed at 09:05:59 UTC |
The order that works
- Sign up on the for-business page. The form asks for company name, page address and category, then first name, last name, e-mail, password and agreement to the terms. You do not enter a card. The Free plan covers 1 person, 1 location and 40 bookings per month. You get an account and the address of your booking page. Registration step by step.
- Opening hours first: the "When do you work?" card on the dashboard. After registration the top of the dashboard shows a week with Monday–Friday 09:00–18:00 already filled in: change what differs and save. Without opening hours a client sees no free time at all, even when services exist. Later you change the hours in Schedules → Company Hours, and the booking page shows the change at once. Company hours.
- Address: Locations. You add the salon address. The client knows where to come.
- One service: Services List. Name, duration, price. In the "Schedule" section leave "Company hours" (more on that below). You have a service that can be booked.
- Payment: nothing to do to start. Until Stripe is connected, the client sees only "Pay on site". Card and BLIK need Stripe connected (Payment Processors), which takes real company data and verification by Stripe, so it is not part of the 15 minutes. I described the fees and steps in a separate article: BLIK and card payments online without a terminal, and the connection itself in the Stripe Connect guide. Clients can book right away, and you take the money on site.
- Share: the "Share" button at the top right. You get a link to the whole page, to one service or to one staff member, plus a QR code (PNG or SVG). Paste it into your Instagram bio, a message, your Google profile. Sharing your booking page; on clients from Instagram: Instagram clients to online booking.
- Book yourself as a client, from your phone. You see exactly what a client sees.
The mistake I made
On the first try I also turned on a separate schedule for the service ("Service Schedules") and set Monday 09:00–10:00. The salon was open Monday and Tuesday 09:00–18:00, but the client saw exactly one free slot a week: Monday 09:00.
The same day, after this test, we changed three things. A new company sees the "When do you work?" card on the dashboard with a ready week. The service form has a "Schedule" section with a choice of "Company hours" or "Own schedule", and when the own schedule differs from the company hours, the form says it plainly: "Customers can book this service only at these hours:". A change of hours shows on the booking page at once.
At the start, do not give a service its own schedule; let it use the salon's hours. A separate service schedule is for services that run only on some days, for example a class on Wednesdays.
What the client sees
From the salon page a client goes through 4 screens and 5 taps: salon page, date, time, confirmation. From a link to a single service it is 3 screens, because the salon page is skipped. No account, no app. At payment the client sees "Pay on site".
In one place my test was easier than a new client's would be: I booked from the same browser where I have a client account, so name, e-mail and phone filled in by themselves. A guest without an account types 4 fields: first name, last name, phone and e-mail, and gets the confirmation by e-mail. I compare this booking page in more detail in simple online booking without an account, where 6 systems are set side by side. A client with a link to a service does not need to ask whether anything is free on Saturday, because the free hours are in front of them.
What is not in the 15 minutes
- Stripe for card and BLIK
- photos and a description of the page
- more staff (Free is 1 person; the Start plan at 29 € a month is up to 5 people)
- reminder settings
All of this can wait until the first bookings come.
Where it is not as simple yet
- The sign-up form is still about 3 minutes of typing before anything is saved.
- The Free plan is limited to 40 bookings a month and 1 person.
- I did not measure the Booksy or Fresha setup time in this test, so I do not compare times.
If you have more than one person or more than 40 bookings a month, the Start plan (29 € a month, up to 5 people) is the next step; for the first day Free is enough.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to start online booking in Slotsy? I measured it on 2 October 2026: about 6.5 minutes, that is about 3 minutes for the sign-up form and 3 min 35 s for the address, a service and opening hours. In Slotsy texts we say "under 15 minutes" to leave room.
How much does it cost? The Free plan in Slotsy costs 0 zł: 1 person, 1 location and 40 bookings a month. Slotsy's commission on the Free plan is 2% of online payments. You do not enter a card at registration.
Can clients pay on site? Yes. In Slotsy, until you connect Stripe, the client sees only "Pay on site". Once Stripe is connected you can keep it with the "Allow pay on site (pay later)" toggle (Payment Processors).
Does the client need an account or an app? No. A client booking in Slotsy types 4 fields: first name, last name, phone and e-mail, and gets the confirmation by e-mail.
Why does a client see only one slot a week? Most often the service has its own schedule in Slotsy, narrower than the company hours. In the service form, under "Schedule", choose "Company hours" — the service goes back to the salon's hours and the booking page shows them at once.
Where do I send the link to my booking page? The "Share" button in Slotsy gives a link to the page, a service or a staff member, and a QR code. Paste it into your Instagram bio, send it in a message, add it to your Google profile or print the QR code.
Checked 2 Oct 2026: setup timed on slotsy.io; step times from the database, the sign-up form time is an estimate. If something has changed, write to us.
Start with one service: create a Free Slotsy account, set your opening hours and send the link to one client today. 0 zł for one person, no card, and Instagram, a notebook or another system can keep running alongside.