Booking a service or appointment

Some organizations offer one-on-one services, such as a portfolio review, a reading assessment or a consultation. You pick an open time and pay on one page, or, for a service marked By request, you tell the organization what you need and they reply in Messages. You need a free Famlo account to book.

Find an organization's services

Services are listed in the Services section of the organization's page on famlo.co. Only organizations that offer services have this section.

Each service shows how long it lasts, a short description, its price and one button:

• Book means you can pick a time and pay now. Select Book (1).
• Request means you message the organization first. Select Request (2), then see Ask for a service By request.

The line under each description tells you what to expect:

Line	What it means
Next open: and a date	The first day with a time you can book.
By request	You ask first. The organization replies with a price and a time.
By email, no time to pick	You pay, and the organization does the work and gets in touch by email. There's nothing to schedule.
Step Up accepted	A Step Up scholarship can pay for this service.

Prices you see already include the booking fee. A price marked "per child" is for each child you book. "from" means the final price depends on what you need. For what the booking fee covers, see What's free and what's paid.

Book a time

1. Select Book on the service. A page headed Book with and the organization's name opens.
2. Pick a day on the calendar (1). Days with open times are marked; on a phone you see a strip of only the days that have them.
3. Pick a time (2). Times are in the organization's time zone, and the page says which.
4. If the service meets more than one way, choose under Where: In person or Zoom.
5. If the service is priced per child, choose How many children? (1 to 6).
6. Check the details under Your booking. The badge Held for you · 10 min (3) means nobody else can take that time while you finish.
7. Fill in the rest of the booking (see below), then select Pay $X and book. When there's nothing to pay, the button says Book it.

If you aren't signed in, a sign-in box appears beside the calendar. Sign in or create a free account with your email, and you come back to the same page.

If another family books a time just before you, you see "Someone just booked that time. Please pick another."

What the booking asks for

Depending on the service, Your booking can ask:

• Child 1, Child 2 and so on, for a service priced per child. Choose a child for each place.
• Who is it for?, when a Step Up scholarship could pay. It starts on Just us (the family).
• Who pays, when you can choose between paying now and a Step Up scholarship. To use the scholarship, choose My scholarship pays. See Paying with Step Up or an ESA.
• Have a promo code?, when the organization offers promo codes.
• The organization's own questions and terms, if it has any.
• A note box headed with the organization's name, for example Anything Sunnyside Learning Co. should know? (optional). Use it for ages, goals or questions.

Under the button, the page tells you how long you can change your booking yourself, for example "Free to reschedule or cancel up to 24 hours before."

Services done by email

Some services have no time slot. The page shows By email, no time slot: you pay now, the organization takes it from there by email, and there's nothing to schedule. Fill in the booking and pay as above.

If a timed service also offers this, you can choose it on the service card (Book it without a time slot) or under the times (book it by email).

After you book

The confirmation page says You're booked with your first name, and Famlo emails you the details and a calendar invite. The confirmation shows:

• When, Where and With.
• How to join for a Zoom appointment, or Before you come for one in person, when the organization has added instructions.
• Add to calendar, which downloads the appointment for your own calendar app.
• Move or cancel, which opens the appointment's page.
• A button to message the organization.

If your payment is still going through, the page says so. The time is kept for you, and your confirmation comes by email once the payment goes through.

Emails and reminders

When	What you get
When you book	An email titled Booked: with the service and day, with a calendar invite attached and a link to See your appointment.
The day before	An email titled Reminder: with the service, date and time.
About an hour before	A heads-up in Famlo.
If you move it	An email with the new time and a new calendar invite.

Appointments and your Famlo calendar

Appointments don't show on your Calendar page or in its calendar feed. To keep one in your calendar app, use Add to calendar or the invite in the Booked: email. Upcoming appointments do show on your Home page under Coming up, with Reschedule or Details, and Join Zoom for a Zoom appointment. For the rest of your bookings, see Your calendar.

Move or cancel an appointment

Open the appointment's page from Coming up on your Home page, from Move or cancel on the confirmation, or from See your appointment in your emails.

To move it:

1. Under Move it to another time, pick a new day and time. "Same price, nothing to pay."
2. Select Move my appointment (1).

To cancel it:

1. Select Cancel appointment (2).
2. Confirm. The time goes back to the organization.

Any refund follows the organization's refund terms, measured from the appointment's start time. When money is coming back, you see "Cancelled. A refund of $X is on its way." For how refunds work, see Cancelling and refunds.

When you can change it

Each organization sets how close to the time you can still move or cancel online. It is 24 hours before the start unless the organization chose something else. The appointment page shows the exact moment, for example "Free to move or cancel until Tue, Oct 13 at 11:30am."

After that, the page says "It's too close to the time to change it online." Select the message button to ask the organization, who can still move or cancel it for you. An appointment by email can be canceled until the organization marks it done.

What the appointment page says

Label at the top	What it means
Appointment	It's booked. Before the change window closes you can move or cancel it.
Waiting on your payment	Your payment hasn't gone through yet. The time is kept for you.
Cancelled appointment	It was canceled.
Missed appointment	The organization marked it as a no-show. If that's not right, message them.

Once the time arrives, the page says "This appointment is under way." and then "This appointment has happened." There's nothing left to move or cancel.

Asking for a refund after it starts

Once a paid appointment has started, Request a refund appears on its page while a request is possible. The organization decides, and its answer comes in Messages. See Cancelling and refunds.

Ask for a service By request

When a service says By request, or a timed service has no open times, Request opens a page headed with the organization's name, for example Tell Sunnyside Learning Co. what you need.

How a request works:

1. You ask. It goes to the organization's inbox and to your Messages.
2. They reply. Usually with a price and a time, as an invoice in the same conversation.
3. You pay there when it looks right. Nothing is charged until you do.

To send one:

1. Select Request on the service.
2. Under What would you like help with?, describe what you need.
3. Optional: under When suits you? (optional), choose Weekday mornings, Weekday afternoons, Evenings or Weekends.
4. If the service meets more than one way, choose under How to meet.
5. Select Send request. It "Opens a conversation in Messages. You'll get an email when they reply."

If you aren't signed in, the page says "You'll sign in with your email next. We'll keep what you wrote." Famlo keeps your draft for a day while you sign in.

When the organization replies with a price, pay from the conversation. See Paying an invoice or payment request. For the conversation itself, see Messages.

Troubleshooting

The Book button isn't there, only Request. The service is By request, or it has no open times right now. Send a request and the organization will find a time with you.

My time disappeared before I paid. The hold lasts 10 minutes. If it ran out, or another family booked the time first, pick another time.

I can't move or cancel online any more. The organization's change window has closed. Message the organization; they can still move or cancel it for you.

My appointment isn't on my Famlo calendar. Appointments don't appear there. Use Add to calendar or the invite in the Booked: email, and find upcoming ones under Coming up on your Home page.

What's next

• Cancelling and refunds
• Paying an invoice or payment request
• Paying with Step Up or an ESA
• Booking and buying on an organization's website
• Your Home page