A website and appointment system for service businesses
vkRetA is for service businesses such as salons, repair shops, tutors and consultants: customers see your services and book a valid time, while you control availability, staff and billing. It is free to start with up to 25 catalogue items; vkRetA Pro is ₹199 a month for up to 250 items, staff accounts, the credit ledger and more.
Reviewed 28 October 2026
Publish services instead of products
Each service can have a name, description, price, duration and booking availability. The public website leads customers to choose a date and time rather than a delivery address.
Business hours, notice, advance limits and disabled days determine when a request may be created.
Organise people and capacity
Staff members can be associated with the services they are trained to perform. Strict mode protects actual capacity; flexible mode accepts a preferred-time request for a merchant who wants to coordinate manually.
The public flow keeps employee identities private while giving the merchant the information needed to assign or reschedule work.
Connect completed work to the customer
Requested and confirmed appointments stay operational records. After the service is completed, the merchant can create the connected order and invoice without duplicating the customer and service details in an unrelated system.
- Service-specific duration
- Staff eligibility
- Strict or flexible booking
- Connected billing after completion
How to set up a service business in vkRetA
Choose the service business model
Choose services (or both products and services) during onboarding so customers see appointment booking instead of a delivery checkout.
Add your services
Give each service a name, description, price, duration and GST rate. vkRetA suggests a rate, but the business confirms it with its accountant.
Set working hours and booking rules
Configure working days, time ranges, booking interval, preparation buffer, minimum notice and how far ahead customers can book. Disable holidays or other closed days.
Add staff and link them to services
Add active staff members, mark the services each one can perform and record leave or blocked periods. Choose strict availability or flexible requests.
Publish and manage bookings
Publish the website, share the link, then confirm, assign, reschedule and complete appointments. Completed work can create the invoice.
Everyday situations vkRetA handles
A customer asks what is free tomorrow
Share the booking link. The customer sees only valid times that respect working hours, notice and existing bookings.
A staff member is on leave
Record the leave and, in strict mode, that person's capacity is not offered for those times.
A customer needs a different time
Reschedule a requested or confirmed appointment to another eligible date, time and staff member; strict conflicts are checked first.
The service is finished
Complete the appointment and create the connected invoice instead of typing the customer and service into another billing tool.
Managing appointments manually compared with vkRetA
| Task | Doing it manually | In vkRetA |
|---|---|---|
| Answering availability questions | Checking a diary and replying to each call | Yes: Customers pick a valid slot online |
| Avoiding double bookings | Relies on one person keeping the diary | Yes: Strict mode blocks conflicting times |
| Matching work to staff skills | Remembered informally | Yes: Staff-service eligibility |
| Billing completed work | Separate bill book or tool | Yes: Invoice created from the appointment |
| Reminder messages to customers | Sent by hand | No: No automatic reminders; the business contacts the customer |
| Letting staff create bills | Sharing the owner's login or a paper book | Partly: Pro: reusable staff billing links |
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same as a product checkout?
No. Service businesses use appointment timing and availability rather than cart delivery.
Can more than one staff member provide a service?
Yes. Any number of active staff members may be associated with the same service.
Can the merchant change the appointment?
Requested and confirmed appointments can be rescheduled with server-side eligibility and conflict checks.
Can I set a gap between appointments?
Yes. A preparation buffer can be added so the next booking does not start immediately after the previous service.
Do customers pay online when they book?
No. Online payment is not built in. The business collects payment in its usual way and records it on the invoice.
Is appointment booking available on the Free plan?
Yes. Services, availability and appointment booking are part of Free. Free covers up to 25 products and services, one image per item and 5 MB of media.
See how the workflow fits your business
Start on the Free plan, configure a real business workflow and upgrade only when the additional Pro capacity is useful.
Start free