Smart Booking — book jobs while you work

The base Vervox receptionist captures leads — name, number, reason for calling, urgency — and texts you the details. Smart Booking goes one step further: the AI actually books the appointment during the call, into your live calendar, without you having to lift a finger.

That means your AI can now:

• Check real-time availability across one or multiple staff calendars
• Offer slots that account for service duration and buffer time
• Take a deposit via Stripe mid-call, if the service requires one
• Book recurring series — "every Tuesday at 10am for six weeks" — in one go
• Pad travel time between jobs for mobile trades
• Enrol callers into group classes, with waitlists when sessions are full

It is still the same AI answering the phone — Smart Booking just gives it a set of calendar tools and the knowledge of your services.

Ask yourself: "does a call to my business typically end in someone booking a time?" If the answer is yes, Smart Booking will pay for itself quickly — every booking the AI handles is one you didn't have to call back manually.

Great fits:

• Clinics — medical, dental, physio, chiro, vet
• Personal services — salons, spas, barbers, lash/nail techs
• Trades with fixed or mobile appointments — plumbers, electricians, cleaners, locksmiths
• Fitness — PTs, yoga studios, pilates, small-group gyms
• Professional services — accountants, coaches, consultants

Not a fit (yet):

• Businesses where every job is a 30-minute quote over the phone first
• Call centres routing to many departments with no appointments

If you're not sure, turn it on during the 30-day trial and see how many bookings come through.

Pro includes 75 bookings/month and Business includes 250 bookings/month. If you're on Starter or PAYG and want bookings, activate the standalone Smart Booking add-on at $29/month + $1 per booking. A 30-day trial is included so you can evaluate it on real calls before paying.

1. Open Settings → Billing
2. Find the Smart Booking card and click Enable
3. Confirm the add-on on the Stripe checkout page (no charge during trial)
4. Return to the dashboard — you'll see a new Smart Booking section under Settings and an Appointments item in the sidebar

Bookings past the included quota are billed at $1 each on Pro and Business (Enterprise drops to $0.39). See Settings → Billing for your live counter and current overage rate.

Once the add-on is on, there are five things to do before your first real booking call. Each has its own guide.

1. Service catalogue. Add every service you offer, with real durations and (optional) buffer time. See Set your service times.
2. Providers. If more than one person takes bookings, add them as providers with their own hours. See Multi-staff routing.
3. Business hours and timezone. Already set from the base receptionist setup — double-check they're right.
4. Connect Google Calendar. So bookings write back to the calendar your team already lives in. See Connect Google Calendar.
5. Test call. Call your own number, ask for an appointment, book yourself in. Watch the booking appear in Appointments in real time.

Optional extras — deposits, recurring series, travel-aware routing, and classes — each have their own guide. Most businesses only need one or two of those.

Here's a typical booking conversation:

• Caller: "Hi, I need to book a deep clean for next week."
• AI: "Happy to help. I can either book you in directly or just take your details for someone to call back — what works for you?"
• Caller: "Book me in, please."
• AI: "Perfect. A deep clean runs about 3 hours. I have Tuesday May 21 at 9am or Wednesday May 22 at 1pm — which suits?"
• Caller: "Tuesday morning."
• AI: "Booked you in for Tuesday May 21 at 9am. Want me to text you a reminder the day before?"
• Caller: "Yes please."
• AI: "Done. You'll get a confirmation in the next minute."

Exit ramp: if the caller says "just take my details", the AI drops the booking flow and falls back to standard lead capture. Callers are never forced down the booking path.

Once the basics work, layer on the extras:

• Deposits — reduce no-shows by requiring upfront payment.
• Recurring appointments — weekly, fortnightly, monthly series.
• Home-visit routing — travel-aware slots for mobile jobs.
• Classes and waitlists — group sessions with capacity.
• Troubleshooting — when something doesn't work the way you expect.