Turning it on

The visit journal is off until you switch it on. Go to Business Settings → Hours and tick Keep a visit journal. A Visit section then appears on every appointment, and a Visits item appears in the menu.

If you do not see the option, your plan does not include the journal yet — contact [email protected].

Writing up a visit

Open an appointment on the calendar and use the Visit section underneath the details.

• What was done — the short version, in your words.
• What the client asked for — their request, as they put it.
• Work performed — one line per thing you did. Each line has a description and a price, and can be a service, a part, a fee or a discount. A haircut is one line; an oil change with new wipers is two.
• Money — discount, tax, tip and how they paid. The total is worked out from the lines; you never type it yourself.
• Come back in — a note like "4 weeks", plus a date if you want a reminder sent.

Save keeps it as a draft you can come back to. Save & close marks the visit finished — that is what publishes the client's preferences and what the Visits page counts as revenue.

Client preferences that come back

Some details are worth having every single time — clipper length, colour formula, allergies, pressure preference, which car. When you close a visit, those are pinned to the client and shown at the top of the write-up form next time, and on the client's card.

Each one shows the month it was last recorded, because a colour formula from two years ago is history rather than fact. Remove one with the × on the client card.

Walk-ins

Not everyone books. Use Log a visit to record work that was never in the calendar — it creates the appointment and the visit in one step, so walk-ins still count in your totals.

Photos

Add photos to a visit from the Photos box: before and after, a worn part, a colour result, anything worth having on file. Pick one or several at once — they upload straight away, so nothing is lost if the page is closed.

Give each one a caption while you remember what it shows, and tick Shareable for pictures you are happy to show the client. Untick it for photos kept purely as your own record — a damaged part you may need to point to later.

Receipts

Press Receipt on a visit to issue one. It opens as a web page you can print or save as PDF, and the link can be sent to the client. Receipts are numbered in order for your business.

An issued receipt never changes. If you correct the visit afterwards, the receipt the client already has stays as it was — issue a new one, and void the old with a reason if it was wrong. That way two people never hold different papers with the same number.

FrontDesk does not take payments. A receipt records that you were paid; it is not a way for the client to pay.

Rebooking reminders

Fill in Remind on when writing up a visit and FrontDesk can nudge the client on that date with a link to book again. Turn it on under Business Settings → Hours → Remind clients when they are due back.

• One message per visit — never a repeat.
• Texts only go to clients who agreed to messages, and only once your SMS registration is active. Otherwise we email. If we have neither, nothing is sent.
• Anonymous walk-ins are skipped — no number, nobody to remind.

Vehicles and mileage

Auto shops get a vehicle on the visit: VIN, plate, year, make and model, with the mileage at the time of service. History belongs to the vehicle, so a client with two cars keeps two separate service histories.

The Visits page

The Visits item in the menu is where you look at the whole picture.

• Period — this month by default, or the last 7/30/90 days, everything, or dates you pick.
• Summary — revenue, number of visits, average visit, tips and what is still unpaid. Tips are shown separately and left out of revenue, because they are usually your staff's money.
• Breakdown — the same period regrouped by day, staff member, service or payment method.
• To write up — appointments that have happened with nothing recorded. This is the list to clear at the end of a day.
• Visits — filter by payment status or search by client, service or notes. Click a row to open that visit.
• Export CSV — the period as a spreadsheet, for your bookkeeper.

Who sees the amounts

Staff who are not allowed to see reports do not see money: amounts, payment method and the receipt button are hidden for them, while the notes, the work performed and the client's preferences stay visible so they can still do their job. Owners always see everything.

On your phone

The FrontDesk app has the same Visit section on an appointment, which is where most write-ups actually happen. If you save without a signal, the visit is kept on the phone and sent as soon as you are back online — it tells you when that happens.

Photos are easier here than on a computer: the camera button shoots straight into the visit, or pick from your gallery. Long-press a photo to remove it. A small eye on a thumbnail means it is marked shareable.