How Bookings Work

InkFronts uses two separate Square concepts: appointments and invoices. Understanding the difference will save a lot of confusion.

Appointments vs. invoices — why they're separate

Square Appointment

Holds time on your calendar. Tells Square (and your clients, if you use Square notifications) that a slot is reserved. An appointment has a status: Pending, Accepted, or Cancelled.

Square Invoice / Checkout

Requests money. For flash bookings, InkFronts generates a Square Checkout link for the deposit. For custom requests, you create and send this yourself when you're ready to confirm.

Important: These are independent objects in Square. Cancelling one does not automatically cancel the other. If a client fails to pay their deposit invoice, the appointment is still on your calendar until InkFronts or you remove it. If you cancel an appointment in Square, any outstanding invoice is still active. Always check both.

The flash booking flow

1
Client picks a flash piece from your storefront and clicks Book.
2
InkFronts creates a pending appointment in your Square calendar and generates a Square Checkout link for the deposit amount.
3
The client has 15 minutes to complete payment. A countdown timer is shown on their screen.
4
If they pay within 15 minutes, the booking is confirmed. You'll see it in your Square calendar and in Dashboard → Bookings.
5
If they don't pay in time, InkFronts cancels the appointment and releases the slot.

The custom request flow

1
Client fills out the custom request form: placement, size, reference images, and any notes.
2
InkFronts creates a pending appointment in your Square calendar and saves the request details in your InkFronts dashboard.
3
You review the request in Dashboard → Bookings at your own pace.
4
When you're ready to confirm, you send the client a deposit invoice directly — either through Square or via the Send Invoice button in InkFronts.
5
The client pays the deposit. You accept the appointment in Square.

Unlike flash, custom requests don't have an automatic timer. You manage the pace. We recommend setting expectations with clients upfront about how long your review process takes.

What clients see

After a flash booking, clients are redirected to a confirmation page and receive a Square payment receipt. If you have Square Appointments Plus, they may also receive a Square confirmation email depending on your notification settings.

For custom requests, clients see a confirmation that their request was submitted. They don't receive a deposit link until you send one. Make sure your response time expectations are visible somewhere on your storefront or in your bio so clients aren't left wondering.