Creating a barber booking app simplifies scheduling for both customers and barbers. Customers can book appointments, view services, and manage their schedules anytime. Barbers can handle bookings, track earnings, and avoid scheduling conflicts. Platforms like Adalo make this process accessible even without coding skills, offering tools like drag-and-drop design, prebuilt templates, and integration with payment systems like Stripe.
Key Features to Include:
- Appointment Scheduling: Avoids conflicts with real-time updates.
- User Profiles: Separate dashboards for customers and barbers.
- Service Listings: Clear pricing, descriptions, and photos.
- Availability Calendars: Real-time open slots for bookings.
Steps to Build the App:
- Plan features and database structure.
- Set up user logins and profiles.
- Build the booking system with calendars and service selection.
- Add payment processing and notifications.
- Create an admin dashboard for barbers to manage schedules and earnings.
- Test thoroughly and launch across web, iOS, and Android platforms.
Adalo's standout feature is its ability to build and deploy an app for the web, iOS, and Android without any rebuilding required. This ensures a smooth experience across all platforms. Whether you're a barber or an app creator, this guide covers everything needed to bring your idea to life.
6 Steps to Build a Barber Booking App with Adalo
Adalo Tutorial: Create Your Own Event Booking App
Step 1: Plan Your App Features and Database
Before diving into development, it’s essential to map out your app’s functionality and data structure. Think of this step as laying the groundwork for your app - it defines how your app will work and how it will manage information. Skipping this step could lead to major headaches later, like dealing with double-bookings or mismatched data. As the Adalo team wisely says:
Your database structure is the foundation of your scheduling app.
Key Features to Include
For a barber booking app to run smoothly, there are four must-have features:
- Appointment scheduling: Allows customers to pick available times without any conflicts or overlaps.
- User profiles: Differentiates customers from barbers. Customers can view their booking history and saved payment methods, while barbers can track earnings and manage their availability.
- Service listings: Showcases the services you offer, complete with pricing, descriptions, and photos of haircuts or treatments.
- Availability calendars: Displays real-time open slots in daily, weekly, or monthly formats. These calendars automatically update when appointments are booked or canceled.
These features are powered by your database. For instance, when a customer selects a service, the app checks which barbers provide it, shows their available time slots, and creates a booking record. This record links the customer, barber, service, date, and payment - all stored in interconnected database collections.
Sketch Your App Screens
Start by sketching out your app’s screens, either on paper or using a design tool like Figma. Outline the user journey for both customers and barbers:
-
Customer flow:
- Home Screen: Browse services with photos.
- Service Selection: Choose a haircut or treatment and view pricing.
- Barber & Time Selection: See available barbers and pick a time using a calendar.
- Booking Confirmation: Review details like date, time, and total cost.
- Profile Dashboard: Check upcoming appointments and booking history.
-
Barber flow:
- Calendar View: View daily schedules with appointment blocks.
- Earnings Tracker: Track earnings by day, week, or month in USD.
- Customer Reviews: Access feedback from clients.
These wireframes are more than just a design exercise - they help you figure out which database collections will feed each screen. For example, the Service Selection screen pulls data from a Services collection, while the calendar picker queries a Time Slots collection filtered by barber availability.
Use Adalo AI to Build Your Database
Adalo’s built-in database acts as a structured data table, storing all the information your app needs. You’ll set up Collections (data groups) for Customers, Services, Bookings, and Time Slots, each with specific Properties (fields). Here’s what you’ll need:
- Customers: Fields like name, email, phone number, profile photo, and booking history.
- Services: Title, description, price (stored as a number for calculations), duration, and photo.
- Bookings: Links everything together - customer ID, barber ID, service IDs, date/time (formatted as MM/DD/YYYY h:MM AM/PM for U.S. users), status (e.g., pending, confirmed, completed), and total cost.
- Time Slots: Prevents double-bookings by storing barber ID, date, start and end times, capacity (usually 1), and status (available, booked, or blocked).
Adalo’s Feature Templates can help you quickly generate and link these collections. With over 1,000,000 apps powered by Adalo, this platform is designed to handle growth as your barbershop expands. Once your database is set up, you’ll be ready to move on to building your app’s interactive features in the next steps.
Step 2: Set Up User Login and Profiles
Once your database is set up, it's time to secure user access. Adalo simplifies this process with its built-in Users collection, which automatically handles email and password authentication. This feature eliminates the need to build security measures from the ground up, giving you a solid framework for creating personalized user experiences in your barber booking app.
Create Registration and Login Screens
Adalo provides pre-designed "Signup" and "Login" screens that you can access using the "+" button in the screen menu. These templates come with form fields already linked to your Users collection, allowing both customers and barbers to register and log in seamlessly using their email and password. To enhance security, use the "Change input value" action to clear the password field after login.
To distinguish between user roles, add a "User Type" property to the Users collection. This lets users select either "Customer" or "Barber" during registration, ensuring they are directed to the correct dashboard after logging in.
Build Customer and Barber Profiles
With user login in place, the next step is to design unique profiles for customers and barbers. For customer profiles, include fields such as Name, Phone Number, Profile Photo, and Booking History. On the barber side, their profiles should showcase details like Bio/Background, Services Offered, Pricing, Working Hours, and a Portfolio Gallery to display their work.
Adalo's drag-and-drop forms make it easy to map these inputs directly to database fields like "Name" or "Profile Photo". To manage availability, barbers can set their schedules by linking their profiles to the Time Slots collection, ensuring accurate calendars and avoiding double-bookings. As Adalo explains:
The backend connects with other external applications (like Stripe for payments), allows users to log in, and executes user requests, such as executing a booking request or pulling up a new screen.
These profiles are more than just static pages - they act as the command center for your app. With this structure in place, you're now ready to tackle the booking system.
Step 3: Build the Appointment Booking System
Once users are authenticated, the focus of your app shifts to creating an efficient appointment booking experience. This is where customers explore services, select time slots, and confirm their appointments, while barbers manage their schedules seamlessly. Real-time updates are key to avoiding double-bookings and ensuring a smooth process for both parties. Let’s break down how to build your booking screens.
Design the Booking Screens
Start by designing a Service Selection Screen where customers can explore the services you offer. Use a Collection List component linked to your Services database. Each service should display an image, title (e.g., Fade Haircut), description, price (formatted as $29.99), and duration (e.g., 30 minutes). Include a "Select Service" button that records the customer’s choice and takes them to the next step.
Next, create an Available Times Screen to show open time slots for the selected service. This screen should filter your Time Slots collection to display only those slots where the barber is free and the slot hasn’t already been booked. Use Adalo’s date picker to display dates and times in the US format (MM/DD/YYYY with 12-hour AM/PM times). When a customer selects a slot, mark it as "pending" temporarily to prevent double-bookings while they finish the reservation process.
Finally, develop a Confirmation Screen that summarizes the details: selected service, barber, date/time (e.g., "01/20/2026 at 2:00 PM"), and cost in USD. Add a button that finalizes the booking by creating a record, updating the time slot to "booked", and showing a success message. To improve functionality, consider adding options for configurable slot durations and cancellations.
Add Calendar Views
After setting up the booking screens, incorporate calendar views to provide a clear schedule overview. Calendars help both customers and barbers stay organized. Use the Calendar Component from the Marketplace and connect it to your Bookings collection. Map the start and end date properties from your database using the "magic number" button.
For customers, filter the calendar to display only their bookings. Barbers, on the other hand, should see all appointments assigned to them, with statuses color-coded: green for available, blue for booked, and red for canceled. Set the first day of the week to Sunday (common in the US) and include day, week, and month views to help barbers plan ahead. The "Barber Services Application" (developed in 2022) implemented this feature, giving barbers control over their daily, weekly, and monthly schedules while preventing appointment overlaps.
If Adalo doesn’t offer a built-in time slot generator, you can create a Time Slots helper collection with standard intervals (e.g., 9:00 AM, 9:30 AM, 10:00 AM, etc.). Display these slots in a filtered list based on the date selected on the calendar. This ensures customers see accurate availability and barbers avoid scheduling conflicts in real time.
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Step 4: Add Payments and Notifications
Finalizing transactions and sending confirmations are the last steps in creating a seamless booking process for customers and barbers. These features ensure a polished experience - customers can pay for their appointments, and both parties stay updated with notifications about bookings, confirmations, and reminders.
Set Up Payment Processing
To handle payments, integrate the Stripe Kit and add the Stripe Payment component to your checkout screen. Link your Stripe account through the component's interface and use Magic Text to dynamically display the price of the selected service. For instance, if a fade haircut costs $29.99, that amount will automatically appear at checkout.
If you need to include taxes, Adalo's Custom Formula field within the component can calculate and add the tax amount. Keep in mind that Stripe's standard transaction fees in the U.S. are 2.9% + $0.30 per successful card charge. To track all transactions, set up a Transactions collection in your database with fields like Amount, Status (Pending/Completed), Stripe Charge ID, and Created Date.
Before launching your app, switch to Test Mode and use Stripe's test card numbers (e.g., 4242 4242 4242 4242) to ensure everything works smoothly.
Configure Push Notifications
Once payment processing is set up, focus on keeping users informed with timely notifications. Use workflows to trigger notifications for key events, such as when a new booking is created or when an appointment is nearing. For example, you can add a Push Notification action to the payment button's workflow so customers receive confirmation immediately after their payment is processed.
To minimize no-shows, automate reminders to go out 24 hours before appointments. This not only helps customers remember their bookings but also allows barbers to manage their schedules more effectively. As the Adalo Team explains:
When they get reminders, chances are they won't forget about their appointment and they'll show up on time.
Prompt users to enable notifications early by triggering the "Request Notification Permission" action when they first open your app. To give users more control, consider adding a Notification Settings screen where they can choose their preferred method of communication - email, push, or SMS.
Step 5: Build an Admin Dashboard for Barbers
Once you've tackled the user-side features, it's time to focus on the barbers. An admin dashboard gives barbers the tools they need to efficiently manage their bookings, schedules, and more. After setting up payments and notifications, this dashboard becomes the hub for their day-to-day operations.
Create Booking and Schedule Management
Start by designing a screen where barbers can view all their appointments. Use Adalo's List component and link it to your Appointments collection. Apply a filter so that only the appointments for the logged-in barber are displayed. This ensures that each barber only sees their own bookings.
Include key details for each appointment, such as the client's name, service type, date, time, price, and booking status. Enhance functionality by adding interactive elements like buttons or swipe actions. These can allow barbers to confirm or reject appointments, update bookings when clients request additional services, or cancel appointments if needed.
For a more visual approach, integrate Adalo's Calendar component. Configure the calendar specifically for the admin dashboard, enabling barbers to view their bookings in daily, weekly, or monthly formats. This visual aid makes it easier to track and manage appointments at a glance.
Additionally, create a screen for barbers to set their working hours. Use toggle switches for each day of the week, paired with time pickers to define start and end times. This feature helps minimize unbooked slots and ensures accurate real-time reservation tracking. To make the dashboard even more useful, include a section for earnings statistics. Use Magic Text with formulas to calculate total earnings and profits (based on commission rates) from completed appointments. Display this data in daily, weekly, and monthly views to keep barbers informed about their performance.
Set Up Role-Based Access
Security and role-based access are essential for keeping your app organized and user-friendly. Add a User Type field to your Users collection with roles like "Customer", "Barber", and "Admin." Alternatively, you can create a True/False property (e.g., "Is Barber?") to control access to specific features.
Each user type should have access to only the tools they need. Customers, for example, should be able to book services, view service details, and check their appointment histories. Barbers, on the other hand, should have a personal dashboard where they can manage bookings, control schedules, track earnings, and view customer ratings. However, they shouldn't have access to system-wide settings or data from other barbers.
Administrators require full access, including tools to create business hours, set shift slots, register new barbers with commission rates, set service prices, manage all reservations, and view detailed financial reports.
To enforce these access levels, use Adalo's conditional logic on buttons and forms. For instance, restrict sensitive actions like deleting services or editing other barbers' schedules to users with the "Admin" role. This layered approach ensures that everyone has the right tools while keeping your app secure and well-organized.
Step 6: Test and Launch Your App
With the app’s main features and admin tools ready, it’s time to ensure everything works smoothly and refine the user experience. After completing the admin dashboard, test every workflow thoroughly to confirm everything functions as expected. Once testing is complete, you can deploy your app to the web and app stores using Adalo’s publishing tools.
Test Your App
Start by clicking the Preview button to test the app in a desktop browser. Then, use the Adalo Preview app on an iPhone or Android device to evaluate mobile performance and device-specific features.
Create test accounts for each user role - customers, barbers, and admins. Simulate real-life scenarios by booking, confirming, and canceling appointments. Check that the calendar updates correctly, payment processing works (in USD, formatted as $XX.XX), and notifications trigger at the right moments. Pay close attention to critical situations, like double-booking, by attempting to schedule two appointments for the same time slot. This helps confirm your database logic prevents overlapping bookings. Also, test cancellations to ensure the time slot reopens immediately. Verify that earnings calculations display accurate totals in US dollars (e.g., $50.00) across daily, weekly, and monthly views. Once satisfied with the functionality, move on to refining the user experience.
Improve the User Experience
Make navigation simple and intuitive by using bottom tabs for essential sections like Dashboard, Bookings, and Profile. Use a color-coded calendar system - green for available slots and red for booked ones - and include clear booking summaries with customer name, service details, cost, and date/time.
Ensure your app performs well on various devices. Use Adalo’s preview tools to test different screen sizes, such as the iPhone 15, Samsung Galaxy S21, and multiple desktop resolutions. Add loading spinners during API calls to improve responsiveness. Use conditional visibility to display role-specific content, ensuring, for example, that customers don’t see admin reports and barbers don’t access system-wide settings. Simplify service selection by including photos and clear descriptions, and make booking history searchable by reference number for easy tracking.
Publish to App Stores and Web
Adalo’s single-build workflow lets you create your app once and deploy it across multiple platforms. To publish to the web, click the profile button on the Horizontal Ribbon, go to Settings > Domain, and enter a custom domain (e.g., one registered through GoDaddy). Your app will be hosted as a Progressive Web App (PWA), ensuring compatibility across browsers.
For mobile app publishing, navigate to Settings > Publish to generate builds for iOS and Android. You’ll need an Apple Developer account ($99 per year) and a Google Play Console account ($25 one-time fee). Follow Adalo’s instructions to complete the process. Use TestFlight (iOS) and Google’s testing platform to test your builds thoroughly before submitting them to the app stores.
Keep in mind that publishing requires an Adalo paid plan, starting at $45/month. Once your app is live, monitor its analytics dashboard daily to track user behavior, identify popular screens, and address bugs promptly. This ensures your app remains functional and provides a great experience for users.
Conclusion
You've now crafted a fully functional barber booking app - from the initial planning stages all the way to launch. By following these six steps, you can create an app that connects barbers and their customers, all without needing to write a single line of code.
Adalo equips you with everything necessary to bring your app to life: a user-friendly visual builder, a hosted database, integrated payment processing, and the ability to publish your app across the web, Apple App Store, and Google Play Store - all from one build. With over one million apps already created on the platform, Adalo has proven its reliability and performance.
This process isn't just a guide - it's a roadmap to getting your app live and in the hands of users.
FAQs
How can Adalo help me build a barber booking app quickly and easily?
Adalo makes creating a barber booking app straightforward with its no-code platform and easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface. It offers Feature Templates, like appointment scheduling, that come pre-configured with everything you need - actions, database setup, and a user-friendly interface. All that's left is for you to personalize it with your barber shop’s specific details, such as services, staff, and availability.
The platform also includes pre-designed components for user profiles, service catalogs, payment processing, and notifications. You can adjust these elements to reflect your brand by customizing colors, text, and formatting. Adalo takes care of data storage and ensures your app runs smoothly on Android, iOS, and the web. Without writing a single line of code, you can launch a sleek, fully functional app in just a few hours and easily expand it as your business grows.
How can I make sure my barber booking app avoids double bookings?
To avoid double bookings in your barber app, here are some effective strategies you can implement:
- Verify availability before confirming appointments: Keep all appointments stored in a central database. When a user selects a specific time slot, run a quick database check to confirm it's still open. If the slot has already been taken, notify the user with an error message and block the booking.
- Display only open time slots: Adjust the calendar view so that users can only see and select time slots that are currently available. This eliminates the risk of someone choosing a time that's already booked.
- Temporarily lock slots during booking: While a user is in the process of booking, disable the booking button for that slot. This prevents accidental double-clicks or simultaneous bookings from multiple users.
Using these methods together can help your app avoid scheduling conflicts, ensuring a smooth experience for both barbers and their clients.
How can barbers manage their schedules and track earnings with the app?
Barbers can now take full control of their schedules by inputting their available time slots directly into the app. The built-in calendar automatically updates to show both open and booked slots in a clean, easy-to-read monthly layout. It even supports the 12-hour (AM/PM) format for convenience. Customers can browse services, check real-time availability, and book appointments seamlessly. Once a booking is made, it syncs instantly with the barber's calendar - no more juggling phone calls or dealing with manual scheduling. Plus, push notifications and in-app alerts keep barbers updated on new bookings, cancellations, or any changes.
On top of that, the app simplifies financial tracking by linking every appointment to its payment. Barbers can access their earnings through a straightforward dashboard, showing daily, weekly, or monthly totals in U.S. dollars (e.g., $120.00). They can also add custom fields to account for tips or extra fees. Need to see which services are your biggest money-makers? Generate reports directly in the app to identify trends and make smarter business decisions. Staying organized and managing finances has never been easier - all in one place.
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