When a returning client books
How a one-time code lets the booking page recognise someone you already know, instead of creating them for the fourth time.
2 min readUpdated August 14, 2026
A regular of four years books online for the first time and lands in your client list as a brand new lead. No history, no notes, no idea they've been coming since 2022. Then it happens again in March, and now there are three of them.
The one-time code on the last step is what stops that. It isn't only spam protection — it's the moment the page can safely work out who's booking.
What the client sees
- 1
They type their phone number and press Send code. A six-digit code arrives by text — or by email, if that's the channel you chose in Settings → Online booking.
- 2
They enter it. The field shows Verified and the phone locks.
- 3
If you already know them, the page asks Who's this appointment for? and lists the records on that number — a first name, a last initial, and a masked email each. Plus Someone else.
- 4
They pick. Choosing a name binds the booking to that record: their history, their notes, their memberships. No new client is created and nothing is re-typed.
Choosing Someone else brings the name and email fields back for a genuine first-timer — a partner or a child on a shared phone. It isn't a one-way door; there's a link straight back to the list, so a mis-tap doesn't cost another code.
Book again
Once they've picked themselves, the page can offer their last few visits as one-tap chips: the same services, the same stylist. Tapping one swaps the booking over and returns them to pick a time.
The chips are filtered to what you can still honour today. A discontinued service drops out; a stylist who's left degrades the chip to Anyone rather than removing it, because the visit is still worth re-booking even if the person isn't there.
What is and isn't shared
A proven phone number buys a first name, a last initial, a masked email, and those few chips. It does not buy prices, notes, no-show history, memberships or form answers. Somebody who got hold of a client's phone can make a real appointment in their name — loud, reversible, and paid for with their own card — but they cannot read that client's relationship with your salon.
If any record on a number is blocked from booking online, the page shows nothing at all rather than confirming what you've done.
Keep verification on
Turning Require contact verification off removes the code — and takes recognition with it, because there's nothing left proving who's on the other end. Every online booking goes back to minting a fresh record.
Common questions
Why does the page ask for a code at all?
Two reasons. It stops a bot filling your Saturday with bookings that don't exist, and it's what makes recognition safe — we'll only tell someone which records are on a number after they've proved they receive its messages.
The code never arrives. What now?
They can switch channel — Email me the code instead — or resend. If nothing works, the page shows your salon's own number, because the one business that can definitely still book them is the one they're looking at. Book it at the desk and it's done.
Two family members share a phone. What happens?
They both appear in the picker, most recently seen first, and whoever's booking chooses. That's exactly the case a silent auto-match would get wrong.
A client's record shows their old number. Will they be recognised?
Not on the old one. Recognition matches against the number currently on the record — so an out-of-date record means they're treated as new, never that a stranger is handed someone else's history.
How many codes can someone request?
Three per contact per ten minutes. Enough for a real client with patchy signal, not enough to be worth abusing.
I've ended up with duplicates from before. Can I fix them?
Yes — duplicate records can be merged from the client's record, and history follows the record you keep.
Related articles
- The rules bookings followOnline booking · Where the times on your booking page come from — hours, rota, buffers and slot intervals — and what happens on a day with nothing free.
- Find a clientClients · Searching by name, email or phone, and narrowing a long list down with filters when you don't know who you're looking for yet.
- Your booking pageOnline booking · The page your clients actually land on — four steps, real availability, and the link you put in your bio.
Can’t find what you’re looking for?
Book a 20-minute walkthrough and we’ll answer it on a screen share — or start free and try it on your own salon’s data.