Brindle Booking RoadMap

Brindle Booking Roadmap

Updated 5/03/22

CURRENT RELEASE | v 1.1.7

A Note on This Release:

This is by far the most crucial update we’ve released since launching the product itself. We urge you to update as soon as possible to enjoy two huge new features. Full details to the right!

VERSION 1.1.7

1.1.7 Update

This huge update has finally arrived! Check out the highlights:

Fully Revamped Google Calendar solution: Where previously users were required to setup oAuth codes, our new solution removes the requirement entirely, and is activated with a single click that syncs with your Google Calendar instantly. Even better, now staff members will also be able to have appointments added to their own calendar when visitors book appointments with them, as does the admin of the site (if they so choose), who can sync all appointments with their “master calendar”. This is one of the most massive updates in Brindle Booking’s history, and we’re ecstatic to finally bring it to light.
Zoom Integration: Zoom has now been fully integrated into the plugin, and can automatically generate a Zoom link for any service you choose. Simply activate it via the Integrations tab, then select the “Generate Zoom Link” option when editing/creating a new service. Simple as that!
Fixes: Lots of tiny fixes throughout the plugin.

VERSION 1.1.6

1.1.6 Update

Fix: There have been reports by some customers that the times reported for each booking were adding additional hours to the time slot. For example, a half hour booking may have been confirmed as 9 hours in the email. This has been resolved.
Fix: Fixed an issue where the staff member was not being included in email notifications and the booking summary on step 4 of the front-end booking interface. Now fixed!

VERSION 1.1.5

1.1.5 Updates

Added support for the following currencies: KES/KSH, SEK, DKK, NOK, IDR, RON, HUF, BRL
NEW FEATURE: Added the ability to disable double bookings of any time slot. When enabled, this setting will hide any time slot that has been previously booked, even if the user selects a different service. You’ll find this new setting under the “Front End Settings” of the Settings tab. Note: When “Show booked time Slots” is enabled, the booked time slots will still be displayed, but will not be bookable.

VERSION 1.1.4

1.1.4 Updates

Fixed an issue where the currency symbol (if not US Dollar) would revert to US Dollar symbol if a different category was selected on step 1 of the booking interface.

VERSION 1.1.3

1.1.3 Updates

You can now specify the exact admin roles that receive an email, or disable emails going to users with admin roles altogether. This is done with the new interface featured in the notifications tab, which allows you to choose from all users with the Admin role. Note by default this is set to the main site admin.

VERSION 1.1.2: RELEASED 3/26/21

1.1.2 Updates

If no payments are attached to a service, the payment method will no longer display in the email details.
Added more options for including all collected details in email notifications. These new labels are included in the Label guide and can be added as needed to include any element in the emails sent to admin and/or staff members.

VERSION 1.1.0: RELEASED 3/26/21

NEW FEATURES:

Three huge new features are included in this release:

Page Embeds: The Brindle Booking front-end interface can now be embedded directly into a page via our new shortcode (located in the help tab). You can see a demo here.

Dynamic Per-Service Pricing: You may no combine free services with priced services: If a service is free, the payment method options will be hidden automatically. In the same instance, if the service has a price assigned to it, the payment options will show.

Per page code loading: You now have the ability to pre-load Brindle Booking code on any page you like, making Brindle Booking even leaner than previous iterations. If you only have Brindle Booking on one page of your site, you can specify that code should be loaded ONLY on that page vs. site-wide.

VERSION 1.0.9: RELEASED 3/19/21

Fix: Fixed an issue where step two would display the date before the one selected on step one for some international users. This was a bug caused by the switch to daylight savings, and related to a WordPress setting in that regard. It is now fixed and the date will remian consistent thorughout the booking process.

VERSION 1.0.8: RELEASED 3/12/21

Fix: Fixed an issue where visitors could not progress to step two of the front end booking interface.

Tweak: Added support for decimal-based pricing of services.

VERSION 1.0.7: RELEASED 3/8/21

Redirect Feature:You now have the option to redirect a visitor to any link after they have booked an appointment.

Additional Currencies: Added PLN, AUD, INR, and MYR currencies.

FIXES:

Fixed an issue where Divi page builder was not loading properly.
“Add New Category” in admin was not translating correctly. This is now resolved.
If all payment methods were disabled, the payment method was still displaying as “Payment on Location” on step 4. This will now be excluded if no payment options are enabled.

VERSION 1.0.6: RELEASED 3/8/21

Ability to Edit Notifications in Admin: Brindle Booking now allows you to customize the message that is sent to both customers/clients and the admin and staff members. This is done in the new “Notifications” tab in admin.

New “Notifications” tab in Admin: Per the above item, admin will now also receive notifications via email when an appointment is booked (via global schedule as well as appointments made for staff members). For staff members, this will also be sent to the email used when setting up their profile. If using a “global schedule” it will only go to the email set in your site’s wp-admin settings.

Additional Time Increments: Added 2 hour and 4 hour increments to the schedule.

FIXES: Fixed an issue where the dates were shifting in the slider of Step 2.

VERSION 1.0.5: RELEASED 2/26/21

Translation Support: Implementation of .po files for full translation support via plugins like Loco Translate.

Hide Non-bookable days: Days with no bookable slots assigned are now unelectable on front end interface, and a “No appointments are available, please select a different day.” message appears in the slider of step 2 if the user navigates to days with no slots.

No Time Slots Message: A tooltip now appears in the calendar alerting users if a day has no selectable slots.

24 Hour Clock: Added the option to switch the schedule to a 24 hour clock, or a 12 hour clock.

Compatibility Tweaks: Updated compatibility with “Hello” theme and others that were conflicting with the plugin’s CSS. Minor Javascript fixes.

VERSION 1.0.4: RELEASED 2/19/21

Staff Feature: Support of multiple staff members, each with their own schedule and access to change/edit their availability. Staff members will receive confirmations to all bookings via a unique email, and you will be able to select which members to include on the front end. Additionally, you can still use the “Global Schedule” which omits the staff members and uses a single booking interface.

Multiple Currencies: You can now use multiple currenices, all of which will charge as expected in the currency set in admin, as well as displaying the selected currency’s symbol in all steps of the booking interface.

Advanced API Key functionality: Admin will now have an assigned API Key used to activate the product and receive update notifications. Note you must download the new file from the API Downloads tab in your account, and your new API Key is in the API Keys tab.

GDPR Acknowledgment: Ability to add an Acknowledgement to the booking process so the user must confirm to agree to privacy policy, terms of conditions, etc.

CSS Updates: Misc. Design tweaks for consistency across all sites. Polish to certain visual elements by our lead designer (tightened fonts, spacing, etc. throughout).

FIXES & UX TWEAKS:

Fixed a bug in regards to caching issues, which conflicted with certain plugins.
Fixed a bug where Multisite integration was not allowing settings to be saved in Brindle Booking.
On Windows browsers (confirmed on Chrome/Edge) the dropdown for the date selection was showing white text on a light background. This has been addressed.
User can no longer select dates that have past (step 2 in the slider).
Required fields now require proper entry of email and phone number formatting.
Payment options dropdown is now a required field, removing the risk of users missing that option.
On step three, if a user selects “Pay online via credit card” but then selects a different payment method, the credit card area will hide again.

Upcoming | Oct-Dec

Projected Releases: Throughout Fall/Winter 2021

Completed

Additional Payment Options: Payment support via Paypal. *Feature is complete, waiting on approval by Paypal. Note this has been delayed until Paypal is reachable, which has not been possible for some reason. We will be moving on to support for Mollie in the meantime.

Webhooks: Webhook integration for integrating third party products.

Custom fields: Ability to customize existing field labels for included forms.

Integration with additional calendars: iCal, Outlook Calendar, etc. Improved integration with Google Calendar (potentially 2 way sync).

Multiple bookings per time slot: Ability to specify how many bookings are allowed for each time slot. This will be indicated on the front end interface via a “4 slots available” type of message. Once filled, it will show as “4 out of 4 slots booked!” When the “Display booked slots” option is enabled, or it can be set to hide when the slot is filled.

Group Bookings: Ability to accept group bookings of multiple individuals per time slot. User can select how many people are attending the appointment.

Google Meets Integration: Allows ability for generation of Google Meet link based on booked time slot.

Advanced Time Slot Selection: Ability to select time slots in bulk (holding shift) in the Schedule to quickly select time slots.

Location Label: Enter title of “location” label. This label will replace the physical address displayed on the front end, while still using the address entered to provide directions.

CSS Editing: Ability to add custom CSS directly in the admin vs. in the code itself. This will allow you to add unique customizations beyond those inccluded in the admin.

Currently Discussing

*Note these items may or may not be included in the above releases, and are actively being researched for development. If you’d like to request a specific item on this list to be bumped, let us know here, and we’ll consider it based on overall demand!

Multiple Location Support: Ability to add and choose from multiple locations. User can select a location where they’d like to book the appointment, and can get directions to the specific location based n their choice.

Promo codes/coupons: Ability to apply a single promo code to reduce cost on any service, using a percentage you set in the new “Coupons” section.

3rd Party Form Support: Ability to embed a 3rd party form, or choose the default form fields.

Additional Staff Options: Ability to display info on each staff member via an info icon: Will display bio and photo via a tooltip overlay on click. Ability to assign services to specific staff members so that when a service is selected, only the staff members “tagged” with that services will display during the booking process.

Advanced design options: Control over front-end style such as corner radius, button shapes, and different animations. Additional color and gradient options.

Advanced Time Increments: Ability to assign different time increment to each service.

Black Listing: Ability to mark holidays and other “black list” dates so they are automatically blocked off.

Add ons: Ability to add an “upsell” info where a customer can select multiple add-on products/services. These will each have their one price, and will be an optional feature that is in addition to the main service being booked.

Multiple Day Bookings: Additional support for extended bookings allowing customers to book a range of days, which extends the plugin to support Hotel/BnB bookings and multi-day events.

View by User’s Time Zone: Ability for visitors to view the schedule based on their own time zone.

Ability to Specify Email: where the notifications of appointments are to be sent to site admin (note Staff Members will still receive email confirmation through the email setup on their user profile).