Frequently asked questions
What is sched.fyi?
A one-link booking page for small businesses in the Philippines. Your customers tap the link, pick a time, and get an SMS confirmation. You get a dashboard that shows today's bookings, marks no-shows in one tap, and keeps a record. Built for cafés, spas, salons, dental clinics, and any service that books in 15-minute to half-day slots.
How much does it cost?
Every business gets a 1-month free trial regardless of when they sign up. After the trial, pricing is the current published rate for your tier (Notebook, Chain). On iPhone you can subscribe inside the app through Apple. Everywhere else, pay via manual cash / GCash / Maya / bank transfer — there is no card checkout on the web yet.
Do my customers need to install anything?
No. The booking link opens in any browser. Customers don't need an app, an account, or a sign-in — just their name and mobile number, or an email address if you set Ask for phone to optional or off. They receive an SMS confirmation and an .ics calendar invite they can open in Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, or Outlook; when no text can be sent and the booking has an email address (always the case when Ask for phone is optional or off), the confirmation and the invite come by email instead.
How reliable are the SMS confirmations?
We send through Semaphore with sender ID SCHEDFYI. For a booking with a mobile number our provider reaches, and SMS switched on for your business, the confirmation text goes out within seconds, and reminders 24 hours and 2 hours before the appointment when it was booked far enough ahead. Delivery to Globe and Smart networks is typical for PH SMB SMS — high but not 100%. If you need delivery proof, the dashboard shows sent / queued / failed status per booking. Every booking also comes with a calendar invite (.ics) the customer can add to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, or Outlook — so reminders fire at the device level too, even if SMS doesn't arrive. When no text goes out and the booking has an email address (always the case when Ask for phone is optional or off), the confirmation comes by email instead, with one reminder email the day before if it was booked more than a day ahead; email is the fallback, never a second message. With Ask for phone on Required, SMS off and no email field on your form, no confirmation message is sent.
What data do you keep, and for how long?
For a booking: your name, your mobile number or email address, the business, service, date and time, your answers to the business's booking-form questions and any waiver you signed, and, where the business asks for payment, the payment reference you typed and the proof-of-payment image you uploaded. We also keep the text messages we sent you. To stop abuse, each booking attempt records a device fingerprint (a hash of your browser details and IP address) together with the IP address; that abuse-tracking record is deleted after 90 days, while the fingerprint saved on the booking stays with the booking record. We never see card details: there is no card processor. Booking records stay with the business's records for as long as it uses sched.fyi; the booking audit trail is deleted after 12 months and abuse-tracking records after 90 days. You can ask for your data to be deleted at any time (next question). See the full Privacy Notice for specifics.
How do I delete my data?
Use the self-service form at /privacy/delete — enter the mobile number you booked with, confirm the SMS code we send, and your request goes to a human for review before anything is deleted. Prefer email? Send [email protected] your name and mobile number instead — we respond within 5 business days either way. Both paths remove your booking history, text-message log, waiver signatures, device records and any related opt-out flags, and destroy any proof-of-payment images; a booking paid with a class-pack credit is kept as a financial record with your details removed. This is your right under the Philippine Data Privacy Act of 2012.
Where is the data hosted?
Application servers run on Fly.io in the nearest low-latency Asia-Pacific region to the Philippines. The database is on Neon (managed Postgres), in the same region. Both providers honour standard security and encryption-at-rest. We don't mirror data to third-country marketing partners.
Can I take my booking link down without explaining anything?
Yes. Email [email protected] with "take my link down" and your business name — we'll do it within one business day, no questions asked. Your data stays intact and you can turn the link back on the same way. A self-serve toggle in your dashboard is on the immediate post-launch roadmap.
Can I use sched.fyi for multiple branches?
Yes — that's the Chain tier. Each branch has its own settings, hours, and booking page under a single owner login. The dashboard and the iPhone app show all branches together or one at a time, and SMS reminders name the branch.
What if I run a service with extras (extra bed, late checkout, deposits)?
Yes. Add extras to a service in Settings → Services: flat-priced items such as parking, equipment or towel service, or adult/child-priced items such as meals and entrance fees. They are added at booking time and appear as line items on the booking. Need something that isn't covered? Email [email protected].
Is there an iPhone app?
Yes. sched.fyi for iPhone is the free owner app on the App Store in the Philippines. Sign in with the same account you use on the web: today's bookings by service and staff, requests approved or declined in one tap, payment proof reviewed on the spot, and services, hours, team, branches and packages managed from your pocket. Your customers never need it — they book from your link in a browser. See /app.
How do customers pay?
Directly to you. Customers pay by bank transfer or GCash and attach their proof; you review it and approve. Nothing is marked paid until you say so. Class packs work the same way — email verification, payment to the business, owner approval, then credits apply automatically when the member books. sched.fyi does not hold or move customer money.
How do I report a security issue?
Email [email protected] — see /.well-known/security.txt for the disclosure policy. We respond within 5 business days and coordinate fixes before public disclosure.
Is there a status page if something breaks?
Not yet. For now, incidents are communicated directly through your registered contact channel. If sched.fyi seems down, check @joeyhipolito on X for live updates, or email [email protected]. A hosted status page is on the post-launch roadmap.