Professional appointment booking system for WordPress. Manage locations, schedule appointments, and automate customer notifications.
Next Open is the appointment booking plugin designed specifically for businesses that operate across multiple locations. Whether you manage 2 clinics or 36 salons, Next Open lets customers book appointments at the right location, with the right staff, at the right time — all from a single booking form on your WordPress site.
Most booking plugins treat multi-location as an afterthought. Next Open was built around it from day one. Each location gets its own business hours, holiday calendar, staff roster, and time slot configuration. Customers pick their location first, then see only the availability for that specific branch.
Why businesses choose Next Open over other booking plugins:
- Built natively for multi-location appointment booking — not a bolt-on add-on
- Each location has independent schedules, staff, services, and holidays
- One shortcode powers all locations — no duplicate pages needed
- Location-specific email notifications — each branch only sees their own bookings (Pro)
- Lightweight and fast — scripts only load on pages with the booking form
- No monthly fees — one-time purchase for Pro, free version is free forever
Core Features (Free)
- Unlimited locations with individual business hours
- Real-time appointment availability checking
- Automated email confirmations for customers and admin
- Customizable time slots (15, 30, or 60 minutes)
- Holiday and closure date management per location
- Mobile-responsive booking form
- Customer database with booking history
- Admin dashboard with appointment overview and filtering
- Timezone support for accurate scheduling
- Simple [next_open_booking] shortcode integration
Pro Features
Upgrade to Next Open Pro for advanced multi-location capabilities:
- Staff Management — Add team members with photos, bios, individual availability schedules, and service assignments per location
- Location-Specific Notifications — Each location’s staff receives only their own booking notifications, not every booking across the business
- Confirmation & Cancellation Alerts — Staff are notified instantly when customers confirm or cancel appointments
- Day-Before Appointment Reminders — Automatic reminder emails sent to both customers and staff to reduce no-shows
- Services & Pricing — Create services with variable pricing and durations per location
- Stripe Payment Integration — Accept credit card payments or deposits at booking time
- Custom Form Fields — Add unlimited custom fields to collect location-specific information
- Customer Self-Service Portal — Customers cancel or reschedule via secure magic links, no account needed
- Buffer Times — Add preparation time between appointments to prevent back-to-back bookings
- CSV Import/Export — Bulk import staff, appointments, and customer data
- Priority Email Support — Dedicated support for Pro customers
Perfect For Multi-Location Businesses
- Medical and dental practices with multiple offices
- Hair salons and barbershop chains
- Consulting firms with regional offices
- Wellness centers and spa chains
- Auto service centers
- Veterinary clinics
- Tutoring and educational services
- Legal and accounting practices
- Fitness studios and gyms
- Any service business with 2 or more locations
How It Works
- Install Next Open and add your business locations
- Set business hours and time slot intervals for each location
- Add holidays and closure dates per location
- Place the [next_open_booking] shortcode on any page
- Customers select a location, pick a date and time, and book
- Confirmation emails are sent automatically
- Manage all appointments from your WordPress dashboard
Developer Friendly
Built with clean, well-documented code following WordPress coding standards. Includes action hooks and filters so developers can extend the booking functionality for custom workflows.
Support
Free Support: WordPress.org Forums
Pro Support: Admin@oiopublisher.com
Website: oiopublisher.com
Upgrade to Pro: oiopublisher.com/next-open
Screenshots
Clean booking form with location selection and time slots
Admin dashboard showing all appointments with filtering
Staff management interface with availability scheduling
Location business hours configuration
Client database with booking history and analytics
Appointments list with status management
How does multi-location appointment booking work?
Customers see all your locations in one booking form. When they select a location, the calendar shows availability based on that specific location’s business hours, existing appointments, and holiday calendar. Each location operates completely independently — different hours, different staff, different services.
Can I manage 20, 30, or more locations from one WordPress site?
Absolutely. Next Open supports unlimited locations with no performance penalty. Each location has its own schedule, staff, holidays, and settings. The plugin was designed for businesses scaling across many locations.
Do I need separate booking forms for each location?
No. One shortcode — [next_open_booking] — displays all your locations. Customers choose their preferred location, then see only the available times for that branch.
Can each location receive only their own booking notifications?
Yes, with Pro. When a customer books at Location A, only the staff assigned to Location A receive the notification email. Other locations are not notified. This is essential for businesses with many locations.
Do staff get notified when a booking is confirmed or cancelled?
Yes, with Pro. Staff receive instant email alerts when a customer confirms or cancels. Cancellation alerts let staff know the time slot is available again.
Are appointment reminder emails sent automatically?
Yes, with Pro. Both customers and location staff receive automatic reminder emails the day before each appointment. This reduces no-shows and keeps staff prepared.
Can customers book appointments with a specific staff member?
Yes, with Pro. Staff members are assigned to locations with individual availability schedules. Customers can optionally choose their preferred staff member during booking.
What appointment time slot intervals are available?
You can choose 15-minute, 30-minute, or 60-minute intervals. Each location can have its own interval setting.
Can each location have different business hours?
Yes. Each location has completely independent business hours. You can set different hours for every day of the week, and each location has its own holiday calendar.
How does the customer booking process work?
Customers select a location, choose a date from the calendar, pick an available time slot, and fill out their contact information. They receive an instant email confirmation with a link to confirm the appointment.
What happens if two customers try to book the same time slot?
Next Open checks availability in real-time. The first customer to complete the booking gets the slot. The second customer is told the slot is no longer available and asked to choose another time.
Can I accept payments when customers book?
Yes, with Pro. Stripe integration lets you accept credit card payments or deposits at booking time. You can set per-location pricing and choose whether payment is required or optional.
Can customers cancel or reschedule their own appointments?
Yes, with Pro. Customers receive a secure magic link in their confirmation email that gives them access to a self-service portal. No account creation required.
Does Next Open work with my theme?
Yes. The booking form inherits your theme’s styling and is fully responsive on mobile, tablet, and desktop. It works with all major page builders including Elementor, Divi, and Beaver Builder.
Can I import appointments and staff from a spreadsheet?
Yes, with Pro. The CSV import/export feature lets you bulk import staff members, appointments, and customer data.
Is Next Open GDPR compliant?
Next Open stores only the minimal customer data required for appointment bookings (name, email, phone). No data is sent to external services unless you enable Stripe payments.
What if my confirmation emails aren’t being received?
Check spam folders first. If emails are still not arriving, install an SMTP plugin like WP Mail SMTP for reliable email delivery. This is a common WordPress issue not specific to Next Open.
How do I upgrade to Next Open Pro?
Visit oiopublisher.com/next-open to purchase Pro. Install it alongside the free version — your existing data stays intact and Pro features activate immediately.
Do I need to keep the free version installed with Pro?
Yes. Pro is an add-on that extends the free version. Both plugins work together.
Is there a money-back guarantee?
Yes. We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee on Pro.
ChangeLog
1.4.8
- Added: Deactivation feedback survey — emails reason and site info to developer
- Added: Review prompt after 5+ appointments — asks for WordPress.org review
1.4.7
- Added: Portal URL placeholder support for Pro customer self-service portal
- Improved: Email placeholder system extended for portal links
1.4.6
- Improved: Modernized UI across all admin pages — appointments, clients, staff, holidays, filters
- Improved: Rounded cards, cleaner tables, refined status badges, modern buttons and form inputs
1.4.5
- Improved: Modernized admin dashboard with premium card design and better empty states
- Improved: Cleaner stat cards, location list, and quick action buttons
1.4.4
- Improved: Modernized settings page with card-based layout
- Improved: Better visual hierarchy and form styling across admin pages
1.4.3
- Added: Email filter hooks for Pro customizable email templates
- Improved: Email class refactored with reusable layout and placeholder system
1.4.2
- Added: Onboarding setup wizard for first-time users
- Improved: SEO-optimized readme with better tags and description
- Improved: Tested up to WordPress 6.9
1.4.1
- Added: Post-booking action hook for Pro plugin extensibility
- Added: Appointment confirmation and cancellation action hooks for Pro notifications
- Fixed: Pro fields (staff_id, service_id, payment data) now properly stored with appointments
- Improved: Pro compatibility for location-specific staff notifications
1.4.0
- Added: Phone number and notes fields to booking form
- Improved: Appointment data handling
1.3.9 – 2025-12-03
- Added: Pro feature previews in admin menu for better discovery
- Added: Direct upgrade path to Pro features from admin interface
- Improved: Admin UI for clearer navigation
- Improved: Better discovery of Pro capabilities
- Fixed: Minor admin styling inconsistencies
1.3.8
- Added: Enhanced Pro plugin integration hooks
- Added: Custom JavaScript event for location selection
- Improved: Timezone handling for international businesses
- Fixed: Timezone conversion edge cases
1.3.7
- Added: Integration hooks for Pro features
- Added: Filter for custom form field modification
- Improved: Appointment data handling and validation
1.3.6
- Added: Admin email notifications for new bookings
- Added: Customer confirmation emails with appointment details
- Improved: Business day calculations for holiday handling
- Fixed: Holiday date handling in specific timezones
1.3.5
- Improved: Form validation and error messages
- Improved: Mobile responsive design
- Fixed: Calendar navigation on touch devices
1.3.0
- Added: Holiday management system
- Added: Dashboard overview page
- Added: Customer database
- Improved: Admin interface design
1.2.0
- Added: Email notifications
- Added: Appointment editing capability
- Improved: Time slot generation algorithm
1.1.0
- Added: Multiple location support
- Added: Business hours configuration per location
- Improved: Booking form user experience
1.0.0
