Setting up a mini session

A mini session is a day of short, back-to-back slots that clients book themselves, like a holiday or spring minis day. You set it up once, share one link, and Nipcy handles the bookings.

To start, go to Sessions, tap + New session, give it a name and a day, and tap Create session. The session opens as a draft. Work down the list of rows on its page. Each one opens a panel with Save and Cancel.

Details

Tap Edit on Details.

• Name: clients see this.
• Kind of session: what sort of shoot it is.
• Description: what the day is, what to wear, anything clients should know.
• Cover photo: the first thing a client sees. Add one.
• Sample photos: tap Add photos (or Add more photos) to show past work. Tap the × on a photo to remove it. JPEG, PNG or WebP, up to 50 MB each. These save as soon as they upload.

Date and slots

Tap Edit on Date & slots.

1. Set the Date and Location.
2. Set when it Starts.
3. Set How many slots you are offering (1 to 200).
4. Set how long Each slot lasts (5 to 120 minutes).
5. Set the Gap between slots, or No gap.

A line underneath works it out for you, for example "12 slots from 9:00 AM, finishing at 1:00 PM."

Breaks: to take a break, tap + Add a break, choose Starting at and How many slots it lasts (1 to 6), then tap Add break. Breaks save straight away.

As it stands shows every slot, open or taken. Nipcy will not let you change the times in a way that would leave someone's booking outside the new day.

Price and payments

Tap + Add (or Edit) on Price & payments.

1. Enter the Session price (USD).
2. Under How you collect this session's fee, choose one:

- A deposit when they book: part of the fee holds the spot and the rest is due later. This is the usual choice. - Collect it outside Nipcy: you sort out payment yourself, for example cash on the day. - The whole fee when they book: the client pays the full session price to hold their spot. After booking they see Due now with the amount, and get a payment link by email.

1. For a deposit, set The deposit is to A set amount or A percentage, and enter it.
2. When the rest is due: how many days before the session. Set 0 to collect it on the day.
3. How they pay the rest: The same way they paid the deposit, In person, on the day, An invoice from Nipcy, or Something else. You can add a short note.
4. Where they pay (Venmo, PayPal, Square…): a link to your own payment page, starting with https://. Use Add a note for anything they should type in the payment, like "Put your session time in the note".
5. Chase the balance: when ticked, Nipcy reminds you (in your notifications) while the balance is unpaid. Untick it if you are taking the rest in person.

If you have connected Stripe (Payments and earnings), clients pay the deposit by card on an invoice Nipcy emails them, and the booking confirms itself. If you have not, clients pay you using your own payment link and you mark the deposit received yourself (see Slots below). See Getting paid.

Deliverables

Tap What the client gets and describe it, for example "5 edited photos, delivered within a week". Clients read this before they book.

Coupons

A coupon is a code a client types while booking to get money off this session.

1. On the Coupons row, tap + Add (or Edit if you have some).
2. Tap + New coupon.
3. Type the Code clients will enter, for example EARLYBIRD. Capitals don't matter when they type it.
4. Under Takes off, choose A percentage or An amount, and enter how much.
5. Optional: an Expires date, Limit uses (leave empty for unlimited), and a Description only you see.
6. Leave On — the code works right now ticked, and tap Add coupon.

Clients see Have a coupon code? on the last booking step. They type the code and tap Apply, and the total updates. The deposit or full fee they pay is worked out from the lower price, and the booking note shows which coupon they used. Each booking counts as one use.

Contract and questionnaire

Tap the Contract or Questionnaire row. Choose a Contract the client signs and a Questionnaire from your templates, or No contract / No questionnaire. If you have none yet, use Write one or Make one.

When a client books, Nipcy copies the contract and emails them a link to sign it. See Contracts and Questionnaires.

On the Free plan you can have 3 contracts in total. If you have used all 3, bookings still go through but no contract is sent.

Emails

Tap Emails to switch these On or Off:

• Booking Confirmed: as soon as their booking is confirmed
• Session Reminder (24 hours): the day before
• Review Request (7 days after): a week after you first share their gallery

Each one needs an email template to send. If a row says "no template", its switch stays grey until you write one. These settings apply to every session, not just this one. Change the wording opens your email templates. See Emails and automations.

Gallery

Marked Automatic. Nipcy creates a gallery for each client once their deposit is paid. There is nothing to set up.

Publish

On a computer, the publish box sits on the right. On a phone, it is further down the page.

• It shows Not on sale yet and what is missing: Set a price or Set times that fit at least one slot.
• When everything is in place, tap Publish. The session shows On sale and clients can book it from your profile.
• Take off sale stops new bookings without deleting anything.

View as a client → opens the booking page the way a client sees it. Until you publish, it says the session isn't open yet, which is exactly what a client would see.

You need to confirm your email address before you can publish.

Share the session

Under Share this session:

1. Tap Create share link.
2. Tap Copy link and paste it anywhere, or tap Share… on a phone to send it straight from an app.

The link opens straight onto this session's booking page. To stop it working, tap Turn off link (anyone with the link loses access). Make a new link retires the old one and gives you a fresh one.

What your client goes through

1. They open your link and see the session: cover, description, sample photos and what they get. They tap Continue.
2. They pick a date and one of the open times, then Continue.
3. They enter Your name, Email address, a phone number (recommended) and an optional message.

- If you have connected Stripe, they see Nothing is charged yet: any deposit is paid later by card through a secure link Nipcy emails them. - If you have not, they read a short notice that payment is arranged directly with you, and tick to accept it.

1. They tap Book this spot (or Send booking request without Stripe).
2. They see Your spot is held. If a deposit is due, it shows the amount, when the rest is due, and a Send the deposit → button to your payment link. They are also emailed a payment link.

You get a booking request (by text and email if you have them set up), and the slot shows as Deposit due with their name.

Slots

The Slots grid shows every time:

• Open: available. Tap it to take it off sale (Blocked), and tap again to put it back.
• Booked: taken and paid.
• Deposit due: taken, waiting for the deposit.

Tap a booked slot to see the client's email, phone, the price, the deposit and what is Still owed, plus their note. Buttons let you Email, Text or Call them.

Marking a deposit received. If the client paid you outside Nipcy, tap their slot, enter How much (USD) and Paid on, then tap Deposit received. This:

• confirms the booking
• creates their gallery
• creates the invoice for the balance and sends it (or keeps it as a quiet draft if they are paying in person)
• sends the Booking Confirmed email, if switched on

With Stripe connected, all of this happens by itself when the client pays.

Good to know

• Blocking the whole day closes the session. If you block the session's date on the Availability or Calendar page (or hold it for a contract), clients can't book it, and the session's page tells you so. To close only some times, block them in the Slots grid.
• Numbers at a glance: the side panel shows how many are booked, the price, the deposit and the balance due.
• No commission: Nipcy takes nothing from what clients pay you.