Create Services, Groups, and Variants

Services define what the business can book and bill. Choose the correct service type at creation because Yepsta locks that type after the record is saved.

Choose the correct type

• Standard Service: directly bookable and billable. Use it when one name, duration and price describe the offering.
• Service Group: a parent used to organise variants. It has no sellable price or duration and does not appear as a POS or invoice item.
• Service Variant: a bookable and billable option under a group, such as Short Hair, Medium Hair or Long Hair.

Category and Subcategory are optional taxonomy. A Variant must have a parent Service Group and inherits that group’s category mapping.

Before you begin

Create the target location and any useful categories first. Confirm the service name, duration, buffer, capacity, price, GST percentage, SAC code and which staff can perform it.

Permission required

Owners have access. Managers and staff need Services permission and access to the selected location. Saving or deleting requires service-maintenance access and an active subscription.

Create a standard service

Add a directly bookable service

1. Open Catalog & Inventory → Services and select the location.
2. Choose Add Standard Service.
3. Select a Main Category and optional Sub Category, or leave it Uncategorized when appropriate.
4. Enter the service name, description and sort order.
5. Set Duration per Slot, optional Buffer Time and Capacity per Slot.
6. Enter Service Price, GST % and optional SAC Code.
7. Add an approved featured image when useful.
8. Keep Active enabled and save.

Create a group with variants

Offer choices under one service family

1. Select the location and choose Add Service Group.
2. Add the group name, category mapping, description and optional image, then save.
3. From the group, select Add Variant.
4. Select the parent group and enter a clear Variant Name.
5. Enter the variant’s duration, buffer, capacity, price, GST percentage and SAC code.
6. Save each distinct bookable option.

The variant stays under the parent group and inherits its category and subcategory. The variant—not the parent group—is the item used for booking and billing.

Edit or retire a service safely

You can edit identity, taxonomy, duration, pricing, tax, capacity, image and active status. The type remains locked after creation to protect appointments, invoices, packages and staff assignments.

Inactive services stay hidden from booking and billing selectors while preserving history. Delete is blocked when a service is used by appointments, invoices, packages or staff setup. A group cannot be deleted while variants remain under it.

Important information

For an established service, deactivate it and create the correct replacement instead of changing its meaning. Review future bookings and staff assignments before changing duration, buffer, price, GST or location-specific availability.

Troubleshooting

• If a variant has no available parent, create an active Service Group for the same location first.
• If a service cannot be assigned to staff, confirm it is active, bookable and in the staff location.
• If type controls are disabled, the record already exists and its type is locked.
• If deletion is blocked, deactivate the service and preserve its historical links.

Related guides

• Organize Service Categories and Subcategories
• Assign Services to Staff
• Create Packages and Memberships
• Create Multi-service Appointments and Allocate Staff
• Set Up Public Online Booking

Last reviewed: 12 July 2026