SimplyBook.me

Online booking system with websites, reminders, payments, and add-ons

KINDA · partial replacement
price variesestimated build time weekend to multi-dayreplaced by 0 people

The visible service booking loop is buildable, but a credible replacement needs more than the first screen. SimplyBook.me earns its keep through OAuth, calendar reliability, so expect a weekend or multi-day build and a narrower personal scope.

Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability

What you give up

  • multi-calendar conflict handling
  • race-free booking under load
  • team routing and round robin
  • reliable reminders and timezone edge cases

Why people still pay

SimplyBook.me: People pay because a booking tool must never double-book them, leak private events, or send the wrong time to a client.

Your build guide

The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.

Before you start

  • Google OAuth credentials, a registered HTTPS callback and calendar access granted by the owner. Confirm the provider scopes and publishing requirements before adding guests.
  • Implementation components: Next.js App Router and TypeScript for server-rendered pages and validated mutations. PostgreSQL with Drizzle migrations; Better Auth sessions for a small private workspace. One Google Calendar OAuth adapter, a timezone-aware date library, and an outbox worker for email/ICS delivery.
  • Scope boundary: multi-calendar conflict handling; race-free booking under load
01
Next.js App Router and TypeScript for server-rendered pages and validated mutations.
02
PostgreSQL with Drizzle migrations; Better Auth sessions for a small private workspace.
03
One Google Calendar OAuth adapter, a timezone-aware date library, and an outbox worker for email/ICS delivery.
04
Domain model: services, durations, one provider calendar, availability rules, customer answers and appointment receipts
engineering roadmap

Implementation plan

1

Phase 1

Scope and fixtures. Implement this bounded workflow: Publish a small service catalog, let a customer choose a service and reserve one provider's time. Add preparation notes, cancellation links and an operator schedule view. Record prerequisites, select representative user-owned fixtures and document the unsupported features: multi-calendar conflict handling; race-free booking under load

2

Phase 2

Durable model. Model services, durations, one provider calendar, availability rules, customer answers and appointment receipts Add migrations or a versioned document format, explicit validation, stable IDs and a visible import-error report. Preserve this rule: Service duration and buffers determine the full occupied interval; a short slot cannot accept a longer service even if its start time is free.

3

Phase 3

Complete the first useful path. Implement the workflow's input, review and output interface, with clear controls and explicit empty/error states. Store UTC instants plus the intended IANA timezone. Reserve locally in a transaction, recheck provider availability, create with a stable external ID, then reconcile timeouts before retrying.

4

Phase 4

Permissions and integration failure. Encrypt refresh tokens with a separately managed key; expose busy intervals rather than event titles publicly. Hash guest management tokens and bound their lifetime. Request integration credentials and permissions only for the enabled feature; show a disconnected state instead of mock results.

5

Phase 5

Portable handoff. Export versioned JSON plus attachments and a readable CSV summary. Restore into a separate database and compare record IDs and attachment checksums before switching. Include setup, operating limits, fixture walkthrough and shutdown/restart instructions in the README.

6

Phase 6

Acceptance scenarios. Book a 60-minute service next to a 15-minute buffer and reject an overlapping request; cancelling releases the interval after provider reconciliation. Repeat the workflow after restart and with a denied permission or unavailable dependency; show recoverable failure rather than a success placeholder.

the pro prompt
download AGENTS.md
WORKING SLICE
Publish a small service catalog, let a customer choose a service and reserve one provider's time. Add preparation notes, cancellation links and an operator schedule view.

Build this scoped SimplyBook.me-inspired workflow with a documented data model and visible failure states.

Architecture
- Next.js App Router and TypeScript for server-rendered pages and validated mutations.
- PostgreSQL with Drizzle migrations; Better Auth sessions for a small private workspace.
- One Google Calendar OAuth adapter, a timezone-aware date library, and an outbox worker for email/ICS delivery.

Prerequisites and limits
Google OAuth credentials, a registered HTTPS callback and calendar access granted by the owner. Confirm the provider scopes and publishing requirements before adding guests.
Outside this release: multi-calendar conflict handling; race-free booking under load

Data model and correctness
services, durations, one provider calendar, availability rules, customer answers and appointment receipts
Invariant: Service duration and buffers determine the full occupied interval; a short slot cannot accept a longer service even if its start time is free.
Store UTC instants plus the intended IANA timezone. Reserve locally in a transaction, recheck provider availability, create with a stable external ID, then reconcile timeouts before retrying.

Security and privacy
Encrypt refresh tokens with a separately managed key; expose busy intervals rather than event titles publicly. Hash guest management tokens and bound their lifetime.

Recovery and export
Export versioned JSON plus attachments and a readable CSV summary. Restore into a separate database and compare record IDs and attachment checksums before switching.

Implementation order
1. Phase 1 — Scope and fixtures. Implement this bounded workflow: Publish a small service catalog, let a customer choose a service and reserve one provider's time. Add preparation notes, cancellation links and an operator schedule view. Record prerequisites, select representative user-owned fixtures and document the unsupported features: multi-calendar conflict handling; race-free booking under load
2. Phase 2 — Durable model. Model services, durations, one provider calendar, availability rules, customer answers and appointment receipts Add migrations or a versioned document format, explicit validation, stable IDs and a visible import-error report. Preserve this rule: Service duration and buffers determine the full occupied interval; a short slot cannot accept a longer service even if its start time is free.
3. Phase 3 — Complete the first useful path. Implement the workflow's input, review and output interface, with clear controls and explicit empty/error states. Store UTC instants plus the intended IANA timezone. Reserve locally in a transaction, recheck provider availability, create with a stable external ID, then reconcile timeouts before retrying.
4. Phase 4 — Permissions and integration failure. Encrypt refresh tokens with a separately managed key; expose busy intervals rather than event titles publicly. Hash guest management tokens and bound their lifetime. Request integration credentials and permissions only for the enabled feature; show a disconnected state instead of mock results.
5. Phase 5 — Portable handoff. Export versioned JSON plus attachments and a readable CSV summary. Restore into a separate database and compare record IDs and attachment checksums before switching. Include setup, operating limits, fixture walkthrough and shutdown/restart instructions in the README.
6. Phase 6 — Acceptance scenarios. Book a 60-minute service next to a 15-minute buffer and reject an overlapping request; cancelling releases the interval after provider reconciliation. Repeat the workflow after restart and with a denied permission or unavailable dependency; show recoverable failure rather than a success placeholder.

Acceptance
Book a 60-minute service next to a 15-minute buffer and reject an overlapping request; cancelling releases the interval after provider reconciliation.
Use real source data or clearly labeled fixtures. Explain unsupported input and provider failures; do not fabricate analytics, delivery receipts, accuracy claims or security guarantees.

Optional agent guidance
Optional external skill: [gws-calendar](https://github.com/googleworkspace/cli/blob/main/skills/gws-calendar/SKILL.md) — Use Google Calendar calendars, events, recurrence, free/busy queries and integration discovery through the gws CLI. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Optional external skill: [supabase-postgres-best-practices](https://github.com/supabase/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/supabase-postgres-best-practices/SKILL.md) — Review PostgreSQL schemas, queries, indexes, pooling, concurrency and row-level security. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Optional external skill: [web-design-guidelines](https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/web-design-guidelines/SKILL.md) — Review web interfaces for accessibility, keyboard focus, forms, navigation and interaction quality. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Project rule — data model: services, durations, one provider calendar, availability rules, customer answers and appointment receipts
Project rule — preserve this invariant: Service duration and buffers determine the full occupied interval; a short slot cannot accept a longer service even if its start time is free.
Project rule — acceptance evidence: Book a 60-minute service next to a 15-minute buffer and reject an overlapping request; cancelling releases the interval after provider reconciliation.

$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy or download AGENTS.md · generated from this app's build plan

share on X ↗

Alternatives to building your own

Appointy FreeOne staffer gets reminders, classes and Square checkout for 100 bookings a month; growth wakes the paywall.$0free↗Setmore FreeFour staff, payments, classes and 200 monthly bookings; SMS, recurring appointments and two-way sync cost extra.$0free↗Square Appointments FreeA serious free solo booking stack where Square operates; processing fees remain and the feature mix varies by country.$0free↗

all 3 free alternatives to SimplyBook.me →· no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real

SimplyBook.me pricing

planmonthlyannual (per mo)what you get
free$0$050 bookings; 1 custom feature; 1 provider.
basic$13.90$11.90100 bookings; 3 custom features; 5 providers.
standard$29.90$24.90500 bookings; 8 custom features; 15 providers.
premium$59.90$49.902,000 bookings; unlimited custom features; 30 providers.
enterprise——Custom bookings and providers; unlimited custom features.Custom quote.

free tier50 bookings; 1 custom feature; 1 provider.

billingmonthly + annual (-17%); Enterprise custom

hidden costsBooking, provider, and custom-feature caps can force a plan upgrade; SMS and payment-processor charges are separate where used.

pricing sources checked 2026-08-14 · pricing source ↗

Questions about SimplyBook.me

Can you build your own SimplyBook.me with AI?

Partly. The visible service booking loop is buildable, but a credible replacement needs more than the first screen. SimplyBook.me earns its keep through OAuth, calendar reliability, so expect a weekend or multi-day build and a narrower personal scope.

What does the SimplyBook.me build prompt cover?

The prompt starts with this scope: Publish a small service catalog, let a customer choose a service and reserve one provider's time. Add preparation notes, cancellation links and an operator schedule view. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: multi-calendar conflict handling; race-free booking under load; team routing and round robin. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.

How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?

Start with the SimplyBook.me prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.

How long will this SimplyBook.me project take?

The catalogue estimate is weekend to multi-day for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.

What would I give up by replacing SimplyBook.me?

multi-calendar conflict handling; race-free booking under load; team routing and round robin; reliable reminders and timezone edge cases. SimplyBook.me: People pay because a booking tool must never double-book them, leak private events, or send the wrong time to a client.

What can I use instead of building SimplyBook.me?

Appointy Free: One staffer gets reminders, classes and Square checkout for 100 bookings a month; growth wakes the paywall. Setmore Free: Four staff, payments, classes and 200 monthly bookings; SMS, recurring appointments and two-way sync cost extra. Square Appointments Free: A serious free solo booking stack where Square operates; processing fees remain and the feature mix varies by country. Compare all listed options at https://howtovibecodeit.dev/simplybook-me/alternatives. Check each option's license, hosting needs and feature limits.

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