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Overview

The New-client offer is a welcome discount for first-time clients. Set it once, and Bella Booking recognises a client’s very first appointment and applies the reward, whether they book online or you check them out at the till. By default it applies automatically, with no code to hand out and nothing to track by hand; in Code mode the client enters your code when they book online. The New-client offer is part of Messages Plus. See Settings - Two-way messaging (called Messaging before November 2026) to subscribe - a dedicated phone number is not required for this offer.
Go to Settings → New client offer, or open it from its card on the Programmes page.

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How it works

  1. A first-time client books an appointment (online) or you create one for them.
  2. Bella checks whether they qualify - see Who qualifies below.
  3. If they do, the welcome discount is applied to their bill automatically, both in the online booking cart and at checkout.
  4. The offer applies once - it’s a first-visit welcome, so a client receives it a single time.
A client counts as new when they have never visited before - no appointment that has already happened with your business (it doesn’t depend on whether your team marks appointments complete). Clients who were already on your books before you turned the offer on - including imported/migrated clients - are not treated as new (see Who qualifies).

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Setting up the offer

Go to Settings → New client offer. Access: requires the Manage campaigns permission and an active Messages Plus subscription.

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Turn the offer on

The Offer row switches the offer between Paused and Active. When active, eligible new clients get the offer on their first appointment, at online booking and the till. You can’t activate an offer until you’ve set a value above zero.

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Choose the discount

  • Benefit type - Percentage off or Amount off.
  • Offer value - the percentage (up to 100%) or the amount. Quick-pick buttons give you common values (10%, 15%, 20%, 25% - or $5, $10, $20), or enter your own.

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Minimum spend (optional)

Set the least a client must spend before the offer applies, or leave it as No minimum. The minimum is checked against the bill before any discount is applied.

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Live window (optional)

Give the offer a start and/or end date if you only want to run it for a season or a campaign. Leave both blank to keep it always-on. Outside the window, new clients simply don’t receive the offer.

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How it’s delivered

  • Auto-apply (default) - nothing is required from the client; the discount is applied automatically when an eligible new client books or checks out.
  • Code - the client enters a code at online booking, and the till then applies the offer with no code, as long as the client still qualifies on the day (the till has no code entry of its own). Choose your own code (letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores). The code only works for clients who qualify as new.
Before checkout, the appointment’s bill lists the offer marked Applies at checkout when it will apply on the appointment’s day. When a new client’s offer doesn’t apply, the bill names it marked Not applied, with the reason: the bill is below your minimum spend, the code wasn’t entered when they booked online, the day is outside the offer’s dates, the client isn’t in its audience, they’ve already used it, or a gift card for a service pays the bill. No offer goes beside one of those cards, and since the offer is for a first visit only, a first visit paid with one goes without it. A returning client has no offer to name.

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Who gets it

By default, every new client is eligible. Set an audience to narrow it down using the same client filters as campaigns - Last appointment, client-since date, total spent, no-shows, cancellations, and more.
Existing clients aren’t swept in. When you first turn the offer on, Bella scopes it to clients added from that point onwards, so the people already on your books don’t suddenly qualify on their next visit. You can adjust the audience if you’d like to include everyone.
After you make changes, Bella shows you exactly what’s changing before you commit - review it, then Apply (or Discard).

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Who qualifies

A client receives the New-client offer when all of the following are true:
  • They have never visited before - no appointment that has already happened with your business. (This doesn’t depend on whether your team marks appointments complete.)
  • They were not already on your books before the offer was turned on (imported and migrated clients are excluded).
  • The current date falls within your live window, if you’ve set one.
  • They match your audience filters, if you’ve set any.
  • The bill meets your minimum spend, if you’ve set one.
  • In Code mode, the correct code has been entered.
If any of these isn’t met, the offer simply doesn’t apply - the client still books and checks out as normal.

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At online booking and the till

  • Online booking - when an eligible new client books, the discount appears in their cart before they confirm.
  • At the till - when you check out an eligible new client, the discount is applied to the sale, labelled New client offer.
The offer stacks with your other discounts (loyalty, referral, birthday, and manual discounts) - each is applied in turn and capped so the bill never goes below zero.
If a client unlocks the offer when they book online and your Messages Plus subscription lapses before they’re checked out, the offer they already unlocked is still honoured at the till - and you won’t be asked for the code again.

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Tracking redemptions

The New client offers report shows, day by day, how many offers were redeemed and the total discount value given. Open it from Programmes or from Insights → Reports (needs a plan that includes messaging). See Reports.

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FAQs

Q: Do clients need a code? A: Not by default. The offer is auto-apply - Bella recognises a first-time client and applies the discount with no code involved. If you prefer, switch to Code mode and the client enters a code you choose (it only works for clients who genuinely qualify as new). Q: How does Bella know a client is “new”? A: A client is new until their first visit: an appointment with your business that has already happened, whether or not your team marked it complete. Imported clients, and clients who were already on your books before you turned the offer on, are not treated as new. Q: Does the offer apply every year, like the birthday reward? A: No. The New-client offer is a one-time first-visit welcome - a client receives it once. For a yearly reward, see the Birthday reward. Q: Do I need a dedicated phone number? A: No. The New-client offer needs an active Messages Plus subscription, but not a dedicated number - it’s applied to bills, not sent as a message. See Settings - Two-way messaging. Q: Can I run it only for a while? A: Yes. Set a start and/or end date under Live window. Outside that window, new clients don’t receive the offer. Q: Can I limit who gets it? A: Yes. Set an audience with the same filters as campaigns. Leave the audience open and every new client qualifies. Q: Does it work with my loyalty or birthday rewards? A: Yes. The New-client offer stacks with loyalty, referral, birthday, and manual discounts. Each discount is applied in turn and capped so the total never drops below zero.