> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bellabooking.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Prerequisite services

> Require a consultation (or any other service) before a treatment can be booked online — Completed or Booked mode, Any or All when you list more than one

## Introduction

You can require that a client has already had — or at least booked — another service before they can book a treatment **online**. This is the **Prerequisite service** setting on the service form (under the **Booking policies** tab), and the same fields exist on a bundle. Use it for the classic clinic pattern: a free consultation first, then the paid treatment.

This is separate from [members-only services](/service-catalog#members-only-services-and-bundles). A membership gate asks whether the client holds a covering membership; a prerequisite asks whether they have a history (or a booking) for a specific service.

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## How to set it up

1. Edit the **gated** service (the treatment clients should not book first)
2. Open the **Booking policies** tab
3. Turn on **Prerequisite service** and pick one or more services the client must satisfy first (e.g. *Laser Consultation*)
4. Choose the **requirement** and, when you list more than one prerequisite, how they combine:
   * **Completed** *(default)* — the client must have an appointment for that prerequisite marked **Completed**
   * **Booked** — any non-cancelled appointment for the prerequisite is enough, including an upcoming one
   * **Any** *(default when multiple)* — satisfying **one** of the listed prerequisites unlocks the treatment
   * **All** — the client must satisfy **every** listed prerequisite
5. Save

You can also edit from the other direction: open the consultation (or other prerequisite) and use **Services this unlocks** to point at the treatments it should unlock — the same setting, written from the other side.

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## Completed vs Booked

| Mode          | What unlocks the gated service online                                                                                                                                    | Typical use                                                                                                   |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Completed** | An appointment for the prerequisite whose status is **Completed**                                                                                                        | Legal or clinical gates — the consult must actually have happened and been marked complete                    |
| **Booked**    | Any non-cancelled appointment for the prerequisite (past or future). Booking the prerequisite in the **same cart**, starting at or before the treatment, also unlocks it | Soft gates — "book the consult with the treatment", or when you do not rely on marking appointments Completed |

**Completed means the appointment status Completed** — not "the date has passed" and not a separate "attended" flag. If your team rarely marks appointments Completed, Completed-mode prerequisites will stay locked for those clients; use **Booked** when that looser reading is what you want.

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## Online booking behaviour

* A gated service still **appears** on the booking page. Clients who have not satisfied the prerequisite see it **locked**, with a clear message (e.g. "Requires Laser Consultation") and a way in — typically a button to book the prerequisite, or to log in so history can be checked. It is not hidden from the public page.
* Anonymous visitors fail closed: they see the lock and are asked to book the prerequisite or log in — the treatment is never offered as freely bookable and then rejected at submit.
* This gates **online booking** only. Your team can still book a gated service for anyone from the dashboard; Bella shows an advisory when the client has not met the prerequisite, and staff can override and save.

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## Bundles

A bundle is prerequisite-gated if the **bundle itself** has prerequisite services set, **or** if **any service inside it** has them. A consult delivered as part of a bundle still counts toward the client's history — every appointment line carries its own service.

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## Waitlist

The online waitlist for a prerequisite-gated service is **ungated** in the same way as [members-only](/service-catalog#members-only-services-and-bundles): a client who has not satisfied the prerequisite can still join the waitlist, and your team books them off it from the dashboard. Closing that gap is planned for a later release.

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## If the prerequisite is cancelled later

If a client books under **Booked** mode and the prerequisite appointment is later cancelled, the gated booking **stands**. Bella does not retro-cancel the treatment. For a compliance-style gate where the consult must genuinely have happened, use **Completed** mode and mark the consult Completed before the treatment is unlocked.

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## Related

* [Services](/service-catalog) — full service catalogue
* [Bundles](/service-catalog/bundles)
* [Booking policy strategy](/settings/booking-policy-strategy)
* [Forms](/forms) — digital intake and consent often paired with consultation-first booking