Sevin Bookings, specification sheet

Every line below was checked against the shipped source code, and the things it does not do are listed alongside the things it does. If you are comparing self-hosted booking systems, this page is meant to be read next to somebody else's.

Hosting and requirements

YES

PHP version

PHP 8.0 or newer. Many competing systems require 8.3, which rules out a lot of cheap shared hosting.

YES

Database

MySQL 5.7+ or MariaDB 10.3+.

Node.js or npm required

Not used anywhere. There is no build step and no package.json in the product.

Composer required

Not used. The application ships ready to run.

SSH or command line required

Install through your hosting panel and a browser.

Docker required

Runs on ordinary Apache or Nginx shared hosting.

Vendor account required to operate

Nothing phones home. The software runs whether or not SevinHub exists.

Scheduling correctness

YES

Double-booking protection

Enforced in the database with row locking (SELECT ... FOR UPDATE) while availability is checked, not in JavaScript. Two people pressing confirm at the same instant cannot both take the slot.

YES

Buffer time between appointments

Configurable per service.

YES

Services with different durations

YES

Business hours, breaks and blocked dates

YES

Minimum notice and maximum booking window

YES

Multiple staff with individual calendars

Services can be assigned to specific staff.

Customer experience

Customers need an account

Booking is public: choose a service, pick a time, confirm.

YES

Works on phones

YES

Your own branding and domain

White-label.

YES

Cancellation and rescheduling

Notifications and payments

YES

Email through your own SMTP

Your mail account, not a vendor relay.

YES

Confirmation and reminder emails

YES

Stripe and PayPal

Optional. Cash and manual payment are supported too.

YES

Deposits and refunds

Security and your data

YES

Admin two-factor authentication

YES

Export your data

Any table as CSV, from the admin area.

YES

You own the database

It is your hosting and your MySQL. Nothing is mirrored anywhere else.

Automatic customer data deletion or anonymisation

Not built in yet. You can delete records manually and export everything, but there is no retention policy engine. Stated here rather than hidden behind the phrase "GDPR compliant".

Known gaps, stated plainly

Two-way Google Calendar or Outlook sync

Not implemented. If an appointment already sits in your personal Google Calendar, Sevin Bookings does not know about it. This is the most requested thing it does not do, and the honest reason to choose something else if you need it.

iCal / ICS feed

Not implemented.

Open source

Commercial licence. You receive the full PHP source and host it yourself, but it is not published under an open-source licence.

Sevin Bookings on SevinHub · Live demo

Bought once and hosted by you, with no monthly fee and no vendor account. Built by SevinHub, who also make BLE Radar, a free Android app that maps real radio coverage and pays contributors in trees planted rather than crypto.