Online booking for yoga studios
A studio’s problem is not a diary. It is that eighteen people said they would come, twelve did, and the six who did not had nothing invested in turning up.
Business Box takes one booking per time slot, so it fits private sessions and one-to-one teaching rather than drop-in classes. Use it for privates, trials and introductory sessions, paid online with a twelve-hour cancellation window.
What actually goes wrong#
Most studios start with a LINE account and a notebook. It works until the Tuesday evening class is full, three people drop out at 18:40, and the waiting list never finds out. The room runs at two-thirds capacity all month and it is nobody’s fault.
Three things are usually behind it:
- Nothing is invested. A free reservation costs nothing to abandon. A prepaid one costs ¥2,500, and people turn up.
- The cap lives in somebody’s head. Sixteen mats means sixteen bookings, and a system that does not know that will sell you a seventeenth.
- Private sessions and classes get mixed up. They have different lengths, different prices and different notice, and one calendar cannot serve both.
The setup to start from#
A timetable of classes at fixed times rather than a rolling calendar, plus private sessions that are genuinely one to one.
| Duration | 60 or 75 minutes |
|---|---|
| Minimum notice | 2 hours, so somebody can still book the evening class at lunchtime |
| Buffer | 15 minutes after, to air the room |
| Location | In person, or video for private sessions |
| Payment | Paid online — a prepaid mat is a mat that turns up |
| Cancellation policy | Full refund 12 hours before, none inside that |
Worth asking on the booking form: Have you practised before? · Any injuries we should know about? · Do you need to borrow a mat?
Class packs are the normal way to buy yoga here, and Business Box charges per booking rather than selling passes. Sell the pack yourself and use invite links for the sessions, or price each class online — both work, and the second is simpler.
Business Box books one party per time slot, so several customers cannot sign up for the same class individually — the first booking takes the session. It fits private sessions, trials and one-to-one teaching today. See what that means for group classes. One booking, one slot
One event type per class, not one for the studio#
It is tempting to make a single "Yoga class" and let people pick a time. Do not. Vinyasa at 07:00 and restorative at 19:30 have different lengths, different capacities and different people, and separating them lets you close one without closing the other.
Give each class its own event type and point it at an availability schedule with only that class’s hours, so a Tuesday and Thursday morning class is never offered on a Wednesday.
This is the limit to understand before you build a timetable on it. Business Box books one party per time slot, so sixteen students cannot each book the 19:00 class — the first booking takes it. There is no per-class capacity today. What that means, and what to do instead
Charge before the mat is held#
This is the whole argument. Paid bookings are confirmed only when the card payment succeeds, so an abandoned checkout releases the mat automatically rather than holding it for somebody who was never coming.
A twelve-hour full-refund window is the usual compromise: generous enough that nobody feels trapped, tight enough that you can fill the space. Set it on the Payment tab under Cancellation policy, and it is shown to the student before they book and again before they cancel. Charging for bookings
Ten-class packs are how yoga is usually sold in Japan, and Business Box charges per booking rather than selling passes. Two options that work: price each class online and forget packs, or sell the pack yourself and give pass holders an invite-only event type that is free to book.
Where it does fit: private sessions#
One student, one slot, which is exactly the shape Business Box is built for. Sixty minutes, priced higher than a class, twenty-four hours’ notice, and a location of Google Meet if you teach online as well.
The same is true of an introductory one-to-one, a beginners’ assessment and a private workshop for one group — anything where one booking takes the session.
Getting started#
- Sign in at app.marubox.jp with Google or Microsoft. There is no card and no trial clock.
- Create an event type with the settings above. Event types explained
- Connect your calendar so your teaching space never gets double booked. Google · Outlook
- Set your real hours, and close Japanese public holidays in one tick. Availability
- Put the link in your bio, or the widget on your site. Adding it to your website
Common questions
Can several students book the same class?
No. Business Box takes one booking per time slot, so the first person to book a class takes it. There is no per-class capacity today, which makes it a poor fit for drop-in group classes and a good one for private sessions and trials.
Can I sell class passes or memberships?
Not directly — Business Box charges per booking. Either price each class online, or sell the pack yourself and let pass holders book through an invite-only event type that costs nothing at the point of booking.
Can students book in Japanese?
Yes. Your booking page, the confirmation and every reminder appear in the language the student’s browser asks for. Write your class names and descriptions in both English and Japanese and each student reads something natural.
What does it cost for a small studio?
Nothing, unless you take payment online. Booking pages, calendar sync, availability and the website widget are free with no time limit. Card payment for classes is ¥1,200 a month with no commission on what you take.
Set this up in about ten minutes
Business Box is free for as long as you like, with no card required — booking pages, Google and Outlook calendar sync, availability, Japanese public holidays and the website widget. Taking card payment for bookings is ¥1,200 a month, tax included, with no commission on what you sell.
Last reviewed 28 September 2026.