What's the Difference Between the Calendar Create Options?

Class, Timeslot, One-Off Session, Appointment, Blocked calendar times, Event, and Program each do something different. Here's when to use each one from Schedule > Calendar > Create.

Note: Your studio may show different labels if you’ve enabled custom terminology (Hot Words). For example, “Class” might appear as “Group Session” and “Appointment” as “Consultation.” The options work the same — only the label changes.

When you open Schedule > Calendar and click Create, you get seven choices. They are not interchangeable shortcuts for the same thing. Each one creates a different kind of calendar item, with different booking rules and customer experience.

Quick comparison

Option	What it creates	Customer-facing?	Best for
Class	A new recurring class series	Yes	Ongoing schedules like “Yoga every Monday at 9am”
Timeslot	A new recurring time on an existing class	Yes	Adding Wednesday 6pm to a class that already meets Monday 9am
One-Off Session	A single session tied to an existing class	Yes	A bonus class, makeup session, or holiday special that uses that class’s pricing and credits
Appointment	A one-on-one booking with a specific customer	Yes	Personal training, private lessons, consultations
Blocked calendar times	Unavailable time on an instructor’s schedule	No	Lunch breaks, meetings, PTO — blocks appointment booking only
Event	A standalone occurrence not tied to a class series	Yes	Ticketed workshops, open houses, community events, guest checkout
Program	A multi-session bundle sold as one registration	Yes	8-week courses, retreats, workshops where customers attend all sessions and pay once

Class

Creates a brand-new recurring class series from scratch.

Use this when you’re setting up something that runs on a repeating weekly schedule — for example, “Morning Yoga” every Tuesday and Thursday at 9am. The wizard walks you through class details, recurring timeslots, pricing, and registration settings. Zipper automatically generates individual sessions on your calendar for the date range you set (typically three months ahead).

Choose Class when: you’re adding a new type of group offering to your schedule, not just an extra time on something that already exists.

Related: How to Create a Class

Timeslot

Adds a new recurring time pattern to a class that already exists.

Use this when your class series is already set up and you want to add another day or time — for example, your “HIIT” class already meets Monday at 6am and you want to add a Friday 5:30pm slot. You pick the existing class, then configure the day of week, start time, instructor, location, and date range. The new timeslot generates future sessions the same way as the original schedule.

Choose Timeslot when: the class already exists and you only need another recurring slot — not a one-time extra session and not a whole new class.

One-Off Session

Creates a single session linked to an existing class.

Use this for an extra occurrence that doesn’t fit the regular weekly pattern — a holiday class, a makeup session, a pop-up time, or a special date that still belongs under an existing class for pricing and booking-credit purposes. You select the class first, then set the specific date and time.

When creating it, you can choose:

Connected — inherits the class name and settings (pricing, forms, cancellation policy, eligible booking credits).
Disconnected — has its own name and details, but still belongs to that class for payment and registration rules.

One-off sessions show up in your class schedule for customers. They are not the same as standalone Events (see below).

Choose One-Off Session when: you need one extra class occurrence under an existing class — not a new recurring pattern and not a fully standalone event.

Appointment

Books a one-on-one session with a specific customer.

Use this for private services — personal training, private yoga, nutrition consults, bodywork, and anything else booked against an appointment type and an instructor’s availability schedule. You select the customer (or create one), pick the instructor and appointment type, then choose a date and time. That slot is reserved for that customer and blocked on the instructor’s calendar.

Appointments require appointment types and availability schedules to be configured first (Manage > Appointment types and Manage > Availability schedules).

Choose Appointment when: one customer is booking private time with one provider — not a group class or public event.

Blocked calendar times

Marks time as unavailable on an instructor’s appointment schedule.

This is an internal scheduling tool, not something customers book. Use it to block lunch, admin time, travel, meetings, or time off so customers cannot book appointments during those hours. You select one or more availability schedules and the time range to block.

Blocked time affects appointment availability only. It does not cancel existing class sessions or remove classes from the group schedule.

Choose Blocked calendar times when: an instructor needs time blocked on their appointment calendar — not when you want to cancel or create a class.

Event

Creates a standalone occurrence that is not part of a recurring class series.

Use this for special, one-time (or multi-day) offerings that live on their own — a guest workshop, an open house, a charity class, a ticketed community event, or anything you want customers to find under Events rather than your regular class schedule. Events have their own name, date, pricing, capacity, and registration settings.

Standalone events support guest checkout (register and pay without a Zipper account). Recurring class sessions and appointments do not.

Choose Event when: you’re running a standalone happening with its own branding and checkout — not an extra session of an existing weekly class.

Program

Creates a multi-session offering sold as a single registration.

Use this for structured series where customers commit to the whole thing — an 8-week course, a weekend retreat with multiple sessions, a teacher training module, or any workshop with a fixed set of dates. Customers register once, pay once (for the full program), and are enrolled in every session. They receive one confirmation listing all dates.

Programs are different from recurring classes: in a recurring class, customers typically book individual sessions (or use credits per visit). In a program, attendance and payment cover the entire bundle.

Choose Program when: customers must register for and pay for all sessions together — not drop in session by session.

Which one should I pick?

Use this decision guide:

“I need a new weekly group offering.” → Class

“This class already exists — I just need another day/time each week.” → Timeslot

“I need one extra session of an existing class on a specific date.” → One-Off Session

“I’m booking private time for one customer with one instructor.” → Appointment

“This instructor can’t take appointments during this window.” → Blocked calendar times

“I’m running a standalone ticketed or special event.” → Event

“Customers buy the whole series upfront and attend every session.” → Program

Common mix-ups

One-Off Session vs. Event

One-Off Session = tied to an existing class; uses that class’s credits, memberships, and settings; shows in the class schedule.
Event = standalone; own pricing and settings; shows in Events; supports guest checkout.

Class vs. Program

Class = ongoing schedule; customers book individual sessions (drop-in, credits, or membership).
Program = fixed multi-session bundle; one registration covers all sessions.

Timeslot vs. One-Off Session

Timeslot = repeats every week (or every N weeks) for a date range.
One-Off Session = happens once on a specific date.

Appointment vs. Blocked calendar times

Appointment = a booked session with a customer.
Blocked calendar times = empty unavailable time; no customer, no booking.

Still not sure?

If you’re migrating from another platform, these mappings may help:

You used to call it…	In Zipper, try…
Recurring class / weekly schedule	Class
Add another weekly time to a class	Timeslot
Single special class date under an existing type	One-Off Session
Private session / 1:1 booking	Appointment
Block availability / time off	Blocked calendar times
Workshop / special event / ticketed event	Event
Multi-week course / workshop series (pay once)	Program

For terminology definitions (Activity, Registration, Booking Credits, etc.), see the Zipper Terminology Glossary.

Need a hand?

Email our team at support@joinzipper.com and we'll usually reply within a few hours.

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