# Setting up an inquiry service

> Take photography inquiries online with a CoreHue inquiry service. Clients send their details, you reply and quote, and book them once you've agreed.

Source: https://help.corehue.co/docs/online-booking/inquiry-services/

An inquiry service lets a client tell you what they're after without booking anything. They send their details, you reply, and once you've agreed on the plan you send a proposal or create the booking. It's the right fit for weddings, commercial work and anything where the price depends on a conversation.

## How an inquiry works

1. Your client finds the service on your booking page and fills in a short form.
2. It lands in **Bookings → Inquiries** with everything they entered.
3. They see a confirmation page saying their inquiry is in, and get an acknowledgement email straight away.
4. You reply, attach a price guide or sample gallery if it helps, and talk it through.
5. When you're both ready, you turn the inquiry into a proposal or a booking. See [Turning an inquiry into a booking](/docs/managing-bookings/turning-an-inquiry-into-a-booking).

Your calendar stays untouched until step five. Nothing is held and nothing is charged.

> **Replying needs Plus or Pro**
On Free, inquiries still arrive and you can read them, but replying from CoreHue opens an upgrade prompt. See [Messages on the Free plan](/docs/messages/messages-on-the-free-plan).

## Setting up the service

1. Go to **Bookings → Services**, choose **Add service**, name it and pick **Inquiry**.
2. On the **Details** tab, write the description and add a cover image.
3. Choose how the price appears under **Pricing** and where the session happens under **Location**.
4. Open the **Inquiry flow** tab to decide what the form asks and what the client sees afterwards.
5. Choose **Publish**.

An inquiry service only has two tabs, **Details** and **Inquiry flow**. Its pricing and location sit on **Details**.

## Showing a price, or not

Nothing is charged at the inquiry stage, so the price is a signal. Pick one under **Pricing**:

| Option | What clients see |
| --- | --- |
| **Fixed price** | One price, shown as it is |
| **Starting at** | A "from" price |
| **Per hour** | An hourly rate, shown with "/hr" |
| **Don't show a price** | No price anywhere on the page |

"Starting at" works well for weddings. It filters out clients whose budget is far off, without pinning you to a number before you know the details. The real price goes in your proposal. More in [Pricing, deposits and payment deadlines](/docs/online-booking/pricing-and-deposits).

## What the form asks

Your client sees one step headed **Contact Info**. First name, last name and email are always collected. On the **Inquiry flow** tab, step **1 Client details**, you can switch on:

- **Phone number**
- **Additional notes**, which clients see as "Anything we should know?"
- **Referral source**, which clients see as "How did you hear about us?"

Each has a tick box to make it required. If the service asks the client for a location, that field appears too. The button at the end reads **Send inquiry**.

> **Ask for the date in a questionnaire**
The inquiry form has no date field. If the date is the first thing you need to know, turn on **Include questionnaire** in step **2 Questionnaire** and ask it there, along with the venue and guest count.

## The acknowledgement

Step **3 Confirmation** holds the message your client sees after sending. It's emailed to them too while **Inquiry auto-reply** is on. Use **Variables** to add **Client's first name**, and say when you'll reply and what happens next. That one line can stop a client emailing three other photographers while they wait.

Leave it blank and CoreHue uses your account-wide **Inquiry auto-reply** message from **Bookings → Settings → Emails**. With the auto-reply off, your message only shows on the **Inquiry received** page, and clients get a plain receipt by email instead. See [Booking confirmation and reminder emails](/docs/online-booking/booking-emails).

## What your client sees

They pick the service, fill in **Contact Info**, answer your questionnaire if you added one, and choose **Send inquiry**. The confirmation page shows their name, the service and the date they sent it, plus your acknowledgement and a way to contact you.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does an inquiry block the date in my calendar?

No. An inquiry is a conversation, not a booking. The date is only reserved once you create the booking or your client accepts a proposal that books it.

### Can clients upload files with an inquiry?

Only through a questionnaire. Add one in step **2 Questionnaire** with a file upload question, and clients can attach things like a mood board or venue map.

### Can I add add-ons to an inquiry service?

No. Add-ons, deposits and contracts belong to bookings. Put optional extras in the [proposal](/docs/proposals/how-proposals-work) you send after the conversation.

### Where do I reply to an inquiry?

Open it from **Bookings → Inquiries**. Your conversation starts with your reply, and the client's original message stays on the inquiry page. See [Managing inquiries](/docs/managing-bookings/managing-inquiries).