Playbook5 min read

From sign-up to your first booking in 15 minutes: a self-serve setup guide

No sales call, no setup fee. A step-by-step, 15-minute guide to getting a Malaysian business live on Timeo — create your store, add services or menu, turn on payments, and test the full loop.

The biggest reason small businesses stay offline isn’t cost — it’s the dread of a multi-week “onboarding” process with a salesperson, a demo, and a setup fee. Timeo is self-serve: you sign up, set up, and go live yourself. Here’s exactly what the first 15 minutes look like.

Before you start: have these three things ready

  • Your business name and a short web address (your slug, e.g. yourshopyourshop.timeo.my).
  • Your services or menu — names and prices. You can refine these later; you just need enough to go live.
  • Your payment details — a DuitNow QR or a payment-gateway account if you want to take money online from day one. (You can also start with cash-at-counter and add online pay later.)

The 15-minute setup, step by step

Minutes 0–3: create your business

Go to the business sign-up, create your account, and the tenant-creation wizard opens automatically — no sales call, no waiting for approval. Pick your business type (services or F&B), your location, and your web address. Start here →

Minutes 3–8: add what you sell

Add your services (with durations) or your menu items (with prices). For bookings, set which staff can deliver which service and their working hours — this is what powers the customer slot picker and prevents double-bookings.

Minutes 8–12: turn on payments

Add your DuitNow QR or connect a payment gateway so customers can pay online. Prefer to keep it simple at first? Leave it on cash-at-counter and switch on online pay whenever you’re ready — your storefront still works.

Minutes 12–15: go live and test

Activate your subscription, then open your own storefront link and place a test booking or order. You’ll see it land in your dashboard in real time. That’s the whole loop — customer in, order out — proven before a single real customer touches it.

What to do in week one (not minute one)

Going live fast is the point — but here’s the short list of things worth doing once customers are flowing:

  1. Put your storefront link in your Instagram bio and a QR on the counter.
  2. Send a WhatsApp broadcast to your existing customers with the link.
  3. Set up booking reminders so no-shows drop on their own.
  4. Review your first daily totals to make sure every payment rail reconciles.

The goal isn’t a perfect store on day one. It’s a working store on day one — and a self-serve system means you’re never waiting on anyone else to get there. See how Timeo works →