User Calendar Management
Important Concepts
Any service provider that takes an appointment (aka booking) needs to setup their availabilty on their calendar. If a user does not setup their availabilty, then appointments cannot be created for them. This concept allows some providers to be inactive. For example, the owner/receptionist need not take appointments. Later if they setup some availability, they can immediately take appointments.
The app typically assumes that stylist is unavailable if the calendar is not set with any schedule or availability slots.
A Time Slot is a block of time on a specific date. It means during that slot and during a selected date ranges, you are available to take appointments. A time slot can also be marked as unavailable for various reasons. If a time slot is not explicit set, it means you are not available. This method allows for flexiblity for your providers and multiple break periods.
Availability means the list of all time slots that the service provider is available. That is, valid time slots were setup.
Set/Manage Availability means setup the times and dates that the provider is available to take appointments. The steps are described below.
Steps to set the availability
You can reach the Manage Availability from the dashboard, access the menu by tapping the menu access on the top left . Then tap on Manage Availability.
- In the Manage Availability screen, select the begin date and end date and tap on "Set Availability" button.
- A screen to add time slots will appear. Select the hour of a day you will be available. Multiple slots can be setup for the date range.
- These slots apply to all days that you selected.
- For convenience, you can select a date range but only apply the slots to specific days of the week (choose days of the week option)
- For convenience, you can set your hours same as Business' hours of operation (choose Business Hours option).
A video of setting up availability is below:
Once availability is set, the user can begin to take appointments if user's request match the stylist's availability. In the sections below, you will find more details of the options and steps.
Step 1: Select the begin and end dates.
Below image shows the states after tapping 3rd December and 31st December. You may select your schedule upto 6 months into the future. In the picture below, note "Choose Days of the Week" check box is selected.
| Type of Hours | Description |
|---|---|
| My Own Hrs | Allows to set your time slots according to your own schedule. This is a common selection |
| Match Business Hrs | A convenience option to set your time slots exactly as per the business' hours of operation. Owner must have created the business hours there to indicate business hours. Below section for more details on setting business hours |
| Not available | In case you need to override some slots where you'll be unavailable on days you have set some availability. |
Step 1a: Choose Days of the Week
Select this option, if you work only on specific days of the week.
If you selected "Choose Days of the Week" check box, the pop up shown below allows you to select days of the week that this availability will be applicable. The days that are not selected will be left untouched. The example below it says service provider works only Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays of the days selected in Step 1.
Step 2: Set the Time Slots you will be available
In this screen, set the times of a day you are available. You may set as many slots so this allows for multiple break periods. Then tap on submit to save them. There may be a warning indicating previously setup appointments may be affected (meaning they will not be automatically changed).
After submission, the calendar will be as below:
At this stage your calendar is ready to take appointments!
How to set the Business Hours
Business Hours are the hours of operation of the business. Within this app, business hours are used as convenience feature to allow users set their availablity to match the business' hours. So its not required to set the business hours. In order to set the business hours:
- Login as the owner of the business
- Go to Menu () -> Settings -> Additional Settings -> Set Business Hours
- This opens a screen titled "Manage Business Hours"
- Set the days and hours of the business as described previously.
- Its recommended to Auto Extend the Schedule if you have regular business hours.
Note: Matching a customer's appointment request is not limited by Business Hours set here. If there are any service providers that have set their availablity time slots (for example some provider working in lunch hour) that does not match the business hours then appointments are allowed for them. This is a feature for being flexible to your service providers and customers.
Contacting Support
If you need help in first setup, please contact us under the "Help and Contact" menu and tap "Contact Us". Please include a full description of the issue and how to contact you.