Schedule & Availability
When a calendar offers appointments, when it is closed, and how appointments are spaced, buffered and limited.
Calendars › Name › Schedule & Availability
This tab sets when this calendar can be booked: on which days and at which times, when it is closed, and how appointments sit on the grid.
A calendar's availability is not the same as your business opening hours. You enter the opening hours under Business; the assistant tells them to callers who ask. Availability applies to this calendar only and decides which appointments it offers. A workshop can be open until 6 pm and still take repairs only until 4 pm.
Availability
For each day of the week you set:
- the switch next to the day: when it is off, the day shows Closed and offers no appointments
- a time range with start and end, for example 09:00 to 17:00
- Add time range: up to 4 ranges per day, such as 08:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 17:00 for a lunch break
A new calendar starts with the opening hours from Business, if you have already entered them there. Adjust the availability afterwards if the calendar has different hours.
If an in-house calendar can be booked at times when your business is closed according to Business, you see the notice Available while the business is closed with the affected days. The assistant would offer those times but tell callers the business opening hours, and the call would contradict itself. Adjust the availability, or the opening hours if those times are intended.
On the call: The assistant only offers times within the availability that are still free in your Google Calendar.
Appointments before 8:00 AM cannot be booked reliably. If you create a range that early, the dashboard shows the notice Night hours not supported. If your business offers appointments in those hours, contact us at support@flowcaptain.com.
Closures
A closure blocks a period, for a vacation, sick leave or a renovation. Click Create Closure and fill in:
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Start Date | First day of the closure, inclusive. |
| End Date | Last day of the closure, inclusive. Cannot be before the start date. |
| Reason | Why you are closed, such as "Company vacation" or "Renovation". Required, because the assistant tells it to the caller. |
You can edit or delete existing closures. Once a closure is over, it is no longer shown. A closure applies only to the calendar you create it in. If you have several calendars, add it to each one affected.
On the call: During a closure the assistant offers no appointments, not even on days that would otherwise be available. It says you are closed that day, gives the reason and helps find another day.
Public holidays don't need a closure. FlowCaptain knows them from the country and region you set under Settings.
Appointment Settings
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Default Appointment Duration | How long an appointment is when no service is chosen: 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 or 120 minutes. Services can have their own duration, which replaces this value. |
| Slot Increment | When appointments can start: every 15, 30 or 60 minutes. At 15 minutes that is 9:00, 9:15, 9:30. |
| Buffer Time | A break after each appointment: 0, 15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes, for cleaning up, say. |
| Minimum Lead Time | How short-notice a booking may be, from Immediately up to 4 weeks. |
| Booking Horizon | How far ahead a booking may be, from 2 weeks up to 1 year. The default is 3 months. |
The Slot Increment follows a rule you can read via the info icon (More about the slot increment): to avoid gaps, the increment should be at most as long as your shortest service and, if you set a buffer, at most as long as the buffer. The list offers the fitting values plus your saved value. If the saved value is longer, the field shows Longer than recommended – bookings may leave idle time in between. If you change the Default Appointment Duration or the Buffer Time, FlowCaptain sets an increment that is too long to the largest allowed value and saves it along with your change.
On the call: The assistant only suggests start times on the increment grid and keeps the buffer free after each appointment. If a requested time falls within the minimum lead time, it declines it and names the earliest possible appointment. It offers nothing beyond the booking horizon. How many suggestions it makes at most is set on the assistant under Max. suggestions (Appointments & calendars).
Good to know
- For vacations, company holidays or single closed days, use a closure, not the availability. Otherwise you have to restore the hours by hand afterwards.
- Any event in your Google Calendar takes up its time, even one you entered yourself. Private events in the same calendar therefore block bookings.