How far in advance should customers be able to book? Minimum notice and booking windows

Two booking rules handle this: a minimum notice, so nobody can book a time that starts too soon for you to prepare or get there, and a booking window, so your calendar only opens as far ahead as you know your plans. Pick the notice from how much warning you need, and the window from how far ahead you're sure of your hours.

A barber with walk-in habits can take bookings an hour ahead; a detailer who drives to every job needs more warning.

What is minimum notice?

Minimum notice is the shortest time between booking and appointment. With two hours, someone booking at 10:00 sees times from 12:00 onwards.

It protects you from bookings you can't realistically make: a customer booking a 9:00 job at 8:45 while you're still in bed, or a slot 30 minutes from now when the drive takes 40. It also gives you time to see the booking before it starts.

How much notice should you ask for?

Think about the last minute you'd want to find out about a new job:

• Services at your own place, little preparation: a short notice, such as an hour or two, lets people book same-day gaps you'd otherwise lose.
• Mobile services: enough to see the booking and plan the route. If you want to know about tomorrow's jobs the evening before, ask for notice of about a day.
• Jobs that need preparation: long enough to order products, prepare a room or read the customer's notes.

If you work alone and don't check your phone during jobs, err on the side of more notice. Otherwise a booking can arrive mid-job and start before you've seen it.

What is a booking window?

The booking window is how far into the future your calendar is open: 14 days, 60 days, a year. Times beyond it don't show on your booking page.

How far ahead should customers be able to book?

Open your calendar as far ahead as you're confident about your hours, and no further.

• A shorter window (two to four weeks) suits businesses whose hours change often, people who plan holidays at short notice, and anyone who wants to keep room for regulars.
• A longer window (two or three months, or more) suits services people plan around: a wedding trial, a seasonal job, lessons that run for a term. It also lets regulars book their next visit before they leave.

A long window has a cost: every booking far ahead is a promise about your hours that far ahead. If you're likely to move a holiday or change your days, a shorter window saves you rescheduling.

Whatever you choose, block holidays and days off in your booking tool as soon as you know them, so they never open for booking in the first place.

Should cancellation rules match?

They're separate settings, but they belong together. Your minimum notice says how late someone can book; your cancellation cutoff says how late someone can cancel online without calling you. Booking notice is about preparing; cancellation notice is about having time to refill the slot, so think about how quickly you could find someone else. If you have a cancellation policy, put it where customers see it before they confirm, such as your booking page description.

When should you change these settings?

Look at them again when:

• you get bookings you can't reach in time (more notice);
• same-day gaps stay empty because the notice is too long (less notice);
• your calendar fills months ahead and regulars can't get in (shorter window, or let regulars book their next visit at the end of each one);
• you keep moving bookings because your hours changed (shorter window).

Setting the rules in Okayset

In Okayset both rules are under Settings › Booking rules:

• Minimum notice (hours) sets how soon a new booking can start: half hours are allowed, up to 720 hours (30 days).
• Book up to (days ahead) sets how far ahead your calendar opens, from 1 day up to a year.
• Online cancellation closes (hours before) and Online rescheduling closes (hours before) set the point after which customers have to contact you instead of changing the booking themselves.

Minimum notice and the two online cutoffs only limit customers. From the dashboard, you and your team can cancel at any time and move appointments, even at short notice or after the online cutoffs. The booking window still applies there, so nobody can move a booking further ahead than your calendar is open. Every booking is checked again on Okayset's server before it's saved, so customers can't get around these rules. The full details are in booking rules and cancellation policy.

To block a holiday or a single day off, use Time off or Days off and special hours under Team & hours (see working hours, days off and time off).