At a Glance • Key Takeaways
- Automated Efficiency: Streamline online bookings, live availability scheduling, and customer communication without manual intervention.
- Live Capacity & Conflict Prevention: Prevent double-booking across staff, rooms, activity sessions, or rental fleet assets in real time.
- 0% Platform Booking Fees: SmartBookings does not charge transaction fees or take percentage cuts of your ticket sales or customer payments.
1. Business Hours vs Individual Staff Rosters
Service-based businesses operate on two layers of schedule availability:
- General Business Opening Hours: The overall hours your salon, clinic, or workshop is open (e.g. Tuesday to Saturday 09:00 – 18:00).
- Individual Staff Rosters: Each practitioner can have their own custom working days and shift times (e.g. Dr. Smith works Mondays & Thursdays; Stylist Chloe works Wednesdays through Saturdays).
2. Configuring Opening Times in Admin
1 Go to Services > Opening Times (OpeningTimes.aspx).
2 Select whether you are editing Standard Venue Hours or filtering by a specific Resource / Staff Member.
3 For each day of the week (Monday through Sunday):
- Open / Closed Toggle: Check the box for days this practitioner is working.
- Start Time & End Time: Set their working shift (e.g.
09:00 to 17:30).
- Break Times: Add recurring lunch breaks or administrative windows so clients cannot book across practitioner breaks.
4 Click Save Opening Times.
3. Holidays, Sick Days & Ad-Hoc Blackouts
When a team member books an annual leave week, attends a professional training course, or calls in sick:
- Navigate to Opening Times and apply a date-specific closure for that resource.
- SmartBookings immediately removes all open slots for that staff member from the public booking calendar, while preserving all existing bookings for other team members.
Real-Time Slot Engine: The customer booking portal cross-references practitioner opening hours, existing booked appointments, service treatment duration, and buffer times to generate 100% clash-free appointment options!
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I set different working days and shift hours for part-time therapists?
In Services > Opening Times (OpeningTimes.aspx), filter by the individual staff resource. Toggle which days they work (e.g. Tuesdays and Thursdays) and set their custom shift start and end times.
Can I add recurring lunch breaks so clients cannot book across practitioner meal times?
Yes. On each working day, configure break windows (e.g. 13:00 to 14:00). The booking calendar automatically blocks out those slots from public booking.
How do I block out therapist holidays, sick leave, or training days?
Apply a date-specific closure to that staff member under Opening Times. SmartBookings immediately removes open appointment slots for that therapist while leaving other colleagues available.
Can our salon have different opening hours on weekends compared to weekdays?
Yes. Each day of the week (Monday through Sunday) has independent start and end times, allowing late evening openings on Thursdays and earlier closing on Saturdays.
How does the real-time slot calculation engine prevent appointment clashes?
The engine cross-references practitioner opening hours, pre-existing bookings, service treatment duration, and buffer padding to generate 100% clash-free appointment options.
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