Set buffer time for all services

Set buffer time for all services

The buffer is time surrounding an appointment that no one can book: for cleaning up, disinfecting, preparing, or traveling to the next customer. You'll find this page in the menu under Settings → Appointments & booking → Buffer time (/manager/settings/catalog). It applies to the location selected at the top of the dashboard.

Next to the title, a small help icon (“How the buffer works”) explains three things: If two buffers overlap, the longer of the two counts, not the sum. The value here applies to the entire location. And booked appointments retain the buffer with which they were booked.

The buffer affects the booking page, the appointment wizard, the calendar, and the services. Customers never see it: The booking window still only displays the minutes for the service.

Enable the buffer

At the top is the card “Buffer time” with the toggle switch. Next to it is “On” or “Off”. By default, the buffer is off. If it's off, no service can have its own buffer. If you turn it on and both values are still set to 0, Terminz “After the appointment” sets the first step of the grid.

The switch does not save the setting on its own. Only the bar at the bottom applies the change.

Minutes Before and After the Appointment

When the buffer is enabled, section “Minutes before and after the appointment” appears with two options:

• Before the appointment: “Time to prepare before the customer arrives.”
• After the appointment: “Time to clean up after the customer has left.”

Each option offers 0 and a few multiples of your grid (for a 15-minute grid, for example, 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes). Use “Other value” to enter your own number. A buffer is only possible in increments of your grid, just like appointments. If you enter a value in between, Terminz rounds it up (“Rounded up to 30 minutes, because your appointments are in 15-minute increments.”). You cannot set a buffer longer than 240 minutes. You set the grid under Booking Rules: The note “A buffer is only allowed in 15-minute increments” has the link Change the grid for this.

A preview under the heading “One appointment in the day” shows you what the values mean, for example: “A 60-minute appointment is followed by a 15-minute buffer. This means that on your longest business day, you can fit 7 appointments of 60 minutes each instead of 9.” It calculates based on your actual business hours and updates automatically before you save.

Buffer Time Counts as Work Time

The “Buffer counts as working time” toggle is enabled by default. In the time tracking report, the buffer between two appointments is then counted as working time. Otherwise, someone with a full calendar would only be shown as half-utilized. This setting takes effect immediately; months that have already been billed remain unchanged. It affects time tracking and payroll export.

Services with Their Own Buffer

If you've assigned a separate buffer to a service (in the service form), Terminz lists them under the note “3 services have their own buffer,” with the addition “Saving the buffer above overwrites these values.”. For each service, it shows “before / after” in minutes.

Saving and What Happens When You Do

As with the other settings pages, the bar “You have unsaved changes” appears at the bottom with Save and Discard. When you save, Terminz sets the value for each service at the location. Before doing so, it asks if this will overwrite anything:

• If no service has a different buffer, “Apply the buffer to every service?” asks: “Each service gets 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after. If only a single service should have a buffer, leave the default set to 'No buffer' and set it within the service itself.” You confirm with Apply to all.
• If services have their own buffer, the question is “2 services lose their own buffer.” Terminz lists up to six of them in “old → new” order, followed by “and 3 more.” Confirm with Apply to all.
• If you disable the buffer, the question “2 services lose their buffer” appears with the statement “Buffer time off means off everywhere.” Confirm with Switch buffer off.

The new buffer takes effect starting with the next booking. Appointments that have already been booked retain the buffer with which they were booked.

Your team can still book within the buffer and outside of working hours after confirmation. Customers can never do this.

Reset to Default

In the top right corner, Reset to defaults resets the settings. Before doing so, Terminz shows what will be reset (“Buffer: off, 0 on every service” and “Buffer counts as working time: on”) and asks for confirmation. If a service has its own buffer, it will also indicate that the service will lose that buffer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a single service have its own buffer? Yes. Leave the buffer blank or set it to 0 here, and specify it in the service form (see “Create and Edit a Service”). If you enable the buffer here and save, you'll overwrite the values for all services.

Why doesn't my buffer fit in the grid? The grid has changed. Your saved buffer remains as is and will be rounded up as soon as you save the buffer.

Can customers see the buffer? No. They only see the minutes for the service.