Appointments
Why is an appointment time not free?
Which rules block a time, which message appears and where you change the rule, for the booking page and for your team.
In the dashboard
- Who
- Applies to everyone who books, in the dashboard, in the till app and on the booking page. Works on every plan.
Why is an appointment time not free?
A time is only free when every rule of your location allows it: opening hours, the person's working hours and absences, other appointments including their buffer, resources and the booking rules. Terminz does not offer a time at all when a rule blocks it. If someone picks it anyway, for example because it has been taken in the meantime, a message with the reason appears when booking.
Blocked Online Only
Some rules apply to the booking page only. Your team keeps booking in the dashboard and in the till app.
- Online booking off: “Online booking is currently disabled for this business”. Turn it on under Settings → Appointments & booking → Booking rules (see “Set Up Booking Rules”).
- Block times online: “This time can't be booked online.” The time shows in the calendar as block “Online off”. Use Release to free it again (see “Using the Calendar and Editing Appointments”).
- Minimum advance notice: “Appointment must be booked at least 2 hours in advance”. It applies online only (not in the dashboard and not at the till) and sits under Booking rules in the “Booking window” section.
Rules That Depend on Where You Book
Terminz does not check the past, advance notice, the booking window and suspended services the same way everywhere. Your team books and reschedules at the till and in the dashboard with fewer hurdles than a customer online:
| Message | Booking page | New appointment in the dashboard | Reschedule or change in the dashboard | Till app (new and reschedule) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| “This time has already passed. Please choose a later time.” | applies | does not apply up to 30 days back, only after confirming | does not apply | does not apply |
| “Appointment must be booked at least 2 hours in advance” | applies | does not apply | does not apply | does not apply |
| “Appointments can be booked at most 30 days in advance” | applies | applies | does not apply | does not apply |
| “This service is unavailable (…)” | applies | applies | does not apply | does not apply |
In the dashboard you can record a past visit up to 30 days back if you may book over rules. Terminz asks first, the appointment is then marked “Recorded afterwards”, and the customer gets no confirmation email. Further back, you see “Appointments can only be recorded up to 30 days back.” (see “Create an appointment in the dashboard”). The till has no such limit. You can move an existing appointment to a time that has already passed in both. The numbers in the messages come from Booking rules, “Booking window” section.
Blocked for Everyone
| Message | Reason | Where you change it |
|---|---|---|
| “Business is closed on this day” or “Closed on … from … to …” | A closed day, a public holiday or a closure for a few hours. | “Create Outages, Closures, and Blockages” |
| “The staff member is not scheduled to work on Monday.” | The person has no working hours that day. | “Reading the Weekly Schedule” or the person's availability |
| “The staff member is absent (…) from … to …” | Vacation, sickness or another absence. | “Create Outages, Closures, and Blockages” |
| “Staff member already has an appointment at this time” | The person is already booked. | Pick another time or another person. |
| “Customer already has an appointment at this time” | The same customer is already booked at that time. | Pick another time. |
| “… is not authorized to perform …” | The service is not assigned to the person. | “Create, edit, assign, and deactivate staff members” |
| “… is unavailable (…). Available again from …” | A resource such as a room or a treatment bed is taken or blocked. | “Create resources, assign services, and block them” |
| “Someone is booking this time right now.” | Someone has just reserved the time. | Wait a moment or pick another time. |
| “This business is currently not accepting bookings.” | Terminz has locked new appointments for the location. This applies to every route, including your team and the till app. | Only Terminz can change this: write to us under Help → Messages. |
“This service is unavailable (…)” means the service is suspended for now. You change that in the service itself (see “Create and Edit a Service”).
Bookable Only After Confirming
These rules always block the time for customers. Your team can override them in the appointment wizard after the question “Book over the rule?” with Book anyway, if it has the matching permission (see “Create an appointment in the dashboard”):
- Buffer: “‘Colouring’ keeps a 15 minute buffer between two appointments. The next free start is 11:15.” You set the buffer under “Set buffer time for all services” or in the service itself.
- Break: “Staff member is on break from 13:00 to 13:30”.
- Working hours: “Staff member's shift doesn't start until 10:00” or “ends at 18:00, before the appointment ends”.
- Opening hours: “The appointment starts before opening time” or it ends after closing time. How far your team may book beyond them is set under Booking rules in the “Outside opening hours” section.
A true conflict cannot be overridden: the same person or the same resource cannot be booked twice, and a staff member's day off stays blocked, even after confirming.
The Appointment Ends After Closing Time
Anyone who may not override rules, meaning every customer online and every team member without the matching permission, gets one of these messages depending on the setting under Booking rules in the “Outside opening hours” section (How far can it go?):
- Off: “The appointment runs 90 minutes and ends at 18:30, 30 minutes after closing time (18:00).”
- On, but the appointment goes further than allowed: “Appointment exceeds overtime limit by 45 minutes (max 30 minutes)”.
- On and within the limit: The appointment is booked, with the note “The appointment ends at 18:20, 20 minutes after closing time (18:00). This is within the permitted overtime of 30 minutes.”
An appointment that would run past midnight is never offered. Even someone who may override rules gets the message “The appointment runs … minutes and ends at …, … minutes after closing time (…).” for it.
The Time Is Missing From the List
If a time does not show in the list at all although nothing is in the calendar, check the grid. Start times only exist at your location's Base interval, for example every 15 minutes. With Continuous slots off, a service only starts in steps of its own duration. Both sit under Booking rules in the “Time slots” section. The whole service including its buffer also has to fit into the free gap, not just its start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can't a customer book online when I can? Online, the minimum advance notice, the times blocked online and the online booking switch apply on top, and the past, the booking window and suspended services are checked more strictly (see “Rules That Depend on Where You Book”). Your team can also override buffers, breaks, working hours and opening hours after confirming, customers never.
Why can't I book over a day off? A day without working hours is not an edge case but a day off. Enter working hours for that day first, then it can be booked.