Services, providers and the availability engine
Arin আগস্ট 1, 2026
Define services the way you actually deliver them
Give each service its true duration, not a hopeful one. If a first consultation runs forty minutes and a follow-up runs fifteen, they are two services, not one with a note. Where a service needs a particular room or piece of equipment, model that resource as a provider so the engine cannot book two appointments needing the same room at once.
The settings that shape your calendar
| Setting | What it controls | Sensible starting point |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | Length of the appointment itself | Your real average, rounded up |
| Buffer after | Unbookable padding for reset and overrun | 10 to 15 minutes |
| Slot step | How finely start times are offered | 15 or 30 minutes |
| Minimum notice | How soon before a slot booking closes | 2 hours for most services |
| Booking horizon | How far ahead the calendar opens | 30 to 60 days |
| Capacity | People allowed in one slot | 1, except for classes and batches |
| Hold window | How long a slot stays reserved during checkout | 10 to 20 minutes |
Working hours, leave and holidays
Set each provider’s weekly hours individually rather than applying one pattern to everybody, and include the lunch break as a daily off-period so it stops appearing as bookable. Enter public holidays and known leave in advance — a booking accepted for a day you are shut costs you that customer’s trust, and it is the kind of thing people mention to others. Where a service is offered at more than one location, tie the provider to the location so the engine does not offer back-to-back slots across town.
Group capacity
For classes, batches and workshops, capacity greater than one lets several people book the same interval, with the engine counting down remaining places. Decide what happens when it reaches zero: a plain “Full” state, or a waiting list that notifies people when a cancellation returns a place. A waiting list is only worth switching on if someone will actually work it.
Keeping online and walk-in in one calendar
The frequent failure in Indian clinics and salons is a paper register at the counter running alongside the website calendar. The two disagree within a week. Either enter walk-ins into the same system immediately, or reserve specific hours for walk-ins and block them online so the two never overlap. Pick one; running both loosely is what produces double-booked Saturdays.
Prices on the booking page
State prices where you can, written as Rs 1,500 or Rs 4,999, and label anything variable as “starting from” with a note on what changes it. When the number is already on the page, the visitor is not waiting on a reply before deciding, and you spend fewer messages on a question the page could have answered.
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