Service Availability Settings

Modified on Mon, 1 Dec at 12:07 PM

Service Availability Controls help business owners and administrators manage when clients can request services through the Client Portal. These settings are designed to prevent scheduling conflicts by automatically blocking service requests that fall outside of your company’s standard operating hours, public holidays, or designated closure periods such as vacations.

With Service Availability Controls, you can configure service request restrictions in several ways:

Block requests outside of normal business days and hours
Block requests on public holidays
Block requests during company vacations or other closures

You can also choose how broadly these restrictions apply, with options to set them at three different levels:

All Services
Service Groups
Individual Services

Enable Regular Service Availability

This setting allows you to prevent clients from requesting services outside your company’s standard operating days and hours. It’s useful for ensuring that all service requests fall within your regular business schedule, for example, blocking weekend bookings or requests made after your usual closing time.

By setting clear availability rules, you can manage client expectations and reduce the likelihood of scheduling conflicts or out-of-hours service requests.

To enable Regular Service Availability:

Switch or toggle ON the option Enable Regular Service Availability.
Click Update to save your changes.

Detailed instructions....

Enable Public Holiday Service Availability

This setting allows you to control whether clients can request services on public holidays. It works in conjunction with the dates you’ve defined in the Public Holiday Calendar under Admin > Services > Public Holidays, which identifies the days your company observes as public holidays each year.

In most cases, the service availability rule for public holidays should be set to "Unavailable", preventing clients from requesting services on those dates. However, you may also choose to apply a "Custom" rule if your business allows service requests during specific times on a public holiday (for example, limited morning walks on Christmas Eve).

To enable Public Holiday Service Availability:

Switch or toggle ON Enable Public Holiday Service Availability.
Click Update to save your changes.

Detailed instructions....

Enable Vacation Service Availability

This setting allows you to prevent clients from requesting services during company-wide vacations or temporary closures. It works in conjunction with the dates you’ve defined in the Company Vacation Calendar under Admin > Services > Company Vacation, which specifies when your business is closed for holidays, breaks, or other scheduled downtime.

Using this control helps ensure that clients can’t request services during periods when your team is unavailable, maintaining clear communication and avoiding scheduling issues.

To enable Company Vacation Availability:

Switch or toggle ON the option Enable Vacation Availability.
Click Update to save your changes.

Detailed instructions....

Use Group Overrides

This setting allows you to create specific availability rules for Service Groups, such as all Dog Walking or Boarding services. It overrides any company-level restrictions, giving you more control over when particular groups of services can be requested.

For example, you might allow Boarding services to be requested on weekends, but keep dog walking services unavailable during that time. This flexibility helps tailor service availability to the needs of different parts of your business.

To enable Service Group Overrides:

Switch or toggle ON the option Use Group Overrides.
Click Update to save your changes.

Detailed instructions....

Use Service Item Overrides

This setting allows you to apply specific availability rules to Understanding Service Items , giving you the highest level of control over when each service can be requested. It overrides any restrictions set at both the company and service group levels.

For example, you might choose to allow a 30 minute Dog walking service on a public holiday, but not allow a 60 minute Group Walk on the same day. This flexibility ensures that each service aligns perfectly with your business operations and staff availability.

To enable Service Item Overrides:

Switch or toggle ON the option Use Service Item Overrides.
Click Update to save your changes.

Detailed instructions....