Booking rules explained
What each booking rule in Opening hours does and why you might set it one way or another.
Where these rules live
All of the rules in this article are set in Opening hours (go to **https://www.slotwise.skotechlabs.com/app/opening-hours**). They control how customers can book with you, and most can be overridden by individual services — see "Add and organise services."
Slot interval
This sets how often bookable times appear: every 10, 15, 20, 30, 45 or 60 minutes, or matched to each service's own length. A short interval gives customers more time choices but can fragment your day; matching service length keeps your calendar tidy and is a sensible default for most businesses.
Minimum notice
The shortest amount of time, in minutes, before an appointment that a customer can still book it. Set this high enough that you're never caught out by a booking landing five minutes before it's due — especially useful if you need prep time or don't check the calendar constantly.
Days ahead
How far into the future customers can book. A shorter window keeps your calendar realistic and reduces no-shows from bookings made too far in advance; a longer window suits businesses that get booked out early, like popular studios.
Approve bookings by hand
When switched on, new bookings land as Pending instead of Confirmed until you approve them. This is useful while you're still getting comfortable with online booking, or if you want a final check before committing your schedule, at the cost of an extra step for every booking.
Choosing a team member
You can let customers pick who they see, or keep bookings to Any available only. Letting customers choose suits businesses where people book a favourite stylist, doctor or tutor; Any available only keeps bookings spread evenly and is simpler for interchangeable services.
How "Any available" assigns
When a customer picks Any available, Slotwise assigns someone using one of three methods: least busy (balances everyone's workload), team order (works through your team list in order), or random. Least busy is the fairest default for most teams.
Multiple services in one booking
Turn this on to let customers add several services to a single visit, and set the maximum number allowed. It suits businesses where people commonly combine services, such as a cut and a colour; a low or zero maximum keeps bookings simple and predictable.
Daily booking limit
Caps how many appointments a single customer can hold with you on one day. This stops one person from accidentally, or deliberately, filling your whole day, while still allowing legitimate multi-service visits.
Cancellation and reschedule windows
The cancellation window sets how many hours before the appointment a customer can still cancel it themselves. The reschedule window does the same for rescheduling, alongside a maximum number of reschedules allowed per booking. Tighter windows protect your schedule from last-minute changes; looser windows are more convenient for customers but leave you less time to fill a gap.
Requiring phone and email
You can require a phone number, an email address, or both, before a booking can be completed. Requiring a phone number is usually worth it, since it's how customers are matched to their customer profile and how SMS reminders reach them.
Waitlist on or off
Turns the waitlist feature on or off for your booking page. See "The waitlist" for how it works once it's on.
Auto-complete finished appointments
When on, appointments are automatically marked Completed once their time has passed, saving you from doing it manually for every visit. Turn it off if you'd rather confirm completion yourself, for example to make sure a no-show doesn't get marked as completed by mistake.
Tip Start stricter, with hand approval on and shorter windows, while you learn how online booking behaves for your business, then relax the rules once you trust the flow.
Tip If one service needs different rules, such as a longer minimum notice for a consultation, override it at the service level instead of changing the rule for your whole business.
Tip Review your daily booking limit and days-ahead setting together — a generous days-ahead window with no daily limit can let one customer dominate your calendar.