Separate schedules for each user type (customer vs. back-office user) allow greater flexibility in managing availability and optimizing operations. This setup ensures that the right users see the correct options, while maintaining consistency and efficiency through manual updates - whether adjusting times, intervals, or capacity - or by associating resources with the schedules.
Use Cases
Below are several scenarios in which different booking options might be offered for customers versus back-office users:
Different starting/ending times:
Customers can book only between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM, while back-office users can book from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM.
Different intervals:
Online bookings can start every 60 minutes, while back-office bookings can be scheduled every 30 minutes.
Different days:
Customers can book only on weekdays, while the business can book any day of the week.
Different capacities:
Online availability can show 10 slots per session, while back-office users can book 15 slots per session.
Different pricing:
Online bookings may have limited or different pricing options compared to back-office bookings.
How to set it up
To accommodate this setup, two distinct schedules can be associated with the product- one visible as "Online" and the other as "Offline". This ensures that each user type (customer or back-office user) can only book according to the schedule designed for them.
Steps to set up two different schedules:
Access the product setup page:
Open the setup page for the product to configure schedules.
Create two schedules:
Navigate to the Schedules tab and create two distinct schedules. Label one “Online" (for customers) and the other “Offline” (for back-office users).Configure each schedule:
Adjust times, intervals, capacities and other settings for each schedule according to requirements.
Set usability fields:
Adjust the usability fields for both schedules as needed.
Online Schedule (customers): adjust as required
Offline Schedule (back-office users): adjust as required
5. Update pricing (Optional):
Adjust Pricing for each schedule if necessary.
How to manage availability
Once the Online (for customers) and Offline (for back-office users) schedules are set up, availability can be managed in two ways:
Independent availability:
Each schedule maintains its own separate availability. Online bookings follow the online schedule and back-office bookings follow the offline schedule, keeping availability distinct for each user type.
Common/shared availability: