Smart Booking Rules: Never Overbook Again

Quick Answer

Smart Booking Rules prevents overbooking by enforcing team member limits, resource capacity, and service-specific buffers. When a slot reaches capacity, it becomes unavailable for new bookings. Works for both staff bookings and customer self-service.

The Problem

"I double-booked again. This is so embarrassing."

Overbooking happens to the best of us:

You confirm a booking without checking the calendar
A customer books online while you're booking someone on the phone
You forget that a team member is already at capacity
Resources (grooming tables, play areas) are promised to multiple dogs

The result: stressed staff, disappointed customers, and a scramble to fix things.

Manual checking doesn't scale. You need rules that enforce themselves.

The Solution: Smart Booking Rules

Smart Booking Rules automatically prevents overbooking. Configure your limits once, and the system enforces them everywhere.

Here's what you can set:

Team member limits: Max concurrent appointments per person
Resource capacity: How many dogs per grooming station, play area, kennel
Service buffers: Time padding before and after appointments
Business defaults: Baseline rules for everything

When something's at capacity, it's not bookable. No exceptions. No mistakes.

Who Benefits Most

Business Type	Primary Rule Type
Solo groomers	One appointment at a time
Team groomers	Per-groomer station limits
Daycares	Play area and session capacity
Multi-service	Complex combinations of all rule types

Smart Booking Rules is available on Business Pro and Business Max plans.

Key Capabilities

Team Member Limits

Set how many appointments each team member can handle at once:

Team Member	Max Concurrent	Applies To
Sarah (Groomer)	1	All grooming
Tom (Trainer)	1	Private sessions
Tom (Trainer)	6	Group classes
Emma (Handler)	8	Daycare sessions

When Sarah is grooming, no one can book her until that groom finishes. Simple.

Resource Capacity

Resources have physical limits. Enforce them:

Resource	Capacity	Notes
Grooming Station 1	1 dog	Physical table
Small Dog Play Area	8 dogs	Safety limit
Large Dog Play Area	12 dogs	Safety limit
Boarding Kennel Block A	10 dogs	Room count

When the small dog area has 8 dogs, the 9th booking can't happen. The system won't allow it.

Service Buffers

Some services need padding time:

Transition time between appointments (5-15 min cleanup)
Setup time before appointments start
Travel time for mobile services

Set buffers per service or globally. The system blocks time automatically.

Business Defaults

Set baseline rules that apply everywhere:

Default buffer between all appointments
Minimum booking notice (e.g., 24 hours advance)
Maximum advance booking (e.g., 3 months ahead)
Operating hours when booking is allowed

These apply unless overridden by specific service or team member rules.

Real-World Impact

Before Smart Booking Rules: The grooming salon had 3 groomers and 4 tables. Double-bookings happened 2-3 times per week. Each one required calls to customers, rescheduling, and apologies. Staff morale suffered.

After Smart Booking Rules: Each groomer is limited to 1 appointment at a time. Each table has a capacity of 1. When something's booked, it shows as unavailable. Double-bookings dropped to zero.

The stress reduction alone is worth the setup time.