Overview

Publishing a course creates a scheduled instance from your course template. This process sets up all the lessons, assigns the instructor and location, and makes the course available for pet enrollments.

Before You Publish

Make sure you have:

Course template - The blueprint for your course (e.g., "Puppy School")
Available instructor - A team member assigned to teach
Location - A resource where the course will be held
Start date - When the first lesson begins

Publishing a New Course

To publish a course, go to Courses and click "New" → "Publish New Course", or use the direct link: Create New Course.

Step 1: Course Setup

Configure the basic course settings:

Course Template

Select from your available course templates:

Puppy School - Basic puppy training program
Puppy High School - Advanced puppy training
Custom templates - Your other configured programs

The template determines:

Course name and structure
Number of lessons
Lesson duration
Capacity limits
Service requirements

Team Member

Choose the instructor for this course:

Must be a team member with service permissions
Check availability for all lesson dates
Consider expertise and experience level
Verify capacity for additional courses

💡 Tip: Choose team members who are comfortable with group instruction and have relevant experience with the course content.

Location

Select where the course will be held:

Option 1: Pre-saved Location

Choose from your configured resources
Examples: Indoor Play Area, Training Room, Outdoor Space
Automatically includes address information
Verifies resource capacity

Option 2: Manual Address Entry

Enter a custom address
Useful for special venues or off-site locations
Manual entry doesn't check resource availability

💡 Best Practice: Use pre-saved locations when possible to track resource utilization and avoid conflicts.

Step 2: Scheduling

Set up the course schedule:

Start Date

Default: Set to today's date
Custom: Choose any future date
Considerations:
- Allow time for enrollments
- Check instructor availability
- Consider seasonal factors
- Plan for holidays

Start Time

Select the time for all lessons
Duration is inherited from the course template
End time is calculated automatically
All lessons will use the same time

Example: If you set start time to 10:00 AM with 1-hour duration, lessons run from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM.

Course Schedule

Petboost automatically generates all lesson dates based on:

Your chosen start date and time
Template's recurrence pattern (weekly, bi-weekly, etc.)
Number of lessons defined in template

What you'll see:

Lesson 1: Start date at start time
Lesson 2-N: Subsequent dates following recurrence pattern
Edit button: Modify individual lesson dates/times if needed

💡 Tip: Review the generated schedule before proceeding. You can edit individual lessons if needed (e.g., skipping a holiday week).

Availability Options

Choose how to proceed with scheduling:

Check Availability (Recommended)

Verifies instructor and resource availability
Identifies scheduling conflicts
Suggests alternative times if conflicts exist
Prevents double-booking

Skip Check & Create Course

Creates course without checking availability
Faster for confirmed schedules
Any conflicts must be resolved manually later

Availability Check Results

If conflicts are found during the availability check, the system provides comprehensive conflict resolution:

Conflict Summary

At the top, you'll see:

Total conflict count (e.g., "6 Availability Conflicts")
"Magic Apply All" button - Automatically applies all suggested times
Option to review conflicts individually

Individual Lesson Conflicts

For each lesson with a conflict, you'll see:

Conflict Information:

Clash badge - Red indicator showing the problem
Scheduled time - Original lesson date and time
Conflict reason - Specific explanation (e.g., "Suzie Walsh is not available on 25 Oct 2025")

Suggested Resolution:

Alternative date/time - System-suggested available slot
Time difference - How much later (e.g., "3 days later")
Apply button - Accept this specific suggestion

Resolution Options

You have several ways to proceed:

1. Magic Apply All (Fastest)

Automatically applies all suggested times
Resolves all conflicts at once
Updates the entire schedule

2. Individual Apply (Selective)

Review each conflict
Choose which suggestions to accept
Manually edit others if needed

3. Publish Even with Clashes (Override)

Creates course with conflicts
Useful when you'll manually resolve later
Warning shown about potential issues

4. Re-check Availability (After Changes)

Check again after manual adjustments
Verify new times are conflict-free
Use after editing individual lessons

💡 Best Practice: Use "Magic Apply All" for quick conflict resolution, or review individually if you need specific dates maintained.

Skip Check Confirmation Dialog

If you choose to skip the availability check, you'll see a confirmation dialog showing:

Warning about potential conflicts
Complete course schedule summary
All lesson dates and times

Review carefully before confirming to ensure:

All dates are correct
No lessons fall on business closures
Instructor is genuinely available
Resource doesn't have known conflicts

After Publishing

Once published, the course:

Appears in your courses list with "Upcoming" status
Shows 0 enrolled pets initially
Displays all scheduled lessons
Is available for pet enrollments
Can be viewed and managed

What Happens Next

Course is created - Instance appears in your system
Lessons are scheduled - All sessions are added to calendar
Enrollments open - You can start adding pets
Reminders setup - System prepares notifications (if configured)
Ready to go - Course is live and manageable

Managing Published Courses

Viewing Your Courses

The main courses page shows:

Course name and status badge
Available capacity (e.g., "4 Places Remaining")
Status - Upcoming, In Progress, Completed
Key dates - Start date, end date, next lesson
Enrolled pets - Current enrollment count

Quick Actions

From the courses page, you can:

Enroll pet(s) - Add pets to an existing course
Publish New Course - Create another course instance

Best Practices

Planning Course Schedules

Lead Time:

Publish courses 2-4 weeks in advance
Allow time for marketing and enrollments
Give customers sufficient notice

Timing:

Choose popular days/times for better enrollment
Consider customer work schedules
Avoid holiday periods for start dates

Capacity:

Start with conservative numbers for new programs
Increase capacity as demand proves out
Consider instructor experience level

Multiple Course Instances

Running multiple sessions:

Different days for customer convenience
Different times (morning vs. evening)
Different instructors for capacity
Back-to-back courses for continuous offering

Example schedule:

Puppy School - Monday mornings (Instructor: Sarah)Puppy School - Thursday evenings (Instructor: Mike)Puppy School - Saturday mornings (Instructor: Sarah)

Managing Changes

Before first lesson:

Can modify dates and times freely
Can change instructor if needed
Can adjust location

After course starts:

More complex to reschedule
Communicate changes to all enrolled customers
Consider impact on enrolled pets

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Course template not available"

Template may not be configured properly
Check service configuration
Verify template exists

"Instructor unavailable"

Check team member working hours
Verify capacity limits
Look for scheduling conflicts

"Location unavailable"

Resource may be at capacity
Check resource working hours
Verify resource configuration

Next Steps

Course Management

Managing Enrollments - Enroll pets and manage class capacity
Course Lifecycle - Track progress and manage active courses
Getting Started with Courses - Understand course structure and templates

Service and Team Setup

Services - Configure course templates and eligibility
Team Members - Assign instructors and manage capacity
Resources - Set up course locations and facilities

Customer Management

Customer Profiles - Manage enrolled pet owners
Pet Profiles - Track individual pet progress
Appointments - View course lessons as appointments

Settings and Configuration

Settings - Account configuration
Booking Settings - Course booking rules
Notifications - Course communication settings
Pro Automations - Automated course workflows

Troubleshooting Navigation

Common Issues and Solutions