Overview
Booking Settings control how customers book appointments through your online booking system. Configure self-service booking, payment requirements, confirmation workflows, and scheduling rules to match your business needs.
This page also includes the Booking Engine section, which explains how Petboost finds the best available times for your customers, how team members are assigned, and how multi-pet scheduling works.
Self-Service Booking
Control whether customers can book appointments online without your approval.
Online Booking
Enabled - Customers can book online
Customers see available times and book instantly
Reduces phone calls and admin workload
Works 24/7 even when you're closed
Disabled - Manual booking only
Booking page is hidden from customers
All bookings must be created by your team
Use when you need full control over scheduling
When to disable:
During high-demand periods requiring manual approval
For VIP or complex services requiring consultation
When managing capacity manually
Payment Requirements
Allow customer to book without a card on file
Allowed - Book without payment method
Customer can book without adding a payment card
Payment collected later (in-person, bank transfer, etc.)
Higher no-show risk
Not Allowed - Must have payment method
Customer must add a valid payment card to book
Card is verified but not charged until appointment complete
Significantly reduces no-shows
Enables Pro Automations (pre-hold funds, auto-pay)
Recommendation: Require payment methods to reduce no-shows and enable automated payment workflows.
Booking Confirmation
Control how bookings are confirmed.
Instant Confirmation
Auto-confirm bookings
Bookings are immediately confirmed
Customer receives instant confirmation
Reduces admin workload
Best for most businesses
Manual Approval
Review before confirming
Bookings are "Pending" until you approve them
You manually review and confirm each booking
Customer notified once you approve
Use for high-value or complex services
When to use manual approval:
Services requiring special preparation
VIP or sensitive appointments
When managing capacity manually
During busy periods when you need control
Team Member Selection
Control how team members are assigned to appointments.
Customer Choice
Can select preferred staff
Customers see available team members and choose their preferred one
They then see only that team member's available times
Builds customer relationships
Some team members may get booked more than others
Auto-Assigned
Staff assigned automatically
Customers see available times without staff names
The engine generates available time slots for eligible team members one by one
When multiple team members are free at the same time, the first team member checked is shown for that slot and duplicate slots from other team members are removed
How Auto-Assigned works step by step:
The engine identifies which team members can perform the requested service
It goes through eligible team members in order and generates all their available time slots
When two or more team members are both available at the same time (e.g. both Sarah and James at 9:00 AM), only the first one checked is shown for that time slot
The customer picks a time, and the team member already attached to that slot is assigned
Important: Auto-assigned mode does not distribute bookings evenly. If Sarah and James have identical schedules and both perform the same services, Sarah will be assigned to most bookings because her slots are generated first. James only gets assigned when Sarah is already booked at that time. We are actively building a balanced distribution mode that will spread bookings evenly across equally qualified team members.
Recommendation: Customer choice builds stronger relationships. Auto-assigned keeps the booking flow simpler for customers who do not have a preference.
Booking Notice Period
Set minimum advance notice required for bookings.
Minimum advance notice required for bookings
Prevents last-minute bookings that don't give you enough preparation time.
Time Configuration:
Weeks - 0-4 weeks
Days - 0-7 days
Hours - 0-23 hours
Minutes - 0, 15, 30, 45
Common Settings:
4 hours - Same-day bookings with preparation time
24 hours - Next-day bookings only
48 hours - Two-day advance notice for grooming
1 week - For services requiring special preparation
Example: If set to "4 hours", customers cannot book appointments starting within the next 4 hours.
Booking Interval
Set time slot intervals available for booking.
Allow Booking of Appointments Every:
Options:
5 minutes
15 minutes
30 minutes
1 hour
How it works:
If you select "30 minutes", customers can only book appointments at start times like:
9:00 AM
9:30 AM
10:00 AM
(Not 9:15, 9:45)
The system automatically fills gaps based on service durations. If an appointment ends at 11:10 AM and you have a 15-minute interval with 30 minutes of padding after, the next available slot starts at 11:45 AM (end time + padding, rounded up to the next interval mark).
Choosing the right interval:
5 minutes - Maximum flexibility, many time slot options (may overwhelm customers)
15 minutes - Good balance for most services
30 minutes - Simplifies scheduling, reduces slot fragmentation
1 hour - For very long services or day bookings
Recommendation: 15 or 30 minutes works best for most pet service businesses.
Booking Engine
The Booking Engine section in Settings explains how Petboost finds and presents available times to your customers. It contains four informational topics and one configurable setting.
How Team Members Are Assigned
This section explains the two assignment modes:
Auto-Assigned (default): The engine goes through eligible team members one by one and generates their available slots. When two team members are both free at the same time, only the first one checked is shown for that slot. This means the first team member in the list tends to get most bookings until their calendar fills up. Customers do not see team member names.
Customer Choice: Customers select their preferred team member first, then see only that person's available times.
You can switch between these modes in Self-Service Booking → Team Member Selection at the top of the Booking Settings page.
How Available Slots Are Generated
The booking engine follows a pipeline to generate slots:
Check the date range - Looks at the next 8 days from the requested date
Find eligible team members - Filters by who can perform the requested service
Walk through working hours - Steps through each shift in booking interval increments (e.g. every 15 minutes)
Check capacity at each time - Accounts for existing bookings, padding before/after, and team member capacity limits
Rank and sort the best options - Orders by customer's preferred times, then presents the top 30 slots
Three key settings affect slot generation:
Booking Interval - Controls the gap between available start times
Padding Time - Buffer before and after each appointment blocks extra time on the calendar
Notice Period - Blocks slots that are too close to the current time for preparation
Multi-Pet Scheduling Rules (Configurable)
Control how appointments are scheduled when a customer books for multiple pets at once. This is the only configurable setting within the Booking Engine section.
Best Fit (Recommended)
Pets are grouped together when possible, with fallback options.
Shows closest times first, then offers alternatives if needed
Slots are ordered by efficiency, with tightest groupings appearing first
If your team has capacity for 2+ pets at once, same-time slots are shown first
Never blocks bookings - always finds a slot, even when busy
Customer may still pick a scattered slot if they prefer
All Pets Together
All pets must start at exactly the same time.
Single drop-off - owner brings all pets together
Requires team to handle 2-3 pets simultaneously
Fewer available time slots
Warning: If capacity is too low, customers see NO available times with no backup options
Clustered Start
All pets must start within a configurable time window of each other.
Choose a maximum window (e.g. 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours)
First pet drops off at 9:00 AM, all others must start within the window
Good balance between "All Pets Together" and full flexibility
Allows rolling drop-off - owner can drop pets one by one
Capacity & Simultaneous Pets
This section explains the two types of capacity:
Standard Capacity - How many pets from different households a team member can work on at the same time. Most groomers set this to 1.
Same Household Capacity - A higher limit for when all pets belong to the same owner. This lets you handle siblings together while still limiting bookings from different families.
Example: Sarah has Standard Capacity of 1 and Same Household Capacity of 3. She can groom 3 dogs from the Smith family at once, but cannot groom a Smith dog and a Jones dog at the same time.
Where to configure: Capacity is set per team member in Team Members → [Name] → Working Hours and per service in Services → [Name] → Pricing & Duration.
Padding Before/After Appointments
Set buffer time before and after appointments.
Options:
No padding
15 minutes
30 minutes
1 hour
1.5 hours
2 hours
3 hours
Padding Before - Setup time before the appointment (e.g. preparing equipment, reviewing notes).
Padding After - Cleanup time after the appointment (e.g. cleaning station, writing notes).
How padding affects availability:
Padding blocks time on either side of each appointment. A 45-minute grooming with 15 minutes padding before and 15 minutes padding after effectively blocks 1 hour and 15 minutes on the calendar.
Tip: You can set different padding per service using service-level overrides.
Start Appointment Calendar On
Choose which day the calendar week begins:
Monday - Standard business week
Sunday - Starts the week on Sunday
This only affects the calendar display in your appointment management view.
Per-Customer Booking Overrides
You can block individual customers from online booking while keeping online booking enabled for others.
Blocking a Specific Customer
To block a customer:
Open the customer's pet profile
Click More Actions menu next to the owner's name
Select Block from Online Booking
What happens:
Customer sees "no availability" when trying to book online
Customer can still log in and access their portal
Customer retains access to past appointment photos and history
You can still create appointments for them manually
All other customers can continue booking normally
To unblock:
Open the customer's pet profile
Click More Actions menu
Select Enable Online Booking
When to use per-customer blocking:
Customers who repeatedly no-show or cancel last-minute
Customers requiring consultation before booking
Temporary restrictions during disputes or payment issues
Common Questions
Q: How are team members assigned when I use auto-assign?
A: The engine pools all eligible team members' available times together. When a customer picks a time, the team member who was available at that slot is assigned. Customers choose the time, which determines the team member.
Q: Does auto-assign distribute bookings evenly across my team?
A: Not currently. When two team members are both available at the same time, the first one checked gets that slot. This means one team member may receive most bookings until their calendar fills up. We are building a balanced distribution mode that will spread bookings evenly across equally qualified team members.
Q: Can I temporarily disable online booking?
A: Yes, toggle "Online Booking" to "Disabled". Your booking page will be hidden until you re-enable it.
Q: Can I block specific customers from booking while keeping it enabled for others?
A: Yes, use per-customer booking overrides. Open the customer's profile, click More Actions, then Block from Online Booking. Blocked customers see "no availability" but can still access their portal.
Q: What happens if I require a card on file?
A: Customers must add a valid payment card before booking. The card is verified but not charged until the appointment is completed.
Q: Should I use instant confirmation or manual approval?
A: Use instant confirmation for 95% of bookings. Only use manual approval if you truly need to review each booking individually.
Q: What's the best booking interval?
A: 15 or 30 minutes works for most businesses. Use 5 minutes only if you need maximum flexibility.
Q: What is the difference between "Best Fit" and "All Pets Together" for multi-pet bookings?
A: Best Fit tries to group pets close together but always shows alternative options if tight grouping is not possible. All Pets Together requires every pet to start at exactly the same time, which needs enough team capacity for simultaneous pets. If capacity is too low, customers may see no available times at all.
Q: What is Same Household Capacity?
A: It is a higher capacity limit that applies only when all pets being booked belong to the same owner. For example, a groomer with Standard Capacity of 1 and Same Household Capacity of 3 can handle 3 of one family's dogs at once, but only 1 dog at a time from different families.
Q: Where do I set capacity for my team members?
A: Go to Team Members → [Name] → Working Hours to set per-shift capacity, and Services → [Name] → Pricing & Duration to set how much capacity each service consumes.
Next Steps
Set up Pro Automations to automate appointment workflows
Configure Notifications to keep customers informed
Review Policies & Paperwork for cancellation policies
Set up Payment Settings to process card payments