Scheduling
One availability engine, four sources of truth
Double bookings happen when a system has more than one idea of when someone is free. Bookky has exactly one, assembled from every layer that can affect it.
How a bookable slot is decided
Start with the regular weekly schedule, the hours a person works on each day. Subtract their recurring breaks, so a standing lunch is never sellable. Apply one-off exceptions, which work in both directions and can either close a day for holiday, sickness or training, or open an extra shift beyond the normal week.
Then subtract everything already committed: confirmed bookings, pending ones awaiting payment, and manual reservations taken by phone or at the counter. Each of those blocks its own duration plus the buffer that service requires afterwards.
What is left is offered on a fifteen minute grid, and only where the full appointment plus its buffer fits before the next commitment. A slot is never shown that cannot actually be honoured.
The layers you control
Weekly hours
Set once per person per weekday. A day with no entry is simply not bookable, which is how a four day week is expressed.
Recurring breaks
A standing lunch or a fixed admin hour, applied every week without being re-entered.
Exceptions both ways
Close a date for holiday or illness, or open one that is not in the normal pattern. The reason is recorded either way.
Private calendar feeds
Every staff member gets an iCal URL to subscribe to once. Confirmed bookings appear in Apple, Google or Outlook and stay current.
Two ways to run a team
In admin-managed mode one owner account holds everything. Staff are resources with no logins, and the owner sets every schedule, takes every booking and receives every payment. That is the right shape for salaried employees.
In self-managed mode every person signs in. They set their own hours, manage their own diary and connect their own Stripe account, while the owner keeps an overview without controlling individual calendars. That is the right shape for chair, room and station renters.
Build a rota in the demo
Common questions
How do I handle holidays and sick days?
Set regular weekly hours once, then add one-off exceptions on top. Exceptions work in both directions: block a day for holiday, illness or training, or open an extra shift beyond the normal schedule. The available slots update immediately.
Can each staff member have their own login?
Yes, and it is a per-business choice. In admin-managed mode one owner account controls everything and staff are resources with no logins. In self-managed mode each person signs in, sets their own hours, sees their own calendar and connects their own Stripe account. That second mode suits chair and room renters.
Does it sync with my calendar?
Every staff member gets a private iCal feed URL. Subscribe to it once in Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook and confirmed bookings appear automatically and stay up to date. There is nothing to re-import.
Can I add clean-down time between appointments?
Yes. Each service carries its own buffer, applied after the appointment ends. A service needing fifteen minutes of turnaround will not let the next customer book into that window, while a quick service can run back to back.
Can I still take bookings over the phone?
Yes. Staff create phone, walk-in and admin bookings from the dashboard using the same availability engine, so a phone booking blocks the slot online instantly. Nothing gets double-booked.
Related
Booking Deposits and Online Payments
Take deposits or full payment at the point of booking through Stripe, with no platform fee and no commission. Or take nothing online and settle in person.
Websites With Booking Built In
GCDS builds your website with the booking system already in it, configured with your services, staff and payment mode, and working the day it goes live.
Booking System for Massage Therapists
Online booking for massage and sports therapy. Thirty to one hundred and twenty minute sessions, room turnaround, deposits and a calendar that follows you.
Last reviewed .