In this guide, we’ll explain how each staff member can set how much advance notice a client needs to give before booking an appointment online. This gives you the flexibility to decide how quickly you’re willing to accept new bookings — whether you want to offer booking for the same day, or prefer at least a few hours' or a day’s notice.

What Is a Booking Notice Period?

The booking notice period is the minimum amount of time that must pass between the moment a client makes an online booking and the actual start time of the service. For example:

  • If the notice period is set to two hours, the earliest a client can book an online appointment is two hours from now (provided that time is available).
  • If it’s set to one day, the client will see the first available times 24 hours from the current moment.

This setting is very useful if you need a bit of response time before serving a new client, or simply want to plan your workday with more certainty.

How Do You Set It Up?

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  1. Go to the Apps page.
  2. Open the Staff app.
  3. Select the staff member you want to set the booking notice period for, by clicking the Info button (this might be you yourself).
  4. Go to the Preferences section of the staff member’s profile.
  5. Scroll down until you reach the Online Booking category.
  6. Find Minimum Notice Period for Online Booking and set the interval you want (days, hours, minutes).

Examples:

  •    If you choose 0 minutes
    The client can book an appointment right away. For example, if you have an open slot in your calendar at 1:00 PM and the client also books for 1:00 PM, they could (in theory) come in right away.
  •    If you choose 2 hours
    The client can book an appointment at least two hours in advance. If it’s currently 1:00 PM, the first available time will be 3:00 PM (if that slot is free).
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  •    If you choose 1 day
    The client has to lock in their appointment at least 24 hours in advance. If today is Monday at noon, the earliest they can book is Tuesday after noon.
 TIP:
If you live farther from the salon or need extra time to prepare, it can help to set a longer notice period (e.g. 2 hours or 1 day). But if you’re always at the salon and ready to serve clients, you can leave the notice period very short — even 0 minutes.

Why Is This Useful?

  • It gives you breathing room to plan and prepare.
  • It avoids situations where a client shows up on short notice while you’re not ready for them.
  • It lets you keep your daily schedule realistic and easier to plan, especially if you have a longer commute to the salon or a lot of other things going on.
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It’s worth trying out different settings to find the notice period that works best for you. That way, you can be sure no one books at the very last minute when you’re not actually ready to see clients.

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