Add padding or gap time before or after a service for prep or cleanup, so that you have enough time to get ready for your next booking.
What is padding time?
Padding time is time at beginning or end of a service which is set to unavailable, meant for preparation or cleanup. For example, if you offer haircuts that last 30 minutes, you can set your schedule to block off 5 minutes after every haircut, so you have time to clean up for your next booking.
Each haircut on your schedule will now last 35 minutes, but the extra time won't be shown to the client when booking (in this example, clients who book a haircut would see their booking duration as 30 minutes, not 35).
Add padding time to one specific booking
If you need unavailable time before or after one specific booking, you can click on the booking time slot and click Actions > Edit Booking. To block off time before the booking starts, select Edit Padding Before, and to block off time after the booking ends, select Edit Padding After.
Manage padding time for a service
To add or remove padding time to a service, navigate to Manage > Services, click the three dots beside the service name, and click Settings. To block off time before a service, enter the amount of time beside Padding Before. To block off time after a service, enter the amount of time beside Padding After. Click Save to confirm your changes.
Manage gap time for a service
If your widget is set to allow clients to book multiple services in one booking, you can also add time in between services that are booked together. This gap time will be added to the end of a service only if the client has booked another service after it in a multi-service booking. To set a gap time, enter the amount of time beside Gap After, and click Save to confirm your changes.
Let your client know you're ready
If you're ready for your next appointment, you can send your client a notification to let them know, by paging them from the schedule. To page a client, click on their time slot in the schedule and click Actions > Page Client. When you click Continue, the client will be sent a notification to let them know to proceed to their appointment.
To learn more about different ways to contact clients, check out this support article: Page or contact a client.