Staff working schedules
Cyclic schedules, one-off changes, breaks and holidays, and why the schedule should follow demand rather than fairness
A working schedule is the availability of a branch or a resource for bookings. It can be cyclic, repeating every week, or one-off, set for particular days. The online booking form only offers time that is open in the schedule, so any mistake here is immediately visible from outside.
Cyclic or one-off
| Type | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Cyclic | A stable week that repeats: Mon-Fri, 9 to 18 |
| One-off | A specific date: a short day, a swapped shift, a holiday schedule |
The working pattern is a cyclic schedule as the base with one-off exceptions on top. Entering every week by hand is unnecessary and harmful: a forgotten week means zero free slots.
Breaks
A break can be added to the current day straight from the schedule screen, and removed the same way. Lunch, cleaning between clients, travel time for call-outs: all of it belongs in the schedule rather than in the administrator's head.
Time closed by a break is not offered by the booking form.
Build the schedule around demand, not fairness
The commonest mistake is an identical schedule for everyone because "that is fair". Look at when people actually book, and compare it with who is working then.
Typical findings:
- three free specialists on Saturday morning and no bookings
- one specialist on Thursday evening and a queue
- your strongest specialist working the hours with no demand
That is fixed by the schedule, not by advertising.
Holidays and sick days
Close the days as soon as you know. An unclosed day means bookings you will have to move by hand, phoning every client. One minute in the schedule against an hour on the phone.
Several branches
Each branch has its own schedule settings, and staff can be moved between branches. The booking form shows the client the relevant prompts, so they understand which location they are booking.
Common questions
A client booked outside working hours. How?
Usually the schedule is set on the branch but not on the specific resource, or the cycle ended and no new one was set.
Can different services have different schedules?
A schedule belongs to a resource. Service-level limits are set on the service itself and on which resources it is linked to.
What happens to existing bookings if I close a day retroactively?
They do not disappear and have to be moved. The schedule governs new bookings only.
Can staff see their own schedule?
Yes, in the free staff mobile app.