> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.autodetailcrm.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Scheduling & Availability
> Use one availability policy for Online Booking and AI booking, from simple capacity to staff, bays, and mobile crews.
**Scheduling & Availability** is the source of truth for every appointment offered through Online Booking or the AI Voice Assistant. Configure the schedule once instead of maintaining separate Online Booking and AI hours.
Business Hours determine when customers can book services. They do not control when the AI Voice Assistant answers calls.
Open **Settings → Scheduling & Availability**.
## Check readiness first
The top of the page shows separate readiness results for **Online Booking** and **AI booking**. A result can need attention when, for example, every Business Hours day is closed or AI booking has no enabled service.
Older workspaces may see **Choose one shared schedule** because their previous Online Booking and AI hours were different. Choose the hours you want to keep, review the resulting schedule, and click **Save**. Nothing is replaced until you save.
## Choose a scheduling model
Choose the simplest model that matches how the business accepts work.
| Model | What limits simultaneous bookings | Best for |
| - | - | - |
| **Simple capacity** | One shared concurrent-appointment limit | One-person businesses or teams that do not want to maintain staff schedules |
| **Team** | Available, qualified staff members | Businesses that want appointments assigned around employee availability |
| **Advanced resources** | Every required resource, such as staff, bays, mobile crews, or shared capacity pools | Businesses where people and physical resources must be free together |
### Simple capacity
Set **Concurrent appointments** to the number of jobs the whole business can handle at once.
* Use `1` when only one appointment can run at a time.
* Use `2` when any two appointments can run at the same time.
* Set it to `0` to pause new booking availability intentionally.
* You do not need staff shifts or resource assignments in this model.
### Team
Team mode uses active staff resources. Each available staff member can handle one appointment at a time.
* A staff member can inherit Business Hours when no dated shift exists.
* Shifts are optional. Add them only when a person's schedule differs from the shared hours.
* You can limit a service to specific qualified staff members.
* A Google Calendar event blocks only the connected staff member's availability.
### Advanced resources
Advanced mode can require people and physical resources for the same appointment. Click **Add resource**, choose a type, name the resource, set its capacity, and select the services it can support.
Common resources include:
* a detailing bay;
* a mobile crew;
* a shared equipment or capacity pool;
* a staff member.
Adding a Bay does not make it mandatory for every service. Assign a service to that Bay when the service should require an available Bay.
## Understand service qualifications
Qualifications are evaluated separately for each service.
In **Team** mode:
* if a service is not selected for any staff member, every active staff member is eligible for it;
* once you select that service for one or more staff members, only those selected staff members are eligible.
For example, if three employees are active and **Ceramic Coating** is selected only for Alex, only Alex can receive that booking. A second Ceramic Coating request for the same time is unavailable while Alex is occupied. Select the service for Alex and Sam if both can perform it.
In **Advanced resources** mode, qualifications also determine which resource types an appointment requires. For Ceramic Coating:
| Configuration | Same-time Ceramic Coating capacity |
| - | - |
| Two qualified staff, no Bay requirement | Up to two, if both staff members are free |
| Two qualified staff and one qualified Bay | One, because only one Bay is free |
| Two qualified staff and two qualified Bays | Up to two, if both staff members and both Bays are free |
To require a staff member and a Bay together, select Ceramic Coating for the eligible staff resources and for the eligible Bay resources.
## Set Business Hours and booking rules
Business Hours create the weekly service window shared by Online Booking and AI booking. Then use booking rules to control how times are offered.
| Rule | What it means |
| - | - |
| **Slot increment** | How often a possible start time appears, such as every 15 or 30 minutes |
| **Minimum lead time** | How much notice is required before the first available appointment |
| **Advance booking window** | How far into the future customers can request an appointment |
| **Buffer before** | Extra unavailable time before the service starts |
| **Buffer after** | Extra unavailable time after the service ends |
| **Selection hold** | A short temporary hold while a customer completes the booking form |
Service duration and slot increment are different. A 90-minute service with a 30-minute slot increment can start at 9:00, 9:30, or 10:00 if the complete 90-minute period and its buffers are available.
## Set service durations
The duration on each service controls how long the appointment occupies the schedule.
* Explicit durations such as 15, 30, or 45 minutes are preserved.
* A bookable or AI-sellable service with no duration uses **60 minutes**.
* When a customer selects multiple services, their durations are added together.
* Buffers are added outside the combined service duration.
Set accurate durations under **Settings → Services & Pricing**. The 60-minute value is a safe fallback, not a replacement for accurate service times.
## Add date exceptions
Use **Date exceptions** for a holiday, closure, special opening hours, or a one-day resource change. You can apply an exception to the whole business or to one resource.
A whole-business exception changes or closes the shared service window for that date. Within that window, each resource follows this order:
1. A resource-specific date exception
2. An explicit dated shift
3. Recurring resource hours
4. Inherited Business Hours
5. Unavailable when none of the above applies
## How a slot becomes available
A time is offered only when all applicable checks pass:
* the time falls within Business Hours and any resource schedule;
* the minimum lead time and advance window allow it;
* the entire service duration and buffers fit;
* the business or every required resource has remaining capacity;
* no existing order, temporary selection hold, date exception, or blocking Google Calendar event conflicts with it.
Online Booking and AI booking use the same result. The AI cannot invent or override an unavailable time.
## Choose what a submission creates
Online Booking can use either outcome. Both show the customer that the request is **Pending review**, but they reserve time differently.
| Outcome | CRM record | Is the selected time reserved? |
| - | - | - |
| **Create Order** | A scheduled order | Yes. Capacity is reserved after the final availability check. |
| **Create Lead** | A lead with the customer's preferred time | No. The temporary hold is released and your team must confirm the time. |
The AI Voice Assistant follows the same availability rules when an allowed action checks a time or creates a booking.
## What the AI prompt controls
The AI prompt remains important for tone, questions, explanations, and escalation instructions. It does not define service hours, capacity, qualifications, or valid appointment times. Put those hard rules in **Scheduling & Availability**.
## Recommended starting points
| Business setup | Start with |
| - | - |
| Owner-operator taking one job at a time | **Simple capacity** set to `1` |
| Several employees with flexible shared hours | **Team**, with staff inheriting Business Hours |
| Employees with different working times | **Team**, plus shifts or resource hours where needed |
| Shop with limited detailing bays | **Advanced resources**, with staff and Bay assignments |
| Mobile operation with separate crews | **Advanced resources**, with a resource for each crew |
Choose services, customer messaging, and the record created after submission.
Configure the assistant's voice, prompt, and allowed actions.
Set service visibility, pricing, and duration.
Invite employees and manage optional shifts.
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