Booking rules: minimum notice and how far ahead clients can book

Two small settings decide a lot about how your week feels: how close to the time a client can still book, and how far ahead they can book. Get them right and you avoid surprise bookings ten minutes before a slot, without locking out clients who like to plan. Here is how to think about both.

Minimum booking notice

The minimum booking notice is the shortest gap you will accept between when someone books and when the appointment starts. Set it to two hours and a client looking at 1pm can book anything from 3pm on, but not 1.30pm. Times inside the notice window simply do not appear on your booking page.

It exists to protect you. A booking that lands fifteen minutes before the time may arrive while you are mid-appointment, travelling, or not yet open. A sensible notice gives you time to see it, prepare and turn up ready. In BookAndGo you set it in hours and minutes, and it applies everywhere clients book.

How far ahead clients can book

The booking window, sometimes called the booking horizon, is how far into the future clients can see and book. A thirty-day window means today's clients can book up to about four weeks out. Times beyond the window do not appear.

A short window keeps you flexible: you can change hours, take leave or adjust services without disturbing bookings months away. A long window suits regulars who like to lock in their routine, and businesses with seasonal peaks where clients plan early.

Sensible starting points by trade

A salon or barber with a steady flow of regulars often works well with a short notice, an hour or two, and a window of several weeks so clients can rebook at the end of each visit.

A massage therapist or beauty therapist who sets up a room between clients may prefer two to four hours of notice, so a booking never arrives while they are with someone. A personal trainer who travels between locations might want more, perhaps the evening before for early sessions.

Studios running classes often use a longer window so a term's worth of classes can be booked, and a short notice so a spare place can be filled close to the start. Mobile businesses usually want the most notice, because travel needs planning.

Notice and cancellations work together

Your cancellation notice is a separate idea from your booking notice, but clients feel them together. Every confirmation and reminder email includes a link to reschedule or cancel within your rules. If your rules ask for a day's notice to cancel, a booking notice of a few hours is fair; clients who book late understand they are committing.

Review them as you grow

Set a starting point and look again after four weeks. If you keep getting bookings you cannot prepare for, lengthen the notice. If clients ask to book further out, lengthen the window. Both settings are quick to change and take effect straight away.

Common mistakes

Setting the notice to zero is the most common. It feels welcoming, but it means a client can book the very next slot while you are in the middle of an appointment, with no time to see the booking or prepare. Even half an hour helps.

Setting the window too short is the second. If clients can only see a week ahead, regulars cannot rebook their next visit at the end of an appointment, and some will drift away. If you rebook clients every four to six weeks, make sure your window reaches at least that far.

Forgetting the window before a holiday is the third. If you will be away in a few weeks, block those days before clients can see them, or they will book times you cannot keep.