How do I set up or change my time windows?

To manage your time windows, go to Settings from your main navigation bar. This will open up straight to your Services & Pricing tab.

Next, tap on the ⚙️gear icon for the service category that you'd like to set up or change time windows for.

This takes you to your  Category Settings page, where you can update your policies and settings for each service category that you offer. By default, you'll be taken straight to the Time Blocks tab, where you can see any existing time windows that you have already set up for each category (just choose the category on the left). If you'd like to add or change your time windows, simply tap on "update my hours of availability" in the service category that you'd like to change. All services within each category will inherit whatever time windows you have set up for the category. There are two ways to set up your time windows: flexible appointment windows and fixed time blocks. How you set up your windows depends on how you prefer to run your scheduling. 

Flexible appointment windows

If you're the type to let your clients choose any time that they'd prefer, and you just want to give yourself a certain amount of cushion around that time to get to the appointment, then flexible appointment windows is likely the easiest way to go. 

You simply need to choose how much cushion you'd like to give yourself.  For example, if you choose a one-hour before and after window, a 10AM appointment on your schedule will have a 9AM - 11AM pickup window. While the appointment will still show up at 10AM on your schedule (so that you can set targets for when you'd like to get to specific appointments), your client will not see 10AM as the appointment time; they will only see the 9AM - 11AM estimated pickup.  

Using the same example, if you allow your clients to request appointments online through PetPocketbook, they'll then get to choose from one-hour windows in half-hour increments  (e.g. 9AM - 11AM, 9:30AM - 11:30AM, 10AM - 12PM, and so on).

Fixed time blocks

Particularly for any group or pack services where multiple pets are being picked up for some fun in the sun together, you might want to consider fixed time blocks instead. Here, you have the option to set up as many (or as few) time blocks as you'd like. You'll choose the start and end times as well as which days of the week you'd like to offer each block. While it's up to you how wide of a window you'd like to give yourself for each block, we recommend choosing the widest window that you think your pet families will be comfortable with for each service category to give yourself the most flexibility when fitting pets into your schedule. 

If you have fixed time blocks set up and you allow your clients to request appointments online through PetPocketbook, pet parents will only get to choose from the time blocks that you've made available. 

When you have fixed time blocks set up, you'll still be required to choose a cushion for flexible appointment windows, which by default is set to one hour before and after your appointment time. Even though your clients can only choose from your fixed time blocks when requesting online, you can still book appointments onto your schedule at any time of your choosing. If you decide to make an exception for a client and book a visit outside of your fixed time blocks, we'll default to your flexible appointment windows as backup to still show an arrival window to your clients. 

⚠️ When approving an appointment request, PetPocketbook defaults your appointment time to the middle of your clients' preferred time window, unless otherwise specified.  For example, if Marvin's dad requested a 9AM - 11AM pickup window for a short potty break, the appointment will be added to your schedule at 10AM by default, unless you drag Marvin onto a different time on your schedule when approving the request.