How to stop appointments from being double-booked

Only free times are offered, and a request holds its time from the moment it’s sent.

Management for business

Overlapping appointments (double-booking) are among the most common headaches when you manage a diary by hand. 4appointments cuts them down by offering clients only free times and by holding a time as soon as a request arrives.

The public booking page works out free times from each provider’s weekly schedule, exceptions and blocks, and from the bookings that already exist. A time taken by the same provider isn’t offered. Different providers can be booked at the same time.

A booking request holds its time even while it’s pending, so a second client can’t take the same slot while you’re still deciding. If two people try for the same time together, only one succeeds and the other sees a message that the slot has just been taken.

You can add a pause (“Interval (min)”) to a service, which is held after bookings made on the public page, for example for cleaning or changeover. When your team creates a booking in the panel, the system checks availability and overlaps but skips that pause and the notice rules.

Busy blocks from another calendar can be brought in by subscribing to its ICS link (refreshed about every 15 minutes), so personal commitments close those times. There’s no two-way Google Calendar or Outlook sync. A pending request nobody handles is cancelled automatically about an hour after the requested time ends.

Key points

  • ✓Only free times are shown to clients on the public page
  • ✓A pending request holds its time until it’s confirmed, rejected or expires
  • ✓Busy blocks can be brought in from an external calendar by ICS link

Common questions

What if two clients try to book at the same instant?+

Only one request gets the slot. The other client sees a message that it’s no longer available and can choose another time.

Can I block out a time in the calendar by hand?+

Yes. Under “Availability” you can block a provider for a period (a break, holiday or internal meeting) and clients will no longer see it. Group sessions with a capacity aren’t supported: each booking is one slot with one provider for one service.

More guides to read

Dealing with clashes in your current diary?

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