How to resolve overlapping appointments
Find where the overlap came from, move one booking and keep every booking in a single place.
Everyday problems
The public booking page offers only free times, so it does not create overlaps by itself. When two appointments clash, the usual cause is a booking agreed outside the tool, an imported file or a schedule change made after the booking existed. Here is how to fix the clash and stop it returning.
Spot the clash first. Open the day or week view for the provider concerned and look for two bookings sharing the same time. Check how each was created: through the public page, by a member of the team, from an imported .ics file, or agreed by phone and entered later.
Decide which booking moves, usually the newer one or the one entered by hand. Phone the client yourself, because 4appointments sends no automatic message about changes, and offer the nearest free time. The sooner you call, the easier it is to find a time that suits them.
Move the booking in the calendar by dragging it to a free slot or editing its time. Moving a booking checks the provider’s availability and overlaps, so the tool will not let you replace one clash with another. If you created the booking, send the client the management link so they can also pick a new time themselves.
Look for the cause. Did you add a day off or a block over bookings that already existed? Was an ICS calendar refreshed late, since busy blocks update about every 15 minutes? To prevent repeats, enter every phone or in-person booking in the Bookings section, where availability is checked for you, and subscribe to the ICS link of any other calendar you use.
Points to remember
- ✓The public page offers only free times, so most clashes come from bookings made elsewhere
- ✓Creating or moving a booking in the panel checks availability and overlaps
- ✓Warn the client by phone yourself, as the tool sends no change notices
Common questions
How did an overlap appear if I use an online system?+
Most often a booking was agreed by phone or message and entered later, an .ics file was imported over existing items, or a schedule change was made after the booking already existed.
Does the tool warn me when two bookings overlap?+
There is no separate alert. Instead, the booking page hides taken times and creating or moving a booking in the panel checks overlaps, so look at the day and week views regularly if you suspect a clash.
More booking guides
Say goodbye to double bookings
4appointments offers clients only free times and checks overlaps when you create or move a booking, so every appointment gets a time of its own.
Start with 4appointments