Setting Up Your Availability
Written By Lucas Stefanski
Last updated 3 months ago
Your availability controls when clients can book with you. By setting up schedule blocks and booking windows, you ensure appointments fit your actual working hours - and prevent double-booking or overloading your schedule.
Why Availability Matters
Without proper availability setup:
❌ Clients try to book when you're not working
❌ You get double-booked or overbooked
❌ Bookings stack up with no travel time between them
❌ Clients see confusing or limited options
With availability configured:
✅ Clients only see times you're actually available
✅ Automatic limits prevent overbooking
✅ You control how many bookings per day
✅ Services show realistic, bookable time slots
Where Availability Appears
Your availability settings control what clients see in two places:
1. On Your Booking Landing Page
Before clients even select a service, they can see when you're generally available - giving them confidence you have availability when they need it.
2. In the Booking Flow
When a client selects a service and chooses a date, they see specific available time slots based on:
Your schedule blocks
Services you offer during those blocks
Booking limits you've set
Advance notice requirements
Existing bookings
Understanding the Two Service Types
Availability works differently for appointment-based vs. stay-based services:
Appointment-Based Services
Examples: Dog Walking, Drop-in Visits, Meet & Greet
Scheduled in time windows (e.g., "Morning 7-10am")
Client selects a date, sees available slots
Appear as specific time blocks on your calendar
Use schedule blocks with start/end times
Stay-Based Services
Examples: Pet Boarding, Overnight Sitting, Day Care
Scheduled by date range with arrival/departure times
Client selects start date and end date
Appear as all-day events on your calendar
Use arrival/departure windows instead of time slots
Creating Schedule Blocks (Appointment Services)
Schedule blocks are recurring time windows when you're available for appointment-based services.
Example Schedule Blocks
A typical pet care professional might have:
Morning Walks: Mon-Fri, 7:00am - 10:00am (6 bookings max)
Midday Visits: Mon-Fri, 11:00am - 2:00pm (4 bookings max)
Evening Walks: Mon-Fri, 4:00pm - 7:00pm (6 bookings max)
Weekend Services: Sat-Sun, 8:00am - 5:00pm (8 bookings max)
How to Create a Schedule Block
Click Add Schedule Block
Configure:
Title: Name for this block (e.g., "Morning Walks")
Days of Week: Which days this block repeats
Start Time: When this window begins
End Time: When this window ends
Daily Booking Limit: Maximum bookings per day in this block
Click Save
Daily Booking Limits
The booking limit controls how many appointments you'll accept during this block per day.
Example:
Morning Walks block: 7am-10am, limit of 6
You can have up to 6 dog walks scheduled during morning hours each day
Once you hit 6, that day's morning slots become unavailable
Setting realistic limits:
Consider drive time between appointments
Account for appointment duration
Leave buffer time for delays or issues
Remember: you can't teleport between clients!
Example calculation for dog walks:
3-hour window (7am-10am)
30-minute walks
15 minutes drive time between clients
Realistic limit: 4-5 walks (not 6!)
Linking Services to Schedule Blocks
After creating schedule blocks, link your appointment-based services to them.
Go to Services
Open an appointment-based service
Find Availability settings
Select which schedule blocks this service uses
Save
Example:
Dog Walking uses: Morning Walks, Midday Visits, Evening Walks, Weekend Services
Cat Drop-in uses: Midday Visits, Evening Walks
Meet & Greet uses: Midday Visits only
This gives you flexibility - not all services need to be available during all blocks.
Setting Up Arrival/Departure Windows (Stay Services)
Stay-based services (boarding, overnight sitting, daycare) use arrival and departure windows instead of schedule blocks.
Charge Per Night vs. Charge Per Day
The windows you set depend on how you charge:
Charge Per Night (Boarding, Overnight Sitting):
Arrival Window: Evening (e.g., 4:00pm - 8:00pm)
Departure Window: Morning (e.g., 7:00am - 10:00am)
Example: Drop off Monday evening, pick up Wednesday morning = 2 nights
Charge Per Day (Daycare):
Arrival Window: Morning (e.g., 7:00am - 10:00am)
Departure Window: Evening (e.g., 4:00pm - 7:00pm)
Example: Drop off Monday morning, pick up Wednesday evening = 3 days
How to Configure Arrival/Departure Windows
Go to Settings → Availability
Find your stay-based service
Set Arrival Window: Start time and end time
Set Departure Window: Start time and end time
Set Daily Booking Limit (explained below)
Save
Booking Limits for Stay Services
For stay-based services, the booking limit works differently than appointment services.
How It Works
The limit controls how many overlapping stays you can handle at once.
Example 1: Solo Pet Sitter
Service: Overnight Pet Sitting
Limit: 1 booking per day
Why: You can only be at one client's home overnight
If you have a booking from Monday-Wednesday, those three days are blocked - you can't accept another overnight sit until Thursday.
Example 2: Boarding Facility
Service: Pet Boarding
Limit: 10 bookings per day
Why: You have 10 kennels/spaces
You can have up to 10 dogs staying at once. When you hit 10, new booking requests are blocked until someone checks out.
Example 3: Daycare
Service: Dog Daycare
Limit: 15 bookings per day
Why: Safe supervision ratio
You can care for 15 dogs at once during daycare hours.
Setting the Right Limit
For in-home sitting (you go to client's home):
Set limit to 1 - you can only be in one place at a time
For facility-based care (clients come to you):
Set limit to your actual capacity
Factor in space, supervision ratios, safety
Start conservative, increase as you gain experience
Advance Notice Settings
Control how far in advance (and how last-minute) clients can book.
Maximum Advance Notice
How far into the future clients can book.
Default: 12 weeks (3 months)
Common settings:
4 weeks: Only plan one month ahead
8 weeks: Two months out
12 weeks: Three months (good for vacation planning)
26 weeks: Six months (for boarding during holidays)
Why limit it?
You don't know your schedule that far out
Pricing might change
You might be taking time off
Life circumstances could change
Minimum Advance Notice
How soon before an appointment clients can book.
Default: 1 day (24 hours)
Common settings:
Same-day: 2-4 hours (for emergencies)
Next-day: 24 hours (most common)
2-3 days: For services requiring preparation
1 week: For boarding (need time to review intake forms)
Why require notice?
Time to review client/pet information
Prevent last-minute scrambles
Ensure you're actually available
Professional boundaries
Where to Set Advance Notice
Per Service:
Go to Services
Open a service
Find Booking Parameters
Set Min Advance Notice and Max Advance Notice
Save
Different services can have different notice requirements:
Dog Walking: Min 24 hours, Max 8 weeks
Overnight Sitting: Min 3 days, Max 12 weeks
Meet & Greet: Min 48 hours, Max 4 weeks
Managing Time Off
Block out time when you're completely unavailable.
Creating Time Off
Click Add Time Off
Configure:
Title: Vacation, Holiday, Personal, etc.
Start Date & Time
End Date & Time
Affects: All services or specific services only
Save
How Time Off Works
During time off:
Clients can't book affected services
Your calendar shows the blocked time
Existing bookings before you created time off remain (you'll need to reschedule manually)
Best practice: Add time off as soon as you know about it. Prevents bookings during your vacation.
Common Availability Setups
Solo Dog Walker
Schedule Blocks:
Morning: Mon-Fri, 7-10am, limit 5
Midday: Mon-Fri, 12-2pm, limit 3
Evening: Mon-Fri, 4-7pm, limit 5
Weekends: Sat-Sun, 8am-5pm, limit 6
Services:
Dog Walking: All blocks, min 24hrs notice, max 8 weeks
Drop-in: All blocks, min 24hrs notice, max 8 weeks
Time Off:
2-week vacation in summer
Major holidays
In-Home Pet Sitter
Stay Services:
Overnight Sitting:
Arrival: 5pm-8pm
Departure: 7am-10am
Limit: 1 (can only be at one home)
Min 3 days notice, max 12 weeks
Schedule Blocks:
Morning Visits: 7-10am, limit 2 (for drop-in clients)
Evening Visits: 5-8pm, limit 2
Boarding Facility
Stay Services:
Dog Boarding:
Arrival: 3pm-7pm
Departure: 8am-12pm
Limit: 15 (kennel capacity)
Min 1 week notice, max 26 weeks
Cat Boarding:
Arrival: 3pm-7pm
Departure: 8am-12pm
Limit: 8 (cattery capacity)
Min 1 week notice, max 26 weeks
Time Off:
Closed: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's
Daycare Facility
Stay Services:
Dog Daycare:
Arrival: 7am-9am
Departure: 4pm-6pm
Limit: 20 (supervision capacity)
Min 24 hours notice
Mon-Fri only (set via days of week)
Schedule Blocks:
Extended Hours: Mon-Fri, 6pm-8pm, limit 5 (late pickup fee)
Best Practices
Start Conservative
Set lower booking limits initially
Increase as you learn your capacity
It's easier to open up slots than to cancel bookings
Account for Drive Time
Don't max out your schedule with back-to-back appointments
Build in buffer time between clients
Remember: unexpected delays happen
Use Realistic Time Windows
3-hour windows work well for most appointment services
Gives you flexibility within that window
Clients get service "in the morning" not "exactly at 8:07am"
Different Services, Different Limits
Dog Walking: Higher limits (quick, predictable)
Drop-in Visits: Lower limits (longer, more variable)
Overnight Sits: Very low limits (exclusive attention)
Plan for Holidays
Add time off early for major holidays
Consider higher booking limits for high-demand dates
Charge holiday surcharges (separate article)
→ Setting Up Weekend and Holiday Surcharges
Review Quarterly
Are you consistently maxing out certain blocks?
Are some blocks rarely booked?
Adjust limits based on actual demand
Update based on seasonal patterns
Troubleshooting
Clients say "no available times" but I'm free
Check that service is linked to schedule blocks
Verify booking limits aren't maxed out
Ensure minimum advance notice isn't too restrictive
Look for time off that's blocking availability
Getting too many bookings in one time block
Lower the daily booking limit
Split into smaller time windows
Increase minimum advance notice (gives you planning time)
Bookings too spread out, not efficient
Reduce number of schedule blocks
Increase booking limits to encourage concentration
Adjust pricing to incentivize preferred times
Stay-based service booking conflicts
Check booking limit (should be 1 for solo sitters)
Verify arrival/departure windows make sense
Ensure existing bookings aren't overlapping
What Clients See
When a client books:
Landing page: See your general availability and services
Select service: Choose what they want to book
Select date: Calendar shows available dates (dates with no availability are grayed out)
Select time (appointment services): See specific time slots within your windows
Select dates (stay services): Choose start and end dates, see arrival/departure windows
Complete booking: Fill out info and confirm
At each step, they only see truly available options based on all your settings.
Need Help?
Questions about availability? Search the Help Center
Need setup help? Contact support@scritches.io
Want to review your setup? We're happy to give feedback - email your booking page URL