Creating Bookings

What is a Booking?

A booking is a scheduled time slot on your calendar. There are two types:

Job Bookings for customer work (installs, repairs, quote visits) Tasks for your own reminders (meetings, admin time, parts runs)

Most of the time you will be creating Job Bookings.

There is no "Create Booking" button on the calendar. The calendar only creates a booking when you drag out a time slot, or drop a job onto it from the sidebar. To type the times in, or to pick more than one staff member, go through the job instead.

Three Ways to Create a Booking

1. Drag on the Calendar

1. Click and drag down an empty time slot in Grid or Timeline view
2. The Create Booking modal opens
3. Pick the Type, then the job
4. Click Create

The start and end are taken from your drag and shown as read-only text. If you dragged short, the booking is stretched to your default booking duration.

The staff member is whoever owns the row or column you dragged on, also shown as read-only text. There is no staff picker in this modal, so drag on the right person's row. Drag in Month view, which has no staff rows, and the booking is created with nobody assigned.

2. Drag a Job from the Sidebar

Open the jobs sidebar with Show Jobs, find a job that needs scheduling and drag it onto the calendar. The booking is created straight away with no modal, taking its time from where you dropped it and its staff member from the row or column.

See Unscheduled Bookings.

3. From the Job (the only way to set the times and the crew)

1. Open the job and go to the Bookings tab
2. Click New Booking
3. Fill in Start Date & Time, Duration in hours and Assigned Staff
4. Click Create Booking

This is the only route that lets you type the times and assign more than one person. Assigned Staff is a multi-select and at least one person is required.

Filling Out the Booking Form

Type *

Job Booking is customer work and needs a job. Task is internal, such as a team meeting or a parts run, and needs a description instead.

Select Job *

For a Job Booking, pick the job from the -- Choose a job -- dropdown. Each entry reads as the job number, the job title and the customer in brackets.

It is a plain dropdown, not a search box. There is nothing to type into, so on a long list you scroll. If you cannot find the job, it probably does not exist yet, so create it on the Jobs page first. See Creating and Managing Jobs.

Description *

Only appears for Tasks, where it is required. Describe what the task is:

• "Team meeting, weekly sync"
• "Admin time, invoicing"
• "Travel to supplier"

There is no notes field for a Job Booking in this modal. To put a note on a job booking, create it and then open it from the calendar and add one.

Start and End

Read-only. They come from the drag and cannot be typed over. If they are wrong, cancel and drag again, or create the booking from the job instead, where the time is editable.

Staff

Read-only, and only shown at all if you dragged on a staff row or column. It is not a picker. Whoever owns the lane you dragged on gets the booking.

To choose the staff, or to put a crew of two or three on one booking, use the New Booking button on the job's Bookings tab instead.

After You Click Create

What happens:

1. The booking appears on the calendar immediately
2. It shows on every assigned staff member's calendar
3. If it clashes with something, you get a conflict warning first
4. The assigned staff see it in the mobile app's Schedule tab

Status: new bookings start as Scheduled with a dark blue left border. Booking status is changed from the portal. The mobile app cannot change it.

Handling Booking Conflicts

If the staff member already has a booking at that time, a Booking Conflict Detected modal appears before anything is created.

It tells you:

• How many existing bookings you are clashing with
• Which staff member is double-booked
• The time they are already committed to

It does not name the job or customer of the clashing booking. If you need that, cancel and look at the card on the calendar.

Your choices:

1. Cancel - nothing is created, pick a different time or a different person
2. Create Anyway - book it over the top, for emergencies or when they really can do both

When to override:

• Emergency job (burst pipe, no cooling, etc.)
• Staff member can do a quick job between appointments
• You'll reassign it later but need to create it now
• Staff member is admin/supervisor and can juggle tasks

When NOT to override:

• Regular scheduled work
• Staff is on-site somewhere else
• Would create 3+ overlapping bookings
• Job requires their full attention

Tip: Use the calendar to check availability before creating the booking. Empty time slots = no conflicts!

Creating Multiple Bookings for One Job

Sometimes a job needs multiple visits:

1. Quote visit
2. Install day 1
3. Install day 2
4. Follow-up

To create multiple bookings:

• Create each booking separately
• Choose the same job for all of them
• Assign staff as needed (might be different people)
• All bookings will show under that job

The job page will show all bookings in the Bookings tab.

Job Bookings vs Tasks - When to Use Each

Use Job Booking when:

• It's customer work (installs, quotes, repairs)
• You need to track time for invoicing
• It's connected to a quote or job
• You need job notes and customer info

Use Task when:

• Internal meetings or admin time
• Personal reminders (lunch, break)
• Travel time between jobs
• Supply runs or parts pickup
• Team training

Why does it matter?
Job Bookings connect to customer records and can be invoiced. Tasks don't - they're just calendar placeholders.

Tips for Creating Bookings

Be realistic with time:

• Add travel time between jobs
• Account for traffic/distance
• Better to schedule 3 hours and finish in 2, than vice versa

Check staff availability first:

• Glance at the calendar before dragging
• Look for empty time slots
• Avoid creating conflicts unless urgent

Use the drag method:

• Faster than typing times
• Visual, you see the time block as you create it
• It is the only thing that assigns the staff member, so drag on the right lane

Schedule ASAP:

• Check the Unscheduled Bookings sidebar daily
• The longer they sit, the harder to find time
• Customers expect quick scheduling

Add helpful notes:

• "Customer prefers morning"
• "Difficult access - ladder needed"
• "Check with office first"
• Notes show up when staff view the booking

Common Questions

Why can't I find the job in the list? The Select Job control is a plain dropdown with no search, so scroll it rather than type. Completed and cancelled jobs are left out. If it genuinely is not there, create the job first on the Jobs page.

Can I create a booking without assigning staff? From the job, no. Assigned Staff is required there. From the calendar, yes by accident: drag out a slot in Month view, which has no staff rows, and the booking is created unassigned. Drag in Grid or Timeline instead so it lands on somebody.

What if I drag the wrong time by mistake? The times in this modal cannot be edited, so cancel and drag again. Alternatively create the booking and then drag it on the calendar to the right slot, or open the job and correct it there.

Can I create bookings for yesterday or last week? Yes, you can create bookings in the past. Useful if you forgot to schedule something that already happened and need to track the time.

Do I need to create a booking for every job? Not immediately! When a quote is accepted, the job is created but not scheduled yet. You create bookings when you're ready to schedule the actual work.

What happens if staff doesn't show up? You can edit or delete the booking later, or reassign it to someone else.

Related Articles

• Using the Calendar - Master the different views and navigation
• Moving and Editing Bookings - Change times, staff or details after creating
• Booking Colors and Status - Understanding what the colors mean
• Handling Booking Conflicts - Managing overlapping bookings