Availability, Capacity, and Resource Assignment

A visible date does not guarantee that a customer can reserve it. DayTidy checks the selected session and option, and, when resource scheduling is enabled, the resources that can fulfill that selection.

Choose the assignment rule

Open an appointment offering’s Booking → Services controls and review the service’s resource scheduling settings.

Assignment	Use it when
No resource required	The service does not need a separately scheduled person, room, or item
Auto-assign an available resource	Any eligible available resource may fulfill the service
Customer chooses a resource	The customer should select an eligible provider or other resource

Select eligible resources to constrain the pool. Leaving the eligible-resource selection empty can allow any active resource in the enabled scope; it does not mean that resources are disabled.

Choose which capacity limits apply

Rule	Effect
Use option count	Availability follows the option’s count
Use resource capacity	Availability follows eligible resource capacity
Require option and resource capacity	Both limits must allow the selection

Make this choice deliberately. A large service count does not create more staff availability, and a room with several places does not necessarily mean that every service should use all of them.

Worked example: one provider

Create an active global resource for one provider with capacity 1 and Monday availability from 09:00 to 12:00. Give an appointment offering valid Monday sessions and a service limited to that provider. Choose Auto-assign an available resource and a capacity rule that includes the resource.

Start with a session fully inside working hours and no buffers. On a test site, reserve it once and check whether an overlapping request is rejected while capacity is occupied. Then cancel the test reservation using the normal workflow and check availability again. Booking states explain which reservations count.

Buffers and exceptions

When a service has a positive configured duration, its resource occupancy ends after that duration; otherwise it uses the session end. Buffers then reserve preparation or cleanup time around that occupied period. For example, a session ending at 10:30 with a 15-minute cleanup buffer occupies the resource beyond the customer-facing session. Check that the complete occupied period fits the resource’s availability and does not overlap another reservation.

Use exceptions for holidays, leave, closures, special hours, or temporary capacity changes. An exception can make a session unavailable even when the weekly pattern looks correct. Review exception type, interval, capacity, and active state rather than assuming every exception adds working hours.

Customer-visible duration and resource occupancy

The service’s configured duration controls its visible time range in a service-specific picker and booking summaries. Buffers extend the resource’s occupied period without extending the customer’s displayed service time. A 30-minute service starting at 09:00 with a 15-minute cleanup buffer displays 09:00–09:30, while the resource remains occupied until 09:45. Without a positive service duration override, the session end is used.

Check the service’s minimum/maximum quantity separately from resource capacity. A configured maximum of one remains one even when a resource has spare capacity.

Timezones

The offering timezone defines the session context. A resource can have an optional timezone override; otherwise its availability uses the offering timezone. Compare the actual local dates and occupied periods when a provider and offering use different zones. Check a daylight-saving transition explicitly if the schedule crosses one.

Verify a setup

Test an available time, a time outside working hours, a blocking exception, and a time that conflicts only because of a buffer. Use controlled fixtures; do not override conflicts merely to make a test pass. For setup, see Resources. For a failing selection, follow the diagnostic sequence.