The booking calendar only shows a provider as free if their availability rule says they work at that time. Availability rules are the booking-level definition of each provider's working hours per branch and per weekday. They are separate from the HR shift roster: the roster tracks attendance and payroll; availability rules control which slots appear on the booking calendar. This guide explains how to set them up and override them for one-off changes.

Where it lives#

Settings → Booking → Provider availability: create and edit weekly rules for each provider per branch.
Staff profile → Availability: same view scoped to one staff member.
Booking calendar, slot picker: free slots shown to reception are the direct output of these rules.

For operations managers#

Create a weekly availability rule#

Open Settings → Booking → Provider availability.
Click + Add rule.
Pick the provider and the branch.
Pick the weekday (Monday through Sunday; create one rule per day).
Set the start time and end time for that day.
Add breaks if needed: click + Add break, enter start and end of each break window. Breaks carve out the slot so patients cannot be booked during a lunch block.
Set Effective from (the date this rule starts applying). Leave Effective to empty for an ongoing rule.
Save. The rule is live immediately for future bookings.

Example: Dr. Aisha works at the Downtown branch on Mondays from 09:00 to 17:00 with a 30-minute lunch at 13:00. Create a rule: branch=Downtown, weekday=Monday, start=09:00, end=17:00, break 13:00 to 13:30.

Multiple rules for the same weekday#

If the same provider has different hours at different branches on the same weekday, create one rule per branch. The system keeps them separate by branch. Use the Priority field to resolve conflicts if a provider can work at two branches simultaneously and you want one to win.

Time-limited rules (temporary schedule)#

Use Effective from and Effective to to make a rule apply only for a fixed period. For example, "Dr. Khaled works Saturdays only during Ramadan (March 1 to April 2)." Create a Saturday rule with effective_from=March 1 and effective_to=April 2. After April 2 the system ignores that rule and falls back to the prior one.

One-off changes with exceptions#

When the regular rule is correct most of the time but needs overriding for a specific date, use an exception rather than editing the rule.

Four exception types#

Type	What it does	When to use
Ab