Booking rules for services, rooms, and staff
BOC's booking rules decide how many visits a service, a room or device, or a staff member can take at the same time, and on which days and hours each one can be booked. You set them in Business Setup → Booking Settings for the branch you have open, on the web or in the BOC app, and BOC applies them to every new booking, every move on the calendar, and every postponed visit. The booking window shows the active rule as small chips, so the receptionist sees the limit while booking.
What it does
Booking Settings has two sections. Booking Capacity covers max visits, gender filter, booking interval, and VIP. Availability & Working Hours sets which days and hours a service, a room, or a staff member can be booked. A Search box finds any rule, and the same screen opens in the BOC app. Rules apply only to the branch you have open, and each form ends with Apply this to other branches?, where you choose This branch only, All Branches, or Choose branches.
Two defaults in Business Setup → Config sit behind every rule. Default Session Time (minutes), from 1 to 480, gives the visit length when a service or resource has no session time of its own; a service or resource can also carry separate session times for men and women, which BOC uses by the client's gender. Default Max Visit Per Session Time for All Services, from 1 to 100, gives the limit for bookings that fall outside every capacity rule; it is 1 in the demo, so a staff member, a room, or a service holds one open visit at a time.
Opening hours come first. Each branch saves its own Opening Hours in Business Setup → General, and the calendar and the booking window start and end with them.
Booking Capacity: max visits, interval, gender, and VIP
Press Add capacity to open the rule form. Choose a Service, a resource under Resources, or both, and if you like a Staff Member, or keep Any staff; every rule names at least a service or a resource. Set Max Allowed Per Visit, from 1 to 100: how many visits can run at the same time under this rule. Set the Booking Interval to 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 150, or 180 minutes: the gap between bookable start times. The visit length still comes from the service.
Who this max applies to offers Everyone, Men only, or Women only. Everyone shares the max, with men and women counted together. Men only or Women only reserves the max for that gender, which suits women-only laser hours or a men's grooming day; add an Everyone rule as well when the other gender should still be bookable. Switch on VIP customers only and the max counts VIP visits only, which gives VIP clients their own places.
When several rules match one booking, BOC uses the most specific one. A rule for one staff member comes before a rule for the whole service, and a rule for one room comes before a general one. View, Add, Edit, and Delete Booking Settings are separate permissions, so the people you choose own the rules.
Availability & Working Hours per service and room
Press Add hours, choose the service or the resource, with a staff member if you like, and pick who these hours apply to: Everyone, Men only, or Women only. Under Allowed days & hours, tick one or more days from Sunday to Saturday and give each day its own From and To time, for example a laser service on Monday and Thursday afternoons. Anything without an hours rule follows the clinic opening hours.
A booking outside those hours stops with a clear message, such as “This service cannot be booked at this time.” In the Select Date & Time window, the chips show the rule in force, for example 30 min, Max 1, Everyone, All days, and 07:00–22:00, and full times are crossed out before anyone picks them.
How it works in BOC
- Set opening hours. In Business Setup → General, set each day's opening and closing time for the branch.
- Check the defaults. In Config, set the default session time and the default max visits per session time.
- Add a capacity rule. In Booking Settings → Booking Capacity, press Add capacity and choose the service, resource, and staff.
- Set max, interval, gender, and VIP. Enter Max Allowed Per Visit, pick the Booking Interval, choose Everyone, Men only, or Women only, and switch on VIP customers only if needed.
- Add service hours. In Availability & Working Hours, press Add hours, tick the allowed days, and set From and To for each.
- Apply to branches. Keep This branch only, or choose All Branches or specific branches, then press Save Changes.
Who it is for
Clinics Allow two consultations at once for one doctor while procedures stay at one per time.
Dental clinics Keep each chair at one patient per time and start hygiene visits every 30 minutes.
Dermatology and laser Reserve laser hours for women on set days and give VIP clients their own places.
Beauty salons Let one stylist take two quick services at once while color services stay at one.
Spas Set the booking interval to the treatment rhythm so rooms start on the hour or the half hour.
Physiotherapy Open a service only on the days the specialist is in, with hours for each day.
Private coaches Small group sessions take as many clients at the same time as the coach allows in a capacity rule.
What your team gains
- Max visits per time for a service, room, or staff member.
- Booking interval from 15 to 180 minutes, in eight set steps.
- Men-only and women-only capacity and hours.
- VIP customers only capacity for VIP visits.
- Allowed days and hours per service or room, with times for each day.
- Save a rule to one branch, all branches, or chosen branches.
- The booking window shows the rule and crosses out full times.
Questions
Can BOC limit how many clients are booked at the same time?
Yes. A Booking Capacity rule sets Max Allowed Per Visit, from 1 to 100, for a service, a resource, or a staff member. Bookings outside any rule use the default from Config, which is one visit per time in the demo.
Can I set women-only or men-only hours?
Yes. Choose Women only or Men only under Who this max applies to, or under Who these hours apply to for service hours. Add an Everyone rule as well when the other gender should still be bookable.
Can some places be kept for VIP clients?
Yes. Switch on VIP customers only in a capacity rule. The max then counts VIP visits only, so VIP clients have their own places at the same times.
Can a rule apply to one room or one staff member?
Yes. A rule can name a service, a resource such as one laser or one room, or both, and you can narrow it to one Staff Member. When several rules match, BOC uses the most specific one, so a rule for one staff member comes before a rule for the whole service.
What is the booking interval?
It is the gap between bookable start times: 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 150, or 180 minutes. The length of the visit still comes from the service or the resource.
Can a service be bookable only on some days?
Yes. In Availability & Working Hours, tick the allowed days and give each one its own From and To time. Services without an hours rule follow the clinic opening hours.
Do booking rules apply to every branch?
Each rule saves for the branch you have open. Apply this to other branches? copies it to All Branches or to the branches you choose.