Understanding Your Booking Calendar

Learn how to read and manage your appointment calendar to stay organized and avoid double-booking.

Overview

Your booking calendar is your central hub for managing appointments, viewing availability, and planning your schedule. It integrates with your availability settings, buffer times, and existing appointments to show you a real-time view of your schedule.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Access Your Calendar

1. Navigate to Dashboard > Calendar (or click Calendar in the sidebar)
2. You'll see a calendar view with your appointments displayed

Default View: Week view showing your current week

Available Views:

• Day View: Hour-by-hour breakdown of a single day
• Week View: 7-day overview with appointment blocks
• Month View: High-level view of your entire month

Step 2: Read Your Calendar

Understanding Calendar Elements:

Appointment Blocks:

• Blue blocks: Confirmed appointments
• Orange blocks: Pending appointments (waiting for confirmation)
• Gray blocks: Time blocks (personal time off, breaks, shop closed)
• Green highlight: Current time indicator

Appointment Details:

• Top line: Client name
• Second line: Project name (if linked)
• Time range: Start time - End time
• Duration: Total appointment length

Example:

┌─────────────────────────┐
│ Sarah Johnson           │
│ Half-sleeve flowers     │
│ 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM      │
│ (4 hours)               │
└─────────────────────────┘

Step 3: Navigate Your Calendar

Change Date Range:

• Click ◀ Previous / Next ▶ buttons to move forward/backward
• Click Today button to jump back to current date
• Click any date in the mini calendar to jump directly to it

Change View:

• Click Day / Week / Month tabs at the top
• Use keyboard shortcuts: D (day), W (week), M (month)

Filter by Status:

• All Appointments: Shows everything
• Confirmed Only: Hides pending appointments
• Today's Appointments: Quick view of your current day

Step 4: Interact with Appointments

Click any appointment block to:

• View full details
• Edit appointment
• Reschedule to a different time
• Cancel appointment
• Start session (if it's today)

Drag and drop (Week/Day view only):

• Click and hold an appointment block
• Drag to a new time slot
• Release to reschedule
• System will check for conflicts before confirming

Tips

Avoid Double-Booking

• Buffer times are automatic: Your calendar shows only slots that respect your buffer settings
• Check before manual booking: If you're adding an appointment manually, look for existing conflicts
• Use appointment durations: Setting accurate durations helps prevent overlaps
• Sync with Google Calendar: If enabled, your external events will block off time automatically

Optimize Your Schedule

• Group similar projects: Schedule similar tattoo styles together to stay in your creative flow
• Plan breaks: Use time blocks to mark lunch, breaks, or admin time
• Review weekly: Every Monday, review your week ahead to prepare mentally and gather supplies
• Buffer extra time for complex pieces: Add 15-30 minutes to large projects for setup/cleanup

Calendar Settings

Access calendar preferences in Dashboard > Settings > Calendar:

Display Settings:

• Start time (e.g., 9:00 AM)
• End time (e.g., 6:00 PM)
• Time slot duration (15-min, 30-min, 1-hour increments)
• First day of week (Sunday or Monday)

Buffer Time Settings:

• Time between appointments (default: 15 minutes)
• Setup time before appointments (e.g., 10 minutes to prep station)
• Cleanup time after appointments (e.g., 15 minutes to clean and reset)

Notification Settings:

• Email reminders for upcoming appointments
• Daily schedule summary emails
• Last-minute booking alerts

Common Issues

Issue: Calendar shows conflicting appointments

Solution: This usually happens when appointments were manually created or imported. To fix:

1. Click the conflicting appointments
2. Reschedule one to a different time slot
3. If needed, extend your available hours in Settings > Availability

Issue: Available time slots don't appear for booking links

Solution: Check these settings:

• Availability hours: Make sure your available days/hours are set correctly
• Time blocks: Remove any unnecessary blocks that might be covering available time
• Existing appointments: Ensure no overlapping appointments
• Buffer time: Reduce buffer time if you need tighter scheduling

Issue: Calendar doesn't sync with Google Calendar

Solution:

1. Go to Dashboard > Settings > Integrations
2. Click Reconnect Google Calendar
3. Authorize the connection
4. Check Import external events as time blocks to prevent double-booking

Issue: Past appointments are cluttering my calendar

Solution:

• Switch to Week View or Day View to hide past appointments by default
• Use the Filter dropdown to select Upcoming Only
• Completed appointments automatically move to your appointment history after 30 days

Updated on: 16/01/2026