Creating a new appointment

Starting a booking

Any of these opens the booking form:

• Sidebar → Appointments → New Appointment. This opens the calendar with the form already up.
• On Sidebar → Calendar → Facility Calendar, click an empty slot in day or week view. The date and time are filled in, and in day view so is the staff member.
• Press N while on the calendar.
• On a client's profile, press Add Appointment. The client is filled in.
• On a finished appointment, press Rebook to book the same visit a few weeks out.

The four steps

The form has four steps: Client & Pet, Service & Time, Details and Review. Use Next and Back to move between them.

1. Client & Pet

1. Search for the client by name, email or phone.
2. Tick one or more pets.

Ticking several pets makes one appointment per pet. Each dog gets its own price and its own line at checkout. Dogs from the same family booked together count as one visit, so they never trip the overbooking check.

2. Service & Time

• Appointment Type — Grooming, Bath, Training, Veterinary or Other.
• Service — shows each service's name, price and length.
• Price ($) — filled in from your pricing. You can type a different price if you're allowed to set prices. Links like Use suggested or the pet's remembered price let you switch back in one tap.
• Size — if a pet has no measured weight, pick a size so the price is right. Tick Remember size to save it on the pet's profile.
• Add modifiers — extras from your pricing rules. Each one changes both the price and the booked time.
• Assigned Groomer — required. A person on approved time off shows "(time off)". Tick Client requested this groomer to put a star on the calendar.
• Date — the +2, +4, +6, +8 week chips jump from the date already in the form.
• Start Time — 15-minute steps from 6:00 to 21:00.
• Duration (minutes) — 15 to 480. It's suggested from the pet's saved time, then your pricing, then the service. Press Reset to suggested to undo your change.

Below the fields, Available Times lists open slots for each groomer. Picking one fills in the groomer and time.

Add-on services (like nail trims) are added after the appointment exists. Open it and use the Additional Services tab.

3. Details

• Repeat — make it a recurring series. See Recurring and standing appointments.
• Status — usually leave it as Pending or Confirmed. See Appointment statuses.
• Notes — anything the groomer needs to know.

4. Review

1. Check the summary, the price for each pet, and the estimate with tax.
2. Press Create Appointment. For several pets or a series the button says Create N Appointments.

A message pops up with a View link to the new booking.

When the groomer is busy

As soon as the groomer, date, time and length are filled in, Alaga checks that groomer's book.

• A grey note means the groomer is already with another client but still has room. For example: "2 of 3 dogs at once with this booking."
• A yellow warning means this booking won't fit. It names the clashing appointments and shows the groomer's Dogs at once and buffer. It appears when:
• the groomer is already booked at this time, or
• the new booking is too close to another one, inside the groomer's buffer, or
• either appointment's service is set to Requires Exclusive Attention (one dog only).

Change the time or groomer and the warning clears.

The same check runs again when you save. It applies everywhere: this form, dragging on the calendar, and online booking.

Approved time off blocks the booking too. You'll see a note under Assigned Groomer.

Booking anyway (double-booking)

Sometimes a groomer agrees to work a client in. If you are an owner, manager, front desk, or have the Override scheduling conflicts permission:

1. Press Create Appointment.
2. The Double-book this slot? box opens (or Book over approved time off?).
3. Pick a reason, like "Groomer agreed to work this client in", and add detail if needed.
4. Press Book anyway.

The reason is saved with the appointment. Staff without the permission can't save. Pick another time or groomer, or ask an owner or manager.

Dogs at once and buffers

Each staff member has two booking limits. Owners and managers set them in Sidebar → Team & Payroll → Team Members → Edit Profile → Booking limits:

• Dogs at once — how many different families' dogs the person can have at the same time (1 to 6).
• Buffer between appointments — minutes kept clear before and after each appointment.

See Inviting team members and setting permissions.

Booking onto a boarding stay

If you start the form from a reservation, a Linked to Stay badge appears. The groom is billed with the stay at checkout. You can also link an existing appointment later with Link to Stay on the appointment.

What the client receives

If booking confirmation emails are on and the client hasn't opted out, a confirmation goes out right away. Reminders follow about 24 hours and 2 hours before the start, by email and by text if you send texts. See Reminder timing and templates.