How the booking buffer works
The gap Booked keeps on both sides of every appointment, so the next one is never offered back-to-back.
The booking buffer is one setting on Dashboard → Hours, measured in minutes. It is the gap Booked keeps around every appointment, so the next customer is never offered a slot that begins the second the last one ends.
What it does
Every booking on the calendar is padded by the buffer on both sides before the free time is worked out. With a 15-minute buffer, a 2:00–2:45 haircut blocks 1:45 to 3:00, and the next slot offered starts at 3:00.
That is fifteen minutes between appointments, not thirty — the padding on one booking and the padding on the next overlap.
It is not a minimum notice
This is the usual confusion, and the two settings are separate:
| Setting | Question it answers |
|---|---|
| Booking buffer | How much space goes between appointments? |
| Minimum notice | How soon from now will you accept a booking? |
If what you want is "nobody books me for the next two hours", that is minimum notice, also on Dashboard → Hours. The buffer will not do it.
Picking a value
The default is 0, and presets run to 60 with anything up to 240 accepted.
| Shop type | Sensible buffer |
|---|---|
| Back-to-back, tidy as you go | 0–5 min |
| One-chair barbershop | 10–15 min |
| Salon with a proper clean-down | 15–30 min |
| Colour and chemical work | 30–45 min |
One number covers the whole shop. If one service needs far more room than the rest, build the extra into that service's duration instead — and do not do both, or you are paying for the gap twice.
What it does not do
- It does not cancel or move bookings already on the calendar.
- It does not stop you putting a booking anywhere you like from the dashboard. The buffer governs what customers are offered, not what you can do.
Change it any time. The effect is immediate.