Overview

Working hours in Receptioner determine when your business and staff members are available for bookings. The system uses a two-level approach: company-wide working hours set the overall business operating times, while individual staff working hours define when each team member is available within those times.

Key Concepts

• Default Working Hours — The regular weekly schedule that repeats every week
• Changed Hours (Exceptions) — One-time overrides for specific dates (holidays, special events, etc.)
• Breaks — Scheduled breaks within working hours when no bookings can be made

Hours Hierarchy

The system follows a clear priority when determining working hours for any given date:

1. Changed hours for the specific date (if set) — always takes priority
2. Default hours for that day of the week — used when no exception exists

This applies to both company and staff working hours independently.

Company Working Hours

Company working hours define when your business is open for operations. These hours set the outer boundaries for all bookings — no staff member can accept bookings outside of company operating hours.

Setting Default Company Hours

Default company hours are configured as a weekly schedule, with separate settings for each day of the week (Monday through Sunday).

Time Format

Working hours use 24-hour format (e.g., 09:00 for 9 AM, 17:00 for 5 PM). The system supports:

• Standard hours — e.g., 09:00 to 17:00
• Extended hours — e.g., 06:00 to 22:00
• Late night hours — e.g., 18:00 to 00:00 (midnight)
• 24-hour operation — 00:00 to 00:00

Closed Days

When a day is toggled off, it's marked as "closed" and no bookings can be made for that day. This is useful for:

• Regular weekly closures (e.g., Sundays)
• Days when the business doesn't operate

Staff Working Hours

Each staff member (resource) has their own working hours schedule. Staff hours must fall within company operating hours — a staff member cannot be available when the company is closed.

Setting Default Staff Hours

Staff working hours are configured individually for each team member.

Part-Time Staff

For part-time staff members, simply configure only the days and hours they work:

• Toggle off days they don't work
• Set shorter hours on days they work part-time
• Use schedule exceptions for irregular schedules

Multiple Staff Members

Each staff member maintains their own independent schedule. This allows for:

• Different working days for different staff
• Staggered shifts (e.g., morning and afternoon staff)
• Varied break times
• Individual availability management

Schedule Exceptions

Schedule exceptions (changed hours) allow you to override the default working hours for specific dates. This is essential for handling holidays, special events, or any one-time schedule changes.

Company Schedule Exceptions

Company-level exceptions affect the entire business for a specific date.

Common Use Cases

• Public holidays — Close the business for the day
• Special events — Extended hours for a promotion
• Reduced hours — Early closing for a company event
• Opening on normally closed days — Special Saturday opening

Setting Company Exceptions

To set a company schedule exception:

1. Navigate to the Bookings view in your dashboard
2. Click on the clock icon to the left from the date
3. Either close the business for that day or set custom hours
4. Save the exception

Staff Schedule Exceptions

Staff-level exceptions allow individual team members to have different hours on specific dates without affecting other staff or the company schedule.

Common Use Cases

• Personal time off — Staff member is unavailable
• Covering shifts — Working on a normally off day
• Adjusted hours — Coming in late or leaving early
• Training days — Reduced availability for training

Setting Staff Exceptions

To set a staff schedule exception:

1. Navigate to the calendar view
2. Click on the specific date
3. Select the staff member
4. Choose "Change Working Hours" for that staff member
5. Set the custom hours or mark as unavailable
6. Save the exception

Exception Priority

When determining a staff member's availability for a specific date, the system checks in this order:

The company hours are checked separately and the final availability is the intersection of company availability and staff availability.

Breaks

Breaks are periods within working hours when no bookings can be scheduled. Both company and staff working hours can include breaks.

How Breaks Work

When you add a break to a working day, the system splits the available time into separate intervals:

• Before the break — Available for bookings
• During the break — No bookings allowed
• After the break — Available for bookings

Adding Breaks

Breaks can be added when configuring working hours:

1. Open the working hours configuration (company or staff)
2. For the relevant day, look for "Add Break" option
3. Set the break start time (From)
4. Set the break end time (To)
5. Optionally name the break (e.g., "Lunch")
6. Save the configuration

Multiple Breaks

You can add multiple breaks to a single day. Common scenarios include:

• Morning tea break + Lunch break
• Multiple short breaks throughout the day
• Different break times for different purposes

Break Validation

The system validates that:

• Break times fall within working hours
• Break start time is before break end time
• Breaks don't overlap with each other

Availability Calculation

Understanding how Receptioner calculates availability helps you configure working hours effectively. The system determines available booking slots through a multi-step process.

Availability Requirements

For a time slot to be available for booking, all of the following must be true:

1. Company is open — The business is operating during that time
2. Staff member is working — The selected staff member is available
3. No existing bookings — The staff member doesn't have a conflicting booking
4. Staff can provide the service — The staff member is assigned to the requested service

Calculation Steps

For each date and staff member, the system follows these steps:

Practical Example

Consider this scenario for a Monday:

• Company hours: 09:00–17:00 (break 12:00–13:00)
• Staff hours: 10:00–18:00 (break 13:00–14:00)
• Existing booking: 15:00–16:00

The calculation proceeds as follows:

1. Company available intervals: 09:00–12:00, 13:00–17:00
2. Staff available intervals: 10:00–13:00, 14:00–18:00
3. Intersection: 10:00–12:00, 14:00–17:00
4. After removing booking: 10:00–12:00, 14:00–15:00, 16:00–17:00

Time Slot Intervals

The granularity of available time slots is determined by your company's slot interval setting:

• Default: 15 minutes
• Options: Typically 5, 10, 15, 30, or 60 minutes

Smaller intervals provide more flexibility for customers but may increase complexity. Choose an interval that matches how your business typically schedules appointments.