Hello Bookings Community,

Zoho is delighted to announce one of the most-awaited features, Pre-buffer, which allows you to add buffer time before the appointment time.

What is buffer time?

Buffer time is additional time added to the appointment duration, either before or after the appointment. It can be used to ensure that you have enough time to prepare or get ready for the next appointment. Pre-buffer refers specifically to the buffer time added before the appointment, and post-buffer is for after the appointment.

How has buffer time worked so far in Bookings?

• Until now, you've been able to include buffer time when setting up a new service, and it was added after the appointment time.
  
• If appointments were created as calendar events, the buffer time was blocked along with the appointment time by default.
  

How will buffer time work from now on?

• Beginning 08-Dec-2023, you can add a buffer time before and after the appointment time.
  
• If the appointment is created as a calendar event, you have the option to choose whether to block buffer time along with it or not.
  

How to implement buffer time?

While adding a new service, you can tick the Add buffer time checkbox. Then, add the time duration for Pre-buffer and Post-buffer.

When the customer books an appointment, slots will be made available calculating the buffer time and appointment duration. For instance, if a service is created with an appointment duration of 30 minutes, a pre-buffer of 15 minutes, and a post-buffer of 15 minutes, the time slot will only be offered if a total duration of one hour is available for the staff (i.e., pre-buffer + appointment duration + post-buffer).

Once the appointment is booked, staff can view the buffer time from the Appointment Summary and Calendar View.

Block buffer time in calendar events

In Bookings, the availability of a staff member for an appointment is decided by including the buffer time. But there can be situations where a staff member's exact availability is needed in external calendars. This can be useful if the staff member has to attend meetings apart from the appointments in Bookings. You can then choose to block buffer time in your calendar events along with the appointment time.  

Notifications

You can include the pre_buffer and post_buffer variables in the email and SMS notification templates for your staff.

Please note that your customers will not be aware of this buffer time, but if the buffer time is added to calendar events, then the customer can view this additional time in their calendar invite.