Square Appointments - Can I buffer time before an appointment?

[adenicol]

I meet with my clients at their homes or businesses to do internet consulting.  I also have a lot of personal running around I do durring the week (take kid to school, doctor appointments, etc).  I have these on my personal calendar with their actual start and end times (This calendar is synched to my Square calendar).  However, when setting up appointments with Square, I would like to allow myself some travel time to and front appointments.  But if I set up a phone call,  I don't need that buffer time.

When setting up a service, I can set a buffer time at the end of the service, but what I really need is one at the beginning of the service, not the end.  is there a way to do this?

[#2]

Thanks for your post @adenicol!

Unfortunately there isn't a way to block extra time before an appointment but I understand where you're coming from and I understand how a feature like this would help.

I've shared this post with the Appointments team! If this feature is developed in future we'll let you know. 😀

[Helen]

Thanks for your post @adenicol!

Unfortunately there isn't a way to block extra time before an appointment but I understand where you're coming from and I understand how a feature like this would help.

I've shared this post with the Appointments team! If this feature is developed in future we'll let you know. 😀

[AmyL]

Yes, I need that feature,too. I am a massage therapist who does some work outside of my office. I can't take online appointment for this because I can't add buffer time before appointment.

[AshleyK]

Hi @AmyL thank you for posting!! I have some great news. This feature is now available. 

When creating a service, you’re able to block extra time between appointments to allow for cleanup, transitioning, travel, etc. This will prevent clients from booking appointments during this time. Block time is enabled in the service settings, and can be adjusted or disabled on a per-appointment basis from the appointment details. Any block time enabled for a service is added to the service duration. For example, a 1 hour service with 10 minutes of block time creates a 70 minute slot.

Let me know if you have any other questions. 🙂

[AmyL]

Thanks for your reply Ashly. I may be confused, but it looks like it only adds time after appointment. For booking outcall services online I need buffer before and after appointment for travel,setup, cleanup, Etc. If I’m doing the booking, I can make sure to adjust the available appointment start and block time ahead of appointment. But, if the client books online, they don’t know and I can be left with not enough travel or the client thinks their appointment is at 1pm, but I can’t get there until 1:45. Does that make sense?

[ashc]

Hey @AmyL!
 

What you're looking for isn't something we currently offer but it's a feature request.

Happy to pass your suggestion forward to the Appointments Team!

[GhastlyStudio]

Is there any update on this feature? Being able to block off time before each appointment is critical for any business. Without this feature we are forced to manually block off time which can be easily be forgotten or have human error. Wix booking is missing the same exact feature.. kinda frustrating..