Appointments & Scheduling · How-to guide

Understand appointment time-slot generation

See how Britixo turns schedule data into selectable appointment starts and why a visually open period may not produce a valid slot.

Audience: Staff who manage appointmentsFeature: Time-slot engineModule v1.3.6
Feature pathPublic booking form / New appointment
Before you beginThis guide follows the supplied Britixo Appointments & Scheduling module version 1.3.6. The relevant access is Appointments: View. A menu, button, provider, time slot or client action can remain hidden when the signed-in user lacks the required permission, the module setting is disabled, the related record is in an ineligible state, or availability validation rejects the request.

What this feature does

See how Britixo turns schedule data into selectable appointment starts and why a visually open period may not produce a valid slot. It uses Britixo's permission-aware appointment, availability, status and integration flow rather than an unconnected diary entry.

How the module flow works

The public slot engine advances proposed starts in 30-minute increments inside the applicable working window.

For each candidate it calculates service duration plus buffer before and buffer after, then rejects blocked, out-of-hours or overlapping intervals.

The selected date, provider, service and timezone are revalidated during submission.

Step-by-step workflow

  1. Select a service and provider.
  2. Choose a date inside the provider's schedule.
  3. Review the generated start options.
  4. Compare a missing slot with service duration, buffers and busy records.
  5. Submit a slot and confirm the server accepts it.

Important fields and decisions

Start incrementThirty-minute candidate start spacing in the public generator.
Service durationCustomer-facing appointment length.
BuffersAdditional reserved time surrounding the service.
RevalidationFinal conflict check when the form is submitted.

What happens after completion

After this workflow completes, Britixo keeps the appointment and its supported relationships connected. Reopen the appointment and verify the saved status, date, timezone, customer or lead, service, provider, attendees, reminder state, calendar or meeting reference, invoice reference and history that apply to this feature. External email, SMS, Google, Microsoft or payment outcomes must be checked separately from the Britixo database save.

  • Open the saved appointment and confirm the final status and source.
  • Check the participant, provider, timing and timezone from the full detail page.
  • Review the relevant table filter, calendar, history, report or linked invoice instead of relying only on a success message.

Controls, checks and common mistakes

  • A 30-minute start increment does not mean every service lasts 30 minutes.
  • Two short free gaps may still be unusable once buffers are applied.
  • Do not rely on a stale browser tab when multiple customers can book.
  • Use the least destructive correction and retain the appointment history when the booking existed operationally.
  • Never bypass a permission, availability, approval, client-access or verification control by changing an unrelated route or setting.
Scheduling and data safetyAppointment changes can notify customers, reserve provider time, update remote calendars, create meeting links or invoices and alter reports. Confirm the exact record, timezone, status and recipients before saving.