Staff Rostering and Booking Availability: How to Set It Up So Clients Only Book When You Are Ready

One of the most common problems with booking software is misaligned availability — clients booking at times when the relevant staff member is not working, or a slot appearing open when a staff member is on leave.

Here is how to configure Trimsy so your booking page shows only accurate, real availability.

Setting Standard Working Hours

For each staff member, set their standard working days and hours in Trimsy. These form the base availability the booking system uses to generate open slots.

Be realistic: if your Mondays typically start at 10am with the first client, set availability to start at 10am. An empty 9am slot that never gets booked makes your booking page look less organised without any operational benefit.

Blocking Time for Admin, Lunch, and Meetings

Staff are not available for client services for every minute of their working day. In Trimsy, you can block time directly in the schedule — a 30-minute lunch at noon, a 15-minute clean-up block after a specific service, or a half-day blocked for staff training.

These blocks do not appear as available to clients and ensure walk-ins are not accepted during times that are genuinely unavailable.

Rostering Leave

When a staff member takes leave — annual, sick, or public holiday — mark those days as unavailable in Trimsy. Existing bookings during that period can be flagged and rescheduled. Future bookings cannot be made for unavailable dates.

Setting Buffer Time Between Services

Some services need preparation or clean-up time beyond the client-facing duration. A colour treatment might take 90 minutes for the client, but the colour needs to be mixed beforehand and equipment cleaned after.

Trimsy lets you set a buffer period added to the end of a service. The slot is blocked from future bookings during the buffer, but the client's appointment only shows the actual service duration.

Staggered Start Times to Reduce Bottlenecks

If multiple staff are available and bookings all land on the same start time, you can end up with five clients arriving at once and a bottleneck at reception.

Configure staggered start times — one staff member starts at :00, another at :15 — to spread arrivals across the hour and keep the front desk manageable throughout the day.