Guide

Appointments

Managing Appointments

Updated 15 September 2026 - 8 min read
Open in Petboost

Overview

The appointments module is the heart of your business operations. Schedule, manage, and track all pet service appointments with powerful scheduling tools.

Mission Control vs Appointments Calendar

Petboost offers two complementary tools for managing your daily operations:

Mission Control

Mission Control is your operational dashboard for daily task execution:

  • Quick actions for common operations (New Appointment, Quick Sale, etc.)
  • Attention system highlighting payment issues and special care needs
  • Multiple view modes (List, Workflow, Pets, Stays, Team, Resources)
  • Revenue and business intelligence
  • Optimised for mobile and on-the-go use

Best for:

  • Daily operations and task execution
  • Quick appointment creation via quick actions
  • Processing payments and identifying issues
  • Checking what needs attention
  • Mobile/on-the-go management

Appointments Calendar (This Page)

The Appointments Calendar is your detailed scheduling tool:

  • Detailed calendar views (Day, Week, Month, Timeline)
  • Drag-and-drop time rescheduling
  • Resource allocation planning
  • Recurring appointment setup
  • Advanced calendar operations

Best for:

  • Detailed scheduling and planning
  • Drag-and-drop appointment moving
  • Multi-day stay visualisation
  • Complex recurring patterns
  • Advanced calendar features

When to Use Each

Start your day: Mission Control - Check attention items and process quick tasks Book appointments: Either tool - Quick action in Mission Control or detailed form in Appointments Reschedule times: Appointments Calendar - Drag-and-drop to new times Process payments: Mission Control - Attention system and bulk charge Weekly planning: Appointments Calendar - Week/Month view Mobile operations: Mission Control - Touch-optimised interface

See also: Mission Control Overview for full details on the operational dashboard.

Creating Appointments

You can create appointments in two ways:

You can open appointment forms directly using these links:

  • Create New Appointment: https://business.petboost.com/appointments?action=create
  • Create Stay Appointment: https://business.petboost.com/appointments?action=stay
  • Create Blocked Time: https://business.petboost.com/appointments?action=blocked-time

Benefits:

  • Bookmark creation forms for quick access
  • Share direct links to specific appointment forms
  • Connect with external scheduling systems
  • Browser back/forward navigation works naturally

Magic Schedule Mode

Petboost automatically finds available time slots based on your team members, resources, and business rules.

How to use:

  1. Click the "New Appointment" button
  2. Select the pet and owner
  3. Add services
  4. Turn on Magic Availability Check
  5. Available times load automatically
  6. Select from available slots
  7. Click "Save"

Best for: Regular bookings where you want the system to handle availability

Quick Force Mode

Manually schedule appointments without availability checks. Useful for special situations or when you need to override normal rules.

How to use:

  1. Click the "New Appointment" button
  2. Select the pet and owner
  3. Add services
  4. Choose "Quick Force" mode
  5. Set date and time manually
  6. Click "Save"

Best for: Emergency bookings, special arrangements, or administrative overrides

Recurring Appointments

Set up appointments that repeat automatically on a schedule.

How to create:

  1. When creating or editing an appointment, toggle "Recurring" on
  2. Select frequency (Daily, Weekly, Monthly)
  3. Set the end date or number of occurrences
  4. Save the appointment

Important: Petboost automatically generates instances for the next 12 months.

Stay Appointments

For overnight boarding or multi-day services.

Features:

  • Check-in and check-out dates
  • Resource (kennel/room) assignment
  • Daily timeline view
  • Automatic duration calculation

Blocked Times

Block off time slots when you're not available.

How to create:

  1. Click on the scheduler
  2. Select "Block Time"
  3. Set date range and time
  4. Choose which team members/resources are blocked
  5. Add optional note
  6. Save

Scheduler Views

  • Day View - Detailed hourly view of a single day
  • Week View - See the entire week at a glance
  • Month View - Monthly calendar overview
  • Timeline View - See multiple resources side-by-side

Filtering & Searching

Filter appointments by:

  • Team members
  • Resources
  • Services
  • Pet size/breed
  • Date range

Appointment Status

Appointments move through these stages:

  1. Pending - Awaiting confirmation
  2. Confirmed - Confirmed by customer
  3. In Progress - Service started
  4. Completed - Service finished
  5. Cancelled - Cancelled by business or customer

Payments & Invoicing

  • Accept payments when appointment is completed
  • Generate invoices automatically
  • Process card payments or mark as cash/bank transfer
  • Issue refunds if needed

Notifications

Customers receive automatic notifications:

  • Appointment confirmation – Appointment date & time changes – Appointment cancellation (by business)
  • Friday Before Reminder (Email only)
  • Appointment reminders (24 hours before by default, but this can be configured)

Tips & Best Practices

  • Use Magic Schedule for most bookings - it saves time
  • Set up recurring appointments for regular customers
  • Block time for breaks, lunch, and administrative tasks
  • Use the Timeline view when managing multiple resources
  • Filter by team member to see individual schedules

Troubleshooting

Q: Why can't I see available times in Magic Schedule? A: Check that your team member and resource have working hours set for the selected date. Also verify the service doesn't have restrictions that conflict with the time.

Q: How do I cancel a recurring appointment? A: Open the appointment, click "Cancel", then choose whether to cancel just this instance or all future instances.

Q: Can I move an appointment to a different time? A: Yes! Just drag and drop the appointment in the scheduler, or open it and edit the time.

Q: How do I handle overlapping appointments? A: Petboost shows warnings for conflicts. You can either reschedule or use Quick Force mode to override if intentional.

Appointment Workflow Navigation

Creating Appointments

Step 1: Service Selection

Step 2: Customer and Pet Selection

Step 3: Team and Resource Assignment

Step 4: Scheduling and Confirmation

Appointment Management Workflow

Daily Operations:

Weekly Planning:

Monthly Review:

Advanced Appointment Features

Package Integration:

Course Integration:

Automation and Workflows:

Settings and Configuration

Account Settings:

Team and Resource Settings:

Troubleshooting Navigation

Common Issues and Solutions

"No available times in Magic Schedule"

"Appointment conflicts"

"Customer not receiving notifications"

Have questions about appointments? See these commonly asked questions:

Next Steps

Service and Team Setup

Customer and Package Management

Settings and Automation