It is the place to see how a pet's recurring appointments fit together, to find duplicates, and to stop a cancelled appointment coming back.
Why duplicates build up
Over time a pet can collect several overlapping series. This happens when:
- The walker or team member changes and a new series is created without ending the old one
- The time of day changes on some days, so those days get a series of their own
- The service changes, such as a half-hour walk becoming an hour walk
- A series was cancelled but never ended, so its recurrence rule is still open-ended
When series overlap on the same days, the nightly job can have confusing side effects: a cancelled appointment reappears because a second, dormant series fills the gap overnight. The timeline shows all of this, so you can tidy it up in minutes.
Open the recurring series view
- Open Customers & Pets and select Manage on the pet.
- Open the Appointments tab and choose Recurring Series.
- Optional: when the owner has more than one pet, switch on Show all with the owner's name to see every pet's series.
The view shows:
- A timeline grid of every active series, and any duplicates
- Ended Series cards below the grid, for reference
- 100% Cancelled Series cards at the bottom
The timeline grid
The grid is a calendar that scrolls sideways, with one row per series and one column per day. It opens on today, showing 4 weeks back and 8 weeks ahead.
- Columns show the day and date. Today's column is highlighted in blue, with a blue line down the grid
- Row headers show the service and pet names, a chip for each weekday the series covers, and a status dot: green for no overlap, amber for more than one series on the same day at different times, and a pulsing red for a day at risk. A duplicate series shows a moon instead
- More Details, under a row header, shows the repeat pattern, Indefinite when the series has no end, the series it duplicates, the first appointment date (1st:) and the last completed date (Last completed:)
- Manage, on an active series, holds Edit This and All Future, which opens the series' first appointment, and End Series. A duplicate series has a Deactivate button instead
- Day Totals, the bottom row, counts the series on each day, with a coloured dot for its overlap status
What the cells show
Each cell is one day of one series, showing the appointment's time, service, status and team member.
| Cell | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Red border | At risk: more than one series targets this day within 30 minutes of each other, and a cancelled appointment may regenerate |
| Amber border | More than one series on this day, more than 30 minutes apart. No action is needed |
| Dashed card, Not yet created | The nightly job has not created this appointment yet |
| Last appt. | The last appointment of the series |
| Will be created, in red | On a duplicate row: the duplicate would create an appointment here if the active one were cancelled. A dashed arrow points up to it |
| Skipped | On a duplicate row: the day is already covered, so the duplicate creates nothing |
The legend above the grid reads No overlap, At Risk and Not yet created.
Active and duplicate series
The grid has two sections. Active Series, at the top, holds the series you mean to keep running: each has upcoming confirmed or pending appointments and keeps creating new ones.
Duplicate Series, below it, holds series that:
- Target the same days as an active series
- Have no visible appointments of their own, because Petboost blocks a second appointment on the same day
- Have not been ended, so their recurrence rule is still open-ended
Duplicate series are the cause of cancelled appointments reappearing. When you cancel an appointment from the active series, the duplicate sees an open slot on that day and fills it overnight.
Status banner
A banner appears above the grid when there is something to look at:
| Banner | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Red | Duplicate series found. It counts the conflicting days and says cancelled appointments may regenerate. It holds Clean up duplicates |
| Amber | More than one series on some days, at different times. It says no action is needed |
| No banner | Every series is clean, with no overlaps |
Toolbar and scrolling
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Today | Scrolls the grid back to today |
| Hide inactive days / Show all days | Hides the days no series uses, such as weekends for a weekday-only walker |
| Collapse 1st Column / Expand 1st Column | Shrinks or restores the row headers, to give the grid more room on a small screen |
Arrows appear at the edges of the grid when there is more to scroll to. Below the grid, Load earlier goes back up to 26 weeks, Load later goes up to 78 weeks ahead, and the dates shown are listed between them.
Select a day
Select any cell to open that day in detail:
- Every series that targets the day, the state of each one's appointment, such as created, cancelled or not yet created, and View appointment
- Conflict: Same time overlap or Multiple series on this day, with what it means
- Recommended Clean-up: Deactivate Redundant Series, a list of dormant or conflicting series to tick, then Deactivate with the number of series
The "cancelled appointment reappearing" problem
This is the most common issue the timeline solves. It happens like this:
- A pet has two or more recurring series on the same day of the week.
- Only one appointment a day is created, because Petboost prevents duplicates.
- You cancel the visible appointment, from the active series.
- Overnight, the dormant duplicate series sees the gap and creates a replacement.
- The appointment seems to have come back, even though you cancelled it.
If you cancel it again, a third series, if there is one, fills the gap. This repeats until every duplicate series on that day is ended.
You can spot it on the timeline:
- The grid shows red at-risk days where it can happen
- Duplicate rows show Will be created on the days they would fill if the active appointment were cancelled
- A red banner above the grid counts the conflicting days
Clean up duplicate series
- Open Customers & Pets and select Manage on the pet.
- Open the Appointments tab and choose Recurring Series.
- In the red banner, select Clean up duplicates.
- In Clean Up Duplicate Series, select End This Series on each duplicate. To end them all at once, select End All and the number of Duplicates, then Confirm: End All.
- Select Done.
To deal with one duplicate at a time instead, select Deactivate on its row in the grid. Ending or deactivating a series sets an end date, so the nightly job never creates another appointment from it.
End a series
End a series when it still has upcoming appointments and you want it to stop.
- Open Customers & Pets and select Manage on the pet.
- Open the Appointments tab and choose Recurring Series.
- Select Manage on the series' row, then End Series.
- In End Recurring Series, check the series summary, the upcoming appointments that will be cancelled, and What will happen:.
- Select End Series. Keep series closes the dialog without changing anything.
When a series ends:
- Its appointments from today onwards that are confirmed, pending, in progress or ready to pay are cancelled and removed from your calendar, with no cancellation fee
- Any held payments on them are released
- The customer sees them as cancelled in their account. Petboost does not email or text them about it
- The series stops repeating and moves to Ended Series
Deactivate a dormant series
Deactivate a series that has no upcoming appointments but whose recurrence rule is still open-ended. Under 100% Cancelled Series, an amber note counts the cancelled series that are still open-ended, because the nightly job could recreate appointments from them.
- Open Customers & Pets and select Manage on the pet.
- Open the Appointments tab and choose Recurring Series.
- Select Deactivate on the series card under 100% Cancelled Series, or on the duplicate series' row in the grid.
- In Deactivate Series, read why the series is dormant, then select Deactivate.
Deactivating sets an end date of today, so no appointment is ever created from the series again, and it moves to Ended Series.
Ended and cancelled series
- Ended Series holds series that were ended with End Series or Deactivate. They never create new appointments. Select Details or View Timeline on a card to see its appointments
- 100% Cancelled Series holds series whose source appointment was cancelled. They are kept apart from ended series for clarity
Keep series tidy
- Keep one recurring series per distinct schedule, such as one for Monday and Thursday walks and one for Friday walks with a different walker or at a different time
- When a pet's schedule changes, with new days, new times or a new service, end the old series before you create the new one, so no dormant series is left behind
- Check the Recurring Series view from time to time for pets with complex schedules, and tidy up when you see a warning or several series
- Use Clean up duplicates for the quickest fix when the red section shows duplicates
Troubleshooting
"I cancelled an appointment but it came back the next day"
This is almost always a duplicate recurring series. Open the pet's Recurring Series view and look for series in the red Duplicate Series section. End or deactivate every duplicate to stop it happening again. See The "cancelled appointment reappearing" problem.
"I see warnings on the timeline but appointments look fine on the calendar"
The timeline shows possible conflicts, not only current ones. A red warning means that if you cancelled an appointment on that day, a duplicate series could fill the gap. Clean up the red duplicates to avoid surprises later.
An amber warning only means several series create appointments on the same day at different times. That is normal, such as a morning walk and an afternoon groom for the same pet, and needs no action.
"I have two recurring appointments for the same pet on the same day. Is that a problem?"
No. Several recurring series for the same pet on the same day, at different times, is a normal set-up. The amber Multiple series on this day notice is for information only. Both series keep creating appointments and do not interfere with each other. This is common when a pet has separate services at different times, such as a walk in the morning and a groom in the afternoon.
"A series shows as dormant but I didn't create it"
Dormant series usually come from a schedule change made months ago where the old series was never ended. Its recurrence rule stayed open-ended, even though the active series stopped it creating appointments. Deactivate it.
"I ended a series but appointments still exist on the calendar"
Ending a series cancels its appointments from today onwards that are confirmed, pending, in progress or ready to pay. Completed and paid appointments, and anything before today, are not touched. To remove a particular past appointment, manage it on its own from the calendar or the Appointments tab.
"How do I know which series is the right one to keep?"
Open More Details under each row header and compare the service name, the days of the week and the first appointment date. Keep the series that matches the pet's current schedule. Duplicates usually have older start dates and sit in the red Duplicate Series section.
Related articles
- Managing Customer Profiles: the pet profile and its tabs
- Pause or cancel a recurring series: Skip these dates to pause for a holiday, Cancel single for one visit, End series (all future) to stop the series
- Appointments FAQ: Recurring Appointments: general recurring appointment questions, including How do I pause a recurring series?
- Customers & Pets FAQ: common questions about customer and pet management