Resource Capacity Management

Capacity is for any physical space with a real limit, equipment that limits how many you can do at once, such as tables or crates, or a service that takes several pets at once, such as daycare or group classes. Set it and Petboost prevents overbooking online.

Set a resource's pets at a time

Ask yourself how many pets can physically use this resource at the same time.

1. Open Resources and select Manage on the resource.
2. Choose Capacity.
3. Set Pets at a Time.
4. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

Typical numbers:

How capacity works

A grooming room with 3 tables has Pets at a Time set to 3, one dog per table. Over a day it could run like this:

That is 8 dogs in the day, never more than 3 at a time. A capacity of 3 means 3 at any moment: through the day you can serve many more.

Common scenarios

• Solo groomer: one grooming table and you work alone, so the capacity is 1. Petboost books one dog at a time, with no double bookings
• Daycare play areas: a small dog area that fits 8 safely and a large dog area that fits 12 are two resources with capacities of 8 and 12. Each area is tracked separately and never goes past its safe limit
• Mobile grooming van: the van grooms 1 dog at a time and can transport 4 between locations. For the grooming service the capacity is 1, so each van takes one appointment at a time

Capacity and sessions

Capacity works inside your sessions, and each session can have its own number. For example, on Monday from 9am to 5pm:

You handle 3 big dogs in the morning when you are fresh, and 4 smaller dogs in the busier afternoon. Petboost enforces both. A session limits who can book under Which pets can book in its Advanced options. See Scheduling Fundamentals.

Give larger dogs more spots

A Great Dane takes more space than a Chihuahua, so a simple head count does not always work. Each service can use a different number of spots, in whole numbers:

In a resource with a capacity of 10, that fits 10 small dogs (10 × 1), 5 large dogs (5 × 2), or 3 large and 4 small (3 × 2 + 4 × 1).

1. Open Services, then Manage on the service and Manage Service.
2. Choose Team & Resources.
3. Under How should resources work for this service?, choose Required and select the resource.
4. Open Advanced options and set Spots used under Places Used Per Booking.
5. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

Repeat for each service that uses the resource. Petboost does the sums when it checks availability.

See how full a resource is

The calendar can show each resource's bookings against its capacity.

1. Open Appointments.
2. Open Group By and choose Resources.
3. Switch on Show Total Capacity.

Each resource column then shows its bookings over its capacity, coloured by how full it is:

Mission Control also shows each resource's pets against its capacity, and can filter resources by Vacancy.

How online booking uses capacity

When customers book online, Petboost checks the resource's capacity for each time, and a time that is full is not offered. Customers only see the times that are free, with no checking needed from you. Your team can still book past capacity from the booking form, as below.

Where to set it

Troubleshooting

Customers can still book when I'm at capacity

Check that the resource is assigned to the service and that its capacity is set, not 0. A session's own Pets at a time replaces the resource's number for that session, so check it too.

1. Open Resources and select Manage on the resource.
2. Choose Capacity and check Pets at a Time.

I need different capacity at different times

Use sessions, each with its own number.

1. Open Schedules & Sessions and select Edit beside the resource.
2. Select Add Session on a working day, or select a session, for each block of time.
3. Set Pets at a time for each session.
4. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

I want to increase capacity for a while

Use special dates for the date range.

1. Open Schedules & Sessions and select Edit beside the resource.
2. Choose Special Dates, then Create Special Dates or New Special Dates.
3. Set Start Date and End Date, then select Next: Configure Schedule.
4. Set the sessions for those dates, with their Pets at a time.
5. Select Stage for Publishing.
6. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

FAQ

How is this different from a daily appointment limit?

A daily limit says "Max 10 appointments today". Pets at a time says "Max 3 dogs at any moment". You could have 20 appointments a day, as long as only 3 are happening at the same time.

Can different resources have different capacities?

Yes. Each resource has its own capacity. Your Small Dog Area might be 8 and your Large Dog Area 6.

What happens if I manually override capacity?

To book past capacity, switch off Magic Availability Check when you create the appointment and set the times yourself.

1. Open Appointments, select New, then Appointment.
2. Choose the customer, pet and service.
3. Switch off Magic Availability Check.
4. Set the start and end times.
5. Select Create Appointment.

Petboost shows a warning, for example Fully booked at this time, then creates the appointment without an availability check. It does not ask you to confirm.

Related guides

• Scheduling Fundamentals: how schedules, sessions and capacity work together
• Working Hours & Blocked Times: set when resources are available
• Service-Resource Assignment: connect services to resources

Need help? Select Get Help in your dashboard or email support@petboost.com.au.