Assigning team members and resources to a service decides who and what can be booked for it, and which availability Petboost checks. You set both on the service's Team & Resources tab, and each can be Required, Optional or Not used.
| Mode | Team members | Resources |
|---|---|---|
| Required | A team member must be assigned to every booking for this service. Best for services that need specific expertise | A resource (room, equipment, area) must be assigned to every booking. Best for capacity-limited services such as pens and grooming stations |
| Optional | Team members can be assigned during booking but are not mandatory. Useful where any staff member can help | Resources can be assigned during booking but are not mandatory. Good where a resource helps but is not critical |
| Not used | This service doesn't involve team members. Availability is not checked against your team; use it for self-service or facility-based services | This service doesn't need a resource. Availability is not checked against resources; use it for mobile or unlimited-capacity services |
Choose who delivers the service
Assign the team members who are qualified to deliver the service, so nobody untrained can be booked for it.
- Open Services, select Manage on the service, then Manage Service.
- Choose Team & Resources.
- Under Team Members, choose Required, Optional or Not used.
- Pick the team members under Eligible Team Members (for Required) or Available Team Members (for Optional). To add several at once, select Add all, or Add and a category name to copy the team members your services in that category use.
- Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.
With Required, only these team members can be selected when booking the service. With Optional, they appear as options when booking it. Their availability is checked when scheduling, and their capacity counts. A team member who is not on the list cannot be selected for this service.
Use the list to reflect certifications, training, specialised skills such as puppy handling or senior pet care, and equipment only some staff operate. For example, a Full Groom (Large Dogs) might list Sarah, a senior groomer, and Mike, a junior groomer, but not Lisa at reception, while Senior Pet Grooming lists only Sarah.
A Stay service does not use team members: its Team Members card reads Team Members Not Applicable, and stays use resources for availability and capacity. An add-on takes its team member from the main service, so it offers only Optional and Not used.
Choose the resources a service uses
Assign resources when physical space or equipment limits how many bookings fit at once, or when the service happens only in one place.
- Open Services, select Manage on the service, then Manage Service.
- Choose Team & Resources.
- Under Resources, choose Required, Optional or Not used.
- Pick the resources under Eligible Resources (for Required) or Available Resources (for Optional), or use Add all and the category buttons.
- Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.
A resource is a Location, an Asset or a Service Schedule. A location is a place such as a training area, a play space, a boarding pen or a daycare yard. An asset is equipment such as a grooming table, a tub, a dryer or a mobile van. A service schedule is a separate bookable calendar, such as meet and greets. With no resources yet, the card shows No resources yet and Add Resource.
Each resource has its own capacity, set on the resource's Capacity tab: a grooming table might take 1 pet at a time, a daycare room 20 and a boarding pen 1. When a required resource is at capacity, the service cannot be booked for that time.
Set how many places a booking uses
A large dog might need two places on a table or two of a team member's pets-at-a-time spots.
- Open Services, select Manage on the service, then Manage Service.
- Choose Team & Resources and switch on Advanced options.
- Under Places Used Per Booking, set Spots used for the team member, the resource, or both. It appears only when that side is Required.
- Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.
Most services use 1 spot. The card shows a capacity breakdown for the team members and resources you picked. If one booking would use every place a team member or resource has, Petboost warns Each booking uses 100% of available capacity: no other booking can share that time, so for a 1-on-1 service set Spots used to 1.
Assignment strategies
| Goal | Set-up | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Only qualified staff deliver specialised services | Assign only certified or trained team members and choose Required, so untrained staff cannot be booked | Aggressive Dog Handling: Senior Trainer Sarah only, Required. Puppy Socialisation Class: Sarah and Mike, both certified, Required |
| Control how many bookings run at once | Create a resource for each station or pen, assign them and choose Required, so Petboost enforces their capacity | Grooming Table 1, 2 and 3, each taking 1 pet, on Full Groom as Required: at most 3 grooms at once |
| Offer a service only in one place | Create location resources, assign the right one and choose Required, so Petboost offers the service only there | Locations for the main premises, a mobile grooming van and a partner facility: Full Groom on the main premises only, Mobile Grooming on the van only |
| Keep scheduling as open as possible | Assign every qualified team member and any possible resources, and choose Optional | Dog Walking: all walkers Optional, no resources, so any free walker can be booked with no resource limit |
When to require team members or resources
Require team members when the service needs specific skills or certification, when staff capacity matters, or when you track individual performance or labour costs by team member. Make them optional when anyone can deliver the service or flexibility matters more than tracking.
Require resources when physical capacity is limited, such as tables or pens, when equipment availability matters, for location-specific services and for room or space booking. Make them optional when resources help but do not limit bookings, for unlimited-capacity services and for mobile services without a fixed location.
If a service has one team member assigned, "only one team member is eligible" is that set-up, not a prompt to add a second person. If that person is full, raise Pets at a Time on their Capacity tab, or take the occupying booking off their name.
A service can require a team member, a resource, or both. Fix the layer that is full. Do not add a resource to solve a team-member capacity block, and do not add a team member to solve a resource block.
By size of business
- 1 to 3 staff: assign every team member to every service as Optional, and use resources only where capacity is limited, for the most flexibility
- 4 to 10 staff: assign by skills and certifications, make specialised services Required, and use resources to manage capacity
- 10 or more staff: assign by skill in detail, make most services Required, and manage resources and capacity limits closely
- Several locations: create location-specific services, or assign every location to a service and choose at booking, and use location resources and location-specific team assignments to keep bookings in the right place
Change or remove an assignment
- Open Services, select Manage on the service, then Manage Service.
- Choose Team & Resources.
- To remove a team member or resource, take them off the list. To change the requirement, choose Required, Optional or Not used.
- Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.
Existing appointments with that team member or resource stay as they are. From then on, new bookings cannot select a removed team member or resource, and a changed requirement applies straight away.
Troubleshooting
"No available team members" when booking
All the assigned team members are booked or unavailable. Assign more team members to the service, change the requirement from Required to Optional, adjust the team members' working hours, or raise Pets at a Time on their Capacity tab.
"No available resources" when booking
All the assigned resources are booked or at capacity. Assign more resources to the service, change the requirement from Required to Optional, raise the resource's capacity, or shorten the service duration or padding to free the resource sooner.
Service appears but can't be booked
A slot can show and then the booking fail. That comes from the service's configuration, not a missing AM / PM feature. Possible causes are a required team member with none available, a required resource with none assigned or none available, assigned team members or resources at capacity, a pet owner's suburb that is not on the service, or a package being redeemed that is tied to a different service. Check these in order:
- The service's requirements. If the service requires a resource, that resource must be on the list. A required resource with an empty list can show a slot and then fail.
- The team members' availability and capacity.
- The resources' availability and capacity.
- The service's eligibility and the suburb list on Who Can Book.
- The package's services, if they are using a package.
Common questions
Can a team member be assigned to some services but not others?
Yes. Assign team members on each service according to their skills and qualifications.
What happens if I remove a team member from a service?
Existing appointments stay as they are. New bookings for that service cannot select that team member.
Can I limit how many appointments a team member can handle?
Set Pets at a Time on the team member's Capacity tab. It applies across all their services and limits how many pets they have at the same moment, not how many in a day.
Do resources need to be assigned to every service?
No. Assign resources only where they limit capacity or tie a service to a place. Many services need none.
Can I assign different resources to different locations?
Yes. Create location-specific resources and assign them to the services offered at those locations.
What's the difference between "Required" and "Optional" assignment?
Required means a booking cannot be made without one. Optional means one can be assigned but does not have to be.
Can customers see which team member is assigned?
Only when Customers choose their team member is on for the service, under Advanced options on its Booking Settings tab. Otherwise the assignment happens behind the scenes.
Next steps
- Configure Booking Settings for customer access control
- Review Service Configuration for pricing/duration
- Check FAQ for additional troubleshooting