Self-Service Readiness Checklist

Work through this checklist before customers book online: which limits to set first, how to test the setup, and when to use pending approval as a safety net.

The core question

Ask yourself: "Can I confidently accept any booking that passes my configured checks?"

Step 1: Audit your hard constraints

Hard constraints are non-negotiable safety and operational limits. Set them before you turn on online booking.

Capacity limits

How many pets can you physically handle at the same time? If you have a limit, set Pets at a Time on your team members, your resources, or both. With no practical limit, leave capacity high.

Where: Team Members → [Person] → Capacity, or Resources → [Resource] → Capacity

Vaccination requirements

Do you need proof of vaccination for safety?

Where: Services → [Service] → Policies & Paperwork → Require vaccination certificate

Age requirements

Are there ages you can't or won't work with?

Where: Services → [Service] → Who Can Book → Advanced options → Age Restrictions

Weight requirements

Are there sizes you can't safely handle?

Where: Services → [Service] → Who Can Book → Pet Eligibility → Weight Restrictions (kg)

Breed requirements

Are there breeds you specialise in or can't work with?

Where: Services → [Service] → Who Can Book → Advanced options → Animal Type, Age and Breeds

Geographic limits (mobile services)

Do you have a realistic service area? Set suburb restrictions on each mobile service, such as mobile grooming, dog walking and home visits. They do not apply when customers come to you.

Suburb restrictions are configured per service, not globally, so each mobile service can have its own service area.

Where: Services → [Service] → Who Can Book → Advanced options → Geographic Restrictions → Edit Areas

Booking notice period

What's the minimum notice you need to prepare?

Where: Services → [Service] → Duration & Timing → Booking Notice → Booking Notice Period

Step 2: Audit your soft constraints

Soft constraints are preferences that improve operations but aren't critical for safety.

Buffer between appointments

Do you need time between appointments?

Where: Services → [Service] → Duration & Timing → Advanced options → Padding Before / Padding After

Structured sessions

Do you want to control when certain services can be booked? If all services are available all day, you do not need sessions. Create sessions to offer different services at different times, and give them their own capacity for different capacity at different times.

Where: Schedules & Sessions

Customers choose their team member

Should customers choose their preferred staff member? Allow customer choice when customers have favourites and relationships matter, or in a small team where everyone knows each other. Let the business assign when customers do not mind who they see.

Business assigns does not spread bookings evenly. When two team members are free at the same time, the first one Petboost checks gets the booking.

Where: Booking Settings, Customers choose their team member

Step 3: The "what if" check

For anything not covered by rules, ask: "What do I need to verify manually?"

The initial service pattern

For businesses that need to assess new pets before regular booking:

1. Open Services and create an "Assessment" or "Temperament Test" service.
2. On each main service's Who Can Book tab, switch on Advanced options, then under Service Prerequisite switch on Require Prerequisite Service and pick the assessment.
3. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

New pets must complete the assessment first. After that, they can book regular services freely: pets are assessed once, then book online. For the full steps, see Require an assessment before regular bookings.

Step 4: Test your setup

Before going fully live, check the setup as a customer would see it.

1. Open Customers & Pets and choose a test customer's pet.
2. On the pet's summary card, open Simulate and select Booking Experience.
3. Pick each service and check that the available times match your schedule.

The simulation shows exactly what the customer sees when booking, without making a booking. See Simulation Mode. Then:

• Book as a customer with a test customer account, for each service
• Book until capacity is reached, and check that it blocks correctly
• Try booking with pets that should and shouldn't qualify
• Try booking too close to now, and check that the notice period blocks it
• Book from your phone to check the mobile experience

When you create an appointment with Magic Availability Check on, select See Availability Reasons under the calendar to see exactly what is affecting availability.

Step 5: Choose your confirmation mode

Choose how bookings are confirmed. Instant confirmation on Booking Settings sets the default, and each service can change it on its own Automatic Actions tab.

What pending approval means day to day

1. The customer books, and sees the booking as Pending.
2. The booking appears under Pending Confirmation on Mission Control, and the new booking email and text you have switched on tell you about it.
3. You check the pet, the customer and the booking details.
4. You select Accept or Decline on the appointment.
5. The customer receives a confirmation or a decline message.

Customers expect a response within 24 hours, ideally the same day. If you don't respond, the booking stays pending indefinitely. Several pending bookings from the same customer are allowed.

Mixed approach

You can use instant confirmation for standard services and pending approval for new customers' first bookings, high-value or complex services, and services that need preparation.

Step 6: Go live

Once you've completed the checklist, turn on online booking service by service.

1. Open Services, select Manage on a service, then Manage Service.
2. On Booking Settings, under Self-Service Booking, switch on Online booking. If online booking is off for your business, Turn on business online booking? opens: select Yes, turn it on.
3. On Automatic Actions, switch Instant confirmation on for instant, or off for pending approval.
4. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.
5. Repeat for each service.

Not open yet?

If you are setting up before your opening date, block the weeks you are not trading and leave later dates open, so customers can book ahead for school holidays or Christmas while nobody can book before you open.

1. Open Team Members or Resources and select Bulk Block Time in the actions menu.
2. Select Select All for team members and resources, then Configure Blocked Time.
3. Set the Start Date to today and the End Date to the day before you open.
4. Widen From Time and To Time to cover your whole working day. New entries start at 9:00am to 5:00pm, and the same time range applies to each day.
5. Select Review Changes, then the Apply button.

See Public Holidays for the same tool used for holiday closures.

Monitor for the first week

Check bookings daily for the first week, watch for bookings that shouldn't have come through, note any customer complaints about availability, and adjust rules as needed.

Start minimal

We recommend starting with fewer rules and adding them as problems arise:

1. Turn on online booking with your hard constraints only
2. Observe for 2-4 weeks
3. Add rules only when you see actual problems
4. Monitor that availability doesn't drop too far

Quick decision guide

Common questions

"What if I make a mistake?"

All settings are reversible. You can switch from instant confirmation to pending approval at any time, adjust eligibility rules, turn online booking off temporarily, and block individual customers if needed.

"Should I start with pending approval and switch to instant later?"

This is a safe approach if you're nervous. Start with pending approval, review bookings for a few weeks, then switch to instant confirmation once you're confident your rules work.

"What if customers can't find availability?"

Use the Availability Troubleshooter to diagnose it. Common causes are too many eligibility rules stacked, capacity set too low, working hours too restrictive, and a notice period that is too long.

"Can I have different settings per service?"

Yes. Each service has its own booking settings. You might have "Basic Groom" on instant confirmation, and "Spa Package" and "Puppy Assessment" on pending approval.

Related guides

Summary checklist

Before you turn on online booking:

• Hard constraints (must configure): capacity limits set appropriately, vaccination requirements on (if needed), age, weight and breed restrictions set (if they apply), geographic limits set (mobile services), and a booking notice period set
• Soft constraints (optional): buffer or padding between appointments, sessions configured (if you structure your day), and your customers-choose-their-team-member preference set
• Safety nets: the initial service pattern configured (if you assess new pets), knowing how to use pending approval for specific services, and knowing how to block individual customers
• Testing: booked as a customer, checked availability looks correct, tested at capacity, and checked the mobile experience
• Go live: online booking on, confirmation mode chosen (instant or pending), and a plan to monitor the first week

Run an Account Health Check

Account Health Check reviews your setup and recent booking behaviour, then lists what to fix first.

1. Open All Settings and select Run an Account Health Check.
2. Read Overview, then select See the checks.
3. Open any check that needs work.
4. Select See your action plan, and tick items as you finish them.
5. After you change settings, select Run again.
6. Select Back to settings when you are done.

You can also open it from Reporting & Intelligence > Overview > Account Health Check.