Online booking rules
Set your time slots, how much notice clients need to book online and how far ahead they can book, and why clients can't book today or further out.
Three rules decide which times clients can pick when they book online. They set how often start times are offered, how soon clients can book and how far ahead. You set them in Settings → Appointments.
Owners and admins
Change your booking rules
- Go to Settings → Appointments.
- Under Time Slots, choose a Slot Duration: 15 minutes, 30 minutes or 60 minutes.
- Under Booking Window, choose a Minimum Notice, from No minimum up to 24 hours.
- Choose a Maximum Advance Scheduling, from 1 week up to 1 year.
- Select Save Changes. You'll see Appointment settings updated.
In the Lilo app, go to More → Business Settings → Online Booking. Change the same rules under Booking Rules, then tap Save Rules.
What each rule does
- Slot Duration: how often start times are offered. With 15 minutes, clients see 9:00, 9:15, 9:30 and so on. It doesn't change how long appointments are.
- Minimum Notice: how soon a client can book. With 2 hours, a client looking at 1:00 PM can book 3:00 PM at the earliest.
- Maximum Advance Scheduling: how far ahead clients can book. With 3 months, they can book up to 90 days from today.
New accounts start with 15-minute slots, 1 hour of notice and 3 months ahead.
How Lilo decides open times shows how these rules work with your team's hours.
Owners and admins
The Checkout-First Workflow switch at the bottom of the tab is about checking clients in, not online booking. Check-in, statuses, and no-shows explains it.
How it works
- The rules cover your whole business, at every location. Times follow each location's time zone.
- They apply to your booking page, team members' booking links and booking on your own website.
- Minimum Notice and Maximum Advance Scheduling only limit clients. You and your team can still book sooner or further ahead in Lilo.
- Slot Duration also applies when you book in Lilo on the web. It sets the open times in the booking steps and the time slots on the calendar's Day and Week views. Appointments you drag on the Day view snap to it.
- Changes can take a couple of minutes to show on your booking page.
- Moved to Lilo from another booking system? Your import may have set Minimum Notice and Maximum Advance Scheduling to match your old system.
Common questions
Why can't clients book today?
Usually it's one of these:
- Minimum Notice puts the rest of today out of reach. With 24 hours, clients can't book anything sooner than this time tomorrow.
- Nobody who does the service is free for the rest of the day. How Lilo decides open times lists what has to be true.
Why can't clients book further ahead?
The date is past Maximum Advance Scheduling. The longest you can choose is 1 year.
Why can't I pick 9:15 on the calendar?
Your Slot Duration is 30 or 60 minutes, so times on the calendar and in the booking steps are that far apart. With 15 minutes, you get a start time every quarter hour.
Can I set different rules for a location or a service?
No. One set of rules covers your whole business.
Can I leave a gap between appointments?
There's no setting for it. How Lilo decides open times explains how to keep time free.
Why can't I change the rules?
Only the owner and admins can change them. Location managers and front desk can see them, but the menus are grayed out.
Booking page settings
Choose what clients see on your booking page, let them book several services at once, and set your cancellation policy and your terms and privacy links.
Add booking to your website
Put booking on your own website with the booking widget or a link to your booking page, test it first, and what to use if you don't have a website.