# How Lilo decides open times > Why clients see the times they do when booking online, from provider hours, time off and breaks to service length, notice and how far ahead they can book. Source: https://heylilo.co/help/calendar/how-open-times-work When clients book online, Lilo only shows times that pass every rule below. It also picks the provider when the client doesn't. ## What has to be true for a time to show ### Online booking is on - **Online Scheduling** is on in **Settings** → **Booking Page**. When it's off, clients can't book online at all. See [Your online booking page](https://heylilo.co/help/booking/online-booking-page). - Your account can take bookings. If your free trial ended or your subscription was canceled, clients can't book online until the account owner subscribes. See [Plans, trial, and billing basics](https://heylilo.co/help/getting-started/plans-and-trial). - The service has **Bookable online** turned on. See [Services and categories](https://heylilo.co/help/services/services-and-categories). ### The location is open that day **Settings** → **Business Hours** decides which days each location is open. On a closed day, nobody there can be booked online. See [Business profile and hours](https://heylilo.co/help/settings/business-profile-and-hours). Business hours don't set the times. Each provider's own hours do. ### A provider can do the service - The provider offers the service at that location. - **Can be booked for services** is turned on for them. - They have hours at that location on that day. Hours at one location don't make them bookable at another. ### The provider is free Lilo starts from the provider's weekly hours for that day. Then: - A schedule override for the date replaces them. **Day Off** takes the day off. **Modified Hours** and **Working Day** set new hours. - Time off takes the whole day off once it's approved. Requests still waiting for approval don't. - **Sick** is the exception for booth renters and Lilo Booth plans. It doesn't take the day off. - Time blocks take out their hours, like a lunch break. - The provider's appointments take out their time, at every location they work. Cancelled appointments and no-shows don't count. ### The service fits - The whole service has to fit inside one of the provider's blocks, start to finish. A 30-minute service in hours that end at 6:00 PM can start at 5:30 PM at the latest. - Services booked together run back to back, so their times add up. - Lilo doesn't add gaps between appointments. A client can book a time that starts right when another appointment ends. - [Add-ons](https://heylilo.co/help/services/add-ons) and options the client picks change the length of the visit. Every add-on has to be one the provider can do. ### Your booking rules allow it These are your [online booking rules](https://heylilo.co/help/booking/online-booking-rules), in **Settings** → **Appointments**: - **Slot Duration**: how often start times are offered, every 15, 30 or 60 minutes. It doesn't change how long appointments are. - **Minimum Notice**: how soon a client can book. With 1 hour and 15-minute slots, a client booking at 9:10 AM sees times from 10:15 AM. - **Maximum Advance Scheduling**: how far ahead clients can book. ## Who gets the booking - If the client chooses a provider, they only see that provider's times. - If they don't, Lilo shows every time that any provider who offers the service can take. It gives the booking to the free provider with the fewest appointments that day. - When a client books more than one service, different providers can do each one. Lilo keeps one provider for the whole visit when it can. ## How it works - Times are in the [location's time zone](https://heylilo.co/help/settings/locations). - Lilo checks the time again when the client books. If someone took it first, the client sees **Sorry, this time slot is no longer available. Please select another time.** - Changes to hours, breaks or settings can take a couple of minutes to show on your booking page. - **Minimum Notice** and **Maximum Advance Scheduling** only limit online booking. They don't limit bookings your team makes in Lilo. [Your availability, time off, and blocks](https://heylilo.co/help/calendar/your-availability) explains how to set hours, breaks and time off. ## Common questions ### Why does a day show no times? Usually it's one of these: - The location is closed that day in **Business Hours**. - Nobody who offers the service has hours that day, or they're off. - Every time is already booked or blocked. - The day is past **Maximum Advance Scheduling**, or the times left are inside **Minimum Notice**. ### Why can clients book outside our business hours? Business hours only decide which days a location is open. The times come from each provider's own weekly hours, so that's where to change them. ### Can I leave a gap between appointments? Lilo doesn't add one for you. A time block on the provider's schedule keeps that time free. ### Why can my team book a time clients can't? **Minimum Notice** and **Maximum Advance Scheduling** only apply online. Your team can still [book those times in Lilo](https://heylilo.co/help/calendar/book-an-appointment). ### Why can clients book someone who asked for the day off? Their time off may still be waiting for approval. Only approved time off stops online bookings. For booth renters and Lilo Booth plans, **Sick** doesn't stop online bookings. They need **Block Time Off** instead. ### Why doesn't a provider show up for a service? They need to offer the service at that location, have **Can be booked for services** on, and have hours there that day. [Service details](https://heylilo.co/help/services/service-details) shows how to choose who performs a service.