Block time on the calendar

Blocked time keeps a slot free of bookings, for example a lunch break, a staff meeting or equipment maintenance. It can block one member or everyone at once.

Blocked time, time off or closed period?

Who can block what

• Members with the User role can block time for themselves only.
• Administrators and above can block time for any member, or for the whole team.

1. 1

   Step 1 of 5

   Open the form

   On the Calendar, click Add and choose Blocked Time.

   You will see:

   The Create Blocked Time form opens.

2. 2

   Step 2 of 5

   Choose who it applies to

   Administrators see a Member switch:

   • Turn it on and pick a member to block time for that person only.
   • Turn it off to block the time for the whole team.

   Users don't see this field. Their blocked time always applies to themselves.

3. 3

   Step 3 of 5

   Describe it

   Enter a Name, for example "Staff Meeting", and an optional Description. Pick a Type: Break, Training, Maintenance, Personal or Other.

4. 4

   Step 4 of 5

   Set the start and end

   Pick when the block starts and ends. The end must be after the start.

5. 5

   Step 5 of 5

   Save

   Click Create Blocked Time.

   You will see:

   Blocked Time Created appears and the block shows on the calendar.

Change or remove blocked time

• Click the block on the calendar to open Update Blocked Time.
• Drag it to a new time on the calendar.
• Right-click it and choose Delete.

Users can only change their own blocked time. Team-wide blocks can only be changed by administrators and above.

How blocked time affects bookings

Blocked time works like a busy appointment. Clients can't book over it, and it's hidden from the free times in the booking form. If an administrator really needs to book over it, they can turn on Double Booking in Manual Override.

Blocking time doesn't touch appointments that are already booked in that slot. Move them yourself if needed.

Blocked time from synced calendars

If a member syncs their Google Calendar or Outlook, their busy events can appear as blocked time with the type Calendar. These blocks are managed by the sync, so you can't edit them in Softalon. The Calendar type is reserved for synced events. It appears in the Type list, but saving a block with it fails, so pick another type. See Sync Google Calendar or Outlook.