Some services need more than a free team member. A facial needs a treatment room, and a laser treatment needs the laser machine. Resources let you track these, so Softalon stops offering a time when every unit is already in use.
How resources limit availability
- A resource has a name and a Quantity, which is how many units you have. For example, Treatment Room with quantity 3.
- A resource requirement links a resource to a service and says how many units one appointment uses.
- A time is offered only when a team member is free and every required resource has enough free units for the whole appointment, including its buffers.
- Resources are shared by your whole salon. All team members, and all locations, use the same pool of units.
Example: Hair Haven has 2 Pedicure Chairs. Spa Pedicure needs 1 chair. Two pedicures already booked at 10:00 use both chairs, so 10:00 is no longer offered for a third pedicure, even if a third team member is free.
Before you start
- You need the Super Administrator or Owner role.
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Step 1 of 3
Add a resource
Go to Services and open the Resources tab. Click Add Resource, enter a Name and a Quantity of at least 1, then click Add Resource.
Each resource name must be unique in your salon.
You will see:A Resource Created message, and the resource in the table.
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Step 2 of 3
Open the service that needs it
Go back to the Services tab and open the service. Open its Resources tab.
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Step 3 of 3
Add the requirement
Click Add Resource Requirement. Choose the Resource and enter the Quantity one appointment needs, then click Create.
You can add several resources to one service, for example 1 Treatment Room and 1 Laser Machine. Each resource can be added to a service once.
You will see:A Resource Requirement Created message. The requirement shows its quantity and how many units are available.
Change or remove a resource
- To change a resource's name or quantity, open its menu on the Resources tab and choose Update.
- To take a resource out of use, turn off its switch in the Status column. While a resource is inactive, services that require it can't be booked at all.
- To remove a requirement from a service, open the requirement's menu on the service's Resources tab and choose Delete.
- Deleting a resource also removes it from every service that required it.
Make sure a requirement's quantity isn't higher than the resource's quantity. If a service needs 2 units of a resource you only have 1 of, no time can ever be offered for that service.
If something is off
A service has no available times since I added a resource
Check that the resource is active, and that its quantity is at least the quantity the service requires. Also check whether other services that use the same resource fill all units at those times.
Two locations share a resource they shouldn't
Resources aren't tied to a location, so a service offered at two locations draws from the same units at both. If each location has its own rooms, create a separate resource for each location, for example Treatment Room – Downtown, and use separate services for each location. A service that requires two resources needs both for every appointment.
Common questions
Yes. A resource is in use from the start of the buffer before the appointment to the end of the buffer after it.