Three layers of control for online scheduling

Clinic owners want the convenience of self-serve booking without turning their calendar into a free-for-all. The new Übik scheduling controls let you decide exactly which times appear online—and they respect slot capacity, specialist availability, and the appointment types each employee can perform.

  • Allowed time slots by weekday: Set the windows you’re willing to fill, plus how many appointments each slot can hold. If you want three 15-minute slots on Wednesday mornings, that’s all customers will see.
  • Specialist availability (front desk tool): Receptionists can pull up slots that match a specialty—e.g., ophthalmology—only when that specialist is on the schedule. This is an internal assist, not self-serve for clients.
  • Appointment-type staffing: Tie appointment types to the employees who do them. Grooming, consults, surgeries, and follow-ups each follow their own staff calendar.

A tale of two schedules: vets vs. groomer

Meet River Valley Vet. Dr. Lee and the tech team work Monday–Friday. Maria, the groomer, works only Tuesdays and Thursdays. Without guardrails, clients could book grooming on a Wednesday—leaving the front desk scrambling or rescheduling unhappy owners.

With the new controls:

  • River Valley sets online booking hours for all days, capped at 2 slots per time.
  • Grooming is marked as an appointment type that requires on-duty staff who list “grooming” in their appointment types.
  • Because Maria’s schedule only shows Tuesday/Thursday shifts, grooming slots vanish on other days. General consults still show Monday–Friday because every vet and tech lists “consult.”

Result: customers only see slots that match the right staff, and the front desk isn’t cleaning up misbookings.

How it works under the hood (simple version)

  • Slots, not chaos: Each time block has a capacity (appointment slots per time). If two slots are allowed at 10:00 AM and one is already booked, one remains. Capacity is always respected—even when staff counts are higher.
  • Specialty-aware (for reception): When the front desk searches by specialty (e.g., cardiology), Übik checks which specialists are scheduled and only surfaces times they cover. This keeps client-facing self-serve simple while giving staff precise routing.
  • Appointment-type aware: When an appointment type is configured to “require on-duty staff,” Übik limits availability to employees who list that appointment type and are scheduled to work that time.
  • Time-zone and safety: All calculations run in the clinic’s time zone and include a short buffer before same-day slots to prevent last-minute surprises.

What you can configure today

  • Allowed appointment types for online booking (e.g., consult, grooming, surgery).
  • Per-slot capacity so you control how many bookings share the same time.
  • Specialty coverage so clients filtering by specialty only see covered times.
  • Appointment-type coverage so grooming follows groomer hours, surgery follows surgeon hours, and consults stay open when general vets are on duty.
  • Staff qualifications at the user level (appointmentTypes on each employee) so Übik knows who can do what.

Real-world wins for owners and teams

  • Fewer reschedules: If the groomer isn’t on the calendar, grooming slots don’t appear.
  • Happier front desk: Receptionists see available times that already respect staff skills—no more juggling calendars and guessing.
  • Better customer trust: Clients get accurate options the first time; fewer “we need to move your appointment” calls.
  • Protected bandwidth: Slot capacity plus staff checks prevent overbooking, even on popular days.

Quick setup checklist

  • Set your appointment slots per time in account settings.
  • Pick Appointment Types Schedulable for online booking.
  • Choose which types Require On-Duty Staff (grooming, surgery, etc.).
  • Make sure each employee has the right appointmentTypes listed in their profile.
  • Confirm specialist schedules reflect real working hours.

Why this matters for growth

Self-serve scheduling drives new visits, but only if it respects your constraints. By blending slot caps, specialty coverage, and appointment-type staffing, Übik keeps online booking truthful. Clients see the times you can deliver, your team avoids cleanup work, and every slot is matched to the right skill set.

Try it in your clinic

Schedule a free demo or send us a message — we’d love to show you how it works.

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🌐 Website: goubik.com
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