The Availability Calendar provides a simple and effective way to manage Person, Material, and Location resources. It allows you to reserve specific time slots to indicate when a resource is available or unavailable.

For example, you can mark a provider as available for new patient appointments during a specific time frame, or block time as Not Available if the provider is unavailable.

When appointments are added to the Appointment Calendar, they automatically appear on the Availability Calendar. This helps you clearly see booked time versus open availability, making it easier to avoid double-booking resources. 

Setting up availability template

Availability Templates helps standardize scheduling by providing consistent, pre-defined availability patterns that can be reused across the calendar. Using templates reduces the need for manual entry, minimizes errors, and ensures availability is displayed in a uniform way. This makes the calendar easier to understand at a glance, improves efficiency, and helps teams maintain accurate and consistent schedules. 

To set up availability templates, click on the Utilities icon.

Click Company Master, then select Availability Templates. Any templates that were previously created will appear in the list, allowing you to view or edit any existing template as needed.  

To create a new one, click New Availability Template.

Enter a name (e.g., Vacation), then, select a Schedule Type (e.g., Not Available). For example, choose “Not Available” for times you want to block off when you cannot take appointments, such as during vacations or personal time, and choose “Available” for open time on your calendar when you are able to accept appointments.   

Add a description to provide more context and clarify the purpose of this entry for other staff members. 

Customize the background and font colors to make this entry easy to identify at a glance on your calendar, helping you and your team quickly distinguish different types of events or availability. 

Click Save. Your new template will then be available when managing the availability calendar

Managing availability

Click Availability to open the availability calendar view. From there, select a specific block of time by clicking directly on the desired time slot. 

Next, choose the appropriate resource type based on your scheduling needs. Available options include:

• Person: Use this option when managing availability for a specific individual, such as a provider or staff member. This includes setting work hours, blocking time off, or adjusting appointment availability. Selecting Person ensures that scheduling changes apply only to that individual and do not impact rooms, equipment, or the entire location. 
• Material: Use this option when managing availability for a specific room, piece of equipment, or charred resource. This is helpful when reserving exam rooms, procedure rooms, or specialty equipment.Selecting Material prevents double-booking and ensures shared resources are properly allocated without affecting provider or location schedules
• Location: Use this option when managing availability for an entire office or practice location. This includes setting office hours, holiday closures, or emergency shutdowns. Selecting Location applies scheduling changes to the whole calendar, ensuring consistency across all providers and resources assigned to that location. 

After selecting the correct resource type, click Select to continue. This will associate the chosen resource with the selected availability block. Click here to learn more about Material Resources and click here to learn more about Person Resources.  

Depending on your selection, you will be directed to one of the following screens: Person Resource Availability Schedule, Material Resource Availability Schedule, or Location Availability Schedule. While the screen name will reflect your selection, the layout, fields, and required information remain the same across all three options. The only difference is the type of resource you are managing: an individual, a room or piece of equipment, or an entire location. 

This ensures a consistent scheduling process while allowing you to apply availability settings to the appropriate resource type. 

From this screen, complete the following field based on your selection:

• Person Resource - Select the individual whose availability you want to manage. Only person resources that have already been created and set up in the system will appear in this list. 

or

• Material Resource - Select the room, equipment, or shared resource whose availability you want to manage. Only material resources that have already been created in the system will be available for selection.

or

• Location - Select the practice location whose availability you want to manage. Only locations that have already been created and configured in the system will appear in this list.

Be sure the appropriate resource has been set up in advance; if it does not appear in the list, it has not yet been created in the system.

Availability Schedule Type - Choose whether your selection should be marked as Available or Not Available during the selected time. 

• Available - The person can be scheduled during this time.
• Not Available - The person cannot be scheduled during this time.  

Location - Select the location where this availability applies.

Full Day or Partial Day - Indicate whether the availability applies to the entire day or only part of the day. 

• Full Day - Use this option when blocking or allowing the entire day.
• Partial Day - Use this option when the click is needed for specific hours.

Start Date Time - Enter the date and time when the availability or unavailability should begin. 

Duration - Enter the length of time, in minutes, that the availability or block should last. 

End Date Time - Enter the date and time when the availability or unavailability should end. This is typically calculated based on the start time and duration but can be adjusted if needed. 

Availability Templates - Select an availability from the dropdown menu. The available options are limited to templates that have already been created in the system.

Availability Series Type - Choose how often this availability should occur. 

• Single - Applies only once
• Repeating - Repeats based on a defined pattern (for example, daily or weekly). 

If you selected Repeating for Availability Series Type, additional fields will appear. These fields define how often and how many times the availability should repeat.

Repeat Count - Enter the number of times the availability should repeat

Repeat Every (Day) - Specify how often the availability should repeat, measured in days. 

Repeat Frequency Type - Select the frequency pattern for the repeating availability will repeat. 

Options include:

• No Repeat – The availability occurs only once and does not repeat.
• Daily – The availability repeats every day based on the specified repeat interval.
• Weekly – The availability repeats once per week. If this option is selected, select the checkbox next to each day of the week on which the availability should apply. 
• Bi-Weekly – The availability repeats every two weeks. If this option is selected, select the checkbox next to each day of the week on which the availability should apply. 
• Monthly on Date – The availability repeats monthly on a specific calendar date.
• Monthly on Day – The availability repeats monthly based on a specific day pattern (such as a weekday and its position in the month).

To include a note, click Notes. Adding a note is recommended so other staff members understand the reason for your availability or unavailability. For example, you may enter a note indicating that you are unavailable due to attending a medical conference for the next few weeks.

Enter the note in the Notes field. Utilizing the Alert feature, notes can be configured to appear as pop-ups when accessing the availability appointment. It’s important to note that these alerts are intended solely for internal staff use. 

Click Add Note. The note will then appear below, along with the date it was created and the name of the user who entered it. If you selected the Alert option, the Alert field will display a checkmark, and the Active field will also display a checkmark indicating that the note is active. Please note that the note can be deleted at anytime by clicking the “x” in the last column. 

Click Close to exit the screen.

Once all required information has been entered, click Save.

A popup will appear displaying the person resource schedules and asking you to confirm whether you want to continue. Click Yes to proceed.

You can easily review notes that have been saved for availability blocks directly from the calendar view by hovering over the availability block. A tooltip will appear displaying all notes associated with that specific block, allowing you to quickly understand context or special considerations without opening additional screens. 

Deleting availability

If plans change, you can delete an availability block from the Availability Calendar to keep the schedule accurate and up to date. For example, if a provider is now available on Friday afternoon when they were previously marked as unavailable, you can delete the existing availability block to reopen that time on the calendar.

To do this, click on the saved availability block.

The Person Resource Available Schedule window opens. Click Delete, then select Yes to confirm. A Deleted Successfully notification confirms the removal, and the time slot becomes available again.

Print the availability calendar

Printing the availability calendar provides a convenient way to review provider schedules, planned time off, and blocked time at a glance. It can be helpful for planning coverage, discussing scheduling adjustments during meetings, sharing information with staff who may not have system access, or keeping a printed copy for use during audits or administrative reviews.  

Click the Print icon.

The Availability Print Calendar pop-up window will open, displaying current availability and appointment details. The latest note associated with each availability block will be shown automatically, ensuring you are viewing the most-up-to-date information before printing.  

From this screen, you can choose to generate a PDF By Time or By Provider, depending on how you want the information organized.

By Provider: The PDF will group all availability blocks and appointments under each provider’s name, making it easy to see an individual provider’s schedule at a glance. This view is useful when reviewing or planning for specific staff members.

By Time: The PDF will organize all availability blocks and appointments chronologically, regardless of provider. This view is helpful for seeing the overall schedule for a given day or time period, making it easier to identify gaps or overlaps in coverage.