How do I add buffer time before or after appointments?

Buffer time reserves a few minutes before or after each appointment so your team is not booked back to back. It is useful for travel between in-home assessments, prep before a care consultation or writing notes afterward.

• A pre-buffer reserves time before the appointment.
• A post-buffer reserves time after it.

Set buffer time

1. Go to Calendars > Calendar Settings.
2. Click Edit on the calendar.
3. Open the Availability settings.
4. Set Pre buffer time, Post buffer time or both.
5. Save your changes.

To remove a buffer, set it back to 0 and save.

How buffers affect open times

Buffers count when ASNSpark! CRM works out which times are open. Say an assessment lasts 60 minutes with a 15-minute buffer on each side. A new appointment has to fit around the existing appointment and both buffers, plus its own buffers.

• Using both a pre-buffer and a post-buffer can leave gaps that look open but cannot be booked. If you want as many bookable times as possible, consider using only one.
• A team member's buffers on other calendars can affect their open times on Round Robin and Collective calendars too. This can make bookings spread unevenly across staff.
• Changing a buffer applies right away, including around appointments that are already booked.

See buffers on your calendar

1. Go to Calendars and open the calendar view.
2. Click Manage view and turn on Show buffer time.
3. Switch to Day or Week view.

Buffers appear as separate blocks next to each appointment. Turning this display off only hides the blocks. The buffer still applies to booking.

Common questions

• Why does a time look open but cannot be booked? The gap may be too short to fit the appointment plus the required buffers.
• Is a buffer the same as blocked time? No. A buffer is attached to an appointment. Blocked time, or a busy event from a connected calendar, is a separate period when the person is unavailable.

Have a question about your own account? Submit a ticket and our team will follow up.