Blocking out time: breaks, leave and salon closures

Blocked time takes a team member, or the whole salon, off the calendar for a while: a lunch break, training, a week's leave, a public holiday. Clients can't book into it online, and the team is warned before booking into it. It can happen once or repeat, like a staff meeting every Tuesday.

#What blocked time does

• Online booking never offers blocked time.
• Booking into it from the calendar shows a warning: in amber for a team member's blocked time, and Book anyway? for a salon closure.
• Appointments already booked in that time stay booked. FullColumn lists them as you block the time, so you can move them.
• Blocked time for the whole salon shows in every column, marked "Closed" with a padlock.

Blocked time sits on top of someone's hours. To change when someone works on one day instead (a swap, or a day off that isn't leave), click their name at the top of the calendar and choose Hours today…, then Working or Day off. That needs "Change rosters and time off": see team hours and the roster.

#Blocking out time

1. Choose ⋯ → Block time… on the calendar, or click a team member's name and choose Block time…. You can also click an empty time and choose the Block time tab in New appointment.
2. Under Who, choose the team member, or Whole salon (closed). It starts with you (or the person whose name you clicked).
3. Under Reason, type why, or tap Lunch, Break, Training, Meeting, Admin, Annual leave or Sick leave. The reason shows on the calendar; without one it says "Blocked" (or "Closed").
4. Choose the Date, the Time and How long. It starts at 12pm for an hour unless you clicked a time; the line under it says when it ends ("Until 1:00pm").
5. Press Block time.

Blocked time at a time of day has to end by midnight. For anything longer, use All day.

#Blocking out whole days for leave or closures

Turn on All day ("For leave or closures. Can span several days.") and choose From and Until (inclusive). Annual leave and Sick leave turn it on for you.

For a public holiday or a closure, choose Whole salon (closed): "The whole salon will show as closed and online booking will skip this time." All-day blocked time fills the day in its columns on the calendar.

#Repeating blocked time

Repeat books blocked time that comes round again, like a weekly meeting, Tuesday training or school pick-up. The choices are worded for the day you picked:

• Doesn't repeat, Every day, and Every day you're open (when you're open on some days, other than just Monday to Friday).
• Every weekday (Monday to Friday), Every Tuesday, Every 2 weeks on Tuesday.
• Every month on the 14th, Every month on the second Tuesday, or on the last Tuesday when it's the last one in its month.
• Every year on 14 October.
• Custom…: every so many days, weeks, months or years; for weeks, which days; for months, the date or which weekday.

Ends is Never, On a day, or After so many times. Under it, a line reads the whole thing back: "Every Tuesday. 52 times in the next 12 months, and more as time goes on."

Each time it comes round is blocked out on its own, up to 12 months ahead, and more are added as time goes by. Repeating blocked time shows a repeat icon on the calendar.

#Appointments that overlap blocked time

As you set up blocked time, FullColumn checks it against the appointments already booked, each time it comes round: "This overlaps 2 appointments. They stay booked, so you may want to move them:", with the date, team member, client, time and service of each (up to six, then how many more). Blocked time is saved either way: move those appointments yourself if they can't go ahead.

#Moving and changing blocked time on the calendar

Click blocked time to open it in Blocked time, change anything, and press Save. Remove takes it away.

You can also drag it, if it's yours to change:

• Blocked time within a day drags to another time, or to another team member's column. Drag its bottom edge to change when it ends.
• All-day blocked time drags to another day in the week view, or to another team member in the day view.
• A whole-salon closure stays the whole salon's, and blocked time can't go in the Unassigned column.
• Blocked time over several days, or only partly on screen, opens when you click it instead.

A message says where it went, with Undo. On a phone or tablet, touch and hold it first, as for an appointment.

#Changing or removing repeating blocked time

• Dragging one time of repeating blocked time changes just that one: "(just this one: the others stay as they were)". Undo puts it back with the others.
• Saving a change in Blocked time asks Change repeating blocked time?: This one, This and following, or All. All changes every one from today; earlier ones stay as they were. If you changed how it repeats, there's no This one.
• Changing Repeat to Doesn't repeat asks Stop repeating?: "This one stays as you’ve set it, and the ones after it are removed. Earlier ones stay as they were."
• Remove asks the same: This one, This and following, or All from today.

The editor says how it repeats and how many are still to come ("Repeats: Every Tuesday. 40 still to come.").

#Who can block out time

Everyone can block out their own time. Blocking out, moving or removing someone else's time, or the whole salon's, needs "Book and change other team members’ appointments". Owners have every permission. Without it, changing or removing more than one time of repeating blocked time works only when every one of them is yours.

#Common questions

#How do I close the salon for a public holiday?

Choose ⋯ → Block time…, pick Whole salon (closed), turn on All day, choose the day and press Block time. Online booking skips it.

#How do I put in two weeks' annual leave?

Block time for that team member with the reason Annual leave, which turns on All day, and choose the first and last day under From and Until (inclusive).

#Does blocking out time cancel the appointments in it?

No. They stay booked, and FullColumn lists them so you can move or cancel them.

#How do I give everyone a lunch break every day?

Block time for each team member at lunchtime, with Repeat set to Every day you're open (or Every weekday) and Ends on Never.

#What's the difference between a day off and blocked time?

A day off changes the person's hours for that day, so they're not rostered. Blocked time keeps their hours and blocks part of them out, with a reason, and can repeat.