Adding padding between appointments

Block off time before and after appointments.

Use padding to add buffers or gaps between appointments to make time for travel, clean-up, prep, or breaks. This guide will explain how to add padding to your appointment types.

Padding can be added before appointments, after appointments, or both. It doesn't overlap, so if you add 10 minutes before and after each appointment, you'll have 20 minutes between appointments.

Acuity ignores padding before the first appointment in an availability time slot. So, if your availability is set for 9 AM -11 AM, then 12 PM -3 PM, Acuity wouldn't apply padding before appointments starting at 9 AM or 12 PM.

To add padding:

1. In Acuity, click Appointment types. 
2. Click Edit next to the appointment type you want to add padding to.
3. Click Block off time before or after appointment.
4. Enter the padding amount in minutes, then click Save.

In your list of appointment types, the padding will be shown along with the appointment duration.

Clients see only the duration of the appointment, not the padding. But when clients book, Acuity will block off the appointment duration plus the padding on your calendar.

So if you offer 45-minute appointments and add 20 minutes of padding after appointments, Acuity will block off 65 minutes every time a client books. If a gap in your schedule doesn't have enough time for the duration plus the padding, Acuity won't show it as an available time in your scheduler.

Note: When Acuity syncs your appointments with a third-party calendar, it sends the third-party calendar the durations of your appointments, but not the padding.