Using the timetable to manage availability and set up ad hoc clinics
If you have enabled multiple locations, you can use the timetable to adjust your availability for certain days, without affecting what you offer on other days. This can provide a way to handle a change to your scheduled start or end times for just one day, change your location as a one off, or account for any extra ad hoc clinics you might hold. You can find out how to do this below!
If you only work from one location, you can use the same process to manage your availability. You'll just need to tick the box to enable multiple locations first, and set your timetable up using your one location. Head down to the bottom of this article to get started!
Firstly, your working hours under Settings -> My Settings will need to cover the days and times of any ad hoc or changed clinics.
You can set your working hours on each day to reflect any start or end time that you'd be able to accomodate, or simply adjust the day of the week that a specific clinic is going to fall on.
For example, if your normal hours of work are between 9am and 5pm but you know that on occasion you can accommodate ad hoc clinics that start as early as 8am and run as late as 8pm, you might like to set your working hours to 8am - 8pm on those days. Or if you know that in 4 weeks time on a Tuesday that you need to work until 8pm as a one off, you can change the end time for a Tuesday to 8pm
Your working hours and timetable need to overlap for availability to be found. So if you add a timetable to a space that your working hours don't cover, those slots won't be found. That's why you do need to adjust your working hours if you are working earlier or later than you normally would. However the availability search within WriteUpp and within Online booking (if used) will only look at what is timetabled within your working hours. For example, if you set your working hours to begin at 8am on a particular day, but your timetable doesn't start until 10am, neither will show slots between 8am and 10am, because the timetable tells WriteUpp where you are available and when, and because 8am-10am doesn't have a timetabled location, we don't know where you'll be.
To add a clinic to a day that you don't usually work:
In the timetable, use the monthly calendar on the left to find the day you'd like to add a clinic to. If you've set your working hours up, it should appear white on the view. If it looks grey, you don't have the working hours set and you'll need to add them first.
Click on a white section of the day you'd like to add the clinic to and use the time fields to set your start and end times:
Once you've set the times, click on Save and you should see the clinic appear on the timetable:
If you go back to the diary and navigate to the date you've just added, you should also see the clinic reflected in the location colour on your view.
That added clinic will now be available in both the Create -> Appointment search, and if you use online booking, will be found in the availability search used by your clients.
To change the start or end times of a particular clinic:
In the timetable, use the monthly calendar on the left to find the day you need to change and click on it to load that week on the right.
Click on the block of colour that represents the day you'd like to change, and in the panel that appears on the right, make the necessary changes and click on Save:
You should then see the changed time reflected on the right:
And if you go back to the diary and navigate to the date you just changed, you should also see the changes there.
You can also click and drag the end time of a session in the timetable, giving you a quick way to shorten or extend a particular day. Hover your mouse over the black dash at the bottom, then click and drag the end time to be whatever you need it to be.
If you need to make a few changes to a day, you might find it easier to completely delete a timetable entry and then re-add it. To do that, click on the timetable entry and then Delete, where you'll be prompted to then confirm. If the session was set up as part of a recurring timetable, you'll see the option to delete "just this instance" or "this & future recurrences". If you want to just change that day, choose "just this instance". If you want to change all future entries on that day of the week, you can choose "this & future recurrences":
Once it's been deleted, you'll be able to add a new entry for that day.
If you want to change your location for a particular day, again in the timetable, use the monthly calendar on the left to find the day you need to change and click on it to load that week on the right.
Click on the block of colour that represents the day you'd like to change, and in the panel that appears on the right, use the Location dropdown to change the location and click on Save:
You'll then see the block in the timetable change to reflect the new location, and see the change when navigating back to that date in the diary.
The timetable is only available in WriteUpp if you have enabled multiple locations under Settings -> Organisation, because it allows you to identify where you are working and when, if there are multiple places that you could be.
However even if you don't work from multiple locations, you can still enable them to give you access to the timetable. You'll then need to add your timetable to set up when you are available at your location and between what times. As above, you'll also need to make sure that your working hours cover the start and end times that you're able to accomodate.
To enable multiple locations, go to Settings -> Organisation, and tick the box next to "Enable Multiple Locations". When you do so, you'll see your main location pulled down to the locations list below:
Once you enable multiple locations you MUST then set up the timetable as with multiple locations in use, WriteUpp uses the timetable alongside your working hours to work out your available appointments. If you don't set up the timetable, the appointment search under Create -> Appointment won't work. If you use online booking, the online booking availability search also will not work and no appointments will be displayed to your clients.
Follow the steps here to set the times for your regular clinics eg Monday 09:00 - 17:00. If you work the same hours on a regular basis, use the Recurrence dropdown to set a frequency and set an end date in the Repeat until field.
Then you'll be able to follow the steps detailed above to adjust your clinics to accomodate any ad hoc changes or extra sessions.
If you only work from one location, you can use the same process to manage your availability. You'll just need to tick the box to enable multiple locations first, and set your timetable up using your one location. Head down to the bottom of this article to get started!
Working hours
Firstly, your working hours under Settings -> My Settings will need to cover the days and times of any ad hoc or changed clinics.
You can set your working hours on each day to reflect any start or end time that you'd be able to accomodate, or simply adjust the day of the week that a specific clinic is going to fall on.
For example, if your normal hours of work are between 9am and 5pm but you know that on occasion you can accommodate ad hoc clinics that start as early as 8am and run as late as 8pm, you might like to set your working hours to 8am - 8pm on those days. Or if you know that in 4 weeks time on a Tuesday that you need to work until 8pm as a one off, you can change the end time for a Tuesday to 8pm
Your working hours and timetable need to overlap for availability to be found. So if you add a timetable to a space that your working hours don't cover, those slots won't be found. That's why you do need to adjust your working hours if you are working earlier or later than you normally would. However the availability search within WriteUpp and within Online booking (if used) will only look at what is timetabled within your working hours. For example, if you set your working hours to begin at 8am on a particular day, but your timetable doesn't start until 10am, neither will show slots between 8am and 10am, because the timetable tells WriteUpp where you are available and when, and because 8am-10am doesn't have a timetabled location, we don't know where you'll be.
Adding a new ad hoc clinic
To add a clinic to a day that you don't usually work:
In the timetable, use the monthly calendar on the left to find the day you'd like to add a clinic to. If you've set your working hours up, it should appear white on the view. If it looks grey, you don't have the working hours set and you'll need to add them first.
Click on a white section of the day you'd like to add the clinic to and use the time fields to set your start and end times:
Once you've set the times, click on Save and you should see the clinic appear on the timetable:
If you go back to the diary and navigate to the date you've just added, you should also see the clinic reflected in the location colour on your view.
That added clinic will now be available in both the Create -> Appointment search, and if you use online booking, will be found in the availability search used by your clients.
Adjusting the start and/or end times of a clinic
To change the start or end times of a particular clinic:
In the timetable, use the monthly calendar on the left to find the day you need to change and click on it to load that week on the right.
Click on the block of colour that represents the day you'd like to change, and in the panel that appears on the right, make the necessary changes and click on Save:
You should then see the changed time reflected on the right:
And if you go back to the diary and navigate to the date you just changed, you should also see the changes there.
You can also click and drag the end time of a session in the timetable, giving you a quick way to shorten or extend a particular day. Hover your mouse over the black dash at the bottom, then click and drag the end time to be whatever you need it to be.
If you need to make a few changes to a day, you might find it easier to completely delete a timetable entry and then re-add it. To do that, click on the timetable entry and then Delete, where you'll be prompted to then confirm. If the session was set up as part of a recurring timetable, you'll see the option to delete "just this instance" or "this & future recurrences". If you want to just change that day, choose "just this instance". If you want to change all future entries on that day of the week, you can choose "this & future recurrences":
Once it's been deleted, you'll be able to add a new entry for that day.
Changing the location of a clinic
If you want to change your location for a particular day, again in the timetable, use the monthly calendar on the left to find the day you need to change and click on it to load that week on the right.
Click on the block of colour that represents the day you'd like to change, and in the panel that appears on the right, use the Location dropdown to change the location and click on Save:
You'll then see the block in the timetable change to reflect the new location, and see the change when navigating back to that date in the diary.
What if I don't have multiple locations?
The timetable is only available in WriteUpp if you have enabled multiple locations under Settings -> Organisation, because it allows you to identify where you are working and when, if there are multiple places that you could be.
However even if you don't work from multiple locations, you can still enable them to give you access to the timetable. You'll then need to add your timetable to set up when you are available at your location and between what times. As above, you'll also need to make sure that your working hours cover the start and end times that you're able to accomodate.
To enable multiple locations, go to Settings -> Organisation, and tick the box next to "Enable Multiple Locations". When you do so, you'll see your main location pulled down to the locations list below:
Once you enable multiple locations you MUST then set up the timetable as with multiple locations in use, WriteUpp uses the timetable alongside your working hours to work out your available appointments. If you don't set up the timetable, the appointment search under Create -> Appointment won't work. If you use online booking, the online booking availability search also will not work and no appointments will be displayed to your clients.
Follow the steps here to set the times for your regular clinics eg Monday 09:00 - 17:00. If you work the same hours on a regular basis, use the Recurrence dropdown to set a frequency and set an end date in the Repeat until field.
Then you'll be able to follow the steps detailed above to adjust your clinics to accomodate any ad hoc changes or extra sessions.
Updated on: 03/01/2023
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