The first choice to make when setting up a new SuperSaaS schedule is which schedule type to use. The process of scheduling an appointment differs greatly from one business to the next. SuperSaaS offers three different types of scheduling engine to allow you to pick one that closely matches your needs. The three schedule types are called the “capacity schedule”, “resource schedule”, and “service schedule”. The schedule types overlap in what they can do, and for some applications more than one will work, but you will get the best experience if you select a type appropriate for your situation.
To distinguish between the types you first want to answer the question: “Can users reserve a place for the same event at the same time?”. If the answer is “yes” then you will want to use a capacity type schedule.
Examples of users booking an event at the same time, a capacity schedule would work best:
Examples of where a capacity schedule would not work well; a resource or service type should be used instead:
A capacity schedule with multiple appointments in the same time slot
A resource schedule with three resources, each slot contains one appointment
A service schedule with a single resource, the left column lists the available services
The distinction between a “resource” type and a “service” type lies primarily in the booking process. As the name implies, the resource schedule is organized around resources (teachers, boats, rooms), and each resource can only be used by one booking at a time. The schedule shows the availability of the resource and the user picks an available spot. With a service schedule, on the other hand, the user first selects a service (a lesson, a ride, a haircut). The schedule then shows all spots that have the resources available needed for that service.
We recommend that you start by creating a resource type schedule. The resource type schedule will work in most scenarios although sometimes a service-oriented process will fit better. The resource schedule should contain each “scarce resource” that is involved in the booking process. For example, scarce resources could be therapists, rooms, boats, pool tables, etc. If you are setting up a calendar to allow people to schedule an appointment with you, then you would be the scarce resource. Don't include resources that are not scarce. For example, if an appointment needs a meeting room but there are always enough meeting rooms there is no point in including it.
The service schedule's main ability is that it can take into account the availability of resources in other schedules. On the other hand, the resource schedule can allow the user to create appointments of arbitrary length, and to create repeating appointments, abilities that the service schedule lacks.
Examples of where a service schedule would be needed:
To define a service that uses multiple resources you first need to define those resources in a resource schedule.
Since you can create and delete schedules as often as you want there is no harm in trying out several types and discarding unused ones later on. You can change everything about a schedule afterwards except the schedule's type. You can try an example of each schedule type in the demo section or look at the detailed discussion of each type:
| Use case | Schedule type | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| You want to let students sign up for classes | Capacity | ||
| You want to let participants sign up for an event | Capacity | ||
| You want to let employees book meeting rooms | Resource | ||
| You want to let users select the length of appointments | Resource | ||
| You want to show availability for your Bed & Breakfast | Resource | ||
| You want to book a projector together with a room | Service | ||
| You want to illustrate each service with pictures | Service | ||
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