# Buying a booking system? Define more than the calendar

An available slot is only the start. Describe booking, cancellation, staff cover and rescheduling rules so the quote covers everyday operations.

You want people to book appointments online. At first, it looks like a calendar and a few fields. Then the questions appear: how many people can attend at once, who holds a slot and what happens when the person running the session is absent?

Define those operating rules before discussing what the calendar should look like.

## Establish what is being booked

A reservation may involve a person, room, piece of equipment or place in a group. Sometimes it needs several resources at once, such as an adviser and an available room. Record duration, breaks, capacity and whether one user can book for several people.

Include telephone bookings and appointments added by staff. If those remain in a separate calendar, establish how the system will learn that a slot is no longer available.

## Describe changes of plan

Prepare scenarios for user cancellation, a cancelled clinic day, rescheduling and a place becoming available. For each, identify who makes the decision and how the other party hears about it.

If confirmation or payment is required, decide how long the place is held and what happens when that time expires. This affects the service logic as well as the wording of messages.

## Check the staff experience

Ask to see a day from the reception team's perspective: adding someone, finding a reservation, changing the assigned staff member and producing an attendance list. Check what happens when two people try to take the last available slot.

For pricing, provide a table of resources and rules rather than only a list of screens. Separate the calendar, notifications, payments and [integrations](/en/blog/integrations-what-to-clarify-before-pricing/). That makes it easier to identify what is needed immediately and what can wait without disrupting everyday operations.

Źródło: https://tender.rtfct.com/en/blog/booking-system-questions-before-pricing/