Service Behaviour: Key Concepts
Service Behaviour: Key Concepts
Once you understand how your services are structured, the next step is configuring how they behave. These settings control the day-to-day rules of your service — how many customers can book a slot, where the service takes place, whether bookings are confirmed automatically, and when customers can book or cancel.
This article covers four key settings:
- Booking Type
- Location Type
- Booking Confirmation Method
- Booking Timing Rules
You can find and adjust all of these under Inventory > Services in your Nabooki dashboard.
If you haven't already, start with Service Structure: Key Concepts to understand how your services are organised before configuring how they behave.
1. Service Allows
Service Allows controls how many customers can book a single time slot. It's one of the most important settings you'll configure — getting it wrong affects capacity, pricing, and how your schedule behaves.
There are three options:
- Single — one booking per time slot. Once taken, the slot is closed. Best for standard appointments where each slot belongs to one customer.
- Multiple — several customers can book the same slot up to a defined capacity. You control this with three settings:
- Minimum quantity per booking — the fewest participants allowed in a single transaction
- Maximum quantity per booking — the most spaces one customer can reserve at once
- Maximum capacity — the total spots available in that slot across all bookings
Best for group classes, tours, or events.
- Private Group — only one booking is accepted per slot, but that booking can include multiple participants and the headcount may affect the price. Best for services where a group exclusively occupies a resource — such as a private vehicle or charter boat.
⚠️ Important: Don't use Private Group unless your service genuinely requires exclusive use of a resource. And never set a Multiple booking service with a capacity of 1 — use Single instead.
Not sure which to choose?
If your service looks like this… | Use this |
One customer per appointment | Single |
Multiple customers in the same session | Multiple |
One group that exclusively takes the whole slot | Private Group |
2. Location Type
Location type controls where your service is delivered and how that information appears to customers in booking confirmations and emails.
Think of it as: telling Nabooki whether customers come to you, you go to them, or nobody goes anywhere.
- Physical — your business address is shown on the booking page and in confirmation emails. Customers come to you. If you have multiple locations, customers can select their preferred branch.
Best for: salons, clinics, studios, gyms, retail services. - Online — no physical address is shown. You provide the meeting link manually or via an automated email after booking.
Best for: virtual consultations, online workshops, telehealth, remote coaching. - Mobile — your address is hidden. You travel to the customer. Use custom booking fields or your service description to collect their location details.
Best for: mobile therapists, personal trainers, pet groomers, tour guides.
📝 Note: Nabooki doesn't enforce location restrictions for mobile services. If your service area is limited, review bookings manually or use custom fields to confirm suitability before approving.
3. Booking Type
This setting controls what happens after a customer submits a booking — whether it's confirmed immediately or held until you approve it.
Think of it as: choosing how much control you want over who gets in.
- Instant Booking — the booking is confirmed immediately and the customer receives confirmation straight away. No action needed from you.
Best for: straightforward services with no need for vetting or manual coordination. - Booking on Request — the booking is held as pending until you approve or decline it. You'll receive an email with the details and can respond directly without logging into Nabooki.
Best for: services that require vetting, involve limited or shared resources, or need personalised coordination before confirming.
| If your service looks like this… | Use this |
| Any confirmed booking works for you | Instant Booking |
| You need to approve who books, or coordinate first | Booking on Request |
4. Booking Timing Rules
Booking timing rules control when customers can book and cancel. There are three separate settings, each handling a different part of the booking window. They are located under Booking Preferences > Booking Settings.
Think of them as: the boundaries around when your schedule is open.
- Booking cut-off time — the minimum notice required before a session starts. Prevents last-minute bookings that may disrupt your operations.
Example: A cut-off of 2 hours means a customer can't book a 10am session after 8am. - Allowable cancellation time — how far in advance a customer must cancel or make changes through the customer portal. Protects your revenue while still giving customers reasonable flexibility.
- Booking time frame — how far ahead customers can book the service. The default is 365 days.
💡 Tip: Think of these three settings as a window — the time frame opens it, the cut-off closes the near end, and the cancellation time determines how late a customer can change their mind.
At a Glance
| Setting | Controls | Key Decision |
| Service Allows | How many customers share a slot | Single / Multiple / Private Group |
| Location Type | Where the service is delivered | Physical / Online / Mobile |
| Booking Type | How bookings are approved | Instant / On Request |
| Timing Rules | When customers can book or cancel | Cut-off / Cancellation / Time frame |
Next Steps
Now that you've learnt about services, you can start creating one by following the steps in the articles below:
Need Help?
If you need assistance, contact our support team:
💬 Live Chat: Click the chat icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
📧 Email: support@nabooki.com
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