Scheduling - Set up (Administration)

The Scheduling system is an optional add-on. Contact support@shelterbuddy.com if you would like this option turned on for your site. 

 You will require access to the Administration menu to perform these functions.

To manage the types of appointments your organisation supports, navigate to the Administration menu and click on the link Scheduling Administration. This menu has three options. 

Note: The duration of an appointment is set via the service linked to it. Services are set up in Admin > Products / Services. They will need to be linked to the same process (e.g. stray, clinic) that is linked to the scheduling Location, and they require a $ value, even if the $ value is $0.00. 

PRICE LEVELS MUST BE SET OR THIS WON'T WORK

Appointment Types

This link allows you to set up the types of appointment you would like to offer, such as intake appointments, behaviour consultation or veterinary appointments. 

Note: Locations and Product/Services must be set up first to be able to complete setting up the appointment types.

1. In the right-hand orange menu, click on the Administration link.
2. In the Administration menu, click on the Scheduling Administration link
3. In the Scheduling Administration menu, click on the link Appointment Types.
4. Click the button Add Appointment Type to create a new appointment type.
5. Enter the name for your appointment (something that will identify its purpose to users), and click on the Colour square to select a colour. NB: this will default to green and if you select nothing, the appointment will be coded green. 
6. If the appointment is for In Care animals, select the Only create appointments via in-care animals option by clicking the box. 
7. Select whether or not a Shelter Buddy file for the animal is required at the time an appointment is made via the Mandatory Animal Details drop-down.

• Not Required: Animal Details are optional when creating a new appointment.
• Animal Details Required: Details must be entered in the Animals fields at the bottom of the Add Appointment page. This is information for the appointment only: it exists nowhere else.
• Shelter Buddy Record Required: The animal must have a full Shelter Buddy record created for it to link to the appointment before the appointment can be completed.

If the appointment is for deceased animals (e.g. cremation services), make sure the box Do not allow deceased animals is un-ticked. If it is ticked, no deceased animal will be allowed. 

You have three options to proceed:

• Save: this option simply saves the record and returns you to the previous page.
• Save and Add Another: this option saves the record and returns you to a fresh Add Appointment Type screen so you can add the next appointment type. Repeat until all required appointment types are entered if preferred. 
• Save and Add Regions: this option takes you to an edit page where you can link the appointment type to the Region (Physical Location) that will offer them. This helps refine the information offered to end-users. 

If you did not select Save and Add Regions in the last step, you should now be viewing the Appointment Type Menu. If you have not created locations and services yet, you will not be able to proceed without completing those steps first. If you have already done so, click the name of an appointment type to define the terms of the appointment.

Click the Edit button

Click the Add Region button on the far right

A list of all available regions will display in a pop-up. Click each region the appointment type will be offered at and click Add to finish or Cancel to close the pop-up without making changes.

You should now see a list of region options displayed, each with a Manage and a Delete button on the right. 

• Click Delete to remove a region

Click Manage 

Click Add Service: the duration of an appointment is defined by this field. These can be added in Admin > Products & Services. 

• Type the first three letters of a product or service linked to the region into the text box provided and select from the options offered.
• Enter the length of time the appointment is expected to take. Time is measured in minutes, so, for example, 0:30 would equal 30 minutes.
• Click Save to complete or Cancel to return to the previous page. 
• NOTE: When scheduling an appointment, product/service items will only show fees if they are correctly set up and linked to the same Product / Service department as the location is set for. e.g. if the location is linked to the Product / Location "Vet Treatment" then products & services added now must be linked to the same Product / Location. 

Click Add Location to define whereabouts in the Region (Physical Location) the appointments are held (e.g. Vet Clinic, Intake Office etc). Type the first three letters of the location into the text box and select from the options offered. Only locations linked to the region specified for this appointment type will be offered. 

• Click Save to complete or Cancel to return to the previous page.

Your appointment is now set up. If sufficient Appointments have been added, you can move between the pages by clicking the < or > arrows at the bottom of the list. 

Use the breadcrumb links at the top of the page to navigate back to the Scheduling Menu.

Locations

Locations define whereabouts in the Region (Physical Location) an appointment will take place. 

1. In the right-hand orange menu, click on the Administration link.
2. In the Administration menu, click on the Scheduling Administration link
3. In the Scheduling Administration menu, click on the option Locations
4. Click the button Add New Location
5. Name: Enter the name of the location (e.g. Intake Office)
6. Details: Add a description of the purpose of the location 
7. Region: Select a Region (Physical Location) from the drop-down to link the location. This will be the only region that will be able to add appointments for this Location. 
8. Products / Services Department: This drop-down links to the options found in Products / Services that determine through which processes an item or service will be available from (e.g. Adoptions, surrender, Vet Treatment). Select the most appropriate option from the list (one only).
9. Allows overbooking?: If marked, this checkbox removes blocks that limit the location to only allow the number of booking spaces allocated to it. This means more appointments can be booked for it than it was set up to allow (overbooking).
10. Has full day events only?: If marked, this checkbox automatically sets the time for appointments to last a full day only. They cannot be booked in for times less than the entire day.
11. Is a Shelterbuddy Record Required?: This can be set depending on your preferences and what is appropriate to the appointment types that will be linked to the location:

• Not Required: an appointment can be created and finalised without a Shelter Buddy record being created/linked.
• Required on Arrival: the booking can be made without a Shelter Buddy record being created/linked, but the user will be prompted to create or link one before the appointment can be finalised.
• Required at Booking: The client must have a Shelter Buddy record before a booking can be made. 

Operating Hours: This defines the hours the Location is available to take appointments.

• Place a tick against each day of the week the Location is open for appointments. This will activate other items linked to that day.
• Start and End time fields will highlight as mandatory. These default to starting at 9:00 am and finishing at 5:00 pm. To amend the start/end times, either place your cursor in the highlighted field or click on the clock icon. 
• If you would like to split the times the location may take appointments (e.g. a block in the morning and a block in the afternoon) then set the initial end time for the time the first block would finish and click the Add Additional Block button. This will cause that day to copy beneath the original entry so you can add the start/end times for the second block. 
• Click the Delete button to remove additional blocks that are not required. This button will only activate against blocks that can be removed. 

Once all relevant days, times and blocks are entered, you will have three options to proceed:

• Save: this option saves your changes and returns you to the Locations Menu.
• Save and Add Another: this options saves your changes and presents you with a fresh entry page so you can add the next location without having to return to the menu.
• Cancel: this option will deploy a pop-up to confirm you intend to navigate away from the page without saving your changes. Click Confirm to return to the Locations Menu without saving your changes or Cancel to return to editing.

Once a Location has been entered, the details and linked regions will be displayed in a table. Click the Location's name to view more details.

• From the View Details page, click Edit to make changes or Delete to remove the region.
• Use the breadcrumb links at the top of the page to navigate back to the menu if required. 

If sufficient Locations have been added, you can move between the pages by clicking the < or > arrows at the bottom of the list. 

Reminder Scheduling

This feature allows you to automatically email clients to remind them of upcoming appointments at specified times. To set up templates, go into Administration > Scheduling Administration > Maintain Reminder Email Templates. The return email is the generic email used by the site. If this has not been set up, the email will not send and you'll see an error. To ensure this is set, contact support@shelterbuddy.com. 

1. In the right-hand orange menu, click on the Administration link.
2. In the Administration menu, click on the Scheduling Administration link
3. In the Scheduling Administration menu, click on the option Reminder Scheduling
4. Click Add New Reminder Schedule
5. Select the Templated Document from the drop-down as applicable.
6. Select an option from the Drop Down:

• Fixed Distance: this option allows you to set how many hours prior to the appointment the reminder will send. It will send at the same time the appointment has been set for. 
• Fixed Time: This option allows you to specify what time of day you would like the reminder sent as well as how many days prior to the appointment.
• Click Save to save your changes or Cancel to return to the menu screen. 

The Reminder Types will display as a list, with details on the left. Click the Reminder Type to edit. 

If sufficient Reminder Types have been set up, you can move between the pages by clicking the < or > arrows at the bottom of the list. 

  To Create a new Reminder Email Template:

1. In the right-hand orange menu, click on the Administration link.
2. In the Administration menu, click on the Scheduling Administration link OR the Templated Documents Administration link. 
   
   • If the Templated Documents Administration option was selected, click on the menu option Scheduling Reminder Emails, then click the button +Create found in the top right of the table. 
   • If the Scheduling Administration option was selected, click on the menu option Create a New Reminder Email Template
3. Select the region the template is for from the drop-down, and click the Default for region box if this is the primary template to be used. If it is not the default but must be selected, leave this box unmarked. 
4. Enter a Description into the text box. This should identify the purpose of the template to other users, so should include important key information such as which region it is relevant to and what appointment types.
5. Create your Subject line: Type directly into the text box if the subject is to be static for every reminder email sent OR create a personalised subject by selecting from the placeholder options in the drop-down above the text box. 
6. Create the Body of the email to be sent. Type directly into the box if the information is static for all OR select from the placeholder options to inject relevant information pertaining to that individual's appointment time, place and type. 
7. Click Save to finish, or Cancel to disregard your changes. 

 

To Edit a Reminder Email Template:

1. In the right-hand orange menu, click on the Administration link.
2. In the Administration menu, click on the Scheduling Administration link OR the Templated Documents Administration link. 
   
   • If the Templated Documents Administration option was selected, click on the menu option Scheduling Reminder Emails, then click the button +Edit against the item you wish to edit. 
   • If the Scheduling Administration option was selected, and then click the button +Edit against the item you wish to edit. 
3. Use the filters for Group and Physical Location to refine the template list you can see.
4. To remove a template that is no longer used, click Delete at the end of the row. 
5. Click on the Description of the email template you would like to edit 
6. The page will load the existing information for that template. Make any changes required and click Save to finish or Cancel to disregard your changes.
7. Once finished, click the Home breadcrumb to return to the Welcome/Search page.