Service Duration & Booking Times

How Service Duration Affects Available Booking Times in the PhotoBiz Scheduler

Overview

The Service Duration setting in the PhotoBiz Scheduler controls how long an appointment reserves on your calendar and how frequently available start times appear to clients. For example, a 60-minute service creates available booking times in 60-minute intervals rather than every 15 or 30 minutes.

This guide explains how Service Duration affects your Scheduler availability, how to update the duration of a service, and why certain appointment times may not appear. You will also learn how Service Duration works with your Hours of Operation, Time Off, and existing appointments.

What Service Duration Controls

Service Duration is the amount of time the Scheduler reserves for each appointment.

For example:

A 15-minute service reserves 15 minutes.
A 30-minute service reserves 30 minutes.
A 60-minute service reserves 1 hour.
A 180-minute service reserves 3 hours.

The Service Duration also determines the interval between available appointment start times.

For example:

Service Duration	Available Booking Times
15 minutes	9:00, 9:15, 9:30, 9:45, etc.
30 minutes	9:00, 9:30, 10:00, 10:30, etc.
60 minutes	9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, etc.
180 minutes	9:00, 12:00, 3:00, etc.

If your service has a 60-minute duration, clients will see available start times in 60-minute intervals. They will not see additional start times every 15 or 30 minutes within those appointment windows.

STEP ONE

Log in to your PhotoBiz account and click SCHEDULER in the left-side menu. This opens the Scheduler, where you can manage your services, appointments, availability, and other booking settings.

STEP TWO

Click on SERVICES at the top of the Scheduler dashboard.

STEP THREE

Open the Scheduler service you want to update. Locate the Service Duration setting for that service.

The duration should match the amount of time you need the Scheduler to reserve when a client books that service.

STEP FOUR

Select the appropriate Service Duration for the appointment.

For example, if a portrait session requires one hour, set the Service Duration to 60 minutes. The Scheduler will reserve that full hour and calculate available booking times using 60-minute intervals.

FINAL STEP

Save your changes to the service.

Your clients will now see available booking times based on the Service Duration along with your other Scheduler availability settings. Review the client-facing Scheduler to confirm the available times match the booking experience you want to offer.

Can I Offer Start Times More Frequently Than the Service Duration?

No. The PhotoBiz Scheduler does not use separate settings for appointment length and start-time intervals.

For example, you cannot create a 60-minute service while also offering new start times every 15 minutes. A 60-minute Service Duration creates 60-minute booking intervals.

The Scheduler does not offer overlapping or staggered appointments within a Service Duration window.

If you offer sessions with genuinely different appointment lengths, you can create separate Scheduler services for each duration. For example, you might offer a 30-minute Mini Portrait Session and a 60-minute Full Portrait Session as separate services.

How Service Duration Works With Your Availability

Service Duration is only one part of determining which appointment times your clients can book. The full appointment must fit within your available Scheduler hours.

For example, if your Hours of Operation end at 5:00 PM and your service lasts 60 minutes, a client cannot begin that service at 4:30 PM because the appointment would continue past your available hours.

Available times can also be affected by:

Your Hours of Operation
Existing Scheduler appointments
Time Off
Service-specific availability
Mini Sessions
Limited recurring services

If you need to adjust your regular availability, see How to Set Up Your Hours of Operation in the PhotoBiz Scheduler.

If you need to temporarily block a date or time, see How to Set Time Off in the Scheduler.

Mini Sessions and Limited Schedules

Some Scheduler services can use availability that differs from your normal Hours of Operation.

Mini Sessions can override your regular Hours of Operation for specific booking dates and times. See How to Set Up Mini Sessions on Scheduler.

You can also create a limited recurring Scheduler service with availability that overrides your normal Hours of Operation. See How to Create a Limited Schedule.

Service Duration still controls how much time each appointment reserves within the availability you configure.

Troubleshooting Available Booking Times

Why don't I see the start time I expected?

The full Service Duration must fit within your available schedule. Existing appointments, Hours of Operation, Time Off, and service-specific availability can also prevent a time from appearing.

Can I make a 60-minute service available every 15 minutes?

No. A 60-minute Service Duration creates 60-minute booking intervals. The appointment length and start-time interval cannot be configured separately.

Why does changing Service Duration change the available start times?

Service Duration controls both how long the appointment reserves on your calendar and the spacing between available appointment times.

Can different Scheduler services have different durations?

Yes. You can configure each service based on the amount of time that particular appointment requires.

Should I shorten my Service Duration just to show more booking times?

Only if the appointment itself should actually be shorter. Your Service Duration should reflect the amount of time you need to reserve for the appointment. Setting a shorter duration only to create more start times could allow bookings closer together than your workflow can accommodate.

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