> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ontimebookings.com.au/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Block out time

> Mark a provider unavailable so nothing can be booked over it — a morning off, a holiday, or a standing commitment.

Blocked-out time sits on the calendar like a booking and does the same job: it holds a provider's time so nothing else can land there.

Use it for anything that isn't a customer booking — a dentist appointment, annual leave, a standing commitment on Thursday mornings.

## Block out some time

<Steps>
  <Step title="Switch to unavailability mode">
    Use the mode switch at the top of the calendar. The whole calendar changes tint so you can see which mode you're in.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Drag out the time">
    On the right provider's column, drag the hours you want to block. The form opens.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill in the details">
    Reason is the only thing you must choose. Everything else is optional.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    The block appears on the calendar and that time can no longer be booked.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  Switch back to **booking mode** as soon as you're done. Blocking out an afternoon you meant to book is the most common mix-up on this screen.
</Tip>

You can also use the **Add unavailability** button, which opens the same form without dragging.

## The details

### Reason

The only required field. Choose from:

| Reason                  | Use it for                                                 |
| ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Personal Commitment** | Appointments, school pickup, anything personal             |
| **Another Booking**     | Work booked outside the platform                           |
| **On Vacation**         | Annual leave                                               |
| **Online Unavailable**  | Available, but not for bookings taken through your website |
| **Other**               | Anything else                                              |

Choosing an honest reason is worth the two seconds. When you're looking at a half-empty week and working out why, "On Vacation" tells you something and "Other" doesn't.

### Title

Optional. Left empty, the reason is used as the title.

Fill it in when the reason alone won't be enough later — "Dentist", "Sam's graduation", "Fleet servicing".

### All day

Turn this on for full days. The block then takes a start date and an end date rather than times, so a week off is one entry.

### Location

Two choices:

* **This location only** — the provider is still available at your other branches.
* **All locations** — they're unavailable everywhere.

For leave, use all locations. For something tied to one site, use that site.

<Note>
  The location choice only appears if you have more than one branch.
</Note>

### Customer message and internal note

* **Customer message** — travels with the block where a customer would see it.
* **Internal note** — for your team only.

## Moving and changing a block

**Click a block** to open and edit it. Change the reason, times, dates, or messages, then save.

**Drag a block** to move it, with limits:

* Timed blocks only. All-day blocks can't be dragged — open them and change the dates instead.
* **Same provider only.** You can't drag a block into someone else's column. To move it to another person, delete it and create a new one.
* The length stays the same.

Moving a block asks you to confirm before it commits.

**Delete a block** from inside the form, using the delete option.

<Warning>
  Unlike bookings, blocked-out time **can't overlap anything**. If a booking is already in that slot, saving fails with a message telling you so.

  Move or cancel the booking first, then block the time.
</Warning>

## Google and Outlook appointments

If a provider has connected their own calendar, their personal appointments appear here in grey.

They're **read-only** — you can open one to see what it is, but you can't change it, move it, or delete it. They come from the provider's own calendar and are managed there.

They still protect the time. Nothing can be booked over them, which is the point of connecting a calendar in the first place.

## Blocking time or changing a schedule?

Both stop bookings, but they're for different things.

|          | **Block out time**                   | **[Working schedule](/manage-schedule/overview)** |
| -------- | ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------- |
| For      | One-offs and exceptions              | The normal pattern                                |
| Examples | A dentist appointment, two weeks off | Sam works Tuesday to Saturday, 9 to 5             |
| Where    | The calendar                         | The provider's profile                            |
| Repeats  | No — one block, one period           | Yes — every week                                  |

The test: if it happens once, block it out. If it happens every week from now on, change the schedule.

<Tip>
  A provider dropping Fridays permanently should have their schedule changed, not fifty-two blocks created. Blocking out a recurring commitment week by week is a sign the schedule needs updating instead.
</Tip>