Overview
Services are the top level element that controls scheduling, pricing, and invoicing. To find these settings you can go to Control Panel > Services > Edit the service. Or you can Add a new service.
Scheduling Mode
Located in the Scheduling section of a service, the Scheduling Mode controls whether the service is scheduled based on the contact's location (Normal), or uses Subscription or Recurring settings. If set to Fixed Location, the appointment assumes the location is the organization Warehouse address.
These settings will affect scheduling on your calendar. There are 5 distinct scheduling modes available. These are set PER SERVICE and the default mode is called Normal.
Normal also appears on the scheduling screen, under Options, when an appointment is being scheduled, along with Ad Hoc and Queued. The other modes support queue-driven workflows, subscription type services or fixed-location services (where the customer comes to a fixed location, i.e. your storefront/showroom).
Learn more about Ad Hoc and Queued options for your appointments on the About Scheduling help page.
1) Normal
When a service is set to Normal scheduling mode, available slots are presented with set times and service agents. They are sorted by date and drive time so available slots which are closer to existing appointments are shown first. This is the best mode to use when your normal way of scheduling is to hand out set dates and times to clients when they call in.
For a service agent to appear on the list, they must be available for that role/skills and have schedule availability.
2) Fixed Location
The Fixed Location mode is essentially the same as Normal with the exception that drive time is eliminated. This mode is handy for cases where the customer is coming to your retail location. The slots presented can be adjacent to other appointments with no drive gap between since the service agent performing the work doesn't have to go anywhere.
3) Subscription
The Subscription mode is for scheduling services that run on a cycle, such as every week or every two weeks, etc. Subscription services are tied to Route Schedules. A route schedule along with the client's GeoZones are used to determine what days are available for the service.
A Route Schedule can support multiple services with different cycles. The available dates presented are determined by the service's subscription settings which can include things like the number of visits or a season start/end date (or any combination). The appointments generated with this mode will all be queued so you will need to either route them manually or use serviceminder Routing feature to schedule the appointments.
4) Route Schedule
The Route Schedule mode works similarly to the Subscription mode with the exception of being used to only schedule a single appointment (or a recurring appointment). A single date will be presented based on the available Route Schedules for the service and the intersection of the client's and Route Schedule's GeoZones. The appointment will get queued on that date.
5) Recurring
The Recurring service schedule mode should be selected for a service that recurs on a regular basis, whether it's weekly, quarterly, or annually. When you have designated a service as recurring, you can check out this Help section to learn more about creating Recurring Appointments.
For more information about schedule settings as they connect to Services, please visit Service Level Scheduling Options.
