Setting Availability by Location and Session Format
How to create availability that matches providers, locations, session formats, services, and scheduling audiences.
Availability calendars tell PracticeRunner when a provider is available for specific kinds of appointments. They can reflect the practical details that matter in a therapy practice, including office locations, telehealth, phone sessions, service length, and whether the time should be shown to new inquiries or existing clients.
What an availability block controls
Each availability block can include:
- provider
- location
- session format through the selected location, such as in person, video, or phone
- audience
- services
- start and end time
- repeat days or a specific date
- timezone
This lets a provider keep different schedules for different kinds of care. For example, a clinician might offer telehealth consultations on Tuesday afternoon, in-person sessions on Wednesday morning, and internal-only appointment times on Friday.
Locations and session formats
Locations are more than addresses. In PracticeRunner, the location includes the session format for how that session happens.
Common examples include:
- Office
- Telehealth
- Phone
When availability is tied to a location, scheduling can show times that match the requested location and session format. A client looking for telehealth should not need to see office-only times, and an in-person consultation should not need to use a phone-only block.
Services and appointment length
Availability can apply to any service or to selected services only.
Use service-specific availability when:
- consultations are shorter than therapy sessions
- assessments need a different block of time
- some services are only offered by certain providers
- a service should be offered at one location but not another
PracticeRunner uses service duration when building available time slots.
Audiences
Availability can be set for different audiences:
- New inquiries and clients: Use the block for both prospective clients and existing clients.
- New inquiries: Show the block for public inquiry scheduling.
- Existing clients: Use the block for client appointment-change workflows.
- Internal only: Keep the block available for staff scheduling without showing it to client-facing flows.
Use audiences to keep your online options clear. For example, you might offer short consultation blocks to new inquiries, while reserving longer recurring-session times for existing clients.
How to set availability
- Open the calendar or scheduling area where availability blocks are managed.
- Choose the provider.
- Choose the location with the right session format.
- Choose the audience.
- Select any service limits, or leave the block open to any service.
- Set the start and end time.
- Choose whether the block repeats weekly.
- Save the availability.
After saving, test the client-facing scheduling flow that should use the block.
Setup tips
- Create separate blocks for office, telehealth, and phone locations if they follow different schedules.
- Use service limits when consultation, assessment, and therapy times should not be interchangeable.
- Use New inquiries for times you are comfortable showing to prospective clients.
- Use Existing clients for appointment-change options that should not be offered to new inquiries.
- Use Internal only for times staff can schedule but clients should not request directly.