Availability Rules

Before you begin

Default: nothing is bookable until a Yes rule opens time.

Rules stack — last match wins (not “AND”). Lower priority number wins · staff beats product beats global · lower row in the list wins ties.

What you need: Appointable product · Site timezone

Mon–Fri 9–5 — read this first

Most setup mistakes happen here.

✅ Works — Mon–Fri 9–5, weekends closed

Option A — 2 rules

#	Range type	From	To	Appointable
1	Recurring time (all week)	09:00	17:00	Yes
2	Range of days	Saturday	Sunday	No

Rule 2 must sit below rule 1 in the list.

You get: ✅ Mon–Fri 9–5 · Sat–Sun closed

Option B — 5 rules

Add five separate rules — one per weekday:

#	Range type	From	To	Appointable
1	Monday	09:00	17:00	Yes
2	Tuesday	09:00	17:00	Yes
3	Wednesday	09:00	17:00	Yes
4	Thursday	09:00	17:00	Yes
5	Friday	09:00	17:00	Yes

Do not add Saturday or Sunday rules — weekends stay closed by default.

You get: ✅ Mon–Fri 9–5 · Sat–Sun closed

❌ Does not work — looks like 9–5, but isn’t

#	Range type	From	To	Appointable
1	Range of days	Monday	Friday	Yes
2	Recurring time (all week)	09:00	17:00	Yes

You get: ❌ Mon–Fri 24/7 · Sat–Sun 9–5 only

Why: Range of days → Yes opens the whole day (midnight–midnight), not office hours. The time rule does not trim weekdays — it only adds 9–5 on every day including weekends.

Remember

Range of days = full day on those weekdays. Time rules = hours only. For Mon–Fri 9–5, use Option A or B above — not range-of-days Yes on Mon–Fri.

How rules combine

When rules overlap	Winner
Different priority	Lower number
Same priority	Staff > product > global
Still tied	Rule lower in the list

One minute = one winner (last painted). Rules do not intersect like “AND.”

Where rules live

Scope	Where	Applies to
Global	WooCommerce → Settings → Appointments → Global Availability	All products
Product	Product → Availability tab	That product
Staff	Users → staff → Availability	That staff member

Rule fields

Field	Purpose
Range type	What gets opened or blocked — types below
From / To	Start and end
Appointable	Yes = open · No = block
Priority	Lower number wins (manual 10, Google sync 5)
Qty	Optional seat limit for matching slots
Title	Admin label

Range types — what each rule paints

Type	Paints
Range of days	Full day on the weekdays you pick (not “hours only”)
Date range	Full day on those dates
Recurring time (all week)	Same hours every day
Monday … Sunday	Hours on that weekday only
Recurring time (date range)	Hours on each day in a date span

More examples

Lunch break (12–1) — add to Option A

#	Range type	From	To	Appointable	Priority
3	Recurring time (all week)	12:00	13:00	No	9

Priority 9 beats the open rules (10) for that hour.

Christmas closed

#	Range type	From	To	Appointable	Priority
1	Date range	2026-12-25	2026-12-25	No	1

Staff leaves at 1 PM

Product uses Option A above. On the staff profile, add:

#	Range type	From	To	Appointable	Priority
1	Recurring time (all week)	13:00	17:00	No	9

✅ Works: a No rule closes their afternoon when that staff member is selected.

❌ Does not work: staff Yes 09:00–13:00 alone — that does not remove product hours after 1 PM. Use a No rule to block unwanted hours.

Staff vs auto-assign

Booking mode	Staff rules
Customer picks a staff member	Can open or close times on top of product rules
Auto-assign (no pick)	Staff Yes can add time · staff No cannot remove product Yes

Google synced rules

Global Availability → Synced rules tab · read-only from Google (two-way sync). Edit in Google Calendar, then re-sync.

Blocks slots	Busy events only — Free events are ignored
Default priority	5 (manual rules 10)

Google Calendar sync · Backup before re-sync

Checklist before you go live

1. At least one Yes rule exists
2. Mon–Fri hours use time rules (Option A or B) — not range of days Yes on Mon–Fri alone
3. Test on the storefront — Customer booking

Related

• Appointable product
• Google Calendar sync
• Indexing — if slots are slow after rules are correct