The minimum booking lead time is the gap between now and the earliest slot a customer can book on your public page. Set it to 0 and a customer can grab the next slot the diary offers. Set it to 24 and they can only book 24+ hours ahead. Set it to 168 and they have to give you a week's notice.
It's a single number, measured in hours. This guide covers what it does, how to choose a value, and what changes when you save.
1. Where to set it
Settings → Booking rules → Minimum booking lead time (hours).
The same page also holds your cancellation window and cancellation policy text — they all save together with one Save booking rules button.
2. What the number actually does
The booking page filters out any slot whose start time is sooner than now + lead_time_hours. The customer never sees those slots — there's no "sorry, too soon" error; the slot just isn't offered.
Worked examples (assume "now" is Monday 10:00):
| Lead time | What the customer sees as the earliest slot |
|---|---|
| 0 | The next free slot — could be 10:15 today |
| 2 | Anything from 12:00 today onwards |
| 24 | Tuesday 10:00 onwards |
| 48 | Wednesday 10:00 onwards |
| 168 (7 days) | Next Monday 10:00 onwards |
| 336 (14 days) | The Monday after next, 10:00 onwards |
The lead time applies to new bookings on the public page. A studio member adding a booking from the dashboard can still book any time inside it — useful for taking a walk-in over the phone.
3. Choosing a value
A few patterns work well for different studio shapes.
0 — no minimum (default)
Customers can grab anything that's currently free, including a slot starting in the next 15 minutes. Good for studios that already have everything they need on hand and would rather take the work than leave a gap empty.
2 to 4 — short notice
Two to four hours feels natural for a salon or beauty room where the studio needs a little while to make sure the right tools are out, the right tech is on shift, or the room is turned around. Anyone hoping to book "in the next half hour" can still call.
24 — day before only
The customer has to give at least 24 hours' notice. Good for studios that want to plan the day in advance, organise materials, or avoid last-minute mental load. Most bridal alterations studios sit here or longer.
48 to 72 — two or three days
You're using StudioOps as a booking diary, not a same-week tool. Good if your week is usually pencilled in by Friday and you don't want surprises slotting into Monday morning.
168 (7 days) and up
Effectively "appointment only, plan ahead". Common for bespoke work where you need a week to source fabrics, take measurements remotely, or block out the time properly. Set this with a clear note on your booking page so the customer knows what to expect.
336 (14 days)
The maximum StudioOps allows. Beyond this most customers will assume you're closed.
4. What if I want hours and minutes (e.g. 90 minutes)?
You can't — the field is whole hours only. Round up. If your real-world cut-off is "90 minutes' notice", set the field to 2 hours. Lead time is a customer-friendly promise, not a precise SLA; rounding up errs on the side of giving you breathing room.
If you have a sub-hour value carried over from before the field switched to hours, StudioOps rounds it up to the next whole hour when you next open the page — never down. Your effective lead time only ever goes up when StudioOps tidies the field; it never accidentally shortens.
5. Interplay with deposits and the cancellation window
The lead time is the front gate — what the customer needs to clear to be allowed in. Two other rules apply once they're booking:
- Deposit required (set per service). A booking on a service that asks for a deposit isn't confirmed until the deposit is paid. The slot is held for 15 minutes while the customer pays; if they walk away, the slot reopens.
- Cancellation window (set on the same Booking rules page). Sets how late a customer can cancel or reschedule online. Once they're past the window, they see your policy text instead of the cancel button.
A common shape is: 24-hour lead time + 24-hour cancellation window + a friendly policy line about anything inside the window needing a phone call.
6. When you save
The change applies to future bookings only. Anything already on your diary keeps its existing details. The public booking page picks up the new filter on the next page load — no further action needed from you.
If you tighten the lead time (e.g. 0 → 24), customers who tried to book in the next 24 hours immediately stop seeing those slots. If you loosen it (e.g. 24 → 0), the closer slots reappear straight away. Either way, the slot calculator is the source of truth.
See also
- Setting up your services catalogue — payment-at-booking rules sit alongside lead time
- Setting up the people customers can book with — per-person hours, skill matrix
- Booking rules and your cancellation policy — the other two knobs on the same page
- Frequently asked questions — common questions about StudioOps
If you get stuck, the StudioOps help centre at studioops.uk/help has search and a ticket form. For anything urgent, email help@studioops.uk.