Buffer Times and Booking Windows
Home-service businesses don't teleport between jobs. Your team needs travel time, prep time, and breathing room between appointments. And you probably don't want customers booking a visit for 20 minutes from now — or six months out. Buffer times and booking windows give you control over both.
Buffer times
What are buffer times?
A buffer time is a gap that Driive automatically inserts before or after each appointment. During this buffer, the team member is shown as unavailable, so no back-to-back bookings occur.
Why buffers matter for home-service businesses:
Travel time — Your crew needs to drive between job sites. A 15- or 30-minute buffer accounts for that.
Prep and cleanup — Loading equipment, setting up, or cleaning after a job takes time.
Flexibility — Jobs sometimes run over. A buffer prevents a delay on one job from cascading into the next.
Where to configure buffer times
Buffer times are set at the appointment type level, not globally. This lets you customize buffers per service — a quick inspection might need 15 minutes of travel time, while a full installation might need 45 minutes.
Go to Setup > Appointment Types.
Open the appointment type you want to configure.
Find the Buffer Time section.
Set the buffer duration (e.g., 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes).
How buffers affect the schedule
When Driive calculates available time slots, it adds the buffer around each existing appointment. For example:
A team member has an appointment from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM.
The appointment type has a 30-minute buffer.
The next available slot starts at 10:30 AM, not 10:00 AM.
This applies in both directions — if someone has a 2:00 PM appointment with a 30-minute buffer, the slot ending at 1:30 PM is the latest available before that job.
Buffer time tips
Start with 15-30 minutes for most home services. You can always adjust based on how tightly you want to pack the schedule.
Use longer buffers for jobs with unpredictable durations — like plumbing diagnostics or roofing estimates.
Use shorter buffers for clustered appointments — if your team works a tight geographic area and drive times are minimal.
Booking windows
What are booking windows?
Booking windows control the timeframe in which customers can schedule appointments. There are two settings:
Minimum advance time — How far in advance a customer must book. This prevents last-minute bookings that your team can't prepare for.
Maximum advance time — How far into the future customers can book. This prevents bookings so far out that your schedule is unpredictable.
Minimum advance time
This sets the earliest a customer can book relative to now.
Examples:
Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
2 hours | Customer must book at least 2 hours from now. If it's 10 AM, the earliest available slot is 12 PM today. |
24 hours | Customer must book at least 1 day in advance. No same-day bookings. |
48 hours | Customer must book at least 2 days in advance. |
1 week | Customer must book at least 7 days out. Useful for services that require planning or materials. |
When to use a longer minimum:
You need time to prepare materials or equipment for the job
You want to avoid same-day scrambles
Your team schedules jobs in batches (e.g., weekly route planning)
When to use a shorter minimum:
You offer emergency or same-day service
Your team has flexible schedules and can take walk-up bookings
You want to maximize booking volume
Maximum advance time
This sets the farthest out a customer can book.
Examples:
Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
30 days | Customers can book up to 1 month in advance. |
60 days | Customers can book up to 2 months out. |
90 days | Customers can book up to 3 months out. A common default. |
180 days | Customers can book up to 6 months out. |
When to use a shorter maximum:
Your schedule changes frequently and you don't want commitments too far out
Seasonal businesses where you can't predict availability months ahead
When to use a longer maximum:
Customers plan renovations or installations well in advance
You want to secure bookings early (e.g., spring rush for HVAC tune-ups)
Where to configure booking windows
Like buffer times, booking windows are set per appointment type:
Go to Setup > Appointment Types.
Open the appointment type.
Find the Booking Window section.
Set the minimum advance time and maximum advance time.
Click Save.
How buffers and windows work together
Here's a complete example:
Appointment type: AC Tune-Up (1 hour duration)
Buffer time: 30 minutes
Minimum advance: 24 hours
Maximum advance: 60 days
Business hours: Mon-Fri, 8 AM - 5 PM
A customer visiting your booking page on Monday at 10 AM would see:
No slots for Monday (24-hour minimum means Tuesday at the earliest)
Tuesday through 60 days from now — available slots during business hours
Each slot accounts for the 1-hour appointment plus 30-minute buffer — so Driive spaces appointments at least 1.5 hours apart
Next steps
Availability Overview — See how buffers and windows fit into the full availability system.
Setting Business Hours — Make sure your operating hours are configured correctly.
Appointment Types — Configure buffers and windows for each service you offer.