Use appointments to schedule clinical work, reserve the right team member or room, and create the linked invoice the team will use during checkout. This article covers staff-created appointments in the work app, including editing, warnings and what happens after you save.

💡 In short: From Calendar, click an empty time slot or Create, choose the pet, appointment type, employee, room if needed and time, then review the confirmation step and save.

Before You Begin

📍 Permissions: Most team members can create appointments. Changing the end time or resizing an appointment needs the Change Appointment Duration permission. Mandatory room booking depends on your practice settings.

You need:

A client and pet record, or enough details to create a new pet from the booking form.
At least one appointment type configured.
A team member who can be assigned to the appointment.
A room if your practice requires room bookings. If your practice has no rooms set up, the Room field does not appear in the booking form.

Ways to Start an Appointment

Starting point	How to use it	Best for
Empty calendar slot	Click or drag on an empty time in the Calendar tab.	Fast booking when you already know the time.
Create	Click Create in the Calendar toolbar.	Booking from scratch when you want to choose the time inside the form.
Client or pet page	Use the appointment action from the record.	Follow-ups while you are already reviewing the client or patient.
Keyboard shortcut	Press Ctrl+A (or Cmd+A on Mac) from anywhere in the app. If you are on a client or pet page, Lupa pre-fills that client or pet into the form automatically.	Quick booking without navigating to the calendar first, especially useful when you are already on a patient's record.

When you start from the calendar grid, Lupa pre-fills the selected time. In Individual mode, it also pre-fills the employee or room column you clicked.

On the calendar, each appointment block shows the pet and client name in bold on the first line, with the appointment title on the line below. When you hover over an appointment, Lupa shows a card with the pet's name, species, age and weight, the client's name and phone number, the assigned clinician, and the appointment status. If the appointment has Booking Notes, they appear in the card too — collapsed to a few lines by default, with a Show more link if there is more to read.

Create an Appointment Step by Step

Step 1: Open the Form

Open Calendar, choose the right date, then click the time slot you want or click Create. The form opens full screen. The left side contains the appointment fields. The right side shows a compact calendar while you are entering details.

Step 2: Choose the Pet or Create a New One

Use Pet or Client to search existing records. Select the right pet result and Lupa fills the linked client. For a walk-in or new client, click Create Pet and enter the pet and client details without leaving the appointment form. If the selected pet has useful previous booking history, click the Auto Fill icon. Lupa copies the most recent appointment type, title, employee, duration and invoice discount details where available.

Step 3: Choose the Appointment Type

Select Appointment Type. The appointment type sets the default title, category, duration, notes template and reminder behaviour. If the title field is still empty or still shows the previous appointment type's name, Lupa updates it automatically when you pick a new type. If you have already typed a custom title, Lupa leaves it as you wrote it. If the list looks shorter than expected, it may be filtered by the selected employee, room, pet species or rota availability.

Step 4: Assign the Employee and Room

Choose the Employee responsible for the appointment. If your practice has rooms set up, a Room field appears — choose a room before continuing if your practice requires it. If no rooms are configured, the Room field is not shown. Lupa checks rota availability, employee qualifications, room availability and store hours. If it finds a conflict, it shows a warning and asks you to confirm before moving on.

Step 5: Confirm the Time and Title

Review Title, Start Time and End Time. The end time is usually calculated from the appointment type duration.

🔒 If End Time is disabled, your role does not have permission to change appointment duration. Ask an administrator to update your role if this is part of your job.

Step 6: Review Invoice and Notifications

Click Next. The second step lets you review invoice-related items, discounts and client notification settings before saving.

Step 7: Save the Appointment

Click Save. Lupa creates the appointment, adds it to the calendar, and creates the linked invoice. If notifications are enabled and the selected appointment type sends reminders, the client can receive the relevant booking communication.

⚠️ Do not create a separate invoice for the same visit. Staff-created appointments already have a linked invoice. Add appointment items to that invoice instead of creating a duplicate standalone invoice.

Managing an Existing Appointment

Open the Appointment Summary

Click an appointment block on the calendar. The summary shows the client, pet, any active health-plan or insurance badges, appointment context, linked invoice, booking notes, client notes, questionnaire responses and quick actions. The header also shows the Supervisor (the main clinician assigned to the appointment) and any Responsible clinicians derived from the linked invoice's line items.

If the appointment belongs to a recurring series, its calendar card shows a small badge — for example 3/12 — indicating its position in the series.

Edit Appointment Details

Use the edit action from the appointment summary to reopen the appointment form. You can update appointment type, employee, room, time, title, location where enabled and notification settings.

If the appointment is part of a recurring series, Lupa asks Apply changes to before saving. Choose This appointment only to update just that date, or This and all future appointments to apply the change to every upcoming appointment in the series from that point forward. Completed appointments in the series are always skipped.

Move an Appointment on the Calendar

Drag the appointment to a new time or resource. Lupa opens a confirmation dialog before saving the move. If you cancel, the appointment returns to its original position.

If the appointment is part of a recurring series and you drag it to a different employee or room, Lupa also asks Apply changes to after you confirm. Choose This appointment only to reassign just that occurrence, or This and all future appointments to reassign every upcoming appointment in the series from that point forward. Completed appointments are always skipped. Dragging a recurring appointment to a different time or day does not trigger this extra step — the time change applies to that occurrence only.

Resize the Appointment

Drag the bottom edge of an appointment block to change its end time, or drag the top edge to change its start time. Both are only available to roles with the Change Appointment Duration permission.

While you drag, a small tooltip appears next to the appointment block showing the new duration (for example 1h 30m) and the updated start and end times. The tooltip disappears as soon as you release the edge.

Update the Status

Use the status controls in the appointment summary or move the card in Flow Chart. Some status changes may ask for extra confirmation or notification details. When you click Start on a checked-in appointment from the summary pop-up, Lupa updates the status and opens the appointment page straight away.

If you cancel an appointment that is part of a recurring series, Lupa asks which appointments to cancel — This appointment only or This and all future appointments. Completed appointments in the series are skipped automatically.

Validation Warnings

Lupa warns before you continue when the appointment may not fit the diary.

Warning	What it means	What to do
Employee unavailable	The appointment is outside that employee's rota availability.	Choose another time or employee, or proceed if the booking is intentional.
Employee not qualified	The appointment type is not assigned to that employee.	Choose a qualified employee or update team qualifications.
Room not available	The room is not available for the selected time.	Choose another room or time.
Outside store hours	The appointment sits outside the practice opening hours.	Check the date and time before proceeding.
Missing required field	A required field is empty.	Fill the highlighted field before clicking Next.

Tips

✅

Click a calendar slot instead of Create when booking a call-in appointment for a specific time.
Use appointment types with accurate durations so the diary reflects real capacity.
Use Auto Fill for repeat patients, boosters and follow-ups.
Keep titles useful for the clinical team, such as "Lameness review" or "Annual booster".
Add expected invoice items during booking for predictable visits, then adjust them during the consultation if needed.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
You cannot find the pet	Search by client or pet name. If the pet is new, use Create Pet.
The appointment type is missing	Check whether the type is archived, not available for the pet species, or restricted by employee or room availability.
Next is disabled	Check required fields: pet, appointment type, employee, title, start time, and end time. If your practice requires room selection and your practice has rooms set up, a room must also be chosen.
The employee list is restricted	The selected appointment type, room or rota may be filtering available employees.
The client did not receive a notification	Check the notification setting on the appointment and whether the appointment type is configured to send reminders.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't I see a Room field on the booking form?

The Room field only appears when your practice has at least one active room set up. If no rooms have been added yet, the field is hidden. Ask your practice manager to add a room in Settings if you need to assign rooms to appointments.

Can I book more than one pet into the same appointment?

No. Create one appointment per pet so each patient has its own record, invoice context and clinical workflow.

Does saving an appointment always create an invoice?

Yes, staff-created appointments create a linked invoice. It may start empty if you do not add items during booking.

Can I book outside the rota?

Lupa can warn you about rota conflicts. Review the warning carefully and only proceed when the booking is intentional.

Why didn't the title update when I changed the appointment type?

Lupa only fills the title automatically when it is empty or still matches the previous appointment type's name. If you have already typed your own title, Lupa keeps it so your wording is not lost.

Why did the appointment duration change after choosing a type?

Appointment types carry a default duration. Selecting a type updates the end time to match that duration unless you manually change it with the right permission.

What happens when I edit or cancel one appointment in a recurring series?

Lupa asks whether to apply the change to This appointment only or This and all future appointments. Choosing This appointment only leaves the rest of the series unchanged. Choosing This and all future appointments updates or cancels every upcoming appointment in the series from that point forward. Completed appointments are always skipped.

This also applies when you drag a recurring appointment to a different employee or room on the calendar — Lupa shows the same scope question after you confirm the move. Dragging a recurring appointment to a different time or day does not trigger the scope question; that time change applies to that occurrence only.

Creating and managing appointments