Appointment types define the services your practice can book, such as consultations, vaccinations, nurse clinics, surgeries and grooming. Each type controls the default duration, category, price visibility, reminder behaviour, species targeting and whether clients can choose it online.

💡 In short: Go to Settings -> Appointment Types to create and maintain the services staff can book, then use Settings -> Online Booking and Team Qualifications to control how those services appear to clients and which staff can perform them.

Before You Begin

📍 Permissions required: You need View Appointment Types to view this settings page. Creating or editing appointment types requires appointment settings access.

Plan the appointment type before creating it:

The name staff and clients should recognise.
The usual appointment duration.
The appointment category for calendar colour-coding and reporting.
Whether clients should be able to book it online.
Whether reminders and booking confirmations should be sent.
Which species and staff members it should apply to.

Open Appointment Types

Open Settings.
In the Billing section, choose Appointment Types.
Review the table of existing types. The table shows the name, description, category, price, duration and a Status badge — either Public or Hidden.

Create or Edit an Appointment Type

Create a New Type

Click Add.
Fill in the Appointment details tab — name, duration, category, reminders, visibility and species.
Switch to the Estimate & billing tab to set pricing, bundle items and the online booking payment rule.
Click Create.

Edit an Existing Type

Find the type in the table.
Click the type name or edit icon.
Update fields across the Appointment details and Estimate & billing tabs as needed.
Click Update.

💡 Inherited appointment types are managed centrally. If an edit action is disabled, ask the organisation administrator to update the reference type or create a store-level type where appropriate.

Settings Reference

Fields are organised across two tabs when creating or editing an appointment type.

Appointment details tab

Setting	What it controls	Notes
Title	The appointment type name shown to staff and, if public, clients.	Use clear names such as General Consultation or Annual Vaccination.
Colour	The colour used to display this appointment type's events on the calendar when the calendar is set to colour by Type.	Pick from the available swatches. If no colour is set, the calendar falls back to the category colour.
Duration (mins)	The default appointment length.	This sets the end time when the type is selected.
Category	The reporting and colour-coding category.	Available categories depend on the store category, such as vet or petcare.
Should send reminders?	Whether appointment communications should be sent for this type.	If off, the Send Email / Mobile notification to client? toggle defaults to off both when booking and when editing appointments of this type. Rescheduling or changing the status will not switch it back on automatically. Staff can still turn the toggle on by hand.
Is Public?	Whether this type can appear in online booking.	Keep internal-only work private.
Show price in online booking	Whether clients see the price before confirming.	The type can be public without showing the price.
Minimum booking window for online booking	How much notice clients must give before booking this type online. Set to 0 to allow immediate booking, or choose a number of hours or days your practice needs to prepare.	This field is always required. If you're not sure, 0 lets clients book right up to the start time.
Targeted Species	Which pet species can use this appointment type.	Leave broad types available to all species, and restrict species-specific services.
Description	Supporting description for the appointment type.	Useful for online booking cards and staff context.
Booking notes template	Default notes added when this appointment type is used.	Use for routine consult checklists and standard workflows.

Estimate & billing tab

Setting	What it controls	Notes
Online booking payment rule	Overrides the store-level online payment setting for this appointment type specifically.	Leave unset to follow your store's default online payment rule. Set an override here only when this appointment type needs different payment behaviour.

Online Booking Visibility

For a client to book a type online, the appointment type needs to be public and the online booking setup must support it.

In Settings -> Appointment Types, turn on Is Public? for the type.
Choose whether to show the price with Show price in online booking.
Set the Minimum booking window for online booking. Enter 0 if clients can book right up to the start time, or enter the number of hours or days' notice your practice needs.
Open Settings -> Online Booking -> Appointment Types.
Drag public appointment types into the order clients should see them. Only public, active appointment types are included in the online booking order list.

Species Targeting

Use Targeted Species when a service only applies to certain patients. For example, a canine vaccination type can be restricted to dogs, while general consultations can remain available to all species. When clients book online, Lupa filters appointment types against the selected pet's species. In the work app, species targeting also helps staff choose the right service faster.

Staff Qualifications and Diary Availability

Appointment types also affect availability. Staff and rooms can be restricted by rota rules and team qualifications, so the booking form may only show matching employees, rooms and appointment types. To control staff eligibility, open Settings -> Team Qualifications and choose which team members can perform each appointment type. Online booking uses these assignments when showing available times.

⚠️ Appointment type setup and rota setup work together. A public appointment type still needs matching staff availability before clients can book a slot online.

Tips

✅

Keep type names short and recognisable for reception teams.
Set realistic durations based on how long the work actually takes.
Use private types for internal-only work that clients should not book online.
Review public types before launching online booking.
Restrict species-specific services to reduce booking errors.
Use templates for repeatable clinical notes, not long instructions that belong in training material.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to check
A type is not visible in online booking	Check that the type's Status badge shows Public, and review archive status, online booking settings, staff qualifications and rota availability.
Species targeting is not working — pets of the wrong species can book a restricted type	A recent fix corrected an issue where Targeted Species selections were not being saved. Open each affected appointment type, set the Targeted Species again, and click Update to save the correct restriction.
The price is hidden online	Turn on Show price in online booking for that type.
Only some staff appear for a type	Check Team Qualifications and rota availability for the selected date and time.
The duration is wrong when booking	Edit the appointment type duration. Existing appointments keep their saved times unless edited separately.
You cannot edit a type	It may be inherited from a company reference list or your role may not have appointment settings access.
The notification toggle is off when editing a deceased pet's appointment	This is expected. When a pet is marked as deceased, the Send Email / Mobile notification to client? toggle defaults to off to avoid sending automated messages to a bereaved owner. You can still turn it on manually if needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I delete old appointment types?

Avoid deleting types that have been used historically. Archive or make them private where possible so old records remain understandable.

Can a type be bookable online without showing a price?

Yes. Is Public? controls whether clients can choose the type. Show price in online booking controls whether the price is displayed.

Does changing a duration update existing appointments?

No. The new duration applies when the type is selected for future bookings. Existing appointments keep their saved start and end times unless edited.

Appointment Types