Staff qualifications control which team members are eligible to perform each appointment type. They help reception, clinical leads, and practice managers keep bookings accurate, especially when different vets, nurses, or specialists cover different kinds of work.

💡 In short: Go to Settings → Calendar → Staff Qualifications, tick the appointment types each staff member can cover, then click Save. Lupa uses those selections when checking calendar availability and online booking options.

Before You Begin

📍 Permissions required: You need access to appointment settings to view and update Staff Qualifications.

Set up the surrounding records before you manage qualifications:

What you need	Where to manage it	Why it matters here
Staff profiles	Settings → Staff → Staff Profiles	The person must have a staff profile before they can appear as a column in the qualifications table.
Clinic assignment	Staff locations and assignments	Qualifications are managed for the current clinic's team. Add the staff member to the right clinic first.
Appointment types	Settings → Billing → Appointment Types	The table uses active appointment types as rows. Archived appointment types are not shown.
Access permissions	Roles and permissions	Permissions decide who can change settings. Qualifications decide who is suitable for appointment types.

⚠️ Qualifications are eligibility rules. Use this page to control appointment-type matching. Clinical registration numbers, staff contact details, avatars, and signatures can be found on the staff profile.

What Staff Qualifications Affect

Area	How qualifications are used
Calendar appointment creation	If you select a staff member for an appointment type they are not qualified for, Lupa shows an Employee Qualification Warning before you continue.
Appointment-type availability	When Lupa checks what can be booked for a staff member and time, qualifications narrow the appointment types to the ones that staff member can cover.
Online booking	Appointment types need qualified team members before clients can book them against available staff and rota capacity.
Rota checks	Qualifications work alongside rota rules. The rota controls when and where someone is available; qualifications control which appointment types they can cover.

💡 A warning does not automatically mean the appointment is impossible. It means Lupa has detected that the selected staff member is not marked as qualified for that appointment type, so check the booking before proceeding.

Manage Staff Qualifications

Open the Qualifications Table

Open Settings.
In the Calendar section, click Staff Qualifications.
Review the table of appointment types and staff members.
The table is a matrix:

Part of the table	What it means
Rows	Active appointment types, sorted by name.
Columns	Staff members assigned to the current clinic.
Cell checkbox	Ticked means that staff member can cover that appointment type.
Header checkbox	Ticks or unticks all active appointment types for that staff member.
Search	Find an appointment type quickly when the list is long.
Save	Applies all qualification changes. The button is only available after you make a change.

Update One Appointment Type

Find the appointment type row, such as Consultation, Nurse clinic, Vaccination, or Dental check.
Tick each staff member who can perform that appointment type.
Untick any staff member who should not be offered or selected for that appointment type.
Click Save.

✅ Use the row-by-row approach for specialist, controlled, or training-dependent appointment types where only some team members should be available.

Update One Staff Member in Bulk

Find the staff member's name at the top of the table.
Use the checkbox beside their name to select every active appointment type for that person.
Untick any exceptions that do not apply.
Click Save.
This is fastest when adding a new vet or nurse who can cover most routine appointment types but has a few exclusions.

How to Choose the Right Qualifications

Keep this page focused on real appointment capability, not job titles. A staff member's Role might say Veterinarian or Nurse, but qualifications should reflect what they can actually be booked for in this clinic.

Scenario	Recommended setup
Routine consultations	Tick the vets who should be bookable for standard consultation types.
Nurse clinics	Tick nurses and any vets who also cover the nurse appointment type.
Specialist appointments	Tick only the team members approved to provide that specialist service.
Training or supervision periods	Leave the appointment type unticked until the team member should appear for that work without extra manual checking.
Temporary cover	Tick the appointment types for the cover period, then review and remove them when cover ends.

✅ Best practice: Review Staff Qualifications whenever you add a new appointment type, add a new staff member, change online booking availability, or move someone into a different clinical responsibility.

How This Differs From Similar Settings

Setting	Use it for	Do not use it for
Staff Qualifications	Appointment-type eligibility and qualification matching across the team.	Changing someone's login, profile details, role label, clinic access, or permissions.
Staff Profiles	Names, email addresses, phone numbers, visible role labels, vet registration numbers, avatars, signatures, and quick one-person appointment-type edits.	Bulk qualification setup across many staff and appointment types.
Staff locations and assignments	Adding staff to clinics and controlling whether they appear in that clinic's calendar.	Deciding which appointment types they can perform.
Roles and permissions	Controlling what staff can view, create, update, approve, and administer in Lupa.	Clinical capability or appointment-type matching.
Appointment Types	Creating and configuring the appointment types themselves, including online booking setup.	Choosing which people can cover each appointment type.
Rota	Scheduling when staff and rooms are available.	Recording whether someone is clinically suitable for an appointment type.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to do
I cannot see Staff Qualifications	You may not have appointment settings access. Ask an administrator to update your permissions.
A staff member is missing from the table	Check that they have a staff profile and are assigned to the current clinic. Clinic assignment is managed separately from qualifications.
An appointment type is missing from the table	Check whether the appointment type is archived. Staff Qualifications only shows active appointment types.
The Save button is disabled	Make a qualification change first. The button becomes available once the table has unsaved changes.
Online booking is not showing an appointment type	Confirm the appointment type is set up for online booking, has at least one suitable qualified staff member, and has matching rota availability.
I see an Employee Qualification Warning when creating an appointment	The selected staff member is not ticked for that appointment type. Choose a qualified staff member, change the appointment type, or continue only if the booking is intentionally outside the saved qualification setup.
Changing a staff member's Role did not update qualifications	Role labels and qualification matching are separate. Update the Staff Qualifications table directly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the same as uploading certificates?

No. Staff Qualifications is a matching table for appointment types and staff members. It does not store certificate files, renewal dates, or evidence documents.

Does ticking a qualification give the staff member extra access?

No. Qualifications do not grant permissions. Manage access in Roles and permissions.

Does unticking a qualification delete past appointments?

No. It only changes future matching and warnings. Historical appointments remain unchanged.

Can I still book an appointment if Lupa warns that the staff member is not qualified?

Yes, Lupa can let you proceed after the warning. Treat the warning as a prompt to check that the booking is intentional.

Why can I update appointment types from a staff profile too?

The staff profile form is useful for a quick one-person edit. Use Staff Qualifications when you need to review or update the whole team's appointment-type coverage.

Should every staff member be ticked for every appointment type?

Usually no. Tick only the appointment types the person should realistically cover, so booking suggestions and warnings stay useful.

Qualifications and certifications