Booking windows
When customers can book
Three knobs control the timing of every booking on goldenhour: how far in advance customers can book, how close to NOW they can still book, and which days a specific service is available. Tune them right and you stop getting both “Tuesday at 9am tomorrow” and “next March 14th” bookings that wreck your calendar.
The three knobs
Booking horizon
How far in advance a customer can book. Defaults to 60 days. Too long = bookings you can’t honor when life shifts; too short = missed event-driven traffic.
Min lead time
How close to NOW a customer can still book. Defaults to 24h. Drives prep time + protects the artist from same-day surprises.
Available days
Per-service day-of-week restrictions. Lets you offer bridal only on Thu/Fri, color correction only on Wed-Fri, etc.
Recipes by service
Battle-tested defaults
Below are starting points for common service types. Goldenhour applies the most-restrictive of (account horizon, service horizon, service available-days), so a tight per-service setting always wins.
Spray tan (standard)
- Horizon
- 60 days
- Lead time
- 24 hours
- Days
- Tue-Sat (rest Mon)
Need 24h notice for prep + scheduling logistics. 60-day horizon catches event-driven bookings (vacation, wedding) without committing to slots you can't reliably staff.
Bridal solo + party
- Horizon
- 180 days
- Lead time
- 72 hours
- Days
- Thu + Fri only
Bridal-party logistics need the longer horizon and the longer lead time. Restrict to wedding-prep days so a maid of honor doesn't accidentally book a regular Tuesday slot.
Lash fill (regular client)
- Horizon
- 90 days
- Lead time
- 12 hours
- Days
- All open days
Repeat clients on a 2-3 week cadence; the 90-day horizon covers two full cycles. Shorter lead time fits the regular's last-minute scheduling.
Patch test (one-time)
- Horizon
- 30 days
- Lead time
- 2 hours
- Days
- All open days
Pre-service patch tests are quick + no-prep. Open the lead-time wide so a same-day walk-in can book.
Hair color correction (high-stakes)
- Horizon
- 120 days
- Lead time
- 7 days
- Days
- Wed-Fri only
Color correction needs consultation + ample prep. 7-day lead time forces the artist's pre-consult step. Limit days so the artist has buffer time around the appointment.
Common mistakes
- Min lead time at 0. Same-day bookings without buffer kill prep + drive-time reliability. Always set at least 12-24h.
- Horizon at 365. A year-out booking is almost always a fictional commitment from the customer. 60-180 days handles 95% of legitimate forward bookings.
- Same window for every service. Bridal needs 72h+ lead; a patch test needs 2h. Per- service settings unlock real calendar density.
- Forgetting available-days for niche services. A bridesmaid booking a Saturday bridal-party slot at 9am wrecks your weekend bridal-day-only structure.