Find which rule controls the slot.
WooCommerce Bookings is an extension with its own availability settings. Its documentation distinguishes store-level rules, product availability and resources. Check the rule priorities and dates in the installed solution; a setting viewed in isolation can produce the wrong conclusion.
Start with the physical constraint. Is it a staff member, a room, a seat count or equipment? Two different products can depend on the same limited resource. Giving each product separate availability does not necessarily represent that shared limit.
One person, two services, one capacity.
In this fictional studio, Alex handles both a fitting and a personal-shopping appointment. Each appointment lasts one hour, and Alex can help one customer at a time. Model the shared person in the booking solution instead of assuming two service pages create two available people.
| Situation | Expected business outcome |
|---|---|
| Fitting booked for 10:00–11:00 | Alex is occupied for that period |
| Shopping appointment requested at 10:30 | Reject the overlap or offer another available resource |
| Next appointment at 11:00 | Accept only if the chosen buffer rules allow it |
| Alex unavailable on Tuesday | Both services respect the relevant block |
Test changes as well as new reservations.
Make a fictional booking, move it and cancel it. Check which slots reopen and whether an awaiting-payment or provisional booking temporarily holds capacity. The exact behaviour belongs to the configured solution, so inspect its settings and the resulting records.
Also test two requests near the same moment, using the supplier’s recommended environment and method. Confirm timezone and daylight-saving behaviour where your customers or team cross timezones. Do not assume a successful single reservation proves every overlap case.
Keep the reservation and the preparation connected.
Choose where staff check the authoritative time and availability. Then identify the information needed for the appointment: the customer, previous purchases, agreed preparation and any unanswered question. Those are related jobs but not identical records.
If data passes to another workspace, test an update and a cancellation as well as the initial transfer. Check who sees stale or missing information and how they open the booking source. One clear source for availability prevents different calendars from becoming competing promises.