Business Hours

Configure your business operating hours for each day of the week. This determines when customers can make bookings through your booking widget. Set different hours for each day, or mark days as closed.

Accessing Business Hours

1. Log in to your BeSeat account
2. Navigate to Settings → Business Hours
3. Set your opening and closing times for each day
4. Click Save Changes to save your settings

Note: Only account owners and administrators can access business hours settings. Staff members do not have permission to view or modify these settings.

Understanding Business Hours

Your business hours control when customers can make bookings:

• Open Days: Days when you’re open for business - customers can book during your specified hours
• Closed Days: Days when you’re closed - no bookings are available on these days
• Time Format: Use 24-hour format (e.g., 08:00 for 8 AM, 20:00 for 8 PM, 14:30 for 2:30 PM)

Setting Business Hours

For Each Day of the Week

For each day (Monday through Sunday), you can:

1. Choose Open or Closed: Use the toggle to mark the day as “Open” or “Closed”
2. Set Opening Time: If open, set the time you start accepting bookings (e.g., 09:00)
3. Set Closing Time: If open, set the time you stop accepting bookings (e.g., 17:00)

Example Configurations

Restaurant Example:

• Monday - Friday: Open 11:00 - 22:00
• Saturday: Open 10:00 - 23:00
• Sunday: Closed

Salon Example:

• Monday - Saturday: Open 09:00 - 18:00
• Sunday: Closed

Clinic Example:

• Monday - Friday: Open 08:00 - 17:00
• Saturday: Open 09:00 - 13:00
• Sunday: Closed

Closed Days Feature

The ability to mark days as closed depends on your subscription plan:

• Free Plan: Closed days feature is not available
• Pro Plan: You can mark days as closed
• Premium Plan: You can mark days as closed

If you’re on the Free plan and want to use closed days, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan.

Tip: Even if you can’t mark days as closed, you can set very early or very late hours (e.g., 00:00 - 00:00) to effectively prevent bookings on certain days.

Time Format

Business hours use 24-hour format (also known as military time):

• 00:00 = Midnight (12:00 AM)
• 09:00 = 9:00 AM
• 12:00 = Noon (12:00 PM)
• 17:00 = 5:00 PM
• 20:00 = 8:00 PM
• 23:59 = 11:59 PM

Converting 12-Hour to 24-Hour Format

• Morning hours (AM): Keep the same (9:00 AM = 09:00)
• Afternoon/Evening (PM): Add 12 hours (5:00 PM = 17:00, 8:00 PM = 20:00)
• Noon: 12:00 PM = 12:00
• Midnight: 12:00 AM = 00:00

Saving Your Changes

1. After setting your hours for each day, click Save Changes at the bottom
2. You’ll see a success message confirming your business hours have been updated
3. Changes take effect immediately - customers will see the new hours in your booking widget

Note: If you haven’t made any changes, you’ll see an info message indicating there are no changes to save.

How Business Hours Work

Once you’ve set your business hours:

• Booking Widget: Customers can only book during your specified open hours
• Availability: Your booking widget will show available time slots based on your business hours
• Closed Days: On days marked as closed, no time slots will be available
• Exception Dates: You can override regular business hours for specific dates using Exception Dates

Best Practices

• Be Accurate: Set your actual operating hours to avoid booking conflicts
• Consider Preparation Time: You may want to set closing time slightly earlier than your actual closing time to allow for cleanup
• Regular Updates: Update your hours when they change (e.g., seasonal hours, holiday schedules)
• Use Exception Dates: For one-off changes (like holidays), use Exception Dates instead of changing your regular hours
• Test Your Widget: After setting hours, test your booking widget to ensure customers see the correct availability

Common Scenarios

Setting Same Hours for Multiple Days

If you have the same hours for multiple days (e.g., Monday-Friday 9 AM - 5 PM):

1. Set the hours for Monday
2. Copy the same hours to Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
3. Click Save Changes

Different Weekend Hours

Many businesses have different hours on weekends:

1. Set your weekday hours (Monday-Friday)
2. Set different hours for Saturday and Sunday
3. Save your changes

Closing Early on Certain Days

If you close early on specific days (e.g., Friday at 3 PM instead of 5 PM):

1. Set your regular hours for most days
2. Set different closing time for the specific day
3. Save your changes

Troubleshooting

Hours Not Updating in Widget

If your business hours aren’t appearing correctly in your booking widget:

• Make sure you’ve clicked Save Changes after updating your hours
• Clear your browser cache and refresh the widget
• Check that you’re viewing the widget on a day when you’re open
• Verify your hours are set correctly (opening time should be before closing time)

Can’t Mark Days as Closed

If you can’t mark days as closed:

• Check your subscription plan - closed days are only available on Pro and Premium plans
• Free plan users cannot mark days as closed
• Consider upgrading to a paid plan if you need this feature

Time Format Issues

If you’re having trouble with time format:

• Remember to use 24-hour format (00:00 to 23:59)
• Use the time picker in the interface - it will help you select the correct time
• Double-check AM/PM conversions if you’re used to 12-hour format

Changes Not Saving

If your changes aren’t saving:

• Ensure you’ve actually made changes (you’ll see an info message if there are no changes)
• Check that you have a stable internet connection
• Try refreshing the page and making the changes again
• Verify you have permission to edit business hours (only owners and administrators can edit)

Related Settings

• Exception Dates - Override regular hours for specific dates
• Booking Settings - Configure booking rules and time slots
• Booking Items - Manage your bookable items (tables, rooms, services)