Schedule & Appointments

By the end you'll be able to find your way around the calendar, book a visit, move it, work an appointment through its stages (checked in → in consult → checked out), set up breaks and lunch, and tune the calendar to suit how you work.

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Finding the schedule

Click Schedule in the sidebar on the left. The calendar opens — that's your home for the whole working day.

Across the top you'll see:

• Day / Week / History tabs (top-right) to switch how the calendar is laid out — or, with History, to look back over past appointments as a list.
• A New button to add an appointment or a time block.
• A Columns button to choose which staff/columns you can see.
• A Settings (gear ⚙) icon to change the calendar's look and working hours.

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The three views

The calendar can show your work in three shapes. Day and Week lay out the calendar; History is a searchable list for looking back. Your Day/Week choice is remembered next time you sign in.

Day view (the everyday one)

A single day, with a column for each vet, nurse or schedule side by side. Time runs down the left (8am–6pm by default — you can change this). Appointments are coloured by type (for example, a consult is blue, a procedure is green, a break has stripes). When you're looking at today, a red line shows the current time so you can see at a glance what's happening now.

Week view (the bird's-eye one)

Seven days across (Sunday–Saturday by default). Week view shows one staff column at a time — this is on purpose, to keep seven days readable. Today's date is marked with a blue circle. You pick which column you're looking at with the Columns button (see Show one staff column in Week view below).

History view (the look-back one)

A plain, searchable list of every appointment that has already happened, newest first — no scrolling the calendar back day by day. Instead of a grid it's a table: date and time, patient, client, the vet, the type, and the status. Use it to find a visit from last week, check what you did on a particular day, or reconcile your work at the end of the day.

• Search the box at the top by patient name, client (owner) name, the vet, or the reason for the visit.
• Filter by a particular vet or a status (for example, only No-shows).
• Sort by clicking Newest / Oldest to flip the order.
• Click any row to open that appointment — the same panel you'd get by clicking its tile on the calendar. From there you can edit it, change its status, or delete it.
• The ⋯ (three-dot) button at the end of each row goes everywhere else the appointment connects to: Open appointment, Open visit record (the consult, if one was started), Open patient file and Open client file. Entries that don't apply to that row — no consult started, or no owner on file — are greyed out.

History always shows past appointments only — upcoming bookings stay on the Day and Week views. Time blocks (breaks, lunch, admin) aren't listed. You can also jump straight here from the dashboard's Recent appointments card, or bookmark the link …/schedule?view=history.

Switch between views

Usually: anyone

Step by step

1. Open the Schedule page.
2. Top-right, click Day, Week or History.
3. The view changes straight away. Your Day/Week choice is remembered for next time.

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Booking an appointment

There are a few ways to book. The easiest, and the one we recommend, is to click the time slot you want right on the calendar — the date, time and column fill themselves in.

Book an appointment

Usually: front desk

Step by step

1. Open the Schedule page (Day view is easiest for this).
2. Find the staff column and the time you want.
3. Click the empty time slot. A panel slides in from the right with the date, time and column already filled in.
4. Choose the patient: start typing the pet's name (or the owner's name) in the Patient box and pick from the list. (No record yet? See Add a new patient while booking.)
5. Pick the Type (Consult, Surgery, and so on). This sets the colour and the default length.
6. Check the Start, Finish and Duration, and adjust if needed.
7. Add a Reason (the chief complaint) and any internal Notes if you like.
8. Click Create Appointment.

Other ways to do this

• ⭐ Click an empty slot (above): date, time and column fill in automatically — the most intuitive way once you're comfortable.
• Use the New button: Click New at the top → Appointment. The panel opens with today's date, a default 9:00am start and your clinic's default column. Good if you're new to the calendar and would rather fill in the times by hand. Fill in the patient and details, then Create Appointment.
• Drag to set the length: In Day or Week view, click and drag downward inside a column to highlight a time range (a blue selection appears). Let go, and the panel opens with the start and finish already worked out. Fill in the patient and Create Appointment.
• From the pet's own file: If you're already looking at a patient, you don't need to come to the Schedule at all. Open the patient → ⋯ → Book Appointment, or use Book appointment on the Next Appointment panel, or the Book Appointment button on the Appointments tab when they have none yet. The booking panel opens with that pet already chosen (and their owner with them), so you only set the date, time and type.

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Find and choose a patient

Usually: front desk

Step by step

1. In the appointment panel, go to the Patient card at the top.
2. If no patient is chosen yet, you'll see a search box. Start typing — the search matches both the pet's name and the owner's name, and is forgiving of small typos.
3. The list filters as you type. Click the pet you want.
4. Already chose the wrong one? Hover over the patient card and click Change to search again.

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Add a new patient while booking

Usually: front desk

If the pet (or owner) isn't in the system yet, you can create them without leaving the booking.

Step by step

1. In the appointment panel, on the Patient card, click the + button (shown when no patient is selected).
2. A new page slides in to create the patient: name, species, breed, date of birth, sex and neuter status, and so on.
3. If the owner doesn't exist yet, click Need a new client?. Another page slides in to add the owner (first name, last name, contact details). Save it, and you'll come back to the patient form with that owner already chosen.
4. Save the patient. You're returned to the appointment, with the new patient already filled in.
5. Finish the appointment details and Create Appointment.

See also Patients and Clients for the full detail on those records.

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Repeating appointments

Usually: front desk

Some visits happen on a regular rhythm — a weekly bandage change, a course of injections, a monthly check-up. Instead of booking each one by hand, you can set an appointment to repeat, and Wattle creates the whole run for you.

Book a repeating appointment

Step by step

1. Start an appointment as usual (click a slot, or New → Appointment) and fill in the patient and details.
2. Turn on the Repeat option.
3. Choose how often it repeats — Daily, Weekly, Fortnightly (every two weeks) or Monthly.
4. Choose when the run ends, one of two ways:
   • After a number of occurrences — e.g. "6 times".
   • On a date — e.g. "until 30 September".
5. Click Create Appointment. Wattle books the whole series in one go. Each one shows on the calendar like any other appointment.

Edit or delete one of a repeating series

When an appointment is part of a series, changing or removing it isn't all-or-nothing — Wattle asks how far the change should reach. As soon as you edit or delete a repeating appointment, a small prompt offers three choices:

Step by step

1. Open (or delete) a repeating appointment as you normally would.
2. When the prompt appears, pick Just this one, This and following, or All in the series.
3. Confirm. Wattle applies the change to exactly the appointments you chose.

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Opening, editing and moving an appointment

View or edit an appointment

Usually: anyone

Step by step

1. In Day or Week view, click the appointment (the coloured tile).
2. The detail panel opens with every field shown.
3. Change whatever you need — patient, date, time, type, column, reason or notes.
4. Click Save.

If your edit lands the appointment on top of another patient's in the same column, the same amber clash warning shows above Save — "…You can still book it." It never stops you saving; it's only there so a clash isn't a surprise. (Overlaps for the same client stay silent — see the heads-up under Book an appointment.)

Other ways to do this

• ⭐ Click the tile (above): simplest and most visual.
• Right-click (or the ⋯ three-dot button on the tile): choose View Details from the menu, then edit and save as above.

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Reschedule by dragging (auto-saves — read this)

Usually: front desk

This is the quickest way to move an appointment to a new time or a different staff member. One important thing to know first: dragging saves the new time the moment you let go of the mouse. For an ordinary move there's no "are you sure?" — but there is a quick undo. (The one time it does ask: if you drop it on top of another client's appointment in the same column, you'll get a "Move anyway?" check first — same as the booking heads-up. Dropping next to the same client's appointment, like a multi-pet visit, saves silently.)

Step by step

1. In Day or Week view, click and hold an appointment tile.
2. Drag it up or down to a new time, or — in Day view — sideways into a different column.
3. The tile moves with you and the time updates live as you drag.
4. Let go. The new time and column save automatically.
5. A small message pops up at the bottom of the screen with an Undo button. If you moved it by mistake, click Undo within about 5 seconds to put it back.

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Change how long an appointment runs (resize)

Usually: front desk

Step by step

1. In Day or Week view, hover over an appointment until the cursor changes at the top or bottom edge.
2. Drag that edge up or down. The appointment grows or shrinks and the time updates live.
3. Let go — the new length saves automatically.

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Reschedule from a menu

Usually: front desk

You'll see a Reschedule option in the right-click menu. A small heads-up so it isn't confusing: Reschedule just opens the appointment editor — it doesn't pop up a special "move it" screen. You then change the Date, Start, Duration or Column in that editor and save. (Once the appointment is already open, there's no separate Reschedule button — you simply edit those fields. The exception: a Cancelled or No Show appointment shows a big Reschedule button at the top that resets it to Scheduled.)

Step by step

1. Right-click the appointment and choose Reschedule (or just open the appointment — same editor).
2. The appointment editor opens.
3. Change the Date, Start, Duration or Column as needed.
4. Click Save.

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Working an appointment through the day (status)

Each appointment moves through stages: Scheduled → Checked in → In progress → Completed. Two more stages exist for when things change: Cancelled and No show.

A gentle note: these stages are a helpful guide, not a locked sequence. The app won't stop you jumping ahead (say, straight from Scheduled to Completed). On a busy day the status icons are small, so glance at them now and then. If your clinic likes to follow the steps in order, use the big action button at the top of the panel — it always offers the correct next step.

Move an appointment to its next stage

Usually: front desk checks in; the vet starts and finishes the consult

Step by step

1. Click the appointment to open it.
2. Look at the top of the panel. The big button shows the right next step:
   • Check in — the client and pet have arrived.
   • Start consult — begins the visit. This creates the linked consult record and takes you straight to the consult page.
   • Check out — the visit is finished; marks the appointment Completed.
3. Click it. The status updates straight away.

Other ways to do this

• ⭐ Action button (above): the safest — it always offers the right next step.
• Status box: Scroll to the bottom of the panel — the last row has Repeat on the left and Status on the right. Click the status (e.g. Scheduled) to open a list of all six and pick any one. Handy for corrections, but it lets you skip steps. Remember to Save.
• Right-click the tile: the menu offers the matching next step — Check In, Start Consult, Check Out or Cancel Appointment — depending on where the appointment is up to.

For what happens after Start Consult, see The consult (a visit). The arrivals desk view is still in development.

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Cancel or mark a no-show

Usually: front desk

Cancelling and marking a no-show are the same action: you're setting the appointment's status. Both live in the Status box in the bottom row of the panel.

Step by step (either one)

1. Open the appointment.
2. Scroll to the bottom row of the panel and click Status.
3. Choose Cancelled or No Show from the list.
4. Click Save. A Status changed message confirms it.

Other ways to do this

• ⭐ Status box (above).
• Right-click the tile → Cancel Appointment (red text) — a one-click shortcut straight from the calendar, no need to open the panel.

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Time blocks (breaks, lunch, admin)

Time blocks reserve part of the day so no one books over it — lunch, a tea break, admin time. They have no patient, and they show with a diagonal-striped background.

Add a time block

Usually: front desk or whoever manages the roster

Step by step

1. On the Schedule page, click New at the top → Time Block.
2. The panel opens with no patient card (blocks don't need a patient).
3. Set the date, time and duration, and add notes if useful.
4. The type starts as Break. Use the Type dropdown to pick Admin (the other block type that ships by default) or any other block type your clinic has set up.
5. Click Create Time Block.

Other ways to do this

• ⭐ New → Time Block (above): cleanest, because the patient field is hidden for you.
• Drag on the grid: In Day view, drag a time range in a column, then set the Type to a block type (Break/Admin) and create it.

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Staff columns

Columns are the side-by-side lanes in Day view — usually one per vet, nurse or schedule. You choose which ones you see, and an admin can add, rename, recolour, reorder or retire them.

Choose which columns you see (Day view)

Usually: anyone

Step by step

1. In Day view, click the Columns button at the top.
2. Tick the columns you want to see; untick the ones you don't.
3. The grid updates as you tick. (This is per-session — it's just what you see right now.)

Show one staff column in Week view

Usually: anyone

Week view shows one column at a time by design.

Step by step

1. In Week view, click the Columns button.
2. You'll see round radio buttons — pick one column.
3. The view refreshes to show just that column across the week.

Add, edit, reorder or retire columns

Usually: admin

Step by step

1. Click Columns, then the pencil (Edit columns) button at the top of the popover. The Manage Columns dialog opens.
2. Add a column: click Add Column, then fill in the Display name, a Category (Consults / Procedures / Notes, or Custom), a Colour, an optional Clinician assignment and the Active toggle. If you pick a clinician, the name fills in for you — you can still change it. Click Save.
3. Edit a column: click the ⋯ (row actions) button on its row → Edit, change any field, and Save.
4. Reorder: drag a row by its grip handle up or down. The new order saves immediately.
5. Retire (archive) a column: click the ⋯ (row actions) button on its row → Archive (red), then confirm. The column moves to the Archived list at the bottom of the same dialog. If upcoming appointments still use it, you'll be shown how many (they keep their booked time). You can Restore it later from that Archived list — within 3 months, after which it's permanently removed.

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Calendar settings

These tune how the calendar looks and which hours it shows. They're saved per person (they follow you between devices), so changing them won't disturb your colleagues.

Adjust zoom, working hours, snap and default view

Usually: anyone (it only affects your own view)

Step by step

1. On the Schedule page, click the Settings (gear ⚙) icon, top-right.
2. Adjust any of these:
   • Default View — Day or Week, the one you land on.
   • Snap Interval — 5, 10, 15, 20 or 30 minutes. This sets how finely dragging snaps to the clock — it is not the zoom.
   • Density — the zoom slider, 50%–150% (100% is the normal default, marked with a tick). Lower makes the day more compact; higher spreads it out. The grid previews live as you drag.
   • Day Start / Day End — the first and last hours shown. Appointments outside these hours are never hidden — they show as small chips at the top of the column (see below).
   • Excluded Days — tick any weekdays you don't open; they're hidden from Week view.
3. Click Save to keep your changes, or Cancel to discard them (the zoom snaps back to where it was).

Appointments outside your visible hours

If an appointment starts before your Day Start or after your Day End — say a 6:30pm home visit on a calendar set to 8am–5pm — it doesn't disappear. It shows as a small chip at the top of that day's column, next to the column name, with a little clock icon and the appointment's time.

• Click the chip to open the appointment, just like clicking a normal appointment block.
• The chip stays visible while you scroll, so a late or early booking can't slip past you.
• If you find chips appearing often, your working hours setting is probably narrower than your real day — widen Day Start / Day End in the calendar settings and those appointments will move onto the grid.

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Appointment types

Appointment types (Consult, Surgery, Follow-up, and so on) decide each appointment's colour on the calendar and its default length — and which types need a patient versus which are blocks (like Break or Admin). They're managed in Settings.

Usually: admin

Step by step

1. In the sidebar, open Settings → the Appointment Types tab.
2. You'll see the list of types, each with a name, default duration and colour dot.
3. Create, edit, delete or reorder types as needed.

More on Settings in Settings — a guided tour.

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Removing an appointment for good

Most of the time you'll cancel an appointment (which keeps the record) rather than delete it. Delete only when something was created by mistake — deletion is permanent and can't be undone except from a backup.

Delete an appointment or time block

Usually: admin or front desk

Step by step

1. Open the appointment (or block).
2. At the bottom-left of the panel, click the red Delete button.
3. A confirmation appears: "This will permanently delete this appointment. This action cannot be undone."
4. Click Delete to confirm.

Other ways to do this

• ⭐ Delete button at the bottom-left of the panel (above).
• Right-click the tile → Delete Appointment (red), then confirm.

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A note on printing

There's no print option on the appointment panel. An earlier Print details entry only handed the page to your browser's print dialog and printed the panel as-is, so it was removed rather than left looking like a finished feature. A proper printable layout is planned. In the meantime see Printing & PDFs for what is available.

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Related sections

• The consult (a visit) — what happens after Start Consult.
• Patients (the animals) and Clients (pet owners) — the records you link to bookings.
• How the app talks to you — toasts, undo and confirmation pop-ups explained.
• Settings — a guided tour — appointment types and clinic-wide defaults.
• Buttons & symbols cheat sheet and Glossary — quick reference for icons and terms.