Scheduling Rules: Buffers, Notice, Booking Windows, and Cutoffs

StretchSchedule gives you fine control over when and how people can book. Getting these rules right keeps your calendar sane: no last-minute surprises, no back-to-back marathons, and no changes at the eleventh hour.

Where rules live

There are two layers:

App settings — organization-wide defaults for your booking page.
Per-event-type rules — overrides on an individual event type (covered in Creating and Managing Event Types).

This article focuses on the app-wide Settings and how each rule behaves.

The settings you can control

Open Settings in StretchSchedule to configure:

Enabled — turn the whole scheduling surface on or off.
Booking page title — the heading invitees see.
Primary CTA label — the text on the booking button (e.g. Book now, Schedule a call).
Default timezone — the fallback timezone for your pages.
Minimum notice (minutes) — how far in advance a booking must be made.
Booking window (days) — how far into the future people can book (1–730).
Before buffer (minutes) — protected time before each meeting.
After buffer (minutes) — protected time after each meeting.
Cancellation cutoff (hours) — how close to start invitees can still cancel.
Reschedule cutoff (hours) — how close to start invitees can still reschedule.

Minimum notice

Minimum notice hides slots that are too soon. Set it to 120 minutes and nobody can book you for less than two hours out — giving you time to prepare. Slots inside the notice window simply don't appear on the page.

Booking window

The booking window caps how far ahead people can schedule. A 30-day window means the calendar only offers the next month, which keeps your far-future calendar flexible and discourages people from parking a meeting six months out.

Before and after buffers

Buffers add breathing room around meetings. A 10-minute after-buffer means a meeting ending at 10:30 won't let someone book at 10:30 — the next available slot starts at 10:40. Before-buffers do the same on the front side, protecting prep time. Buffers are subtracted from availability automatically.

Cancellation and reschedule cutoffs

These cutoffs limit last-minute changes by invitees:

Cancellation cutoff — e.g. 24 hours means invitees can't self-cancel within a day of the meeting.
Reschedule cutoff — same idea for moving the meeting.

You can always cancel or reschedule from your Bookings list regardless of cutoffs — these limits apply to what invitees can do on their own.

A realistic example

A coach who needs prep time and a stable calendar sets:

Minimum notice = 240 minutes (no bookings within 4 hours).
Booking window = 21 days.
Before buffer = 5 minutes, after buffer = 15 minutes.
Cancellation cutoff = 24 hours, reschedule cutoff = 12 hours.
CTA label set to Book a session, page title Coaching with Dana.

Now invitees see a calm, well-spaced page, can't ambush the coach last-minute, and can't cancel the night before.

Settings vs. event-type overrides

App settings are the baseline; individual event types can tighten or loosen minimum notice, booking window, and buffers for their specific case. A quick 15-min Q&A might allow shorter notice than your default, while a Half-day Workshop might need a longer booking window. Set sensible app defaults, then override only where a meeting truly differs.

Tips

Start with a modest minimum notice (2–4 hours) — too much and you lose easy, same-week bookings.
Add an after-buffer even if you skip the before-buffer; wrap-up time is where calendars usually break.
Keep cancellation and reschedule cutoffs consistent with your reminder timing so "reply to reschedule" messages still work.
Use a clear CTA label — "Schedule a call" converts better than a generic "Submit."

Troubleshooting

Invitees can book too soon. Increase the minimum notice; slots inside it are hidden.
The calendar shows too far ahead. Lower the booking window (days).
Meetings are stacking back-to-back. Add before/after buffers so consecutive slots leave a gap.
An invitee couldn't reschedule. They're likely past the reschedule cutoff — move it for them from Bookings, or loosen the cutoff.