How to Set Your Availability in Dubsado 3.0

Before clients can book time with you, Dubsado needs to know when you’re available.

Your availability settings act as the foundation of your scheduler. They tell Dubsado which days you work, what hours you generally accept appointments, and when clients can access your calendar.

When setting this up, we recommend entering your largest realistic availability window - for example, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9–5. Think of this as your outer container, not a promise that every one of those hours is open.

With this approach, and with your calendar properly synced to Dubsado, clients will only be able to book time that is truly available. Any existing appointments, blocked time off, or personal events already on your calendar will automatically be respected and removed from booking options.

This method gives you flexibility, protects your time, and prevents double-booking, without requiring constant manual updates inside Dubsado.

Use the 'x' or '+' signs to add or remove time blocks.

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Once you’ve set your availability in Dubsado, it’s important to remember that your scheduler will only offer appointment times that truly work for you. The availability you set here forms the foundation of your scheduler templates, but your connected calendar remains the source of truth for what’s actually open in real time.

When your calendar is synced, Dubsado cross-checks your default availability with any events marked “Busy” on your external calendar, so clients only see slots that are genuinely open for booking.

**keep in mind, you MUST enable both Import and Export when connecting your calendar - this is required for your calendar to communicate your real availability to your scheduling automations - click here to learn How to Connect a Calendar in Dubsado.

Because of that, we recommend keeping your connected calendar up to date with any personal commitments or blocks of time you won’t be taking appointments. If you have a dentist appointment, a day off, or any time you won’t be available for client calls, mark it as busy on your calendar — and even consider adding a bit of buffer time around it. For example, if your appointment runs from 1pm–2pm but there’s a commute or prep time involved, blocking off 12pm–3pm on your calendar will help ensure Dubsado won’t offer any schedulable times that interfere with your real-life schedule. Dubsado Help Center

Doing this protects your time, prevents double bookings, and makes your scheduling system work with your life — not against it.