Define what you offer · Guide 10
How many pets at once
Tell Barclo how much you can take on, and it stops you being overbooked: per service, per session, per night, and for your premises as a whole.
Barclo checks bookings against your limits, including every booking a client makes online. There are three kinds of limit, and each answers a different question.
| Limit | The question it answers | Where you set it |
|---|---|---|
| The service's limit | How many can each person deliver at once, or each night? | On the service, step 2, The basics |
| A session's limit | How many pets in this session? | On each session, Pets in this session |
| Pets on site | How many pets can your premises hold at once, across services? | Settings, Bookings, Pets on site |
A service's limit
Services booked by request, as a day with you, or overnight have one question in The basics. Whether it counts pets or bookings is decided by the kind of service, so the wording tells you which.
| Service | On screen | What it counts |
|---|---|---|
| Solo walk, grooming, 1:1 training, hydrotherapy | Most at once | Bookings. "One booking at a time" by default. |
| Day care booked as a day with you | Most at once | Pets, from any number of bookings |
| Overnight boarding | Most each night | Pets staying each night, from any number of bookings |
| House sitting | Most each night | Homes. One by default, because you can only be in one place. |
| Field hire | Groups on the field at once | Bookings, one group each |
| No fixed time visits | Most visits in a day | Visits that day, or No limit |
Where the limit counts bookings, how many pets one booking can bring is set separately, under Pets per booking in step 3. If several people on your team deliver the same service, the limit is for each person.
Some older services show Needs your answer: does the limit count pets or bookings? in your services list. Open the service and answer it, so Barclo counts the right thing.
A session's limit
Every session has Pets in this session, from 1 to 30. A session counts its own pets only, so a full day pet doesn't use up a morning place. When sessions overlap, Barclo asks whether they can run at the same time. See Sessions and the weekly schedule.
Pets on site: your premises limit
If your licence allows a set number of pets on your premises, set it once and every service that counts towards it shares it. This is off by default, and only the business owner can change it.
Open the setting
Go to Settings, Bookings, and find Pets on site.
Switch it on
Turn on Limit how many pets are here at once.
Set the number
Enter Most pets on site at once, for example 28.
Choose the services
Under Services that count towards it, switch on each service that happens at your premises. Day care is picked to start with.
Save
Barclo checks your upcoming bookings first and tells you if any day is already over the number. Nothing is cancelled; those days just won't take more bookings until they are back under the limit.
Barclo counts the pets actually on site at the busiest moment of the day. A morning pet and an afternoon pet are never there together, so they don't add up; a full day pet counts in both. You can also switch on Count towards your building limit on a sessions service at your place, in its sessions step.
Overnight stays don't count towards Pets on site yet. Use Most each night on your boarding service to limit overnight places.
What clients see when you are full
Clients never see how many places are left. A day, time or session is either available or not:
- Full sessions and taken times are simply not offered. When none are left they see "There are no sessions left on this day. Please pick another."
- A full day for day care reads "This day is full. Please pick another."
- A full night for boarding reads "This night is full. Please pick another."
- With the waitlist switched on, they can ask to be told when a place frees up. See Waitlist.
You and your team see more. When you make a booking, each session shows how many spaces are free, such as "3 of 6 spaces free", and the Calendar shows "4 of 6 booked".
Questions
Can a client see that I only have one place left?
No. Clients only ever see whether they can book. Numbers stay with you and your team.
I set a premises limit and some days are already over it. What happens to those bookings?
Nothing. They stay booked. Those days simply stop taking new bookings until they are back under the limit.