Managing Your Appointment Calendar

10 minutes

Tutorial 2.1: Managing Your Appointment Calendar

Introduction

The appointment calendar is the central hub of your daily salon operations. It provides a visual overview of all scheduled appointments, allowing you to see at a glance who is booked, when, and with which staff member.

This tutorial covers how to navigate the calendar, switch between different views, and understand the visual cues that help you manage your day effectively.

Who this is for: Owner, Admin, Manager, Staff, Receptionist What you'll learn:

Navigate between dates using the calendar controls
Switch between Today, Week, and List views
Understand staff columns and rostered indicators
Use the Waitlist and Clipboard panels
Interpret the "now" line and appointment cards
Use keyboard shortcuts for faster navigation

Time to complete: 10 minutes

Prerequisites

Access to a salon with at least one staff member configured
Permission to view appointments (all roles have this by default)

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Access the Appointment Calendar

Click Appointments in the sidebar navigation
The calendar opens in Today view by default, showing the current date

The page header displays "Appointments" with the current date formatted below it (e.g., "Saturday, 28 December 2025").

Step 2: Navigate Between Dates

The date navigation bar appears below the header with these controls:

Previous Day - Click to move to the previous day
Next Day - Click to move to the next day
Select - Opens a calendar picker to jump to any date
Today - Returns to the current date

The selected date appears between the navigation buttons showing the day name and formatted date.

Step 3: Switch Between Calendar Views

Three view modes are available via the toggle buttons in the top-right corner:

Today - Shows a single day with all staff members as columns
- Each staff member has their own column
- Time slots run vertically from top to bottom
- Best for managing the current day's schedule
Week - Shows a full week for one staff member
- Days of the week appear as columns (Monday to Sunday)
- A staff selector appears at the top showing "Viewing:" followed by the selected staff member's name and avatar. Use the Previous staff (left chevron) and Next staff (right chevron) buttons to switch between team members
- Best for planning individual staff schedules
List - Shows appointments in a table format
- Filterable by customer, staff, status, service, deposit status, and date range
- Search by customer name or booking reference
- Sortable columns for flexible viewing
- Best for searching and filtering across many appointments

Click the Today, Week, or List button to switch views. The currently active view is highlighted.

Step 4: Understand the Today View Layout

The Today view displays a grid with:

Header Row:

Waitlist/Clipboard tabs on the left (see Step 6)
Time column showing the time scale
Staff columns - one column per active staff member

Staff Column Headers:

Staff name displayed at the top
(Not rostered) appears below the name if the staff member is not rostered for this date
On [Leave Type] appears in purple if the staff member is on approved leave

Time Grid:

Time slots display in 30-minute increments
The grid adjusts dynamically based on your salon's operating hours
A red horizontal line indicates the current time (only visible when viewing today)

Visual Indicators:

Striped/faded columns indicate staff who are not rostered for the selected date
Off-shift blocks appear as grey overlays during times outside a staff member's shift

Step 5: Understand the Week View Layout

When you switch to Week view:

A staff selector appears at the top, showing "Viewing:" followed by the staff member's name and avatar. Use the chevron buttons on either side to switch between team members
Days of the week appear as column headers (Mon, Tue, Wed, etc.) with the date number below
The current day is highlighted if viewing the current week
Days where the staff member is not rostered appear faded

Week Navigation:

Previous Week and Next Week buttons navigate between weeks
This Week returns to the current week (this button is disabled when already viewing the current week)
The date range is displayed at the top (e.g., "Jan 19 - 25, 2026")

Step 6: Use the Waitlist and Clipboard Panels

The left panel in the Today view has two tabs:

Waitlist Tab:

Shows customers waiting for an appointment slot
Entries can be dragged onto the calendar to create appointments
A badge shows the count of waitlist entries
Click an entry to view or edit it

Clipboard Tab:

Shows appointments that have been "cut" for moving
Click the Cut appointment button (scissors icon) on an appointment card to add it to the clipboard
Drag clipboard items to a new time slot to paste them
Useful for rescheduling appointments without navigating away

Step 7: Interact with Appointment Cards

Each appointment appears as a coloured card on the calendar. The colour is determined by the service assigned to the appointment.

Appointment Card Information:

Customer name
Service name
Appointment time
Status indicator (if applicable)

Actions available by clicking an appointment:

A sidebar opens showing full appointment details
View customer information
Check appointment status and notes
Access actions like Edit, Cancel, or Open Quick POS

Drag and Drop:

Drag an appointment to a different time slot to reschedule it
Drag an appointment to a different staff column to reassign it
Resize an appointment by dragging its bottom edge to adjust the duration

Step 8: Use Keyboard Shortcuts

Luminate provides keyboard shortcuts to help you navigate the calendar quickly. These shortcuts only work when you're not focused on an input field (such as a search box).

Global Shortcuts (work from any page):

d - Go to Dashboard
a - Go to Appointments (Today view)
w - Go to Appointments (Week view)
t - Go to QuickPOS

Calendar-Specific Shortcuts (only work on the Appointments page):

← (Left arrow) - Previous day (in Today view) or previous week (in Week view)
→ (Right arrow) - Next day (in Today view) or next week (in Week view)

These shortcuts are disabled when you're typing in a search field, text box, or any other input element.

Common Pitfalls

"No staff are rostered for this time"

This warning appears when you're viewing a date where no shifts have been created. Create shifts in the Roster section to indicate when staff are available.

Striped columns in the calendar

Striped/faded columns indicate staff members who are not rostered on the selected date. You can still book appointments with them, but this serves as a visual reminder.

Staff not appearing on the calendar

If a staff member doesn't appear, check that:

They are marked as Active in their staff profile
They have a shift on the roster for the selected date

Tips and Best Practices

Use the Today button - Quickly return to the current date after browsing other dates
Check the now line - The red line shows the current time, helping you see what's coming up next
Monitor the Waitlist panel - Keep an eye on the waitlist count to fill cancellations quickly
Use Week view for planning - Review individual staff schedules when planning ahead
Use List view for searching - When you need to find a specific appointment, the List view's filters are fastest

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I see multiple staff members in Week view?

No, Week view shows one staff member at a time. Use the Previous staff and Next staff buttons (chevron icons) to switch between team members. For viewing all staff on one day, use Today view.

Why do some staff columns appear faded?

Faded/striped columns indicate staff who are not rostered on the selected date. This visual cue helps you see at a glance who is scheduled to work.

How do I know what time it is on the calendar?

In Today view, a red horizontal line indicates the current time. This line only appears when viewing the current date and automatically updates every minute.

Can I drag appointments to reschedule them?

Yes, in Today and Week views you can drag appointments to a new time slot or staff column. The appointment will be updated automatically. For linked appointments (multi-service bookings), you'll be prompted about whether to move all linked appointments together.

What do the appointment colours mean?

Each appointment takes its colour from the service it's booked for. You can customise service colours by editing the service in Services settings.

What keyboard shortcuts are available?

Press d to go to Dashboard, a for Appointments (Today view), w for Week view, or t for QuickPOS. On the Appointments page, use the arrow keys (← and →) to navigate between days or weeks. Shortcuts don't work when typing in a form field.

Can I block out time on the calendar?

Yes, there are two ways to block time:

From the header - Use the Block Time button in the top-right corner of the calendar
From the calendar - Click on any empty time slot and select Time Block from the popup menu

Time blocks reserve calendar space for non-appointment activities like breaks, training, or admin time.

Last Updated: January 2026