Overview
gaiia gives you two ways to book and communicate appointments with customers: Arrival Windows and Scheduled Time. This setting is configured in Settings > Appointments and applies across your checkout, client portal, and internal booking experience.
This article explains how each method works, how to configure it, how to give an individual work type its own scheduling windows, and what to expect when booking appointments.
Arrival Windows are currently available for clients using auto-assignment.
Arrival windows vs. scheduled time
Choosing an appointment method impacts how appointments are booked and communicated across all customer and internal touchpoints.
| Arrival window | Scheduled time | |
|---|---|---|
| What the customer sees | A multi-hour arrival range (e.g., "Your technician will arrive between 8AM–12PM") | An exact appointment time range (e.g., "Your appointment is 8–10AM") |
| Scheduling flexibility | High — jobs can shift within the window and between technicians | Lower — job time is fixed, but can still be reassigned between technicians |
| Best for | High-volume operations, route optimization, and same-day adjustments | Teams that can reliably hold precise appointment times |
| Technician mobile app | Displays both the arrival window and exact scheduled time | Displays the scheduled time only |
| Smart notifications | No notification if a job moves within the same window (same day) | Notifications are triggered on any time change |
Choose Arrival Windows if your team needs flexibility to optimize routes and manage changes throughout the day.
Choose Scheduled Time if your team can consistently meet exact appointment times and wants to offer that precision to customers.
Setting up your appointment method
Follow these steps to configure how appointments are booked and communicated.
1. Navigate to appointments settings
- Go to Settings
- Select Appointments
2. Select your appointment method
Under Appointment Method, choose one of the following:
- Arrival Window — show a time range for technician arrival
- Scheduled Time — require a specific appointment time
3. Configure scheduling windows (arrival windows only)
Define the time windows used for scheduling. These are your global windows, and every work type uses them unless you give that work type its own set.
- Click
+ Add window - Set a start and end time
- Edit or replace default windows as needed
Multi-time zone behavior:
Scheduling windows are currently based on your default time zone.
Example: If your default time zone is Eastern Time, a customer in another time zone will see adjusted hours based on their location.
Future updates will allow windows to align with the service address time zone.
Scheduling windows by work type
A work type can carry its own set of scheduling windows, which replaces the global windows whenever a work order of that type is booked. Use this when different jobs need windows of different lengths — for example, two-hour install windows alongside four-hour repair windows.
Custom scheduling windows can only be set by users with the Workforce > Work Types > Edit permission enabled.
Every work type follows your global windows until you change them. To give one its own set, go to Workforce > Settings > Work Types, create or edit a work type, and use the Scheduling windows section. The full steps are described in Creating a Work Type.
Which windows apply
Windows are resolved in three tiers, each one overriding the tier above it:
- The global windows in Settings > Appointments
- The work type's custom windows, when it has a set
- A workflow override on checkout or the client portal
A few behaviors to keep in mind:
- The applicable windows are read at every booking and rebooking, across checkout, the client portal, and internal assignment.
- Work orders that are already assigned keep the window they were booked with. Changing a work type's windows later does not move them.
- Custom windows are same-day only, exactly like the global windows. A single window cannot span multiple days.
- Windows cannot vary by region or coverage area. A work type's windows apply everywhere it is booked — use a workflow for region-specific availability.
- Duplicating a work type also duplicates its custom windows.
Custom windows only apply while your Appointment Method is set to Arrival Window. In Scheduled Time mode, no work order receives an arrival window and the Scheduling windows section is hidden on the work type form.
Checkout and client portal behavior
Appointment availability can be controlled globally, per work type, or overridden using workflows.
- Global settings in Settings > Appointments apply by default
- A work type's custom scheduling windows replace the global windows for that work type
- Workflows can override availability for checkout and client portal
How appointment times are communicated:
- Arrival Window: customers see the selected window (e.g., 8–11AM)
- Scheduled Time: customers see the exact booked time within the window (e.g., 9–10AM)
Appointments booked internally follow the global settings, or the work type's own scheduling windows when it has a set.
Permissions
Permissions for appointment settings are managed in Settings > Roles > Settings > Appointments.
- View — allows access to the settings page
- Edit — allows changes to appointment methods and scheduling windows
Custom scheduling windows on a work type are covered by the existing Workforce > Work Types > Edit permission. No separate permission is required.
Assigning work orders
The assignment experience differs depending on the selected appointment method.
- Arrival Window: users select from available windows
- Scheduled Time: users select a start time in 15-minute increments
Additional behavior:
- Auto-assignment can be enabled or disabled in both modes
- The windows offered are the ones that apply to the work order's work type
- Customers are notified only after a technician is assigned
Smart notifications
Notification behavior depends on how an appointment changes.
| Scenario | Customer notification | Technician notification |
|---|---|---|
| Same window, same technician | Off by default | Off by default |
| Same window, different technician | Off by default | On by default |
| Different window or date | On by default | On by default |
Editing arrival windows
Changes to arrival windows only apply to new work orders. This is true of both the global windows and a work type's custom windows. Existing work orders retain their original confirmed window until they are rebooked.
Merge tags for customer communications
New merge tags allow you to display arrival windows in notifications instead of exact times.
| Variable | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| workOrder.appointmentDisplayMode | Display mode: ARRIVAL_WINDOW or SCHEDULED_APPOINTMENT | ARRIVAL_WINDOW |
| workOrder.arrivalWindowStartDate | Start of the arrival window | 9:00 AM |
| workOrder.arrivalWindowEndDate | End of the arrival window | 11:00 AM |
These merge tags resolve to whichever window applied to the work order, whether it came from your global settings or from the work type. Existing templates continue to work without changes. Update them only if you want to display arrival windows instead of scheduled times.
Technician experience
In the technician mobile app:
- Arrival Window mode: both the window and exact scheduled time are displayed
- Scheduled Time mode: only the scheduled time is displayed
Related to