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Assigning appointments to providers

Each service has its own provider routing strategy, configured on the service — see Provider assignment for the customer-facing summary. This page covers what happens underneath.

When routing applies​

Routing only matters when a plan offers the service through more than one provider. With a single provider, or with manual routing, the customer always sees and picks an explicit provider slot.

With any automatic strategy, the customer instead sees one combined "team" slot per time, and TheBooking assigns an eligible provider once the booking is confirmed.

The Provider routing strategy options of a service, and the Offer Soonest available switch

Strategies​

  • Manual (default): one slot per provider; the customer chooses explicitly.
  • First available: assigns the eligible provider with the lowest ID. Deterministic — the same provider wins every time slots tie.
  • Least loaded: assigns the eligible provider with the fewest non-cancelled reservations in the last 30 days. Ties fall back to the lowest ID.
  • Random: assigns uniformly at random among eligible providers.

Set the strategy with Provider routing strategy in the service Time slots settings.

"Eligible" means available at that time and not excluded by the provider's own service restrictions or by plan scoping.

Soonest available​

With manual routing, customers who do not mind who they book with still have to pick a name. Offer "Soonest available", in the service Time slots settings, adds an entry at the top of the provider list for them:

  • the entry shows the provider with the nearest free time, and that time, for example "Clara Whitfield · tomorrow 09:00 AM";
  • a customer who chooses it continues with that provider, and the provider's name stays visible in the booking summary.

The option appears only with Manual (customer picks).

Soonest available is not the same as First available. First available is a routing strategy: customers never choose and never see individual providers, and TheBooking assigns one when the booking is confirmed. Soonest available keeps the provider choice and adds a shortcut to it.

The provider list with Soonest available on top

Notes​

  • Admin-created reservations can still specify an explicit provider, bypassing the strategy.
  • If every eligible provider becomes unavailable between slot generation and booking confirmation — a race with another customer — the booking fails rather than assigning an ineligible provider.
  • Changing the strategy doesn't move existing reservations between providers; it only affects new bookings.
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