Service Units
Service Units represent the resources required to deliver a service.
They ensure that appointments respect real-world constraints such as space, equipment, and capacity.
What is a Service Unit?
A Service Unit is a physical or logical resource used during service delivery.
Examples include:
- Barber chairs
- Treatment rooms
- Dental chairs
- Therapy rooms
- Diagnostic machines
- Shared virtual resources
A service may require one or more service units to be available before it can be booked.
Why Service Units Matter
Without service units: - Providers could be double-booked on the same chair - Rooms could be over-allocated - Capacity limits would be ignored
Service units allow Frappoint to model scarcity correctly.
Service Unit Types
Before creating service units, you must define Service Unit Types.
Service Units
A Service Unit is an instance of a service unit type.
Example:
- Chair 1 (Barber Chair)
- Chair 2 (Barber Chair)
- Room A (Massage Room)
Key Fields in Service Unit
| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Unit Name | Human-readable name |
| Unit Type | Classification |
| Company | Organizational ownership |
| Location | Physical placement |
| Capacity | Maximum concurrent usage |
| Allow Appointments | Enable scheduling |
| Allow Overlap | Override overlap rules |
| Active | Availability toggle |
Capacity vs Overlap
Capacity
Defines how many bookings can use the unit at the same time.
Example:
- Waiting area capacity = 5
- Group training room capacity = 10
Overlap
Controls whether bookings can overlap in time.
- Overlap disabled: strict single booking
- Overlap enabled: multiple bookings allowed until capacity is reached
Grouped Service Units
Service Units support hierarchical grouping.
Example:
Main Salon
├── Barber Chairs
│ ├── Chair 1
│ └── Chair 2
└── Massage Rooms
├── Room A
└── Room B
This allows:
- Reporting by group
- Flexible allocation
How Service Units Affect Availability
A booking is only allowed if:
- The provider is available
- The service supports the unit type
- At least one compatible service unit is free
- Capacity and overlap rules are satisfied
If any of these fail, slots are unavailable.
Auto-Assignment of Units
Services can:
- Require specific unit types
- Auto-assign units at booking time
- Allow manual selection by staff
This behavior is defined in Service Type Unit Type configuration.
Best Practices
- Model real-world constraints honestly
- Avoid overly generic unit types
- Disable overlap unless explicitly required
- Use capacity for group services
- Keep unit names human-friendly