> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.theroyalglow.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Booking Rules

> The booking policy — lead time, advance window, cancellation cut-off, and the per-customer cap — and where the owner changes each value.

<Info>
  **For the owner:** these are sensible starting defaults. You can review and
  adjust every value live from the admin portal under **Settings → Booking
  Rules** (Manager and above). Changes take effect immediately — no deploy
  needed.
</Info>

The booking policy is stored in the `system_setting` table under the
`booking_rules` key and validated by `bookingRulesSchema` (`packages/types`).
When the key is absent, the defaults below apply.

## Defaults

| Rule                             | Key                            | Default | Meaning                                                                                            |
| -------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | ------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Minimum advance lead time        | `minAdvanceLeadTimeMinutes`    | **60**  | A slot must start at least 60 minutes from now. Blocks last-second bookings the salon can't staff. |
| Maximum advance window           | `maxAdvanceBookingDays`        | **30**  | Customers can book up to 30 days ahead.                                                            |
| Cancellation cut-off             | `cancellationCutoffHours`      | **4**   | Free cancellation up to 4 hours before the appointment.                                            |
| Max active bookings per customer | `maxActiveBookingsPerCustomer` | **3**   | A customer may hold at most 3 pending or confirmed bookings at once.                               |

## Configured elsewhere

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Slot length — set per service, not here" icon="clock">
    Slot length is set **per service** in the service catalogue (SPA: 30 or 60
    minutes; Salon: 5-minute steps). It is intentionally **not** part of booking
    rules, because two services in the same category can legitimately need different
    durations. Change it under **Settings → Services**.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Business hours and GST" icon="store">
    Per-day open and close times, and GST (18%, price-inclusive), are separate
    sections under **Settings**. They apply across the platform rather than to
    booking alone.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Notes

* Times across the platform are IST (UTC+5:30), stored as 24-hour `HH:MM` strings.
* Validation bounds enforced by the schema: lead time 0–10080 minutes, advance
  window 1–365 days, cancellation 0–168 hours, active cap 1–50.

<Note>
  For how these rules play out in the customer-facing flow, see
  [Booking system](/content/docs/features/booking). For the endpoint that reads
  them, see [Services & availability](/content/docs/api-reference/services).
</Note>


## Related topics

- [Booking System](/content/docs/features/booking.md)
- [Features](/content/docs/features/index.md)
- [Offers & Combos](/content/docs/features/offers.md)
- [Testing](/content/docs/testing.md)
- [Conventions](/content/docs/conventions.md)