How to Set Booking Limits (Daily, Weekly, Monthly Caps)
Booking Limits - Control Your Booking Capacity
TidyCal's Booking Limits feature allows you to cap the number of bookings allowed per day, week, or month for each booking type. This prevents overbooking, helps you manage your workload, and ensures you maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Plan Required: ✅ Individual Plan ($29) or Agency Plan ($79)
💡 Why Use Booking Limits?
- Prevent burnout by capping consultations per day/week
- Manage high-demand booking types with limited capacity
- Control workload during busy seasons
- Ensure time for non-booking work
- Create scarcity to increase perceived value
How Booking Limits Work
When you set a booking limit on a booking type:
- TidyCal counts confirmed bookings within the specified time period (day, week, or month)
- Once the limit is reached, no new time slots are shown to potential bookers
- The booking page displays "No times available" until the next period begins
- Pending bookings (if using Booking Approval) count toward the limit
- Cancelled bookings do NOT count toward the limit
Important: Booking limits apply per booking type, not account-wide. If you have 3 booking types, each can have its own independent limit.
How to Set a Booking Limit
Step-by-Step Setup
- Go to Booking Types in your TidyCal dashboard
- Click on the booking type you want to add a limit to (or create a new one)
- Scroll down to find the Advanced Settings section
- Click Limit bookings per day/week/month to expand the section
- Enter the maximum number of bookings allowed in the Limit field
- Select the time period from the dropdown:
- Per day - Limit resets at midnight in your timezone
- Per week - Limit resets at start of week (Monday)
- Per month - Limit resets on the 1st of each month
- Click Save Booking Type at the bottom
✅ Example: Setting "3 bookings per day" means you can accept a maximum of 3 confirmed bookings per day for this booking type. On the 4th attempt, bookers will see no available times for that day.
How to Remove a Booking Limit
- Open the booking type editor
- Find the Limit bookings per day/week/month section
- Clear the limit value (leave it empty)
- Or click the collapse toggle to hide and disable the feature
- Click Save Booking Type
Common Booking Limit Examples
Daily Limits
Use Case: Limit consultations to prevent burnout
- Setting: 5 bookings per day
- Why: You want a maximum of 5 client calls per day
- Result: After 5 bookings confirmed for a given day, no more slots show for that day
Use Case: High-demand free consultations
- Setting: 2 bookings per day
- Why: You offer free 30-minute consultations but want to limit them
- Result: Creates scarcity and ensures you have time for paid work
Weekly Limits
Use Case: Part-time coaching practice
- Setting: 10 bookings per week
- Why: You coach part-time and want to limit weekly sessions
- Result: Once 10 sessions are booked for the week, no more slots show until next Monday
Use Case: Manage demo requests
- Setting: 15 bookings per week
- Why: Sales team can handle 15 product demos per week
- Result: Prevents overcommitting the sales team
Monthly Limits
Use Case: Limited capacity service
- Setting: 20 bookings per month
- Why: You offer a specialized service with limited monthly capacity
- Result: Ensures you don't exceed your monthly capacity
Use Case: Seasonal availability control
- Setting: 50 bookings per month (during busy season)
- Why: You want to cap bookings during your busiest months
- Result: Prevents overwhelming your schedule
Booking Limits vs Other Features
| Feature | Purpose | What It Controls |
|---|---|---|
| Booking Limits | Cap total bookings per period | Maximum bookings per day/week/month |
| Availability Windows | Control when you're available | Specific hours/days you accept bookings |
| Group Bookings | Multiple attendees per slot | How many people can book the same time slot |
| Booking Buffer | Time between meetings | Padding time before/after bookings |
How Limits Are Calculated
Daily Limits
Resets at midnight in your timezone each day.
Example: If you set 3 bookings per day:
- Monday: 3 bookings confirmed → No more slots available for Monday
- Tuesday: Counter resets to 0 at 12:00 AM → 3 new bookings can be accepted for Tuesday
Weekly Limits
Resets at Monday 12:00 AM in your timezone each week.
Example: If you set 10 bookings per week:
- Week 1 (Mon-Sun): 10 bookings confirmed → No more slots available for that week
- Week 2 (starts Monday): Counter resets to 0 → 10 new bookings can be accepted
Monthly Limits
Resets on the 1st of each month at 12:00 AM in your timezone.
Example: If you set 20 bookings per month:
- January: 20 bookings confirmed → No more slots available for January
- February 1st: Counter resets to 0 → 20 new bookings can be accepted
Important Notes About Booking Limits
Pending Bookings Count Toward Limit
If you have Booking Approval enabled, pending (not yet approved) bookings count toward your limit. This prevents overbooking while you review approval requests.
Cancelled Bookings Don't Count
When a booking is cancelled, it no longer counts toward your limit. This frees up a slot for a new booking within that period.
Limits Are Per Booking Type
Each booking type has its own independent limit. If you have 3 different booking types, you can set different limits for each:
- 30-Min Consultation: 5 per day
- 60-Min Strategy Session: 2 per day
- Quick Question (15 min): 10 per day
Timezone-Aware
Booking limits reset based on your timezone (set in Settings), not the booker's timezone.
No Automatic Waitlist
When a limit is reached, TidyCal simply hides available slots. There's no automatic waitlist feature. If you cancel a booking, the slot reopens immediately.
Troubleshooting Booking Limits
Q: My booking page shows "No times available" but I haven't reached my limit. Why?
A: Common reasons:
- Check pending bookings: Pending approval bookings count toward your limit
- Verify limit period: Make sure you're checking the correct period (today for daily, this week for weekly, this month for monthly)
- Check other constraints: Availability windows, connected calendars with conflicts, or minimum notice settings may also hide slots
- Review cancelled bookings: Ensure cancelled bookings were properly marked as cancelled in the system
Q: Can I set different limits for different days of the week?
A: No, booking limits apply uniformly to all days within the period. If you need different limits for different days, create separate booking types with different limits.
Q: What happens when I change my booking limit?
A: Changes apply immediately. If you increase the limit, new slots become available. If you decrease it below current bookings, existing bookings remain but no new ones are accepted until the next period.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I use booking limits on the Free Plan?
A: No, booking limits require the Individual Plan ($29) or Agency Plan ($79).
Q: Do booking limits work with team booking types?
A: Yes! Booking limits work with all booking types including individual, team collective, and round-robin booking types. The limit applies to the total bookings for that booking type regardless of which team member takes the booking.
Q: Can I see how many bookings I have toward my limit?
A: Currently, you'll need to check your Bookings page and manually count confirmed bookings for the current period. TidyCal doesn't display a real-time counter on the booking type editor.
Q: What if I need to accept one more booking after reaching my limit?
A: You can temporarily increase your limit, accept the booking, then reduce the limit back. Or, create a new booking manually from your dashboard (which bypasses the booking page limit).
Q: Do rescheduled bookings count as new bookings toward my limit?
A: No, when a booker reschedules an existing booking, it doesn't count as a new booking. The system updates the existing booking, not create a new one.
Q: Can I set fractional limits like 2.5 bookings per day?
A: No, limits must be whole numbers (integers). You cannot set fractional limits.
Q: Do booking limits work with package bookings?
A: Yes, but each session in a package counts as one booking toward your limit. For example, if someone books a 5-session package, that counts as 5 bookings toward your limit (spread across the dates they select).
Q: Can I set hourly limits (e.g., 2 bookings per hour)?
A: No, booking limits are only available for daily, weekly, or monthly periods. For hourly control, use availability windows and booking buffers instead.
Need help? Contact TidyCal support if you have questions about booking limits.