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Reservation Buffers (Enterprise)

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This feature currently requires an Enterprise plan or feature add-on. Please contact us for more information.

Need time to get items ready for an item to be picked up, or time to ship the item? Or do you need to check, clean, or inspect items after they go back before out? You can now set a "buffer" before an item can be reserved and after it comes back during which a user cannot reserve the item.

Note: when creating reservations, administrative users with Loans or Super Admin 
privileges can override the buffers in addition to closed days and holidays.

Reservation "Buffers" give you time to prep or ship items for customers. You have two options for reservation buffers that can be set on an Item Type basis using Settings > Inventory > Edit Default Values and setting the default either on "All Types" (in the upper right) or you can control buffers by type of item. 

The values you can set are:

Now Buffer

Now buffers defined what is soonest an item can be reserved from now/today. This only applies when the item is currently in stock and not checked out. 
  • 0 days/not set, means the person can reserve the item "today" as long as it is still during your open hours
  • 1 day means the person can reserve the item tomorrow
  • 2 days means the person can reserve for the day after tomorrow
  • So with a 2 day "Now" buffer, the person can reserve for Thursday

Between Buffers

The between buffer only applies when an item is checked out or reserved, and defines how soon after a item is due back before the next reserve can start. When buffers are enabled, we never allow items to be reserved for the same day an item is due back, so:
  • 0 days means they can reserve the item for the day after an item is due back. There are 0 days between the due date and when the next reservation can start.
  • 1 day means there is one full day between when the item comes back, and when the item can be reserved. Specifically, they can't reserve on the day the item is due back as noted, they can't reserve the next day, so the soonest would be the day after so there is 1 full day where the item is not coming back or going back out again.

If you do not want the between buffer to apply after an item is returned, you can can also enable the option:

Transfer Buffers (multiple location sites only)

These buffers apply when an item is being picked up a location that is not its home location. Transfer buffers are added to:

  • Now buffer: once (to give you time to get the item to the fulfillment location
    • So if your Now buffer is 1 and oyur between buffer is 2, when the Transfer Buffer applies the Now buffer would be 1 + 2 = 3 days
  • Between buffer: the transfer buffer is added once, unless you have "Always goes home on check in" on your items, in which case it will be applied 2 twice.
    • This is to allow for the transfer back home after check in, and then the transfer time to a new pickup location.

You can set these values using:

Settings > Inventory > Item Default Values

and selecting the appropriate item type or setting them for "All Items" (upper right corner).

Additional buffer options

There are many additional options that impact reservation buffers at:

Settings > Loans & Reservations

If you do not want the between buffer to be enforced after items are checked in (any Now Buffer set will still be enforced), you can enable:

Settings > Loans & Reservations > Do not enforce the between buffer after items are checked in.

You can also specify if you want buffers to use calendar days (every day, including closed days and holidays) or just the days you are open:

Settings > Loans & Reservations > Calculate reservation buffers based on days your organization is open

Want to set a default due day when a user started a reservation? You can enable:

Settings > Loans & Reservations > Use the default loan length to automatically set the due date when starting a reservation.

There are also many options specific to sites using multiple locations, allowing you to have manual or automatic processes for any portion of the transfer and receive workflow.

Buffer Examples

For example, if the soonest you want someone to reserve items is tomorrow and you need 3 days after the due date to receive and prepare the item to go out again, you would set a Now Buffer to 1 (day) and the Between Buffer to 3 (days):

 

Screen_Shot_2019-06-25_at_6.18.47_PM.png 

Buffers will show up on individual Item pages on the item availability calendar in grey. These and the green "reserved" days are days the item can not be reserved.
 

TEST__D_emo_shop___rent__24__HP_Monitor_HDMI__VGA_and_DVI_ports__36_.png

Additional Examples:

Assuming today is April 1, a one (1) day Now Buffer allows the person to resreve 1 day from now on April 2nd:

Assuming today is April 1, a two (2) day Now Buffer allows the person to reserve 2 days starting from April 3rd:

A two day betwen buffer means an item due back on April 13th, has two full days the item can not be reserved after the item is due back:

 

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