Location Working Time (Opening Hours)

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Every rental location has its own opening schedule. This is what tells the system when a customer may pick up or return a vehicle at that location, and what should happen if someone wants to collect or hand back a car outside those hours.

What it is for

The working time of a location controls three things:

  • The regular opening hours for each day of the week.
  • Whether the location is closed (a "day off") on any given day.
  • Whether customers are allowed to pick up or drop off outside those hours, and at which exact times.

This matters because the opening schedule is used when a customer (or a staff member) books a vehicle. It decides which pick-up and return times are offered, and it can add an extra "out-of-hours" charge when a booking falls outside the regular hours.

Where to access it

Open the Locations page in the admin area and edit an existing location. On the edit screen you will see the Standard Working Time card, together with the Out of working hours and Date-specific hours sections.

Note The working-time settings are available when you edit a location. A brand-new location starts with a default schedule, which you can then change after it has been saved.

Standard Working Time

This is a table with one row for each day of the week (Monday to Sunday). Each day has the following settings:

  • Day off – mark the location as closed for that entire day.
  • 24 hours – mark the location as open around the clock that day.
  • Start time and End time – the regular opening hours for that day.
  • Slots – opens a panel for choosing the after-hours times (explained below).
  • Copy – copies this day's hours to other weekdays.

When a day is marked as Day off or 24 hours, its start and end times are not needed and are hidden. If a day is marked as Day off, the "24 hours" option becomes unavailable for that day.

Default schedule

A newly created location starts with this schedule, which you can adjust at any time:

  • Monday: 09:00 – 23:00
  • Tuesday: 09:00 – 23:00
  • Wednesday: 08:00 – 23:00
  • Thursday: 08:00 – 23:00
  • Friday: 08:00 – 23:00
  • Saturday: 10:00 – 23:00
  • Sunday: 10:00 – 20:00

Copying working time

There are two ways to copy a schedule so you do not have to enter it repeatedly:

  • Copy (on a day's row) – copies that one day's hours to whichever other weekdays you choose. You can also include the after-hours time slots in the copy.
  • Copy (next to the section title) – copies the entire standard working time from this location to one or more other locations.

Out of working hours

This section decides whether a customer may collect or return a vehicle outside the regular opening hours of the location. There are two separate switches:

  • Allow pick-up out of working hours
  • Allow drop-off out of working hours

They are independent, so a location can, for example, allow after-hours pick-up but not after-hours drop-off. Next to the switches is a link to the Working Time Fees page, where you set how much (if anything) to charge for an out-of-hours pick-up or return.

After-hours time slots

When out-of-hours pick-up or drop-off is allowed, the Slots button becomes available for each day. It opens a panel showing the whole day in 30-minute steps, split into Pick-up times and Return times:

  • Times inside the regular working hours are shown as a grey, unchangeable "standard working time" block.
  • Times outside the regular hours are shown as selectable buttons: green means available, red means unavailable.
  • Use Check all / Uncheck all to fill or clear all the times at once.
Important Allowing out-of-hours pick-up or drop-off is only the first step. A customer can actually book an after-hours time only if that specific 30-minute slot has been marked as available. If no after-hours slots are selected, no out-of-hours time can be chosen even though the switch is on.

Date-specific hours

Use this section to override the regular weekly schedule for particular dates, for example a public holiday or a special event. Click Add Hours and choose:

  • Date – the specific day this override applies to.
  • Day off – close the location for that date.
  • Start time and End time – different opening hours for that date.
  • Out of hours – allow pick-up and drop-off outside those hours for that date.

Added entries appear in a table where you can edit them, delete them, or open the after-hours slot panel for a specific date using the Out of hours button.

When a date has a specific entry, that entry takes priority over the standard weekly schedule for that day.

What the customer sees

During a booking, the system checks the selected location, date and time against the working schedule:

  • Pick-up and return time lists only show times that are allowed for the chosen location and date. Times outside the working hours (and not covered by an available after-hours slot) are hidden.
  • If a chosen time falls outside the regular hours, a small notice appears under the pick-up/return fields, for example "Outside working hours" or "Outside working hours fee …".
  • If the location does not allow out-of-hours pick-up or drop-off for that direction, the customer cannot choose such a time and cannot submit the booking with it.

Out-of-hours fees

An out-of-hours fee is an optional extra charge applied when a pick-up or return falls outside the regular working hours. The amounts are configured separately on the Working Time Fees page, per location and per day of the week, with a separate amount for pick-up and for return.

  • If the pick-up or return happens within the regular hours, no out-of-hours fee is added.
  • If it happens outside the regular hours and the location allows out-of-hours service for that direction, the fee for that day is added automatically to the booking.
  • The pick-up and return are calculated independently, each based on its own location, date and time.

Special cases and important behavior

  • A location must be marked as available for pick-up and/or drop-off (in the location's Available for setting) for customers to select it at all; working time is separate from that choice.
  • If the End time is earlier than the Start time (for example 22:00 to 06:00), the system treats it as an overnight opening period that crosses midnight.
  • A Day off means the location is closed the whole day. Unless out-of-hours service is allowed, no bookings can be made for that day.
  • A location marked 24 hours is always open, so its start/end times are ignored and no out-of-hours situation arises.
  • Date-specific hours always override the regular weekly schedule for the matching date.
  • Even when out-of-hours is allowed, only the after-hours slots marked as available can be selected; everything else is treated as unavailable.

Tips

Tip Use the Copy buttons to set a common schedule quickly. Set Monday's hours once, then copy them to the other weekdays instead of typing the same times repeatedly.
Tip For airport or 24-hour branches, mark the relevant days as 24 hours so customers can book any time without extra configuration.
Tip Plan holidays in advance with Date-specific hours by marking them as a Day off or by setting special shorter hours, so the booking calendar stays accurate.
Tip Keep the out-of-hours fee amounts on the Working Time Fees page in mind when enabling the out-of-hours switches, so you do not unexpectedly charge (or fail to charge) for after-hours service.
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