A rental location is more than a pin on a map. The hours it keeps shape every booking, because the system only offers pick-up and return times that fit the location's schedule. Location Working Time lets you set regular opening hours for each day, mark days off, allow service outside normal hours and override the weekly pattern for specific dates. Used well, these settings keep the booking calendar honest and give customers a clear picture of when they can collect or return a vehicle.
What the working time of a location controls
Every rental location has its own opening schedule. The working time tells the system when a customer may pick up or return a vehicle there, and what should happen outside those hours. It controls regular opening hours for each day of the week, whether the location is closed as a day off, and whether customers may pick up or drop off outside those hours and at which times. Because the schedule is used whenever a booking is made, it decides which times are offered and can add an out-of-hours charge.
Where to find the settings
Open the Locations page in the admin area and edit an existing location. You will see the Standard Working Time card with the Out of working hours and Date-specific hours sections. These settings are available when editing, so a new location starts with a default schedule you can change after saving. Users without permission to update locations can view but not change them.
Setting the standard working time
The Standard Working Time card is a table with one row for each day of the week. Day off closes the location for the entire day. 24 hours marks it as open around the clock. Start time and End time hold the regular opening hours. Slots opens a panel for after-hours times, and Copy copies the day's hours to other weekdays. When a day is marked as Day off or 24 hours, its start and end times are hidden, and a day off makes the 24 hours option unavailable.
| Day | Default hours Starting point |
|---|---|
| Monday | 09:00 to 23:00 |
| Tuesday | 09:00 to 23:00 |
| Wednesday | 08:00 to 23:00 |
| Thursday | 08:00 to 23:00 |
| Friday | 08:00 to 23:00 |
| Saturday | 10:00 to 23:00 |
| Sunday | 10:00 to 20:00 |
A new location starts with this schedule, which you can adjust at any time. Treat it as a starting point, because a downtown counter, an airport desk and a workshop yard rarely keep the same hours.
Copying a schedule instead of retyping it
Entering the same times seven times is slow and easy to get wrong. Copy on a day's row copies that day's hours to other weekdays, including after-hours slots if you choose. Copy next to the section title copies the whole schedule to other locations, which is useful when a new branch follows the pattern of an existing one.
Allowing out-of-hours pick-up and drop-off
The Out of working hours section decides whether a customer may collect or return a vehicle outside regular hours. Two independent switches, Allow pick-up out of working hours and Allow drop-off out of working hours, let a location permit after-hours pick-up but not drop-off, or the reverse. A link next to them opens the Working Time Fees page, where you set how much, if anything, to charge. Switching the option on does not make every after-hours time bookable.
Choosing 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 hours appear as a grey, unchangeable block. Times outside the regular hours appear as selectable buttons, with green meaning available and red meaning unavailable. Check all and Uncheck all fill or clear every time at once. Allowing out-of-hours service is only the first step: a customer can book a time only if that specific slot has been marked as available.
Date-specific hours for exceptions
Routine schedules rarely survive a public holiday, a local event or a staffing change. Use Date-specific hours to override the weekly schedule for particular dates. Click Add Hours and choose the Date, tick Day off to close the location, set a different Start time and End time, or use Out of hours to allow pick-up and drop-off outside those hours. Entries appear in a table where you can edit or delete them or open the slot panel. A date-specific entry takes priority over the weekly schedule.
What the customer sees during booking
During a booking, the system checks the selected location, date and time against the schedule. Pick-up and return time lists show only the times allowed for the chosen location and date, so 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 fields, such as Outside working hours or Outside working hours fee with the amount. If the location does not allow out-of-hours service for that direction, the customer cannot choose such a time.
How out-of-hours fees are applied
An out-of-hours fee is an optional extra charge applied when a pick-up or return falls outside the regular working hours. 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 return. A time within the regular hours does not add the fee. One outside the regular hours, at a location that allows out-of-hours service, adds the fee for that day automatically. Pick-up and return are calculated independently, each from its own location, date and time.
Special cases worth knowing
- A location must also be marked available for pick-up and/or drop-off in Available for; working time is separate from that choice.
- If the End time is earlier than the Start time, such as 22:00 to 06:00, the system treats it as an overnight period crossing midnight.
- A Day off closes the location all day. Unless out-of-hours service is allowed, no bookings can be made.
- A 24 hours location is always open, so start and end times are ignored and no out-of-hours situation arises.
- Date-specific hours override the weekly schedule for the matching date.
- Even with out-of-hours enabled, only slots marked available can be selected.
Business benefits
Accurate opening hours do more than populate a calendar. They set expectations before the customer arrives, reducing phone calls, queues at a closed desk and disputes about late collection. Clear after-hours rules let you serve travellers on late flights without keeping the counter open all night, and an optional fee makes that convenience sustainable. Date-specific overrides keep holiday closures visible to the booking system, and copying schedules keeps multi-branch standards consistent.
Practical use cases
An airport branch serving night flights can mark relevant days as 24 hours, so customers book any time without extra configuration. A city office can close on Sunday while still allowing after-hours drop-off, with return slots defined in 30-minute steps.
A seasonal depot can keep shorter winter hours and use date-specific entries for a public holiday. A branch handling late returns might open a narrow band of evening slots instead of the whole night.
Best practices for opening hours
- Use the Copy buttons to set a common schedule once.
- Plan holidays with Date-specific hours, as a day off or shorter hours.
- Decide the out-of-hours fee before enabling the switches.
- Open only after-hours slots you can genuinely staff.
- Review the schedule each season and after staffing changes.
- Check the Available for setting, since working time alone does not make a location selectable.
Conclusion
The working time of a location is one of the quiet settings that determines whether a booking runs smoothly. Mirror your real opening hours, open only the after-hours slots you can support, and record exceptions before they happen. The result is predictable for the customer and manageable for the team.