Event Type Settings Explained

An event type is the template for a bookable appointment in Alivo. It defines what the customer is booking, who can take the job, when slots are available, and what happens after they book. This guide walks through every section in the event type editor so you know what each setting does and how they work together.

Name and Description

• Location type. How the appointment happens: In Person, Phone Call, or Video Call. In Person automatically requires an address on the booking form.
• Title. The public name customers see when booking and in confirmations.
• Internal title. An optional shorthand for your team in calendars and internal tools.
• Description. Optional text shown under the title on the booking page.

Form Customization

Every booking form always collects name, email, and phone. You can add optional fields:

• Address. Required and locked on for In Person events.
• Company and Website. Standard fields you can turn on or off.
• Custom fields. Company-level fields you have created (dropdowns, text fields, etc.) that you want on this specific booking form.

You can drag fields to reorder them. Custom fields are managed at the company level and then selected per event type.

Hosts and Availability

This is the largest section. It covers who takes the job, when they are available, and how Alivo assigns reps.

Scheduling Type

Choose Host Priority, Dispatch Slots, or Dispatch Advanced. See the article "How to Choose a Scheduling Type for Your Business" for a full comparison. Your choice here affects several other settings in this section.

Assign Dispatcher

For dispatch types only. Optionally assign a fixed person (your office manager or dispatcher) to every booking in the CRM, even though the field rep is not assigned at booking time.

Host Distribution (Host Priority Only)

• Pick host by priority order. Reps have different priority numbers. Lower numbers are tried first.
• Evenly distribute appointments. All reps share the same priority. Alivo spreads bookings across the team.

Reschedule With Same Host

When on, reschedules keep the original rep. When off, Alivo can pick a new available rep at reschedule time.

Primary Hosts

The team members who can take appointments on this event type. For Host Priority, Alivo assigns from this list. For Dispatch Advanced, this list defines who counts toward available capacity.

Secondary Hosts

Team members invited to every booked event without taking the primary host slot. They show up on the calendar invite but are not the assigned rep. A connected calendar is not required for secondary hosts.

Availability Type

Dispatch types always use Same for All Hosts. The Individual by Host option is only available with Host Priority.

Availability Mode

• Weekly. Repeating days and times each week (for example, Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM).
• Specific Dates. Availability only on chosen calendar dates. Useful for seasonal windows or one-off events.

Switching modes clears your existing availability rows, so plan before you change.

Max Slots (Dispatch Slots Only)

When you are on Dispatch Slots, each availability window has a max slots setting. This is how many appointments can book into that time window. For example, if your window is 9 AM to noon with max slots of 4, up to four customers can book in that block. The booking page can show "3 of 4 left."

Dispatch Advanced does not use max slots. Capacity is calculated automatically from how many reps are actually free.

Service Area

See the dedicated service areas article for full details. On the event type, you can turn on service area enforcement and attach territories. Customers must provide an address within those areas to book. You can also limit individual reps to a subset of the event's service areas.

Drive-Time Optimization

See the dedicated drive-time article for full details. When enabled, Alivo scores available slots based on how much extra driving a new appointment would add to each rep's day.

Duration and Display

• Meeting duration. How long the appointment lasts. Used for calendar holds and slot fitting.
• Duration on booking page. Whether customers see the meeting length while picking a time.
• Booking slot interval. How often start times appear on the calendar. Leave blank to match the meeting duration. For example, a 60-minute appointment with a 30-minute interval shows slots at 9:00, 9:30, 10:00, and so on.

Arrival Instructions (Window Scheduling)

This setting controls how Alivo talks about arrival time in confirmations and reminders.

• Within the entire window. The customer sees an arrival window (for example, "9:00 AM to 11:00 AM"). Use this when your rep arrives anytime during the block, not at an exact minute.
• At the start of the window. The customer sees a specific start time (for example, "9:00 AM"). Use this when the appointment starts at a fixed time.

This pairs with your availability windows. If you set a 9 AM to 11 AM window and choose "Within the entire window," confirmations say "Arrival Window: 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM." If you choose "At the start of the window," they say "Time: 9:00 AM."

Buffers

Buffers add blocked time around appointments when Alivo checks availability. They prevent back-to-back bookings that do not leave room for travel or prep.

• Buffer before. Extra blocked time before the meeting starts. If you set 15 minutes and someone books at 10:00 AM, the 9:45 AM slot is blocked even though the appointment has not started yet.
• Buffer after. Extra blocked time after the meeting ends. A 60-minute appointment ending at 11:00 AM with a 15-minute buffer after blocks the 11:00 AM slot for the next booking.

Buffers apply to existing Alivo events, connected Google and Microsoft calendars, and holidays when calculating open slots.

Notice Limits

• Minimum notice. How far in advance customers must book. A 4-hour minimum notice means nobody can book a slot starting in the next four hours.
• Count business hours only. When checked, minimum notice counts your company's business hours instead of a 24-hour clock. A 4-hour notice with business hours only might stretch across a weekend.
• Maximum notice. How far ahead customers can book. Leave blank for no limit. A 30-day maximum means customers cannot book more than 30 days out.

Booking Limits

Limits cap how many appointments a rep can take. They work at two levels:

Global Limits (Per Rep, All Event Types)

Set on each rep's profile. For example, "Mike can take no more than 4 appointments per day across all event types." These are the default limits unless you override them on a specific event type.

Event-Level Overrides (Per Rep, This Event Type Only)

On the event type's hosts table, you can override limits for a specific rep on this event type. For example, "Sarah can take 6 roof inspections per day but only 2 on this event type."

Limits can be set daily, weekly, or monthly. Leave a limit empty for no cap on that period. When a rep hits their limit, they are hidden from available slots even if their calendar looks open.

Post-Booking Redirect

An optional URL where customers are sent after they book. If you set a redirect link, the confirmation page shows a message and automatically redirects after 5 seconds. Common uses: a thank-you page on your website, a review request page, or a page with prep instructions for the homeowner.

Reminders and Confirmations

Customer Confirmation

When "Require customer confirmation" is on, customers can confirm their appointment through a confirmation link. This is separate from the automatic confirmation email and text that always go out when someone books.

Automatic Confirmations

SMS and email confirmations send instantly to the customer when they book. You can add custom text to the SMS and email templates using variables like the customer's name and appointment date.

Reminders

Add reminders to notify hosts or attendees before the appointment. Set the channel (email or SMS), recipient (attendee, host, or secondary host), and timing (minutes, hours, or days before). Confirmations always send on booking. Reminders are anything extra you add.

Good to know: Reminder timing changes only affect future bookings, not appointments already scheduled.

Appointment Outcomes

Optionally attach an outcome template so reps can log what happened after the appointment (sold, not home, follow up needed, etc.). Manage outcome labels under Settings, then Schedule, then Appointment Outcomes.

Cancel and Reschedule (Company Level)

Whether customers can self-serve cancel or reschedule is a company-wide setting, not per event type. Find it under Settings, then Schedule, then Configuration. When self-service is off, customers see a custom message with your phone number instead of cancel and reschedule links.

Per event type, "Reschedule with same host" still controls whether the same rep is kept when a reschedule does happen.

Still have a question this didn't answer? Reach out to our support team support@alivo.ai and we'll be glad to help.