How do I add travel time and buffers between appointments?
Short answer
Add buffer before and after each appointment type so the calendar books the real length of a job, not the wrench time. Set longer buffers for jobs that run over, cap how far apart back-to-back stops can be, and the schedule stops falling apart by mid-afternoon.
Before you start
- Honest average job durations from the last month.
- Typical drive time across your service area.
- Setup and cleanup time per job type.
- Your arrival window policy.
Step by step
- 1
Measure the real job length
Pull actual start and end times, not the estimate you have been repeating for three years.
Most schedules break because the durations were fiction.
- 2
Add setup and cleanup into duration
If it takes fifteen minutes to stage and pack up, the appointment is fifteen minutes longer.
Customers experience the whole visit, not the productive part.
- 3
Put travel in the buffer, not the job
Buffer after each appointment covers the drive to the next stop and keeps the customer-facing duration honest.
Separating drive from work keeps your job costing accurate.
- 4
Vary buffer by job type
A quick diagnostic needs a small buffer; a job that regularly finds surprises needs a big one.
Uniform buffers overbook the messy jobs and waste time on the simple ones.
- 5
Use arrival windows for long jobs
Offer a two-hour arrival window instead of a precise time when the day realistically drifts.
A window you hit beats an exact time you miss.
- 6
Send an on-the-way notice
Text when the tech departs so the customer's expectation follows reality.
The complaint is almost never the delay, it is the silence.
What good looks like
- The schedule holds through the afternoon.
- Customers get windows the crew can actually hit.
- Overtime drops because days are booked honestly.
- On-the-way texts cut the where-are-they calls.
Common mistakes
The ways this goes wrong in setup, and what to do instead.
Using optimistic durations›
Booking a ninety-minute job as sixty guarantees a late day.
Do this instead: Set durations from measured averages and review them every quarter.
Zero buffer across town›
Back-to-back stops in different zones only work in theory.
Do this instead: Set travel buffers that reflect your real service area, and group by zone.
Promising exact arrival times›
One long job turns every later appointment into an apology.
Do this instead: Use arrival windows plus an automatic on-the-way text.
Frequently asked
5 questions about set travel time and buffersRelated guides
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