Managing Resource Availability
The Resource Availability feature allows you to track when employees and equipment are unavailable. This helps prevent scheduling conflicts and gives your team visibility into who and what is available for upcoming projects.
What is Resource Availability?
Resource availability records indicate when a person or piece of equipment cannot be scheduled:
For Employees:
- Vacation time
- Sick leave
- Training/certification courses
- Personal time off
- Other absences
For Equipment:
- Scheduled maintenance
- Repairs
- Inspections
- Out of service periods
Enabling Resource Availability
This feature can be enabled or disabled per organization:
- Go to Admin → Business Info
- Find the Scheduling Settings section
- Toggle Enable resource availability tracking on or off
- Click Save Changes
When enabled, the "Mark Unavailable" button appears on the Scheduling page.
Creating an Unavailability Record
Step-by-Step
- Navigate to Scheduling in the left sidebar
- Click the Mark Unavailable button (yellow/orange button)
- Fill out the availability form:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Resource Type | Choose "Employee" or "Equipment" |
| Employee/Equipment | Select who or what is unavailable |
| Start Date | When the unavailability begins |
| End Date | When they become available again |
| Type | Reason category (see below) |
| Reason/Notes | Additional details |
| Approved | Whether this time off is approved |
- Click Save
Availability Types
For Employees
| Type | Description | Calendar Color |
|---|---|---|
| Vacation | Planned time off | Teal/Cyan |
| Sick Leave | Illness-related absence | Teal/Cyan |
| Training | Professional development | Teal/Cyan |
| Other | Any other reason | Red |
For Equipment
| Type | Description | Calendar Color |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Scheduled preventive maintenance | Red |
| Repair | Equipment is being fixed | Red |
| Other | Inspections, certifications, etc. | Red |
How Availability Appears on the Calendar
When you mark a resource as unavailable, here's what happens:
Visual Indicators
Overlay Banner: A colored banner appears at the top of each affected day showing:
- An "X" icon
- The availability type (e.g., "Vacation", "Maintenance")
- Any notes you added
Cell Background: Days with unavailability have a subtle yellow/warning tint
Faded Schedules: Any existing schedules on those days appear faded (50% opacity) to indicate a conflict
Example
If David Chen is on vacation Dec 24-28:
- His row will show "Vacation" banners on Dec 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28
- Any project schedules on those days will appear faded below the vacation banner
- You can still see he was scheduled (to identify conflicts to resolve)
Viewing Availability Details
- Click on the availability overlay (the "Vacation" or "Maintenance" banner)
- A details popup appears showing:
- Resource name
- Date range
- Availability type
- Reason/notes
- Approval status
- Click Edit to modify or Delete to remove
Editing an Availability Record
- Find the availability record on the calendar
- Click on the overlay banner
- Click the Edit button
- Make your changes:
- Extend or shorten dates
- Change the type
- Update notes
- Change approval status
- Click Save
Deleting an Availability Record
- Click on the availability overlay banner
- Click the Delete button (trash icon)
- Confirm the deletion
Note: Deleting an availability record removes it from the calendar. Consider whether you want to keep it for historical reference.
Approval Workflow
The "Approved" checkbox indicates whether the time off has been officially approved:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Approved (checked) | Management has approved this time off |
| Not Approved (unchecked) | Time off is pending approval |
Tip: Use the approval status to track pending vacation requests. Review unapproved records regularly.
Example: Recording Employee Vacation
Scenario: Sarah Johnson is taking vacation from December 24-January 2.
Steps:
- Go to Scheduling
- Click Mark Unavailable
- Complete the form:
- Resource Type: Employee
- Employee: Sarah Johnson
- Start Date: Dec 24, 2025
- End Date: Jan 2, 2026
- Type: Vacation
- Reason/Notes: "Holiday vacation - approved Dec 1"
- Approved: (checked)
- Click Save
Result:
- Sarah's row on the calendar shows "Vacation" from Dec 24 through Jan 2
- Any existing schedules during that period appear faded
- Schedulers know not to assign her to projects during these dates
Example: Recording Equipment Maintenance
Scenario: Crane #2 needs its annual inspection Dec 26-27.
Steps:
- Go to Scheduling
- Click Mark Unavailable
- Complete the form:
- Resource Type: Equipment
- Equipment: Crane #2 - 75 Ton
- Start Date: Dec 26, 2025
- End Date: Dec 27, 2025
- Type: Maintenance
- Reason/Notes: "Annual OSHA inspection - ABC Crane Services"
- Approved: (checked)
- Click Save
Result:
- Crane #2 shows "Maintenance" on Dec 26 and 27
- Any project schedules for those days appear faded
- Team knows the crane is not available for scheduling
Best Practices
Record Time Off Early
- Enter vacation requests as soon as they're submitted
- This gives schedulers visibility for planning
Use Descriptive Notes
- Include approval dates
- Note who approved the time off
- For equipment, include service provider information
Review Conflicts
- When unavailability shows existing schedules, review those schedules
- Reassign work to available resources
- Communicate changes to affected team members
Keep Records Current
- Update end dates if circumstances change
- Delete records that no longer apply
Troubleshooting
"I don't see the Mark Unavailable button"
- Resource availability may be disabled for your organization
- Go to Admin Business Info Scheduling Settings to enable it
"Availability isn't showing on the calendar"
- Check that the date range filter includes your availability dates
- Clear any filters that might be hiding it
"I want to see all availability records"
- Availability records appear on the calendar for affected dates
- Currently there's no separate list view for availability-only