The Prep and Follow up time feature allows you to create services with predefined buffers. These buffers are automatically calculated in the duration of the service and displayed as a lighter coloured area before or after the appointment block.
Your customer will only see the actual duration of the service (without the buffer).
![](https://downloads.intercomcdn.com/i/o/125347455/0353a071533e7feb97d391df/Bildschirmfoto%2B2019-04-29%2Bum%2B16.23.31.png?expires=1722060900&signature=a7cc57690fd40bab74bed8be48af29ba686a684b0d0a52b5a056a94a8afeaab9)
This is how you create preparation and follow up times for your services
When you create a service, you can enable the Prep and Follow Time section.
It opens a field in which you can define – besides the duration of the service – a prep and / or a follow up time.
As you can see in the following example, your client would now see a 1 hour appointment, while in your calendar this appointment will be created with a duration of 95 minutes: the appointment itself is 60 minutes, prep time is 15 minutes and follow up time is 20 minutes.
![](https://downloads.intercomcdn.com/i/o/127603730/9569928511afaf29ddd4630c/Bildschirmfoto+2019-06-13+um+14.09.54.png?expires=1722060900&signature=9e3f3b3193ac57f66c2c2e0e5c2a2b8bfb00ab6be65d842bc9a065bdfd143c25)
Even if you have no prep or follow up time predefined for a service, you can manually add it to an appointment at any time.
![](https://downloads.intercomcdn.com/i/o/127604043/e452b8847f24e38f3e94cb82/Bildschirmfoto+2019-06-13+um+13.58.22.png?expires=1722060900&signature=b3d904652a1360c9ccdbbc374d5ff045d12f9ff455f712bc113534f1fcba9037)
To see this setting in the appointment window, you need to enable this feature in the calendar settings (⚙ icon in the upper left corner of the calendar).
![](https://downloads.intercomcdn.com/i/o/127604391/80951a32f7910ed4d4b0abe9/Bildschirmfoto+2019-06-13+um+14.12.45.png?expires=1722060900&signature=1041db7757df441c062d1705ffa87cd2f16f82d7da10d1fc01551669dc4cf4f9)
Thanks to the preparation and follow up times, you can optimally prepare for appointments and, for example, also plan arrival times.