Event Buffers or Break between the Events

In Cal ID, Event Buffers are a great way to ensure you never have back-to-back meetings without a break. This feature automatically adds "padding" before or after your appointments so you have time to prep, take a breath, or wrap up notes.

Buffer times are "blocked" periods on your calendar that guests cannot book. They act as a protective layer around your meetings.

• Avoid Exhaustion: Prevent back-to-back calls that leave you no time to even grab water.
• Prep & Wrap-up: Use "Before" buffers to prepare for a call and "After" buffers to finish your meeting notes.
• Travel Time: If you meet in person, buffers provide the time needed to get from one location to another.

1. Go to Event Types: Click on Event Types in the left sidebar.
2. Select an Event: Click on the event you want to edit (e.g., "Introductory Call").
3. Navigate to Limits: Click on the Limits tab in the top menu bar of the event editor.
4. Set Your Buffers:

• After Event: Enter the number of minutes you want free after every booking.
• Before Event: Enter the number of minutes you want free before every booking.

5. Save: Click the Save button at the top right.

• Invisible to Guests: Guests don't see your buffer times; they simply see those slots as "Unavailable" on your booking page.
• Automatic Calculation: If you have a 30-minute meeting with a 15-minute "After" buffer, Cal ID will block a total of 45 minutes on your calendar to ensure you stay protected.
• Multiple Durations: If you use Multiple Durations, the buffer applies to whichever length the guest chooses.

• Balanced Padding: A common setup is a 5-minute "Before" buffer for quick prep and a 10-minute "After" buffer for follow-up tasks.
• Team Events: For team-based meetings, buffers apply to the specific team member who is booked, keeping their individual schedule manageable.

Given the availability from 9am to 5pm (09:00-17:00) and a 60-minute event with a 30-minute buffer before and a 30-minute buffer after, the total calendar time required for an event is indeed 120 minutes. But the buffer is applied around busy times and not to the start or end of the working day.

So, in this scenario (considering you didn't modify the Custom time-slot intervals in this example):

1. The first available time slot starts at 9am. The buffer before doesn't push this since there's no preceding busy time.
2. The event itself is for 60 minutes.
3. There's a 30-minute buffer before & 30-minute buffer after the event. But again, if there's no following busy time immediately after, this buffer doesn't push the next available slot.

Thus, the sequence is:

• 9:00-10:00am: First available slot
• a. 10:00-11:00am: If Slot 1 is booked, this slot will be blocked as buffer (after) to allow the buffer period relative to the 9-10am slot.

b. 10:00-11:00am: If Slot 1 is free, this slot will be free

c. 10:00-11:00am: If Slot 2 (10:00-11:00) is booked, since booking slot 1 (9:00-10:00) would imply that there will not be an after buffer (as 10-11 is already booked). Hence, slot 1 will not remain bookable anymore.

Updated on: 28/01/2026