Enabling Blackout Times, Quotas and Credits to Restrict Resource Use

Blackout Times are useful when a resource or facility is temporarily unavailable, such as during scheduled maintenance, equipment calibration, or building closures.

How to Create a Blackout Time

1. Navigate to Blackout Times
   • If you are an Application Admin, click Application Management and select Blackout Times. 

   • If you are a Scheduler Admin or Resource Admin, go to Responsibilities and select Blackout Times.

2. Define the Blackout Period 
   • Under Add Blackout, select a Begin Time and End Time.
   • Set the blackout time to repeat on a regular basis (Optional).
     This is useful for recurring events such as monthly calibrations or scheduled maintenance.

3. Select the Affected Resources 
   • Choose the specific Resource that will be unavailable, or
   • Select All Resources On to block all resources on a specific schedule.
4. Enter a Reason
   • Provide a reason for the blackout time (for example, “Scheduled maintenance”).
   • This message will be visible to all members of the organization.
5. Handle Existing Reservations 
   
   If there are existing reservations for this date range, you will want to select one of the options below.  
   • Blackout around conflicting reservations: Existing reservations remain active and are not canceled.

   • Show me conflicting reservations: Displays all reservations that conflict with the blackout time in a dialog window.

     

   • Delete conflicting reservations: Automatically cancels all existing reservations during the blackout period.
6. Click Add to create the Blackout Time. After adding, the blocked times will appear as unavailable on the schedule. Members will not be able to create new reservations during the blackout period.

Managing Existing Blackout Times

All blackout times are displayed at the bottom of the page, where you can use the filter options to easily locate specific entries if multiple blackout times exist. To make changes, click the pencil icon to edit an existing blackout time, or click the trash can icon to delete a blackout time that is no longer needed.

A Quota allows Application Admins to limit how much one or more Resources can be used within a specified time period. This helps ensure fair access to shared resources.

Quotas can be applied in several ways:

• To all resources on all schedules

• To all resources within a specific schedule

• To one or more individual resources

If a member attempts to create a reservation that would exceed an assigned quota, the reservation will be automatically denied.

Note: Administrators will be exempt from all Quotas.

Creating or Updating a Quota

1. Navigate to Application Management and select Quotas.

   

2. From the Quotas page, choose the Schedule, Resources, or Groups that the quota will apply to.

3. Define the quota limit by selecting one of the following:

   • A maximum number of hours per time period (day, week, month, or year), or

   • A maximum number of reservations

4. Include Completed Reservations in Quota Limit? - Optional
   When selected, previously completed reservations count toward the quota.
   Example: If a member has a limit of 100 hours per month and has already used 40 hours, they can only reserve an additional 60 hours for the remainder of the month.

5. Restrict the quota to specific days of the week or a time range - Optional
   Example: Limit reservations between 9:00 AM–5:00 PM on weekdays, while allowing unlimited reservations during evenings or weekends.

6. Click Add and save the quota to apply the changes.

Managing Existing Quotas

• All existing quotas are listed under All Quotas

• To remove a quota, click the trash can icon next to the quota you want to delete

In some Scheduler Organizations, Application Administrators may require users to purchase credits in order to reserve certain resources. This feature allows organizations to manage demand, recover costs, and control access to high-value equipment.

Enable Credits

Before credits can be used, an Application Administrator must enable them in the application settings.

1. Click the gear icon and select Application Configuration.

2. Set the following options to Yes:

   • Enable Credits

   • Allow Credits to be Purchased (If you want members to purchase credits through a payment gateway)

3. Click Update to save your changes.

Configure Peak Times

Peak Times allow administrators to charge additional credits during high-demand periods, helping spread usage more evenly. For example, if a resource is heavily used in the morning, you might charge more credits between 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM to encourage bookings later in the day.

1. Go to Application Management > Schedules.

2. Click the pencil icon in the Peak Times section.

3. Define the time range and associated credit cost.

Assign Credit Costs to Resources

Each Resource can require a specific number of credits per reservation.

1. Go to Application Management > Resources.

2. Click the pencil icon in the Credits column.

3. Enter the number of credits each reservation will cost.

4. Save your changes.

These base credit costs are combined with any applicable Peak Time adjustments.

Manage and Use Credits

Administrators can manually assign credits or users can purchase credits using a credit card or Stripe (if enabled).

Managing User Credits

1. Go to Application Management > Users.

2. Locate the Credits column.

3. Click the pencil icon to adjust a user’s credit balance.

4. Click the clock icon to view the user’s credit history. 

Using Credits During Reservations 

When members of the Organization reserve a Resource, they will see their available credit balance and the total number of credits required for the reservation (including any Peak Time credit adjustments).

This information is shown before the reservation is finalized, allowing members to make informed decisions, such as choosing a different time or resource if they want to reduce credit usage. Credits are deducted automatically once the reservation is successfully completed.

To learn more about purchasing and using credits, see Purchasing and Using Credits. 

In some cases, an organization may require users to purchase Credits in order to reserve certain resources. To support this, an Application Administrator must enable credits and configure a payment gateway.

Step 1: Enable Credits and Credit Purchases

1. Click the gear icon and select Application Configuration.

   

2. Set the following options to Yes:

   • Enable Credits

   • Allow Credits to be Purchased

3. Click Update to save your changes.

Once enabled, the application will allow credit-based reservations and credit purchases.

 

Step 2: Open Payment Settings and Set the Cost Per Credit

Before enabling payments, you must define how much each credit costs.

1. Navigate to Application Configuration → Payments. 

    

   

2. Open the Cost tab.

3. Enter:

   • Price per credit

   • Currency

4. Click Update to save your changes.

Step 3: Configure a Payment Gateway

You can allow users to purchase credits using Stripe, PayPal, or both.

1. Open the Payment Gateway tab.

2. Select the gateway(s) you want to enable.

3. Enter the required credentials.

4. Click Update to save your settings.

Configuring Stripe

To set up Stripe, log in to the Stripe Dashboard and locate your API keys. Stripe provides two types of keys: Test keys for testing your setup and Live keys for real payments. Each set includes a Publishable Key and a Secret Key. Copy the appropriate keys and paste them into the Stripe section of the Payment Gateways tab. When finished, click Update to save your changes.

Configuring PayPal

To set up PayPal, log in to the PayPal Developer Dashboard and obtain your credentials. PayPal offers Sandbox credentials for testing and Live credentials for production use. Each environment includes a Client ID and a Secret. Copy both values into the PayPal section of the Payment Gateways tab, select the correct Environment (Sandbox or Live), and click Update.