Build a Group
- Create the equipment items and set each one's Linking Mode (in Settings) to Via group — previously called Part of Group.
- Open Equipment → Groups and select New.
- Choose the member items and drag them into order — this order is the allocation priority for the sequential modes.
- Set Allocation, the allocation mode, Same Equipment Item and Optional/Required (below).
- Save, then link the group to its classes or appointment services.
A group and its location-specific members must have compatible locations.
Automatic and Customer Choice
| Option | What it does | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic | OB assigns an available unit during booking; the customer never picks. | Any unit will do. |
| Customer Choice | The customer picks a unit from the group where the booking flow supports it. Nothing is auto-assigned, but the group's available capacity still decides whether the booking fits. | Customers care which unit they get. |
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Required | Bookings for the linked classes must include equipment from this group. |
| Optional | With Customer Choice, customers may add equipment from this group; it never blocks the main booking. |
A Customer Choice group ignores the allocation mode and Same Equipment Item, so the Groups list leaves those cells blank.
Allocation Modes and Same Equipment Item
Keep Groups Together is now Same Equipment Item, and the Optimized mode is now Sequential (preferred). Only the labels changed; saved settings behave the same.
Allocation mode
| Option | What it does | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Sequential | Fills available units in group order, taking Same Equipment Item into account. | You want a predictable fill order. |
| Balanced | Spreads one booking's units across different items unless Same Equipment Item is Required. Does not balance across past bookings. | One booking's attendees should be spread over items. |
| Sequential (preferred) | Sequential, preferring one equipment item; fixes Same Equipment Item to Preferred. No later automatic reassignment. | Parties should usually stay together but never be rejected for it. |
Same Equipment Item
| Option | What it does | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Required | All attendees in one booking use the same equipment item, across several of its units if needed. If no single item fits everyone, the booking is rejected. | Splitting a party across items would spoil the session. |
| Preferred | Different items are allowed. The sequential modes first try to keep everyone on one item; Balanced spreads them. | Staying together is nice to have, not essential. |
Archive or Restore a Group
Archive a group you no longer use but may want back later. Use Delete only when you want to remove it.
- Open Equipment → Groups.
- Open the row's menu and select Archive. It sits above Delete.
Archived groups:
- are hidden from the Groups list unless you turn on the Include archived filter in the list header (it is off by default);
- no longer appear when you pick equipment groups elsewhere in the admin;
- are no longer offered to customers when they book a class or an appointment, even if the group is still linked to that class. Archiving does not cancel bookings that were already made.
Restoring a group makes it bookable again with its existing class links.
To restore a group: turn on Include archived, then open the archived group's row menu and select Restore, which replaces Archive for archived rows. You can also open the archived group itself: its edit page shows only Restore and Delete.
