Which services a resource can perform
The 'Specializations' section is a silent filter — narrow it and the service stops showing free times for that person.
By default every resource can perform any service that requires its kind. Five stylists and eight stylist services means all five can take all eight. The Specializations section is where you narrow that — “Which offerings this resource can perform.”
It’s the quietest mechanism in the product. No warning, no red, no message. You narrow the list and the service simply stops showing free times with that person. If you’ve ever wondered “why won’t this service book with Anna when it books fine with Maria” — the answer is almost always here.
1. Where the section is
- In the left icon rail, pick your board.
- Catalog →
(e.g. Catalog → Stylists). - Click the pencil on the resource’s row.
- In the Sections rail on the left, click Specializations.
If the section isn’t there at all
That’s not a bug. Specializations only appears when the board has two or more services that use this resource’s kind. With one service there’s nothing to choose between; with none, even less.
Services that use the kind as an add-on count too, not only as the main resource.
2. The two states
One line at the top of the section says everything:
| What it shows | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Available for all offerings | no restriction — the resource is a candidate for every service of its kind |
| Available for 2 of 9 offerings | restricted — only the ticked ones |
On the right of that same line there’s an All button. It resets to “no restriction” and is greyed out when you’re already there.
Below the line there’s one chip per relevant service. Ticked ones carry a check mark.
3. How the chips behave (there’s one trap)
The behaviour is convenient but surprising the first time:
- The resource is on all services. Every chip looks ticked.
- You click the Manicure chip. The result is not “manicure only” — it’s “everything except manicure”. The counter reads “8 of 9”.
- From there, clicking a chip adds or removes it normally.
- If you tick every chip again, the state collapses back to Available for all offerings.
So the first click excludes rather than includes. If you want “only two of nine”, the fastest route is to click the seven you don’t want — or click one and then untick the rest.
If you’d rather start clean: press All to reset, then work from there.
4. What the restriction actually does
Specializations are an availability filter, not a label.
When a service is not on the resource’s list:
- the resource isn’t offered for it in public booking;
- the system won’t auto-assign it for that service;
- even you can’t pick it for that service in the admin form — the save is refused with “Resource is not eligible for kind”;
- if it was the only possible performer, the service stops being bookable at all.
When a service is on the list — everything works as usual.
5. Priority: the service’s allow-list beats specializations
There are two filters and they aren’t equal. The system checks in this order:
- Does the service have a “Resources customers can pick” list? If yes, only that list counts. The resource’s specializations are ignored entirely.
- Otherwise: does the resource have specializations? If yes, those apply.
- Otherwise — the resource is a candidate for everything of its kind.
The practical consequence: if you put someone on a service’s allow-list but removed that service from their specializations, they will still perform it. The allow-list wins. Conversely, if the service has no allow-list, specializations are the only thing restricting anything.
Rule: use one of them. Mixing both filters on the same service is the surest way to lose track of why something does or doesn’t show.
Which to use when:
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| ”Only Anna and Maria do this service” | the list on the service — Client picks a resource |
| ”Anna only does nails and manicure” | Specializations on the resource |
| to manage per service | the service’s allow-list |
| to manage per person | specializations |
6. Checking it in the live preview
While you edit, the panel on the right has a Feasibility tab. It grows a specializations line:
- “Can perform 4 offerings” — with a green check;
- or “Not linked to specializations” with the explanation “Add specializations so this resource can fulfill offerings.”
The second one appears when you’ve unticked every chip. That’s a valid state in the database, but it means the resource can perform nothing — it holds a plan spot and brings in no bookings.
The Sections rail on the left also shows a number next to Specializations — how many services are ticked.
7. What the customer sees
Specializations aren’t printed as a list on the public page, but they have two visible effects:
- On a service’s page there’s a rail of specialists. It lists only the people who have that service explicitly ticked in their specializations. If the whole team is on “Available for all offerings”, the rail is empty — not because nobody performs it, but because nobody ticked it.
- On a specialist’s profile the list of services comes from the same place. A person on “all offerings” shows an empty list there.
In other words: if you want public profiles to look full (“This specialist does: cut, colour, keratin”), tick the services explicitly, even when the person does them all anyway. The difference is purely visual, but it’s noticeable.
Don’t confuse Specializations (an availability filter) with Specialties in the About section — the latter is free text, purely promotional, and affects nothing. See A specialist’s public profile.
8. Step by step: “Ivana only does nails”
- Catalog → Stylists → the pencil on Ivana’s row.
- Section Specializations.
- If it says Available for all offerings, clicking the Manicure chip immediately means “everything except manicure”.
- Press All to reset.
- Now click the chips of the services Ivana does not perform, until the line reads “Available for 3 of 9 offerings”.
- Check the Feasibility tab: “Can perform 3 offerings”.
- Save changes.
If Ivana has upcoming bookings for a service you just unticked, an amber banner appears before saving: “N upcoming bookings may be affected”, with the reason “Offering is not in the new specializations”. It does not block the save and does not cancel existing bookings — they stay on the schedule.
9. Error messages
| Message | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| ”Check the selected specializations.” | something in the list is invalid | reset with All and re-tick |
| ”One of the selected specializations doesn’t belong to this board (or is the wrong type). Re-pick them.” | a service was deleted or no longer requires this kind | open the section and re-tick |
| ”Offering is not in the new specializations” (in the amber banner) | a warning, not an error | review the affected bookings |
10. Troubleshooting
A service shows no times with one specific person. Open their Specializations and check whether the service is ticked. If it isn’t, that’s your cause.
The Specializations section isn’t there. The board has fewer than two services for that kind. Add a second service and the section appears.
I ticked every chip and the line says “Available for all offerings”. That’s expected — when everything is ticked the state collapses back to “no restriction”. The effect is identical.
I unticked everything and can’t get back. Press All on the right of the line.
I changed the specializations and the service still shows with that person. The service has its own Resources customers can pick list, which beats specializations. Remove the person there.
The specialist rail on a service’s public page is empty. Nobody has that service explicitly ticked. Tick it on at least one person.
The resource holds a plan spot but takes no bookings. Check Feasibility: if it says “Not linked to specializations”, it can’t perform anything. Either tick some services, or switch Active · available for booking off.
What’s next
- Client picks a resource — the other filter, the one that beats this one.
- Find out why a service shows no free times — the whole diagnosis in one place.
- A specialist’s public profile — the difference between Specializations and Specialties.
- Add a resource — where this section sits in the full form.