# Timezone Mismatch

If your available time slots appear at the wrong times — or availability seems to disappear — the most likely cause is a timezone mismatch between Sesami and your Shopify store.

## Common Symptoms

* Time slots show at unexpected hours (e.g., you set 9am–5pm but customers see 2am–10am)
* Availability appears empty because slots fall outside business hours in the customer's timezone
* Booked appointment times don't match what the customer selected

## How Timezones Work in Sesami

There are multiple timezone settings that must align:

| Setting                          | Where                                         | What it controls                                       |
| -------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Shopify store timezone**       | Shopify > Settings > General                  | Base timezone for your store                           |
| **Sesami store timezone**        | Sesami > Settings > Store Settings > Timezone | Timezone used for availability and bookings            |
| **Customer timezone conversion** | Sesami > Settings > Storefront Settings       | Whether to show times in the customer's local timezone |

## Fixing Timezone Mismatch

### Step 1: Check your Shopify timezone

1. Go to **Shopify > Settings > General**
2. Note your store timezone

### Step 2: Match Sesami timezone

1. Go to **Sesami > Settings > Store Settings > Timezone**
2. Set it to match your Shopify store timezone
3. **Save**

{% hint style="warning" %}
If your Sesami timezone doesn't match your Shopify timezone, appointment times will be offset by the difference.
{% endhint %}

### Step 3: Review customer timezone conversion

If you serve customers in different timezones:

* **Enable timezone conversion** — the calendar automatically converts your availability to the customer's local timezone
* On the Shopify order, you'll see the customer's timezone and their selected time
* In Sesami, appointments are always stored in your store's timezone

If you serve customers in one location only:

* **Disable timezone conversion** to avoid confusion
* Optionally **hide the timezone label** in Sesami > Settings > Storefront Settings

## Destination Time (Timezone Fixation)

Some businesses need times fixed to the destination timezone rather than the store or customer timezone. Examples:

* **Tours** — a 10am tour in Paris should always show as 10am, regardless of the customer's location
* **Airport lounges** — times should match the airport's local time
* **On-site experiences** — the service happens in a fixed location

Use the **service timezone fixation** option to lock times to a specific timezone.

## Related

* [Timezone Settings](/booking/availability/timezone.md) — full timezone configuration guide


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