# Location

### Definition

Locations in Maica specify a particular geographic address that may be used across your organisation. A typical example of this might be a wellness centre, therapy studio, or headquarters. 

Locations capture information such as MMM classifications, addresses, and geolocation coordinates derived from Google, via Maica's Google Maps API integration.

### Purpose

The purpose of Locations is to abstract the actual address information from the end user (or Resources) when managing either [Appointments](https://knowledge.maica.com.au/maica-knowledge-base/getting-started/maica-key-concepts/appointment) or [Shifts](https://knowledge.maica.com.au/maica-knowledge-base/getting-started/maica-key-concepts/shift). The end user does not need to be concerned with entering the right address everytime an [Appointment](https://knowledge.maica.com.au/maica-knowledge-base/getting-started/maica-key-concepts/appointment) or [Shift](https://knowledge.maica.com.au/maica-knowledge-base/getting-started/maica-key-concepts/shift) is managed but rather can simply select the Location.

### Usage

Locations are primarily used when managing [Appointments](https://knowledge.maica.com.au/maica-knowledge-base/getting-started/maica-key-concepts/appointment) and [Shifts](https://knowledge.maica.com.au/maica-knowledge-base/getting-started/maica-key-concepts/shift). This allows the end user to simply select a Location rather than entering an address manually. Maica's Google Maps API integration also uses Locations to geo-code each one which is then used to calculate travel times between [Appointments](https://knowledge.maica.com.au/maica-knowledge-base/getting-started/maica-key-concepts/appointment). Locations are also set for each [Resource](https://knowledge.maica.com.au/maica-knowledge-base/getting-started/maica-key-concepts/resource) as their primary Location so Maica can track the travel time from this address.

### Final Thoughts

Locations are a good way to abstract the management of addresses manually, so we encourage you to capture Locations for each address that is used more than once and should be globally accessible.