As you most likely know, Google has a multitude of free apps you can access for free as well as some that you will need to pay for. Most people have a Google account for things such as Gmail, and if you use an Android based smartphone or tablet, you will already have a Google account.
Watch Video: How to Use the Google Calendar Appointment Schedule and Booking Feature
Online calendars are very popular since they allow you to schedule and view appointments from any device with an internet connection. If you use Gmail, then it makes sense to also use the Google calendar since they work hand in hand. If you were unaware, you can now use the Google Calendar appointment schedule and booking feature to create a booking page where other users can make appointments that will show up on your calendar.
To create a booking page, simply go to the Google Calendar website and click on the Create button and then choose Appointment schedule.
You will then have several configuration options for your new booking page as shown below. You can also add a title for your booking page at the top of this section.
Here is what you can configure with each of these settings.
Appointment duration
This is where you can configure how long scheduled appointments will last. There are some built in choices such as 15 minutes, 1 hour and 2 hours or you can create a custom time period.
General availability
Here is where you can choose what days and times you want to have available for others to schedule appointments on your calendar. You can also create more than one time period in a single day if needed as well as copy the configured time period to other days. This is where you can change your time zone as well if needed.
Scheduling window
Here is where you can enter your start and end dates for your bookings. You can also have it never end if desired. You can also set the maximum number of days in advance that the appointment can be scheduled as well as the minimum time before the appointment start time that it can be booked.
Adjusted availability
If you need to change the availability time for a specific date, you can do so from here.
Booked appointment settings
Here you can set buffer times which is how much time off you want to have between appointments. You can also set a maximum number of bookings per day. If you want your guests to have the ability to invite others, you can enable this from here even though it’s enabled by default.
Calendars
If you have more than one calendar, you can choose which one you want to use from this section.
On the next screen, can view your booking page photo and name which will be taken from your Google account.
The location and conferencing section is used to choose how your appointments will be conducted. You can choose from a Google Meet video conference, in person meeting, phone call and none\specify later. You can also add a description that explains what your service will provide.
The Booking form section is used to specify what information you require from the person making the appointment such as first and last name, email address, phone number or a custom option.
The Booking confirmations and reminders section shows you that you and the person who made the appointment will receive email and calendar reminders after you click the Save button. If you have one of the Google pay for plans, you can create additional booking pages and have other email options.
Once you click on Save, you will then be able to open your booking page, edit or delete your booking page or share it.
If you open your booking page, you will then see all your configured appointment dates and their corresponding time slots.
When you share your booking schedule, you will be able to copy a link that you can email to others or create code that will allow you to embed your booking schedule on your website. Then that person can connect to your booking page, choose an available date and time and then schedule an appointment.
You will then receive an email notifying you that someone has made an appointment.
You can then open your calendar and view all of your time slots as well as any appointments that have been booked.
Now when you or someone else goes back to your booking page, the date and time that has been booked will not be available for anyone else to book. As you can see in the image below, 10 AM is not an option because it was already booked by someone else.
As you can see, using the Google Calendar appointment schedule and booking feature is an effective way to keep track of your customer appointments.
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