How to set up and manage Microsoft Bookings for client appointment scheduling

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How to set up and manage Microsoft Bookings for client appointment scheduling. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

Microsoft Bookings is a powerful scheduling tool included in many Microsoft 365 business subscriptions. It allows your clients to view your real-time availability and book appointments without the need for back-and-forth emails, automatically syncing the event to your Outlook calendar.

Getting Started with Microsoft Bookings

Before you begin, ensure you have a Microsoft 365 Business Standard or Premium licence. If you cannot find the Bookings icon in your app launcher, please Open a Ticket to verify your licence permissions.

Accessing the Application

1. Log in to your Microsoft 365 account at portal.office.com.
2. Click the App Launcher (the nine-dot square icon) in the top-left corner.
3. Select Bookings. If it is not visible, click All apps and search for it.

Detailed Setup Instructions

Step 1: Create Your Booking Calendar

1. Upon first launch, you will be prompted to create a new calendar. Click Get it started.
2. Enter your Business Name (this is what clients will see on the booking page).
3. Select your Business Type from the dropdown menu to help Microsoft suggest relevant service templates.
4. Click Next and follow the prompts to finish the initial setup.

Step 2: Define Your Services

Services are the specific types of appointments you offer (e.g., "Initial Consultation" or "Technical Review").

1. Navigate to the Services tab in the left-hand menu.
2. Click Add new service.
3. Enter the Service name and a brief description of what the appointment entails.
4. Set the Default duration (e.g., 30 minutes, 1 hour).
5. Under Availability, choose whether this service is available on a recurring basis or for a specific date range.
6. Click Save changes.

Step 3: Manage Staff and Availability

1. Go to the Staff tab.
2. Click Add new staff to add colleagues from your organisation.
3. For each staff member, ensure the checkbox Events on Office calendar affect availability is ticked. This prevents double-bookings by analysing your existing Outlook appointments.
4. Assign specific staff members to the services created in Step 2.

Step 4: Customise the Booking Page

1. Select the Booking page tab.
2. Under Configure booking page, you can change the Access control. We recommend selecting Anyone can book for external clients.
3. Customise the Scheduling policy to set a minimum lead time (e.g., clients cannot book less than 24 hours in advance).
4. Click Save and publish.

Managing Your Appointments

Viewing and Editing Bookings

• Use the Calendar tab within Bookings to see all scheduled appointments in one view.
• To reschedule an appointment, click on the event and select Edit. This will automatically send a notification email to the client.
• To cancel, select the event and choose Cancel.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Clients cannot see any available time slots

• Check Calendar Sync: Ensure the staff member assigned to the service has the Events on Office calendar affect availability option enabled.
• Check Working Hours: Go to Business information and verify that your business hours are correctly defined.
• Verify Service Hours: Check if the specific Service has custom hours that override the general business hours.

Booking emails are not being received

• Check the Booking page settings to ensure Notify the business via email when a booking is created is enabled.
• Check your Junk/Spam folder. If the emails are there, mark them as "Not Junk" to allow future notifications through your organisation's mail filter.

Permission errors when adding staff

If you receive an error stating you do not have permission to add a staff member, it may be due to your administrative role within the Microsoft 365 tenant. Please Open a Ticket and our team will analyse your permissions.

Still Having Issues?