Simplify Your Scheduling with Microsoft Bookings

Introduction to Microsoft Bookings 

Microsoft Bookings is an online tool designed to help you schedule appointments with ease. Whether you are a small business owner, a nonprofit organization, or part of a larger enterprise, Microsoft Bookings can streamline your scheduling process, allowing clients to book appointments for the services you provide. This blog post will guide you through the key features of Microsoft Bookings and how to get started. 

What is Microsoft Bookings? 

Microsoft Bookings is an online scheduling tool that allows you to create booking calendars for specific purposes or departments. Clients can schedule appointments for listed services, and you can share the booking calendar link or embed it on your website. This tool is particularly useful for managing appointments, reducing no-shows, and improving customer satisfaction. 

Key Features of Microsoft Bookings 

• Easy Access: Navigate to www.office.com, sign in with your credentials, and find Bookings in the App Launcher or Microsoft Teams. 

• Customizable Booking Pages: Create and customize booking pages with your business details, logo, and color theme. 

• Customer Management: Add customers manually or import contact lists to your booking page. 

• Staff Management: Add staff members, assign roles, and set their availability. 

• Service Management: Create and manage services, set availability, and customize fields for customer information. 

• Notifications: Set up email and text message notifications for appointments. 

How to Get Started with Microsoft Bookings

Accessing the Bookings App 

1. Navigate to www.office.com and sign in with your credentials. 
2. Click on the App Launcher at the top left side. 
3. Choose “More apps” and find Bookings. 
4. Alternatively, you can find Bookings in Microsoft Teams by selecting the ellipses on the left side to reveal applications and choosing Bookings.

 Setting Up Your Booking Calendar 

1. Once you are in the Bookings app, select “create” next to Shared booking pages. 
2. Choose “create from scratch” to create a shared booking page from scratch or clone one from an existing bookings calendar.
3. Fill in the details of your calendar, including your business name, type, and business hours. 
4. Invite your staff to the calendar. These individuals will be able to view and manage bookings for the team based on the roles assigned on this page.  
5. Set up and edit your first initial service by selecting “Change.” You can add more services after the calendar has been created. 
6. Choose who can book appointments: “no self-service,” “People in my organization,” or “Anyone.” 

Configuring and Publishing Your Shared Booking Page 

1. Within the Shared Booking Page window, select “Booking page” from the left-hand menu.
2. Configure who can book an appointment: No Self-service, Available to people in your organization, or Available to anyone.

3. The booking page you created will have a link.

   

    

4.  Customize your page with a template, color theme, and logo. 
5. Under Regions and Time Zone Settings, set your language and time zones. 
6. Save your settings and your booking page is ready to use. 

Adding Customers and Staff Members 

When setting up your booking page for the first time, manually adding your existing customer base can help you get started quickly and ensure that your regular clients are already in the system. Adding staff will give only those individuals access to the specific shared booking link and page.  

• Adding Customers: Navigate to the left-hand menu, select customers, and click the add new customer button. Fill out the customer information and save changes. You can also import customer lists in CSV format. 
  • Ensure that the CSV file is in the UTF-8 encoding for best results. See Import or export contacts in Outlook

• Adding Staff Members: Navigate to the left-hand menu, select staff, and click the add new staff button. Complete the information, including name, email, and phone number. Assign roles and set availability. 

Adding New Services 

The ability to add typical services offered to the community you support is also available on the booking page settings! This will allow specific calendar bookings that gives your team insight on the purpose of each meeting booked.   

1. Navigate to the left-hand menu and select services. 
2. Click “add new service” and fill out the form, including service name, description, location, duration, and price. 
3. Set availability options and assign staff to the service. 
4. Customize fields for customer information and set up notifications. 

Conclusion 

Microsoft Bookings is a powerful tool that can help you manage appointments efficiently. By following the steps outlined in this blog post, you can set up and customize your booking page, add customers and staff members, and create services tailored to your needs. Start using Microsoft Bookings today to streamline your scheduling process and enhance customer satisfaction.