Forum Discussion
Missing some features?
In Microsoft Bookings, there are a few limitations and features that may not be as flexible as you would like compared to other platforms like Google Appointments. Here's what I can help you with regarding your questions:
1. Creating appointments at 2-hour intervals:
Currently, Microsoft Bookings does not allow you to set custom intervals like 2 hours. The maximum available interval for an appointment is 1 hour.
Workaround: If you want to offer 2-hour intervals, you could:
- Set each appointment manually for 2 hours and adjust the duration in the service settings.
- Create a 2-hour service slot that users can select.
However, this doesn't allow for automatic 2-hour intervals in the sense you're looking for.
2. Setting the timezone for appointments:
Microsoft Bookings should automatically adjust to the time zone of the client when they receive the link, but the time zone shown when creating the appointment is based on your local time zone. This can cause confusion if you're trying to schedule appointments in another time zone.
Workaround:
- When creating an appointment link, you should ensure that your calendar is updated with the correct time zone of the location you're traveling to. Bookings uses your calendar’s time zone settings.
- Clients can see the appointment in their local time zone once they receive the link, but it's important to communicate the time zone you are scheduling in to avoid confusion.
3. Booking appointments for more than 90 days out:
The 90-day limitation is a known constraint in Microsoft Bookings, and there's no way to directly bypass this for long-term scheduling like you would in Google Appointments, which offers more flexibility.
Possible workaround:
- You could look into adjusting your booking availability to allow scheduling within the 90-day window and then manually adjust the dates closer to July. Alternatively, you might try using a different calendar integration (like Outlook) to make bookings for dates beyond 90 days, though this wouldn't be automatic via Bookings.
It seems that Microsoft Bookings doesn't yet match all the flexibility of some other scheduling tools. If you're looking for full customization, including flexible time intervals and better time zone management, you might want to consider using a more feature-rich tool, like Calendly or Acuity Scheduling, that could offer more control over these aspects.