Create Scheduler
Need to Know
Time-Saving Tip
Set up one scheduler with your general availability first. Once it’s configured correctly, duplicate it to create the others. This prevents you from rebuilding availability settings from scratch each time.
Detailed Directions on Creating a Scheduler Template
- Go to Templates >> Scheduler in the main menu.
- Click Add Template.
- Fill in the Appointment Name - this will be visible to your client when they open the scheduler!
- Set the Appointment Duration. This is how long the appointment will last.
- Set up your default availability, including when the appointment can be scheduled, what times you are available, and whether you're available or busy once booked. This is when you generally want to be available for this type of appointment, barring any conflicts on your external calendar. Check out the Default Appointment Availability section in this article for more details.
- Enter a Location for the appointment. This will be visible to your client when they open the scheduler. It could be a physical location or a video conferencing link!
- Customize the invitation email for this scheduler. This is the email that will be used by default when you send the scheduler through a project manually or with a workflow.
- Click Save at the bottom when you're finished!
After you go through the initial setup for a scheduler template, you'll be able to adjust more settings in the Advanced tab. But for now, let's take a closer look at the settings available in the Basic tab.
Basic Settings
Appointment Name
The appointment name is up to you, but it will usually be what type of appointment this scheduler template is for. Some examples are Discovery Call, Coaching Session, Venue Tour, Coffee Chat, Feedback Session. This will be visible to the client when they open the scheduler to book!
Appointment Duration
This is how long the appointment will last and determines the duration of the event on your calendar. You can select from the available options in the dropdown or click Custom Time to set your own duration.
The maximum duration for an appointment is 12 hours, so appointments cannot span multiple days.
Default Appointment Availability
When can this appointment be scheduled?
This setting determines how far out in advance you want to allow appointments to be booked. There are three options:
- Rolling day window - This is the most common. When a client opens the scheduler, they will see appointments available for the number of days you set. For example, if you set a rolling 14 day window, clients will be able to book up to 14 days out at any given time. This is great if you don't want clients to schedule too far out.
- Fixed Date Range - Allows you to set a specific date range when this type of appointment is available. This is a good option if the appointment type is for a special, limited-time event.
- Indefinitely - Allows your clients to book as far out in the future as they would like.
What times are you available?
Here you're able to set the default time slots you would prefer to be available for this type of appointment. Dubsado uses the default availability you set on the scheduler template, cross checks it with "busy" event conflicts from the external calendar you've connected, and only shows the resulting available appointment slots to your client.
Let's say you want to be available for consultations Monday - Friday from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM, but you know you have a vacation coming up in June. In the scheduler template for consultations, you'll set your default availability to Monday - Friday from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
Then on your connected external calendar, you'll add events to block off the days that you'll be on vacation. Be sure to set the availability for the calendar event(s) you create to Busy. Dubsado will automatically block off any appointment times that conflict with your vacation the next time one of your schedulers is viewed!
To customize your availability on a day of the week:
- Click on a day in the availability calendar.
- If your new times will overlap an existing time slot, click the red X next to the existing slot.
- If you want availability on that day of the week, enter the start and end time for a time slot and click Add Times. Otherwise skip to Step 5.
- Add more time slots if needed. You don't need a separate slot for every possible appointment, but you could set up a time slot for appointments in the morning and a separate time slot in the afternoon if you want to take a break in the middle of the day!
- Once you're finished adding time slots, click All ____ to apply the availability across the board on that day of the week, such as All Thursdays.
- Repeat for other days of the week.
👋 Here's a tip... you can apply time slots to a specific date by clicking Only ____ instead of All ____. This is a good option if you want to adjust availability on a specific date for a specific scheduler template without relying on your external calendar.
Once booked, show me as...
This setting determines whether or not you can be double booked for the same appointment time. There are two options:
- Available - when an appointment is booked, another client can book that same exact appointment time or an overlapping time through any of your schedulers. You can end up with two or more appointments booked at exactly the same time on the same day. This is actually useful for setting up group events!
- Busy - when an appointment is booked, the time will be blocked off from being booked again across all your schedulers. This is the default setting and prevents double bookings!
Location
The physical address or general location of the appointment. The appointment location will be visible to the client when they open the scheduler.
Check out our video conferencing integration if you would like to have the scheduler generate a unique meeting link when an appointment is booked!
Invitation Email
This is the email that will be used by default when you are sending this scheduler out through a project or a workflow. If you are sharing the scheduler publicly, this email will not be used.
You can select an existing canned email using the dropdown, or type in a custom email. Just make sure the email includes the Smart Field >> Link >> Scheduler Link! This is the placeholder that will generate a button with a unique link for the client to click on and access the the scheduler when you send it.
Remember to SAVE your changes when you're finished
FAQ
Can I use smart fields in the Appointment Name or Location field to autofill information from the client or project?
No. Smart fields do not work in the Appointment Name or Location field of a scheduler template.
Advanced Settings
After creating a scheduler template and adjusting all the settings in the Basic tab, you'll find more options in the Advanced tab to customize your scheduler.
Don't let last minute appointments take you by surprise! This will stop clients from booking within a certain number of hours of an appointment time.
For example, if you set Prevention to 24 hours, appointment times less than 24 hours away will always be blocked off on the scheduler, even if you are available.
Buffer Time
Ensure you always have time for traveling between appointments, writing a follow up, or just taking a break for coffee. Here you can specify how much additional time you want to block off before and/or after each appointment.
For example, let's say you set a 15 minute window after the appointment. Once an appointment is booked, the scheduler will block off any appointment times that overlap within 15 minutes of that appointment ending.
Increments
This setting works with the default availability you set on the calendar in the Basic tab to determine the available appointment start times.
By default, the scheduler will show appointment start times in increments of 30 minutes. If you have a default availability set to 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM, available appointments would start at 9:00 AM, 9:30 AM, 10:00 AM, 10:30 AM, 11:00 AM, and 11:30 AM.
You could decrease this to 15 minutes if you wanted more potential appointment times (9:00 AM, 9:15 AM, 9:30 AM, 9:45 AM, etc.) or increase the increment for less potential appointment times. The maximum interval is 119 minutes.
Daily Appointment Maximum
The setting Allow maximum ____ appointments per day restricts the number of appointments that can be booked through this scheduler template on any given day. This allows you to limit how many of each type of appointment can be booked in a single calendar day. By default, there is no limit.
For example, let's say you set the maximum appointments per day to 3 on your scheduler template. Three appointments are booked for June 1, 2020. The daily maximum is reached and any remaining availability on June 1, 2020 will be blocked off for that scheduler.
⚠️ Heads up! The maximum number of appointments per day only affects the scheduler template you set it on. This means that if the daily maximum is reached on Scheduler A, appointments can still be booked on that day through Scheduler B.
Total Appointment Maximum
The setting Allow this scheduler to be used ___ time(s) restricts the number of total appointments that can be booked through this scheduler template. This prevents any more appointments being booked, on any day, after the limit is reached. By default, there is no limit.
This option is great if you are offering a limited promotion, such as 10 free calls. Set the maximum to 10, and after 10 appointments are booked, the scheduler will not allow any more appointments.
Welcoming Message
This message is displayed as a banner across the top of the page when your client views the scheduler. By default, it reads "Greetings from [your brand name]!"
This message is not visible when the scheduler is embedded on a website.
Confirmation Email
After an appointment is booked, Dubsado will automatically send the client a confirmation email. This cannot be turned off. You can select your own custom canned email from the dropdown here.
If no canned email is selected, the default appointment confirmation email will be sent. This default template can be edited under Templates >> Canned Emails >> Edit Templates >> Appointment Confirmed.
Additional Form
Select a form template from the dropdown to add it to the appointment booking process for the client. After selecting a date and time, the scheduler will pull up the form for the client to complete.
Forms that can be attached include:
- Lead capture (strongly recommended if you are embedding the scheduler or sharing it publicly)
- Questionnaire
- Proposal (will not include a contract)
Contracts and sub agreements cannot be attached to a scheduler.
👋 Here's a tip... attaching an additional form to the scheduler will require the client to submit the form in order for the appointment to be booked.
Redirect URL
Enter a URL here if you would like to automatically redirect your client to different web page outside of Dubsado after they book. This would be perfect for a custom thank you page.
⚠️ Heads up! The Redirect URL setting is NOT for linking to a Dubsado form. To attach a form to your scheduler, use the additional form setting instead.
Invoice
Toggle the invoice setting on to require payment for booking an appointment.
This will create an invoice that must be paid in FULL in order for the appointment to be booked. You can even allow clients to apply discounts!
Notification
Toggle the notification setting on to set up automated appointment reminder emails.
For each reminder, set the amount of time prior to the appointment and the canned email you'd like to send, then click Add. You can add more than one email reminder.
Monthly View
By default, the scheduler will show available dates to your client one week at a time. Toggling the monthly view setting on will change how the scheduler looks, allowing clients to see availability for an entire month.
