Microsoft Bookings
Spruiell, Marissa
Craig Miller
Overview
An online booking tool that allows people to book appointments with individuals or offices at SPU.
After publishing your calendar in Bookings, you can share a personalized link for people to view your availability and schedule appointments directly on your calendar. There are numerous customization options that meet the needs of diverse situations - from simple scheduling for an individual to the complexity of multi-staff offices.
When a new appointment is scheduled, you and the person booking will receive email confirmations. You can also configure reminder emails.
Bookings is a free solution that almost perfectly matches Calendly Free and Premium features.
It is the CIS-recommended tool for online appointment bookings.
If you prefer Calendly or another online booking tool, we ask you connect with the CIS Business Systems Team to discuss your use case and for advisement on security concerns.
Features
Bookings can be used by individuals or teams. It streamlines the appointment booking process by providing an online calendar people can access to view your availability and book appointments. Bookings offers a bevy of customization options, including modified availability for select services, custom links by services, and team booking.
Virtual Appointments
If you need to make certain appointments virtual - simply enable "Add Online Meeting" and a Teams link for a video call will be added to the meeting invitation.
Don't have a Teams account yet? Teams is available for all SPU users. Follow these steps to activate yours.
Designed For
Bookings streamlines scheduling and managing appointments. It includes a web-based booking calendar which integrates with Outlook to give people flexibility to book a time that works best for both of you. Automated notification emails reduce no-shows and empower clients to manage their appointment if they need to cancel or reschedule, and departments save time with a reduction in repetitive scheduling tasks.
Currently using Calendly? You can transition your calendar to Bookings by following the steps in Getting Started.
Cancelling a Paid Calendly subscription:
- At the top of any Calendly page, select Account, then Billing.
- At Change your plan, select Downgrade and select the Basic (free) plan.
- At the end of your billing cycle, Calendly will downgrade your subscription.
Deleting your account:
- At the top of any Calendly page, select Account, then Account Settings.
- At the lower right side of the page, select Delete Account.
- Note: This will delete your Calendly account and all information related to it. If you want to keep your information, downgrade your account instead and inactivate your appointments.
Getting Started
In a web browser, go to Office.com and log in with your SPU credentials. Search for Bookings, and click the app. The account setup, configuration and administration is done completely from the web. You can also download the Bookings mobile app to manage your account on your smartphone or tablet.
Follow the steps below to set up your account and customize your services, schedule and staff.
Step 1:Â Enter your business information
*The calendar name you provide at this step is permanent for your Bookings site.Â
Step 2:Â Set your scheduling policies
Step 3:Â Define your service offeringsÂ
*If you are the only person for this calendar, assign yourself to all services to avoid potential double bookings.
Step 4:Â Create your staff list
Step 5:Â Set employee working hours
Step 6:Â Schedule business closures, time off, and vacation time
Step 7:Â Publish or unpublish your booking page
Step 8:Â Create and staff your bookings
SMS Appointment Confirmations are a beta feature. Due to observed inconsistencies, at this time CIS advises these notifications be turned off for all services.
Technical Support and Training
Microsoft offers a library of helpful videos and step-by-step instructions on getting started in Bookings, as well as details on the features available in the tool. With the publish/unpublish setting for your booking page, you can easily test out your setup with a colleague or on your own.
If you have questions or want to consult with a CIS Staff member about Bookings, don't hesitate to reach out and submit a request.
Administration and Maintenance
Bookings is part of our Office 365 site license, and is maintained by CIS.
Highlights
Eligibility
- Permanent SPU Staff and Faculty
Support & Training
- Microsoft Bookings Overview
- Contact the CIS HelpDesk: help@spu.edu, (206) 281-2982
Get Started
- Login to Office.com. Search for Bookings, and click the app.