Why it matters to you
Running a small business involves so many moving parts, but Microsoft Bookings wants to help with one of the most important aspects — your appointments.
Small businesses in North America have the option of managing their customers’ appointments and schedules through Microsoft’s Bookings, and now the Seattle-based tech giant announced the service is being rolled out to Office 365 Business Premium subscribers.
“Bookings is designed to delight your customers, simplify scheduling and free time for you to be on top of your business wherever you are,” Microsoft said in a blog post announcement. Along with the global release, Microsoft has also introduced a number of new features to their handy app, which will hopefully make it easier still for you to run your business like a well-oiled machine.
Per user feedback, Microsoft has added your Office 365 calendar to Bookings, creating a seamless integration that blocks off times in your public Bookings page when your calendar says you’re busy and vice versa. Simply click on the Staff tab on the left navigation panel to enable this new feature and select the Events on Office 365 calendar affect availability checkbox.
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Microsoft Bookings also now allows you to add buffer time before and after your appointments, so you don’t have to worry about having back-to-back-to-back meetings scheduled with no time to breathe, so if you need some time to travel, prep, or set up before or after an appointment, you don’t need to feel rushed.
And because we live in a mobile world, Microsoft also made it possible for you to book an appointment, contact a customer, or check a staff member’s appointment from your iOS or Android device. You will also be able to get directions to your next appointment and directly access your customer list on the go. Finally, you now have the ability to customize your Bookings page, because as Microsoft notes, “Your Booking page should look and feel like an extension of your business, and it needs to positively reflect your brand.” You can now set a new main color for your page, display a business logo, and more.