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Scheduling Appointments with the Make Appointment Window
Scheduling Appointments with the Make Appointment Window
Angel Horowitz avatar
Written by Angel Horowitz
Updated over 3 months ago
  • PRICING TIER: All

  • APPOINTMENT VERSION: SAPTS & MAPTS

The core of a scheduling application is the Appointment. This document provides information that enables users of the Appointment scheduling system to create, edit, or cancel Appointments from the administration tool.

Note: This document uses default terminology (Appointments, Staff Members, Services, Customers, etc.). The terms you use in your account may differ from these terms. Please keep this in mind when you are reading this article.

Appointment Management

Users of the scheduling system can create, edit, or cancel Appointments. This article provides you an overview of the process for:

  • Creating a new Appointment

  • Editing an existing Appointment

  • Canceling an Appointment

  • Frequently Asked Questions

Creating a New Appointment

The following enhancements to the process for booking Appointments begins after you click the + (plus symbol) on the grid or have used the Appointment Search tool to locate an available time slot.

There are three primary elements to creating a new Appointment:

  • Selecting or entering a Customer

  • Choosing the Service, Staff Member, date, time, and more, based on Account configuration

  • Reviewing and setting notification preferences

In this article, we will review the steps for successfully creating an Appointment.

Customer Information

The first step of creating a new Appointment is to select the Customer to whom the Appointment’s Service will be delivered. When you have opened the Make Appointment window from the Appointment calendar grid, by clicking the + (plus symbol) you will be presented with the Customer form.

If you are booking a new Appointment for an established Customer, you can utilize the Search or Select Customer form field. Depending on your Account configuration or number of Customers, this may be a search field or a drop-down list.

If you are booking a new Appointment for a new Customer, you can quickly create the Customer profile by entering information into – at a minimum – the required information fields. Required fields are identified by a *.

After you have completed all required and appropriate information related to the Customer, click Next for the Appointment Details screen.

Note: Using our Pet or Children feature? First select the Customer, then choose/add a new Pet or Child from the Customer Information screen.

Appointment Details

After selecting the Customer, you are now able to configure the Service, Staff Member, and other details of the Appointment.

From this page, you can:

  • Change the Location or Date

  • Choose a Service and/or Add-On Services

  • Select a Staff Member

  • Set a Start Time and/or specific Duration

  • Enter Appointment-specific information into special fields

If you start from the calendar grid or Appointment Search and pre-select a time slot, the above information will automatically fill in the appropriate fields. If you change the Location or Staff Member, you will need to select a new start time based on availability for the other Location's or Staff Member's schedule.

The image above is an example of this screen with the minimum set of information needed (required or optional) to book an Appointment.

The system will automatically adjust the options in the succeeding dropdowns as you build the Appointment attributes. If you choose a Service that only two Staff Members

(of six, as an example) are assigned to offer, only those two Staff Members will be available for selection in the Staff Member drop-down field.

Recurring Appointment Series

Depending on the type of Appointment you are creating, you may want to create a series of Appointments that recur on a set pattern.

To do so, you would select the Recurring Appointment checkbox located on the Appointment page. After clicking the checkbox, you will be presented with the options of setting the pattern, frequency, and end date of the series.

Click Next when you have finished building the Appointment.

Note: If you have other Appointment fields currently enabled for your account, they will be available on this page.

Review and Finalize

Prior to creating the Appointment, you can review the details of the Appointment to ensure they are correct. On this page, you will see all the details from the Customer and Appointment pages, including all Services, Add-on Services, Staff Members, or other attributes. Additionally, you can set which Notifications (email and text message, if enabled) will be sent after you Create this Appointment on the calendar.

If any changes are necessary, click Back to return to either the Appointment or Customer page to make changes.

Save the Appointment

Clicking Create on the Finalize page will book the Appointment!

Upon successful creation, you will see the Appointment summary, which contains the Customer information, Appointment details, and Status. Additionally, you may choose to Print the Appointment confirmation or, if enabled, Export the Appointment to an external calendar application.

To close the Make Appointment window, click the X button on the browser window.

The Appointment grid for all Staff Members will be updated to display the Appointment they are assigned to conduct. No design changes are being made to the Appointment grid page.

Editing an Existing Appointment

There are a lot of situations that require changes to an existing Appointment. Maybe a Staff Member is out sick, or the Customer calls and asks to reschedule their Appointment. To edit an existing Appointment, simply open the desired Appointment from the grid.

If you are using the Multiple Appointments per Time Slot setting, you will first click on the time slot and then, from the list of Customers in the slot, click Edit from the area above the calendar.

Once you have opened the Appointment, you will be presented with the Summary screen. From this screen, you can change the Status or Edit Appointment details. If you need to make changes to the Customer information, click Edit Details for the Customer Information section. This will direct you to the Customer profile where you can edit or add any additional information.

Upon clicking Edit Appointment, in the lower right corner, you will then be presented with the Appointment information screen. Make any necessary edits to the Appointment details. If you are changing the date, you may find that the original Staff Member or Service for the Appointment are not available for the newly selected date. If this occurs, simply select a different Staff Member or Service to accommodate the change. When you have made all necessary changes, click Next.

If you wish to move the Appointment from one Staff Member to another, but both Staff Members do not offer the same Service, simply click into the Service drop-down field and choose the Select option. The drop-down fields for both Service and Staff Member will update to show all options for the Location of the Appointment. You may now choose the Staff Member to see the list of Services they offer.

After making edits, you will review the newly updated details of the Appointment – including which notifications should be sent – when the Appointment is successfully saved. Click Save when you are satisfied with the changes.

To close the Make Appointment window, click the X button on the browser window.

Canceling an Appointment

If you need to cancel an Appointment, you can do so by opening the Appointment summary from the calendar grid. The Appointment summary screen will display and, in the lower right corner, the option to Cancel Appointment is to the left of Edit Appointment. Upon clicking this button, you can adjust who will receive cancellation email notifications. After making appropriate updates, click Cancel Appointment to cancel and send any selected notifications.

If your Account is configured to require a cancellation reason, you will be prompted to enter or select this information prior to the cancellation’s execution within the system.

The application will then update to show the calendar without the previously existing Appointment.

If you are using the Multiple Appointments per Time Slot setting, you will first click on the time slot and then, from the list of Customers in the slot, click Cancel from the area above the calendar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the process expanding from one to three pages? Can I go back to the single-page view?

  • Booking an Appointment has been enhanced with a more modern and easy-to-use flow. Each screen allows the user to focus on the information necessary to define the Customer and Appointment criteria. Additionally, if either aspect of the Appointment needs to be altered from the Review, the user is directed to the specific page for edits. With this change, there is no option for a single-page view for Appointment creation.

If I have Appointment settings currently enabled, where will they display on the Make Appointment window and screens?

  • For settings that control Customer search, the Customer screen will reflect the preference for the Account/Location. If you are collecting additional Appointment information, those additional fields will display on the Appointment screen.

Where would I turn on text message reminders, if they are enabled on my Account/Location?

  • For Locations where the Text Message Reminder plugin is enabled, the option to send Text Messages is available on the Review and Finalize screen, if the Customer is not already receiving Text Messages. Other Appointment-specific notifications can be configured on this same screen. Customers will receive notifications that contain summary information for the Service booked in the Appointment and will receive the start time in the Text Message Reminder.

Can I still create a recurring Appointment?

  • Yes, recurring Appointments can be set up on the Appointment page. Simply check the box for Recurring Appointment and set the pattern criteria for the recurrence schedule.

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