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Connect-Up for Microsoft Outlook® Desktop
Connect-Up for Microsoft Outlook® Desktop
Angel Horowitz avatar
Written by Angel Horowitz
Updated over 4 months ago

  • PRICING TIER: All

  • APPOINTMENT VERSION: Single

Connect-Up for Microsoft Outlook® is the ideal solution for DaySmart Appointments® software subscribers who use Outlook as their primary email and office calendaring system. You can choose to sync your DaySmart Appointments® Appointments and Reserves with meetings on your Outlook Calendar.


​Please note: As this plugin is in a beta period, we are continually working with users to add enhancements that expand capabilities. Because Connect-Up for Microsoft Outlook is a desktop application, a user's environment may impact their ability to utilize it. Throughout our beta period, we are focusing on expanding the ability of the plugin to be used in as many environments as possible. If you have questions about whether your environment supports Connect-Up for Microsoft Outlook, we encourage users to contact our Support team by submitting a ticket.
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​Glossary

  • Outlook meeting: An item that is scheduled on the user’s Outlook Calendar directly within Outlook.

  • Appointment: A Service-delivery activity that is scheduled for or by a Customer within the DaySmart Appointments scheduling system.

  • Reserve: A block of time that restricts Customers from booking an Appointment within the DaySmart Appointments scheduling system.

  • Plugin: An integration between DaySmart Appointments and an external business application.

  • Add-in: An integration between Outlook and an external business application.

Important Notes

  • Officially supporting synchronization with Microsoft Outlook 2013, 2016, and 2019 versions.

  • This plugin is supported in the following Windows system resolutions: 1366x768, 1920x1080 at 100% or 125% resolution scaling in Windows.

  • Active Staff Members (users that have a calendar and offer Services) of any

    access type can use the add-in, but only Headquarters Administrators can enable the plugin from the Marketplace.

  • Staff Members can only sync to a calendar they own.

  • It is recommended that you sync from one DaySmart Appointments calendar to a single, unshared Outlook calendar. Syncing with shared Outlook calendars is not currently supported.

  • Only Appointments or Reserves scheduled in the future (beyond the initial setup) will sync.

  • If your account is configured to allow booking outside of company hours, the user in Outlook will still only be able to book in available time within company hours.

  • Customer-level and Appointment-level fields will only show a maximum of 22 characters in the display names.

  • If your native Outlook meetings do not match the Appointment start times in your DaySmart Appointments account, the Outlook meeting will not display properly on the Appointment grid in DaySmart Appointments administrative application.

  • When searching for Customers in the Outlook add-in, users must type in the exact criteria they are searching for. Outlook add-in does not support partial matches for search criteria. For example, when searching for a Customer, a user must type in the full Customer first name, or last name.

  • If you have enabled the Sync Setting for Sync Outlook Calendar Meetings, any native meetings created in your Outlook Calendar and synced to your DaySmart Appointments schedule will be added as Reserves. Appointments created by using the ribbon buttons, or updated by Edit/Cancel Appointment from the calendar item’s context menu, will be created as true Appointments.

  • Appointments and Reserves cannot be updated or canceled in Outlook during a background sync. AP Appointments and Reserves that are dragged and dropped in Outlook during a sync, will be reverted back to their original time once the sync completes.

  • If an Appointment is deleted in Outlook during a background sync, the Appointment will revert back to its original time once the sync is complete.

  • Changes to native Outlook meetings in AP Site Administration will not be reflected in the user's Outlook calendar.

  • Cannot update a Customer profile during a background sync.

  • If the "Undo" action is performed in Outlook after deleting an AP Appointment, the Appointment will show as a Reserve on the user's Site Administration calendar when the Appointment grid refreshes. Outlook recreates the Appointment as a native Outlook meeting and does not allow the creation of an AP Appointment.

  • When updating an Appointment that is part of a Recurring Appointment series, the occurrence cannot be placed on the same day as another occurrence within the series due to Microsoft Outlook restrictions.

Unsupported Features

  • Events

  • View Only Users

  • Customer login or password management

    • Customer credentials management would be performed in DaySmart Appointments administrative application.

    • Customized display names will not apply to these fields in Outlook.

  • Multiple Appointments per Time Slot (MAPTS)

    • If a Staff Member is assigned to any Location that has MAPTS enabled, they will not be able to sync with Outlook.

Sections of this article

  1. How to Install and Set up the Outlook Add-in

  2. How to Create or Update Appointments

  3. How to Update Reserves

  4. How to Create or Update Customers

  5. How to Disconnect the Outlook Add-in

  6. How to Troubleshoot the Outlook Add-in: Frequently Asked Questions

  7. How to Disable the Plugin

How to Install and Set Up the Outlook Add-in

Enabling the plugin from The Marketplace
​NOTE: This process only applies to users with the access type of Headquarters Administrator.

  1. Log in to your DaySmart Appointments account.

  2. Click on The Marketplace link.

  3. Click Calendar Sync.

  4. Locate the plugin and click Enable.

  5. From the next step, choose applicable Locations from the drop-down menu

  6. Click Enable to finish the activation.

Enabling/Disabling the plugin for your users

NOTE: This process only applies to users with the access type of Headquarters or Location Administrator.

  1. After enabling the plugin, select it from The Marketplace, then click Settings.

  2. Select your Staff Members from the drop-down menu.

  3. Click the Update Settings button.

After the plugin is enabled, if your account is using the Staff Member sharing feature and you need to change the Location(s) to which an Outlook-enabled Staff Member is assigned, you will need to work with the specific user to disconnect from Outlook, change their Location assignment(s) and then reconnect/sync from Outlook.


To disable the plugin for a specific Staff Member, you may visit the Staff Members tab and change the status of the plugin by choosing Disable for the specific user under the Connect-Up for Microsoft Outlook heading.

How to install and connect the add-in (non-administrators)

NOTE: Start here if you do not have administrative account access.
When the Connect-Up for Microsoft Outlook plugin has been enabled for your DaySmart Appointments profile, you will receive an installation email. The email will contain a link to an installer file. You will be required to install the add-in before you continue with the setup and connection to your DaySmart Appointments calendar. When the installation is complete, you will have a new ribbon menu within Microsoft Outlook.
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To setup your connection:

  1. Click the DaySmart Appointments ribbon tab.

  2. Click the Account button.

  3. When the form opens, enter your DaySmart Appointments login credentials (username and password).

  4. Click the Connect button.

    1. If your credentials are valid and active, you will see a message that you have successfully connected to your DaySmart Appointments calendar.

    2. If your credentials are not valid, you will see a message that the attempt was not successful.

  5. You may click on the Sync Settings or Categories tabs to make other changes.

  6. When you are finished with all settings, click the Save Settings button.


​NOTE: For privacy reasons, the ability to adjust sync settings for multiple users is restricted. Administrators can enable and disable plugin access but cannot configure the sync settings of other users.
Sync settings allow you to determine how often information from the DaySmart Appointments application will be synced into your Outlook Calendar.
Any scheduling activity completed in Outlook is immediately sent to your DaySmart Appointments calendar. This applies to Outlook meetings (if configured to sync in user’s personal preferences) as well as any Appointments or Reserves created or updated from the DaySmart Appointments add-in.

  1. From the Account button in the Outlook ribbon, click the Sync Settings tab.

  2. You can set:

    1. Sync Frequency: How often Outlook will receive updates from your DaySmart Appointments calendar

    2. Number of days to sync: How far in the future you want to sync items from your DaySmart Appointments calendar to Outlook

    3. Sync Outlook Calendar Meetings: Determine if you want to sync Outlook Calendar items to your DaySmart Appointments calendar to reserve or block availability for online scheduling

  3. Save Settings your changes when you are done.

NOTE: You may need to reduce the Number of days to sync under the Sync Settings tab located in the Account ribbon menu in Outlook if the sync process is taking too long to complete.

Using Outlook categories

You can apply category labels and colors to DaySmart Appointments and Reserves. By applying categories and colors to the calendar entries, you can preview your calendar at a glance and determine if a meeting on your calendar is an Appointment or some other type of scheduled activity.
To set up categories:​

  1. From the Account button in the Outlook ribbon, click the Categories tab.

  2. For each of the following items, select a color from the dropdown:

    1. Appointments

    2. Reserves

  3. Click Save Settings.

You can use the same color for more than one of the DaySmart Appointments scheduling options, or each of the four can use a different color.

Checking your time zone settings

If your Appointments are not correctly synced to your Outlook Calendar, it may be due to the time zone setting of your Outlook Calendar. The time zone set for both calendars must match.
To check the time zone setting in your DaySmart Appointments account based on the Location(s) to which you are assigned, check with your Location or Headquarters Administrator.
If you feel the time zone in Outlook is incorrect, visit Microsoft Office Help for finding and changing your time zone.
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Note: When a user changes their time zone, either in Microsoft Outlook or in AP Site Administration, it is required to disconnect, and then reconnect, to Connect-Up for Microsoft Outlook for the changes to apply

Performing the initial sync

Once you have finished the initial setup of the Outlook add-in, you will be able to start syncing meetings, Appointments and Reserves between Outlook and your DaySmart Appointments calendar.
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NOTES:

  • The initial sync will begin upon saving your credentials.

  • Your first sync may take some time if you already have a lot of future Appointments or Reserves.

  • To perform an ad-hoc sync, click the Sync button on the ribbon tab at any time.

  • Only future Outlook meetings, Appointments, and Reserves will sync.

Syncing to Outlook

The following information will be collected in Outlook when Appointments and Reserves are created or updated. If changes are made to Appointment or Reserve details in your DaySmart Appointments calendar after they have already been synced to Outlook, those details will not appear updated until after the next sync.
​Appointment Details:

  • Location Name

  • Service

  • Add-on Services

  • Date

  • Start Time

  • End Time (based on total duration of Service/Add-on Service)

  • Customer

  • Special Instructions for Customer

Customer Details:

  • Customer fields that are optional or required within the configuration of the Customer Fields & Terms within the DaySmart Appointments headquarters or specific location.

Reserve Details:

  • Date

  • Start Time

  • End Time

  • Reason

NOTE: To block a full day in your DaySmart Appointments and Outlook calendars, it is recommended that you set those days off in your schedule through your DaySmart Appointments account. At this time, full day meetings in Outlook do not sync over to block your full calendar in the scheduling account.

How to Create or Update Appointments

Syncing meetings to DaySmart Appointments

If you have enabled the Sync Setting for Sync Outlook Calendar Meetings, any native meetings created in your Outlook Calendar and synced to your DaySmart Appointments schedule will be added as Reserves. Appointments created by using the ribbon buttons, or updated by Edit/Cancel Appointment from the calendar item’s context menu, will be created as true Appointments.

Creating an DaySmart Appointments Appointment

From the DaySmart Appointments ribbon, you can create a new Appointment as if you were scheduling it directly in the ADaySmart Appointments scheduling system. You can select the location, service, date, time and customer for which the Appointment is being scheduled. The system will determine when the service(s) can be conducted based on your availability. Availability is open time not currently scheduled on either your DaySmart Appointments or Outlook calendars.
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To create an Appointment:

  1. Click Add Appointment from the ribbon.

  2. Complete the form fields for Location, Service (and Add-On Service if available) and Date.

  3. Click Find Available Times.

Alternately, you can right click on a time in the Outlook calendar and, from the DaySmart Appointments menu, choose to add a New Appointment.

  1. Select the Time.

  2. Search for and select the Customer

  3. Enter any special instructions.

  4. Click Save.

Creating a Recurring Appointment

Following the steps above, you can also create Recurring Appointments from the Connect-Up for Microsoft Outlook® plugin while selecting the Date and Time of the Appointment.
To create a Recurring Appointment:

  1. On the Select Time tab, select the box to make the Appointment a Recurring Appointment.

  2. Once selected, choose your Recurrence Pattern: Daily, Weekly, or Monthly.

  3. Finally, choose the End Date of your Recurring Appointment.

  4. Click Next and Finalize your Appointment.

Modifying an DaySmart Appointments Appointment

From your Outlook calendar, you can right click on a time in the Outlook calendar and, from the DaySmart Appointments menu, choose Edit/Cancel Appointment.

The DaySmart Appointments Appointment window will open, and it will automatically be in edit mode.
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To modify an Appointment:

  1. Locate the Appointment on your Outlook Calendar

  2. Right click on the Appointment.

  3. From the context menu, choose Edit/Cancel Appointment

  4. Change the Appointment details as needed.

  5. Click Save.

NOTE: If you change the Location and/or Services associated with the Appointment, you also may be required to choose a new date and/or time, because the newly selected Services may not be available at the previously scheduled time.

Canceling an DaySmart Appointments Appointment

From your Outlook calendar, you can right click on an existing Appointment and select “Edit/Cancel Appointment”. The DaySmart Appointments edit/cancel Appointment window will open, and you will see the hyperlink to cancel an Appointment in the top-right corner.
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To cancel an Appointment:

  1. Locate the Appointment on your Outlook Calendar

  2. Right click on the Appointment.

  3. From the context menu, choose Edit/Cancel Appointment

  4. Click the Cancel Appointment hyperlink.

  5. Click Save.

How to Update Reserves

Modifying an DaySmart Appointments Reserve

To edit a Reserve:

  1. Locate the Reserve on your Outlook Calendar.

  2. Right click on the Reserve.

  3. From the context menu, choose Modify Reserve.

  4. Change the Reserve details as needed.

  5. Click Save.

How to Create or Update Customers

An administrator will have set up the information to collect for new Customers. The Customer Profile form in Outlook will include any information that is either required or optional for each Customer. The below image is just an example of the form, but you may see more or less fields and with different labels.

Creating Customers

When using the DaySmart Appointments add-in, you not only can manage appointments, you also can create the Customers for whom you are scheduling appointments.


To create a new Customer:

  1. From the add-in ribbon, click the Add New button within the Customers group.

  2. Complete the required* fields for the customer profile.

* Required are denoted by the red circle

  1. Complete other form fields as needed or known from customer.

  2. Click Save.

Once a Customer is created, you may now schedule an Appointment for them by clicking the New Appointment button from the add-in ribbon.

Updating Customers

When using the DaySmart Appointments add-in, you can search for existing Customers for whom you want to create new appointment. Once you have located your Customer,

you can update their profile directly from Outlook.
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To update an existing Customer:

  1. From the add-in ribbon, click the Search button within the Customers group.

  2. In the search form, enter first or last name of the Customer.

  3. Matching results will appear in the form.

  4. To open the Customer, double click or right click on the specific customer.

  5. Update any required or optional information.

  6. Click Save.

NOTE: Customers deleted from the DaySmart Appointments scheduling system will not be removed from the Customer list in Outlook at this time.

How to Disconnect the Outlook Add-in

At any time, Staff Members may disconnect the Outlook add-in from their DaySmart Appointments calendar. When the add-in is disconnected, all existing Appointments will automatically be removed from the Outlook calendar. When the Staff Member reconnects their calendars by signing in, all DaySmart Appointments associated with their profile will sync again to the Outlook calendar.
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Disconnecting the Outlook add-in:

  1. From Account window click Disconnect.

  2. Click Disconnect in the pop-up window to disconnect from the Outlook add-on.

NOTE: Signing back in with a new or existing profile will not trigger Appointment notifications to your Staff Members or Customers.
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NOTE: If you wish to disable the Connect-Up for Microsoft Outlook plugin for your entire DaySmart Appointments account, you will need to disable the plugin for all Staff Members in your account and then remove the plugin from all Locations within your account.

How to Troubleshoot the Outlook Add-in: Frequently Asked Questions

Why are my Appointments syncing at the wrong time?

  • Check your time zone settings in Microsoft Outlook and DaySmart Appointments. If both systems are not set to the same time zone, synced items may not show at the correct start time.

What do I do if I've followed the installation steps and still can't see the DaySmart Appointments tab in my Outlook Ribbon?

  • Some users may still have issues seeing the DaySmart Appointments tab if they are using a 64-bit version of Microsoft Windows®. If you are still having installation issues, click here.

Why is my Outlook Calendar being overbooked?

  • If there is more than one Appointment created in the same time slot in your DaySmart Appointments calendar, all the Appointments will be synced to Outlook.

Can I use the DaySmart Appointments menu when Outlook is not connected to the Internet?

  • The DaySmart Appointments scheduling system is an online application and requires an Internet connection to validate time slot availability when creating or updating Appointments. Therefore, using the ribbon menu will not work unless you are connected. However, any updates to your Outlook meetings will sync to your DaySmart Appointments calendar when your Internet connection is restored, and a sync has occurred.

How do I sync Appointments from multiple DaySmart Appointments accounts to a single Outlook Calendar?

  • Users cannot sync the schedules of multiple DaySmart Appointments accounts to a single Outlook Calendar. When configuring the DaySmart Appointments add-in within Outlook, you enter credentials for a single DaySmart Appointments user account. Any appointments on the calendar grid for that DaySmart Appointments user will be synced to your Outlook Calendar.

What email accounts are supported?

  • The Outlook plugin officially supports Microsoft Outlook email accounts only. Third-party accounts that are connected to Outlook, such as Gmail and Yahoo, may encounter syncing issues due to latency.

What happened to my Appointments or Reserves from yesterday?

  • To ensure the amount of Appointment or Reserve information stored on your local machine does not exceed the available free space, the Outlook plugin will only show Appointments or Reserves for the current day or in the future. Any past Appointments or Reserves may be accessible by logging into the web-based DaySmart Appointments scheduling system.

What if I don’t see the DaySmart Appointments option in Outlook after I install Connect-Up for Microsoft Outlook, or re-open Outlook?
Outlook will disable add-ins if the add-in is taking too long to load. To enable the add-in to always load, follow the steps below:

  1. While in Outlook, go to the File option in the Outlook menu.

  2. Click Manage Slow or Disabled add-ins

  3. Click Always Enable this add-in for Connect-Up for Microsoft Outlook.

  4. After the screen reloads (it may take 5-10 seconds) the option for Connect-Up for Microsoft Outlook will disappear.

  5. Close the window and the DaySmart Appointments tab should reappear in Outlook.

What's the best way to set up a recurring Reserve series so that I don't get duplicates?

If you are trying to set up a daily recurring activity, like lunch, you only need to set this up in one calendar. It is recommended that you create this in Outlook and then it will sync over to and block time on your DaySmart Appointments calendar. If you create the series on both calendars, you'll see duplicates items that can cause confusion when scanning your calendar in Outlook.

Microsoft is ending support for Outlook 2013 and 2016. What does this mean for the DaySmart Appointments installed add-in?

While Microsoft announced ending support in November 2021 for the earlier versions of the installed Outlook application (2013 and 2016), the DaySmart Appointments installed Outlook add-in should continue to function as expected. There are no plans to remove support for the older versions at this time.
Please note: If you choose to upgrade to Outlook 2019, the installed add-in was upgraded to support that version of the application.

How to Disable the Plugin

If you decide that you no longer want to use this feature, you can return to the Marketplace and remove the plugin from any or all Locations.

  1. Click Marketplace.

  2. In the left-hand column, find the plugin.

  3. On the plugin’s first tab, click the Locations drop-down field.

  4. Uncheck individual Locations or click None.

  5. Click Update.

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