Calendar Setup 101
Effective time and appointment management can significantly impact both personal and professional success. With Advisor's Growth’s advanced calendar features, you have powerful tools to set up, customize, and manage your schedules efficiently. This guide will help you navigate every aspect of calendar management to ensure you stay on top of your commitments.
Types of Calendars in Advisor's Growth:
Simple (Unassigned/Event Calendar): Best for general events that don’t require specific team members.
Round Robin (Group Calendar): Distributes appointments evenly among team members, balancing workload and availability.
Class Booking: Designed for single-session classes, workshops, or seminars.
Collective Booking: For events requiring the attendance of multiple team members.
Service Calendar: Ideal for scheduling services, grouping them by category, and offering them through a single scheduling link (service menu).
Setting Up Your Calendar:
Getting Started:
Navigate to Settings > Calendars.
Click on Create Calendar.
Choose the type of calendar you want to create.
Designing Your Calendar:
Logo: Upload a logo to enhance brand visibility.
Name: Enter a descriptive name for the calendar.
Description: Provide a brief overview.
URL: Customize the calendar link for easy sharing.
Appointment Title: Set a relevant title. Use {{contact.name}} for personalization.
Event Color: Choose a color for quick identification.
Configuring Availability:
Date-Specific Hours: Adjust your schedule for particular dates, overriding your standard weekly hours.
Duration & Interval: Define the duration of meetings and the frequency of appointments.
Buffer Time: Include a buffer period between appointments.
Pre-Buffer: Time added before an appointment.
Post-Buffer: Time added after an appointment.
Max Bookings: Set limits for daily appointments.
Scheduling Protocols: Specify notice periods and lead times.
Office Hours: Define general availability or specific dates.
Recurring Appointments: Set the frequency for repeated sessions.
Availability Type Selection:
Standard Availability: For regular appointments with fixed hours.
Date-Specific Hours: For unique timeframes, like webinars or special events.
Managing Availability Settings:
Meeting Duration: Set the length of appointments (e.g., 30 minutes, 1 hour).
Meeting Interval: Define the time between appointments.
Pre-Buffer & Post-Buffer Time: Ensure buffers do not overlap with blocked slots. For example, a 30-minute appointment with a 30-minute interval and buffer times will only schedule the next available slot respecting the set buffers.
Max Bookings Per Slot: Set a cap for appointments per time slot.
Max Bookings Per Day: Limit the total number of daily appointments.
Scheduling Notice & Date Range Configuration:
Minimum Scheduling Notice: Define the advance notice required for scheduling.
Date Range: Set how far in advance appointments can be booked.
Handling Recurring Appointments:
Toggle to enable or disable recurring meetings. Define frequency, count, and handling for unavailable slots.
Office Hours Configuration:
Standard Availability:
Select Days: Blue indicates selected days; gray shows unselected ones.
Adding Extra Hours: Click "+ Hours" to add hours on specific days.
Applying Hours: Use "Apply All" to apply hours across all selected days.
Date-Specific Hours:
Define specific dates and times for special events or one-time sessions.
Click Save & Continue after configuring your settings.
Important Tip:
If your personal timezone differs from the company's, ensure your availability reflects your local timezone. For instance, if you work 8 AM–5 PM PST and the company is in EST, set your availability to 11 AM–8 PM EST for accurate scheduling.
Forms, Payments, and Guest Inclusions:
Forms: Use default or custom forms for the booking widget.
Pre-Populate Fields: Enable the system to recall previous attendees’ information.
Consent Checkbox: Toggle to obtain consent when contacts provide their phone number.
Add Guests: Allow participants to bring additional guests. Collect guest names and addresses if needed.
Pixel ID Tracking: Integrate scheduling with analytics.
Auto-Confirm New Meetings: Automatically confirm new appointments on available slots.
Billing Integration: Connect with payment gateways like Stripe. Enable partial payments if needed, specifying amounts or percentages.
Custom Notifications & Management:
Notification Types: Choose acknowledgments, such as confirmations or updates.
Notify: Decide who gets notified (contact, assigned user, or specific emails).
Google Calendar Integration:
Allow Google Calendar to send invitation and update emails.
Assign contacts to team members upon booking.
Booking Features:
Offer options for clients to reschedule or cancel appointments.
Include notes with links for rescheduling or cancellations.
Connection to Other Calendars:
Link your Advisor's Growth calendar to existing calendars or set up new connections.
Widget Customization & Appearance:
Style Selection: Choose between modern Neo or classic designs.
Primary Color: Set colors for buttons and time slots.
Background Color: Customize the background color of the calendar and form.
Button Text: Add text for the scheduling button.
Calendar Title & Description: Toggle to display the calendar’s name and description.
Calendar Details: Include information like duration, date, time, and timezone.
Customization: Insert custom CSS to tailor the calendar's appearance.
Staff Selection:
Allow users to choose which staff member they want to schedule with.
Management & Oversight:
Viewing & Editing: Access and manage calendars through account settings.
Appointment Management: View and manage appointments by calendar, status, and date.
Spotlight on the "Add Guest" Feature:
Activation: Navigate to 'Forms & Payment' to activate the 'Add Guests' feature.
Configurations: Define the maximum number of guests and ensure notifications are sent.
Conclusion:
With the comprehensive features of Advisor's Growth, calendar management can become a streamlined and transformative experience. Implement these steps to optimize your scheduling and elevate your productivity.