Automating your scheduling and calendar management is where the Booksy magic begins. Imagine - no more endless calls, DMs or texts back-and-forth. As you get started, do some basic calendar prep to avoid double bookings, keep control of your schedule, and automate your booking process stress-free. 

Follow these tips and tricks to set up your Booksy calendar for success:👇

1. Set your Business Hours⏰

Setting your business hours makes sure that clients can only book appointments during the times that work best for you.

How to set your Business Hours:

1. Navigate to the Business Hours section:
   Mobile: Profile > Settings > Schedule Management > Business Hours
   Desktop: Business Settings > Business Details > Business Hours
2. Select the days and hours you’re available.

2. Block off recurring breaks🧘‍♀️

Everyone needs a break - don’t forget to take care of yourself! Set recurring breaks in your schedule to set aside time for lunch or downtime during your day. 

Mobile: Profile > Settings > Schedule Management > Business Hours > Add Break
Desktop: Business Settings > Business Details > Business Hours > Add Break

3. Block off any upcoming holidays, vacations, or time off🌴

Planning a vacation, taking a holiday, or have a personal appointment scheduled? Be sure to block off these dates in advance to prevent clients from booking during those times.

There are a couple of ways you can do this:

• Head to your Opening Calendar, select the relevant day in the calendar, and either Add Break or turn off the Open toggle to block off that entire day.
• Go to your Appointments tab, navigate to the day you want to update, and click on the time block. Select Add Time Off or Add Time Reservation to adjust details and click Save.

4. Add existing upcoming appointments to your calendar📅

If you already have upcoming appointments scheduled, it’s important to add them to your calendar or at least block those times off to make sure your availability is up-to-date and to avoid double bookings. 

How to add your existing appointments:

• Manually add appointments:

1. Go to your Booksy calendar and click on the desired date and time.
2. Click New Appointment to enter appointment details, or Add Time Reservation to block the time off, and Save.

• Import Your Calendar from Apple or Google: If you currently manage your calendar in Apple or Google calendars, you can easily import your existing calendar into Booksy to make sure your booking availability is up to date. (See: How to import my calendar)
• We can add them for you: If you have a large number of appointments, or you’re overwhelmed at the thought of moving your business over, we can help! Once you subscribe to Booksy, our team can transfer all of your future appointments over to Booksy for you–for free. Just contact our Customer Support team on chat to request a data transfer! 

💡 Bonus tip: Still trying us out? Start small 

If you're new to Booksy and just trying things out, you don’t need to add every upcoming appointment right away. Instead, you can block off existing appointments and only allow online bookings for the 14 day trial period. Now, you can try out the online client booking process stress-free. 

To do this, change your booking settings to limit bookings to the upcoming month only. This way, you maintain control while getting comfortable with the platform.

How to limit bookings to the next 14 days:

1. Go to Business Settings > Advanced Options > Booking Settings.
2. Set Future Booking Window to Up to 14 days in the future (or longer if you choose!).
3. Block off any appointments or conflicts in your Booksy calendar for the next 2 weeks.

Now, you can try out the client booking process with extra peace of mind and limited calendar prep work. Once you experience the Booksy magic and you’re ready to commit, you can update the rest of your calendar and open your future booking window back up. 

✨ We make it easy: Once you subscribe, our team can transfer all of your future bookings into Booksy for you, for free. That includes appointments from pen and paper, Google/Apple calendar, or another scheduling app.

All set?🎉

Once your calendar is ready, it’s time to share your new booking link with your clients! Start spreading the word about your new booking link, and see how easy it is to manage your scheduling automatically with Booksy.

Happy scheduling!