For small and medium businesses that need to keep several appointments with clients and customers, using the usual calendar may not be enough sometimes. So when Microsoft introduced their Bookings app in the US and Canada, it was a heaven sent tool for those who couldn’t afford their own scheduling software. Now they are doing a global rollout for Office 365 Business Premium subscribers so that more users will be able to make their booking life a little bit easier.
Aside from bringing the app and service to a wider audience, they have also made a few improvements to it. You will now be able to add your Office 365 Calendar to the Bookings app so that your private appointments will also be blocked off in the public calendar, in case there will be any conflict with either. You can choose whether the event or appointment will affect the availability on the public calendar.
You can also now add a buffer time before and after an appointment, in case your business would involve traveling, preparation, set-up and/or clean-up time before the next service. Customers will not be able to book during those buffer times so you’ll have enough time to prepare in between appointments. You will also now be able to customize your Bookings page so it will really look like an extension of your business.
Most importantly, Bookings was only previously available on desktop. You now have a mobile app where you can view and manage your calendar, create and edit bookings, see availability and whereabouts of your staff, and access your customer list. You can download Microsoft Bookings from the Google Play Store, but you need to be an Office 365 Business Premium subscriber to be able to use it.
SOURCE: Microsoft
