Tutorials

Service schedule

How to create an appointment schedule for a language school

This tutorial uses an online appointment schedule for language lessons that require the availability of a number of teachers from a separate resource schedule. It is an example of a service schedule that is connected to a resource schedule.

If you require group events like classes, the capacity schedule tutorial is a better option. If you are planning to schedule only one person’s time, you can still use the service schedule as a standalone or you could have a look at the resource schedule tutorial.

Note that there are a few differences and some of our customers prefer the service schedule’s appearance. While the resource schedule allows repeating appointments and arbitrary appointment durations, the service schedule enables services to take into account the availability of multiple resources.

This tutorial also applies to services such as car repairs or teleconferencing that require the availability of separate resources. You can adapt the configuration to suit your particular needs.

Booking a service

If you offer a number of services, your customers will be able to choose from a list.

Use the steps that follow to learn how to create an appointment schedule for several types of language lessons requiring the availability of different teachers (as resources).

This tutorial demonstrates the following customizations:

Using the schedule to offer a number of services
Connecting the service schedule to a resource schedule
Collecting payments with each service booked

You can view the end result on the language school demo page.

Setting up the schedule in 5 easy steps

The most efficient way of setting up an appointment schedule is with a build-and-test cycle:

Setting up a basic schedule using the New Schedule Wizard

Before you begin

In order to follow the steps in this tutorial, you need to set up an account and create a separate resource schedule. It’s free and all you need is a valid email address. Log in to your account to reach your Dashboard.

Select the type of schedule

Click New Schedule in the menu on the right side of your Dashboard. You will be directed to the New Schedule Wizard where you can select the correct default settings for your appointment schedule.

You first need to create a separate resource schedule containing the availability of the teachers. A resource schedule (which allows people to book one-on-one time with a person, item or specific space) is the ideal schedule for scheduling teachers’ time so that they do not have two appointments that overlap.

After selecting Resource schedule, select Booking or reservation system, which requires clients to sign up to make a booking. Then opt for More than one to add multiple resources. For this tutorial, add “Any teacher”, “Maurice” and “Michelle”.

Next, name the schedule “Teachers”. Make sure the time constraints are set according to the times you would like to have for your service schedule.

The resource schedule tutorial will explain how to set one up. You can also follow the steps provided in this tutorial, but name your schedule “Teachers” instead of “Therapist”.

You are now ready to return to your Dashboard to set up your appointment schedule. Click the New Schedule on the right side of your screen. Since the availability of the language lessons relies on the availability of teachers from the separate resource schedule, select Service schedule from the list of options.

It is important to choose the correct schedule type at the outset, because the only way to change it is to create a new schedule from the beginning.

Name your schedule

The title you give to your appointment schedule in combination with your account name forms the URL that your clients will see in their browser when they use your schedule. Provide a short but descriptive name for the schedule.

You can always change it (as well as your account name) later. Note that if you do so, the schedule’s web address will change accordingly and you will need to inform your users. For this example, enter “Conversation lessons” and click Next.

List your services and connect resources

You now have the option to list your services and apply default duration values if needed.

If you have already created a resource schedule, you can use the selector next to each service to define which resource(s) are required for the service to become available. If you have not already done so, you can set it up now by following the resource schedule tutorial.

Enter “English conversation Beginner” as the first service and connect it to the resource schedule “Teachers”. If all of the teachers speak English, you can enable the resources to link to “Any teacher”. You can also determine opening hours and time constraints.

Enter a second service, for example, “French conversation Beginner” and because only Maurice teaches French, you can select resource “Maurice” from the “Teachers” schedule.

Alternatively, if you define a single service the user interface will adapt to hide the service selector widget.

Clicking Finish activates the schedule online. Step 2 will help you test your schedule to ensure that it works as expected.

Trying out the schedule to see if it works as expected

To use your schedule as an administrator, click Use in the menu. This is only visible when you are logged in as administrator.

Regular users will see the same appointment schedule but with fewer options. You can also find Use on your Dashboard.

You can quickly access the Dashboard by clicking the link in the top right corner of your screen. You can also bookmark the page in your browser.

Booking a lesson

If you have created more than one lesson, you will see them in a column on the left side of your Dashboard. To book a lesson, click one of the available time chips and edit the details.

When you click Create Reservation, the schedule updates to show your booking and adjusts the availability accordingly. If you would like to edit an appointment, click on it again to make changes. Be sure to click Update Reservation before closing it, otherwise you will lose the changes.

Appointments that are linked to resources will show up on the resource schedules, but note that they cannot be edited there. Clicking on a resource will provide a popup with a link to the schedule where it can be edited. If the same appointment shows up in multiple schedules that are linked, it still only counts as a single appointment in your subscription usage.

Adjusting the configuration

You now have a basic appointment schedule for your conversation lessons and can begin configuring it to suit your requirements.

Click Configure to go to Overview for a summary of the different options you can adjust. Here, you can temporarily block the appointment schedule or delete it entirely.

Configuring Services

The Services tab lists the services available and how they relate to resources. The top half of the screen lets you create and update your services. You can click and drag the rows to change the order in which the services are listed.

Create a new service

When you click New Service, or click the edit icon of an existing service, a window appears where you can change the details. You can also change the color of a service by clicking the colored box in the top right corner of the window.

The radio button Hidden (next to Normal) lets you create a service that is only available to the administrator and superusers. Hidden services do not appear in the service list that your clients see.

In the field at the bottom of the editing window, you can enter a description of the service that will appear when the service is selected. It can contain formatting and pictures but note that you can only link to pictures that are available online.

If, as the administrator or superuser, you would like the option to set a different length for a service you can check the box Allow superusers and the administrator to ignore all time constraints on the Access tab. This setting lets you enter an arbitrary finish time on the appointment schedule instead of creating a separate service for it.

Determine resources

If your account contains any resource schedules, the service editing window will also contain a section marked Resources where you can indicate which resources from these schedules need to be available when making an appointment. For example, you could specify that a lesson needs both a specific teacher and a specific classroom. Or, if more than one teacher can give a lesson then you can click the “or” button and list each one.

To add new resources, go to your Dashboard, click New Schedule, and select the Resource type schedule. You can also add additional resources to an existing resource schedule via the Resources tab.

Configure general settings

Under Term used to describe an entry, you can customize the term you want to use in place of “reservation”. You can select a term from the list or use your own custom term that will describe your service appropriately. In this example, “lesson” is the most suitable term. This term will be used in all dialog windows, help text and email confirmations.

You can also change the term used for “user”, for example changing it to “client”, under the Layout settings.

Limits per user

Next, determine the number of appointments a client can make on your schedule. After the maximum is reached, appointments can only be changed or deleted.

When a service depends on one or more resource schedules, any limits set there apply here as well. If the checkbox Multiple reservations can take place at the same time is not selected, the schedule will behave as if there is a single shared resource needed for each appointment. You would check this box if you offer a service that can be booked multiple times simultaneously (e.g. a lesson that can take place in any meeting room).

Constrain start times

Creating a grid consisting of predetermined available times usually provides a better user experience than leaving the time unconstrained. You can enter suitable start times in the Constrain start times to field. Students can then pick a time by simply clicking on a time slot.

If you offer a service that depends on an interchangeable resource, the system can show the client a drop down menu of available resources from which to choose. In this example, students can select a preferred teacher.

If you offer more than one service, you can select the order in which services and/or available resources will be presented under the heading Service selection.

Add a price

The Price field allows you to charge a fee for a booking, or to capture credit card details (but not the 3 digit Credit Verification Value codes). By clicking Setup pricing you can create advanced pricing rules that change the price based on particular conditions. This is discussed in detail under Adding payment to your schedule.

Testing the schedule from a visitor’s point of view

Test the scheduling process from a client’s perspective to make sure it behaves as expected. You will need to switch between administrator and user access, which is discussed in more detail under Testing the schedule you created. You can add lessons as a user and delete them once you have checked that the appointment schedule works.

Every schedule has its own web address, which can be viewed under Overview. If you want to direct a client straight to a specific schedule, you can copy/paste this link to an email or SMS.

Integrating the registration system into your website

Once you have configured your appointment schedule and tested it to ensure that it behaves as expected, you need to direct your clients to it.

There are several options to get people to your appointment schedule:

Create a link to your SuperSaaS appointment schedule on your own site.
Embed the SuperSaaS page inside a frame on your own site.
Send people the link to your schedule via email or social media

You can find out more about this in the documentation outlining how to Integrate a schedule in your website.

Your appointment schedule can be displayed to users in several ways. It can be integrated into your website using an iframe, used on a mobile device or simply linked to SuperSaaS.

You can use the space above the schedule to give a more elaborate description or instructions. If you’d like to change the schedule’s appearance or color scheme, there are several formatting options.

Steps:

Setting up a basic schedule using the New Schedule Wizard Trying out the schedule to see if it works as expected Adjusting the configuration Testing the schedule from a visitor’s point of view Integrating the registration system into your website