Appointment Scheduling System
By Grace Schedules
Administration User Manual
Volume 1
Appointment Scheduling System
By Grace Schedules
Administration User Manual
Volume 1
Adding, Editing, & Deleting Services
Assigning Hours of Work for Business
Assigning Hours of Work for Individual
Resources
Adding, Editing, & Deleting Resources
Allow Appointment Cancelations Option
Rescheduling and Canceling Appointments
Editing & Deleting Appointments
Adding, Editing & Deleting Members
Grace
Schedules has developed an Appointment Scheduling System that is simple and
affordable, yet extremely dynamic. It can be tailored to work well with any
business type and any website theme.
This document provides instruction
on how to use the administration portion of the system and covers all of its
functions and features. For instruction on how to use the client section of the
system you can download and review the Client User Manual available on
our website.
After
subscribing to your Grace Schedules system you will receive a startup email
with your login details and links to your system. For the purpose of this
document we’ll be logging into the Administrator section of the system.
Setting up
your scheduler is all done from one easy to manage page. Click the
“preferences” link in the top right corner to display the Preferences page.
Tip: Each
section offers relevant quick tips when you place your mouse pointer over the header.
Matching
your scheduler to the theme of your website or business theme couldn’t be
easier. You can change the color of each part of your system by using the
simple color picker or by entering the name of the color (i.e. red) or
hexadecimal color code (i.e. FF0000).
Select from 28
web friendly fonts. This font will be used throughout the entire site. Select
the size for your body text.
Tip: Selecting
a font too large could impact the way the site is displayed.
The main
border surrounding your scheduler can be modified to 9 different styles and 6
sizes, or none at all.
There are 2
ways to incorporate your logo into the header of your scheduler; by entering a
path or uploading an image. In the section called Header you can enter the URL
path of the image you wish to display. The ideal size of your header should be
728 pixels wide and 100 pixels high.
You can
choose to display your company name in the header and modify the font style and
size.
Click the
link under the Logo heading to upload an image (jpg or gif files only). Enter
the address of the website you would like your logo to link to. Clicking the
image will open up this site in a new window.
Tip: Unlike
using a path for your header, the height of your image will determine the
height of the header section.
In our
example to the right we use the subtitle to create a link to our order page
“CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR SCHEDULER TODAY!” You can place any text or HTML here
or leave it blank if you prefer.
AdvertisingIt’s your
option to display Google ads at the bottom of your scheduler.
Tip: Often Grace Schedules subscribers
will want their own ads placed on their scheduler. Grace Schedules will replace
the code for a small fee.
Add an
unlimited number of services and relative time intervals for each. Assigning
color codes and costs are optional. Edit or delete a service by selecting from
the list provided.
Services
created with the first 6 letters “Block” are treated as admin only services.
This means that clients will not be able to select from these options. Block
services are commonly used for lunch breaks, days off, or any period of time
you wish to block your clients from scheduling.
Tip: Using
Block services in conjunction with recurring appointments will enable you to
create different hours of operation for different resources.
For example
if Bill works 8am to 4pm and Bob works 9am to 5pm then you would set your
business hours of operation from 8am to 5pm (see next section for Assigning
Hours of Work for Business). To block out 1 hour for Bob from 8am to 9am you would
create a service called “Block 1 hour” and schedule a daily recurring appointment
(see Scheduling Appointments). This will give Bob 9am to 5pm availability.
Hours & Days of WorkUnder the
Hours of Work heading click “Edit hours for each day of the week”. This will
open the popup window shown at the right.
Using Block
services in conjunction with recurring appointments will enable you to create
different hours of operation for different resources.
For example
if Bill works 8am to 4pm and Bob works 9am to 5pm then you would set your
business hours of operation from 8am to 5pm (see Assigning Hours of Work for
Business). To block out 1 hour for Bob from 8am to 9am you would create a
service called “Block 1 hour” and schedule a daily recurring appointment (see
Scheduling Appointments). This will give Bob 9am to 5pm availability.
The display
interval tells the system how to display the calendar. For example if set at 30
minutes the scheduler will show 8:00am to 8:30am as one time block.
Tip: It
is very important that the display interval corresponds with the services
offered. If your display interval is longer than your shortest service than the
calendar will not display properly.
Assigning
Days of WorkSimply select
the days you are open for business.
A resource
is the entity that you will be scheduling with. Often this will refer to staff
resources such as therapists, doctors, councilors, or teachers but resources
can also be rooms, locations, or any other entity you choose.
In the
example to the right the resource title has been changed to “Batting Cage”.
Throughout the system “Batting Cage” will replace any reference to a
resource.
The Multiple
Resource Version allows you to create an unlimited number of resources. Assigning color codes are optional. Edit or
delete a resource by selecting from the list provided.
All company
information that you enter here will be displayed for your viewers in the
footer of your system. In the Header section you can select to have the company
name displayed as the header title. The email address entered here will be the
one copied when appointment conformations are sent to members.
The main
page is the first page your visitors will see before logging in. Here you have
the ability to enter any text or HTML content you wish –images, links, tables, or
perhaps a quick introduction to your system. With this feature your scheduler
can also be used as a standalone website. Click the edit link and a pop up
window will appear.
Tip: We’ve
included a link to W3schools at the bottom of each popup window. W3schools is a
very easy to use site that provides basics on how to use HTML code.
This popup
window allows you to modify the message displayed when a visitor registers for
an account.
Email ContentThe popup
window shown on the right allows you to modify the content of the email message
delivered to a new member immediately after they register. The subject,
salutation, and message of the email can be edited here. Note your company
details will be at the bottom of the email as well.
The confirmation
email popup window allows you to modify the content of the email message
delivered immediately after an appointment is scheduled. The salutation as well
as the opening and closing statements can be edited here. Note the appointment
details and your company information will also be included in the email.
Display
Hours of Work on front page – If selected hours of work will be displayed on
the main page below the login box.
Display
Services on front page – If selected services will be displayed on the main
page below the login box.
Display
Login Form on main page – Some businesses manage their scheduling system
strictly from their admin section. In this case the member login box is not
required and therefore should not be displayed.
Display
Member Registration Option – Checking this option will allow members to
register themselves. Alternatively some businesses choose to create members
from the admin section.
Allow
for Password Retrieval – “I forgot my password” will be displayed within the
login box allowing your clients to have their password emailed to them.
Here you can
set how many days in advanced clients will be able to schedule appointments.
You have the option to set this restriction for administrators as well.
This
security feature determines how long a user (admin or client) can have an
inactive browser open for before the session automatically terminates.
Select this
option if you want email confirmations sent to the client immediately after
appointments are booked.
The ability
for a client to cancel their appointments online can be removed if this option
is unchecked.
The My Account
page will likely be one of the first pages you access after subscribing to the
system. Here you can change your username and password to something more
secure.
Calendar PageThe layout
of the calendar page was designed to make the process as easy as possible. A
mini calendar is provided to allow you to quickly select a date and scroll from
month to month. Days of the week that are not open for business are shaded out
and when selected the next available day is automatically selected. For
convenience a drop down date selector is also available below the mini
calendar.
Small dots
are shown to represent days where appointments have been scheduled.
Scheduling AppointmentsThe
scheduling form is to the right of the mini calendar. After selecting the appropriate
date this form will take you through the rest of the process – Select a
Resource, Select a Service, Select an available time, and enter the client’s
name, phone, email address and appointment details.
The schedule
table displayed at the bottom of the screen is a quick way to view availability
and select a time. Click an open time block from the table and the scheduler
form will populate with the relevant details. (Multiple Resource Version only)
Once an
appointment is made you will immediately see it in the table below.
Your
schedule can be displayed in three different views – daily view, all resources
daily view (shown below), and weekly view.
Administrators
have the ability to schedule recurring appointments (daily, weekly, biweekly,
monthly, or yearly).
Tip: Using
Block services in conjunction with recurring appointments will enable you to
create different hours of operation for different resources.
For example
if Bill works 8am to 4pm and Bob works 9am to 5pm then you would set your
business hours of operation from 8am to 5pm (see Assigning Hours of Work for
Business). To block out 1 hour for Bob from 8am to 9am you would create a
service called “Block 1 hour” and schedule a daily recurring appointment (see
Scheduling Appointments). This will give Bob 9am to 5pm availability.
Every
appointment listed will have the option to reschedule or cancel. All canceled
appointments are recorded in the Cancelations table which can be access from
the Appointments page by clicking the 
icon.
When
rescheduling an appointment the information from the canceled appointment is
passed to the scheduler form making it easy to make changes and reschedule.
Rescheduled appointments are also maintained in the Cancelations table.
For a
printable copy of a resource’s appointments click the 
icon from the daily view screen. This will
display a popup window with your printer options ready for print.
Your
appointments are listed based on the search and sort queries you have sent.
With each record there is an edit 
and delete 
icon. Click edit to populate all fields in a
form where you can make changes accordingly. Click delete and you will be
prompted with an alert box to confirm the deletion.
As you can
see from the screenshot above your scheduling system can run reports based on
search terms, month or year, or for a specific resource. In the example above
we’ve listed all appointments with the search term “test” in the record. Resource,
service, contact, email, and appointment notes are all searchable fields. The 
icon will display all records in the database.
Click the
column heading to see the current table sorted alphabetically by that field.
Printing
from the browser is not always ideal so your system provides a printable
version of the current report displayed. Click the 
icon and a popup window will
display with your printer options ready for print.
To export
your reports in Excel click the 
icon.
Add members
to your database by clicking the 
icon. You can assign one of three access options
– Admin, Client, or Limited.
Admin accounts will have full access to the system and everything we’ve
covered in this manual.
Client accounts are able to schedule appointments from the client section
of the system (see Client User Manual).
Limited accounts can view all appointment details as if they had admin
access but there are absolutely no scheduling or management options with this account
type. Limited accounts are commonly used for staff viewing.
Click the 
icon to open the mass email form. You can send
emails to all admin users, all clients, or all accounts in the database. You
can also send emails to individual accounts by clicking the email address in
the member table.
Searchable
fields in the members table include first and last name, email address, phone
number, and password.
Click the
column heading to see the current table sorted alphabetically by that field.
Click the 
icon and a popup window will display with your
printer options ready for print.
To export
your reports in Excel click the icon.
In most
cases Grace Schedules subscribers will provide a link on their website
redirecting their visitors to their scheduling system (i.e. www.graceschedules.com/[yourbusinessnamehere]).
If you want
the scheduler to appear as though it functions within your site your website
developer can utilize frames. To actually have the system run within your site
you can purchase the scripts for your system and code it directly into the
pages of your site. This will require someone with advanced ASP and HTML
knowledge. Grace Schedules will be happy to provide a free quote on the project
upon request.
We've
designed our scheduling systems to be dynamic so that you can easily modify the
look and function to meet the needs of your business. However we realize that
all businesses are different and therefore your requirements may be more
specific.
In these
cases we can customize the scheduler until it is exactly what your business
needs. Please send us
your system requirements and we'll be happy to provide a free quote on the
project.
To qualify
as a reseller of the single and multiple resource versions you must first
purchase the version you wish to sell at its normal price. Once your initial
purchase is made, each additional scheduler that you purchase will be eligible
for the reseller discount. A 20% discount is applied to the regular price of
each system.
Customer
Testimonials - www.graceschedules.com/testimonials.asp
Frequently
Asked Questions - www.graceschedules.com/faq.asp
Online Demos
- www.graceschedules.com/demo.asp
Features - www.graceschedules.com/features.asp
Pricing - www.graceschedules.com/pricing.asp
W3Schools
Online Web Tutorials - www.w3schools.com