If you’re an entrepreneur or business owner, or even if you work in an office, you know how challenging it is to create a functional meeting schedule. You’re always stuck with problems with starting the scheduling process, keeping everything organized and ensuring everyone attends.

Well, a simple solution is online scheduling. But, surely, this begs the question, how does online scheduling work and how can it help a business?

To properly understand how online scheduling works, we first need to know what it is. Here’s our guide to online scheduling and how to get started.

What is online scheduling?

Online scheduling is a way to manage schedules using an online scheduler. That is a tool or software that helps users save time scheduling appointments by automating the appointment procedure and cutting out the waiting time for responses from both parties.

A great online scheduling software like Doodle provides amazing features, including a calendar management tool, shareable links, group support in the form of collaborative scheduling platforms, polls and other time-saving scheduling features.

But to enjoy these features, you need to know how online scheduling works. Here’s how.

How does online scheduling work?

Online scheduling is a great way to keep track of your business's schedule to ensure your clients never have to wait on hold or go through a long process to book an appointment and ensure you’re getting the most out of your schedule.

Start by setting up a calendar, for example, Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Microsoft Outlook. Nowadays, most email providers will offer a calendar which can help businesses keep everything centralized in one place. 

This is where Doodle comes in

Doodle's online scheduling software is a great solution for entrepreneurs looking to streamline their scheduling process and for users looking for an easy-to-use tool that helps in managing office schedules.

By connecting your Doodle account to your calendar, you can schedule events through Doodle and your calendar will automatically be updated. This means no more double bookings and people only booking meetings with you when you want them.

With Doodle, users can easily manage their schedule across all devices, including desktops and mobile phones. It can also provide event reminders and let you set deadlines which are helpful in reducing last-minute changes. In addition, the software can be customized according to the diverse requirements of different industries, including start-ups education and hospitality.

How to master online scheduling using Doodle

To use Doodle’s online scheduling tools, you need an account. Signing up for a Doodle Professional account gives you access to premium features. However, you can automate your day with a free account.

Doodle won’t require any credit card info when signing up for a free account. Simply go to Doodle’s signup page and create an account.

After creating your account, it’s important to integrate your calendar using Doodle’s calendar management solutions. Next, choose your preferred time zone. Then follow the steps below to set up your first meeting.

Step 1: On your Doodle home/overview page, click on the box button with a plus sign at the top right of your screen that reads “Create +”. Clicking on this button will take you to a page displaying three options that say “Create group poll”, “Create 1:1” and “Create booking page,” respectively.

For this example, we’ll show you how to use the “Create Group poll” feature

Step 2: Click on the “Create Group Poll" button. Clicking on this button takes you to a page containing boxes where you will fill in the title of your meeting, a meeting description, the location for the meeting, input your meeting duration and pick preferred dates and times.

Step 3: After setting your preferences, click on the “Create invite and continue” button at the bottom of your screen.

Step 4: This automatically creates an invite to a poll where you can copy the link and send it to all expected participants to vote on their availability and determine a preferred meeting time. Alternatively, you can have Doodle send the invite for you. 

Note: You can use Doodle’s appointment scheduling software by clicking on the “Create Booking Page” button from Step 1. This takes you to a page where Doodle, with access to your calendar and personal schedule, helps you create a bookable link to share with parties who wish to schedule meetings with you.