Scheduling made easy: Bookings, payments, and follow-ups

Running a business is already a lot. I used to spend too much time just trying to get a meeting set, send reminders, and follow up with clients who hadn’t paid yet. Does it resonate with you? Eventually, I had to ask myself — is this really the best use of my time? It turns out that I didn’t need to keep doing all that manually.

Here’s how I got rid of the back-and-forth and set things up to just… work.

Bookings without the back-and-forth

The biggest change came when I stopped emailing people to ask, “When works for you?” and started sending a Booking Page instead.

Now, I just set my available hours once, and my clients book what works for them. It all shows up in my calendar, so no extra messages or juggling is needed. I even added a few buffer rules to keep space between calls, and that alone saved me from burning out on Zoom.

Having a Booking Page means I don’t have to explain my availability every time. I send one link, they choose a time, and that’s it.

Get paid as you’re booked

The next step? Making sure I actually get paid. I used to wait for invoices to come through (and let’s be honest, sometimes forget to send them).

Now, when someone books, the payment is part of the flow. No more reminders. No chasing. They book. They pay. I show up. That one change made my cash flow more predictable — and my workday way less frustrating.

Set it once, and let it run

After a booking comes all the follow-up. Confirmations, reminders, thank-you emails — I used to send all those by hand. Now, I’ve got them set up to send automatically. Everyone gets what they need without me touching a thing. That means fewer no-shows and less time spent playing inbox tag. I can even add questions to collect the info I need before a meeting. It’s all baked into the sign-up process.

And if I’m in a rush? I create an event and have Doodle generate a meeting description for me. Sometimes, I don’t even click twice — I just type what I need, and it’s done. It’s like having a super-fast helper who already knows what I want.

Why this matters when you’re busy running a business

Look, if you’re freelancing, leading a nonprofit, running a tutoring side gig, or managing a tech team — your calendar is your lifeline. The more I could take off my plate, the more I could focus on actual work. Not admin. Not double-checking times. Not fixing mistakes.

Once I set up the basics — a free appointment scheduling software that handles reminders and payments — I started getting time back. And not in a vague “time is money” way. I mean hours each week I used to lose to admin.

The all-in-one tool for busy people

I use Doodle. Because it does everything I’ve talked about and doesn’t ask me to jump through hoops. Whether I need to run a poll to find the best meeting time with a board, set up recurring events, or let new clients book and pay in one go — it’s got me covered.

Plus, I can start with the free version and grow from there. That made it easy to test and then stick with. If you’re ready to stop juggling the small stuff, Doodle’s worth a try.