From now on you will not have to jump between different services to allow external users to schedule appointments. And also – the Israeli diary GroupCal is renewed
If you use Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite), it’s likely that a significant portion of your day also includes using Google Calendar. But you or other users in the organization may have had to use a separate service like Calendly to coordinate meetings with other people. Well, a new update to Google Calendar will allow you, if you wish, to start offering and scheduling appointments directly from the same interface.
Like making an appointment at the post office or a restaurant
Google has announced that the Appointment Schedule feature will reach more or less all Workspace subscribers, and will actually allow you within the organization to offer appointments, whether physical or video call, at pre-set hours and lengths according to your settings, and let external users sign up for those appointments. Even if they do not have a Google account.
For example, does your product have that day of the week when they talk to customers? They will now be able to set time windows where they are available, and customers will be able to choose a time slot that suits them, and reserve the desired date as if they were ordering a mail order (minus the need to take a number from the machine that just stopped working).
And there are other benefits to not having to work with another service right now, but doing everything in one place: If you are the one offering these appointments, and you suddenly have an overlapping appointment or you have taken a day off, Google knows not to show other users these hours automatically available – Because everything happens in Google Calendar and not in an external service.
If this sounds familiar to you, and you may have come across this feature, the reason is simple: Google offered the feature last year, but only as part of Workspace Individual, which is Google’s package for individual Workspace users. Now, the feature extends to almost all Workspace packages including Standard, Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus and also to Education packages, teachers and non-profit organizations – so it’s likely that your organization is inside as well.
Google explains that this new-old feature is already starting to appear on users (click on the plus button in the calendar and check if you have an option called “Appointment Schedule”. If your admin did not approve quick updates, you will have to wait until April 6, then it will start Reach all the users, those who will not receive the feature are the users of the Essential version, Business Starter, Frontline and of course Legacy G Suite and Business Customer users.
The Israeli diary is also being renewed
Another innovation in your diaries comes from the Israeli startup 24me and its joint diary application GroupCal. The app allows users to schedule an appointment with a number of parties such as friends and family or customers of a small business – without too many emails of “when is it convenient for you on Tuesday”, “prefers Wednesday”, “Wednesday morning or noon” etc. Calendar sharing is easily done through contacts – much like payment apps – and any change in the event notifies all attendees. GroupCal allows you to create multiple logs (e.g. for family events, studies, business meetings) with all management done from one place.
Basic use is free and there are a number of services offered for a fee to business owners for example. The app is available for iOS and Android.
A good old age
Born with a joystick in hand. He has far too many gadgets and far too little free time to play with them all. An unexplained hammer holder for calibrating device batteries. When he’s not busy writing about technology, he likes to talk about it, and a lot
