Microsoft Bookings
Microsoft Bookings is a web-based calendar that gives external end users the flexibility to book a time with support teams that works for them (for individual or small group appointments). Microsoft Bookings is part of the Microsoft 365 suite.
Availability
Microsoft Bookings is approved for specific use cases where external participants (consultants, future students, etc) need visibility of UQ support teams' availability and to be able to request appointments.
In all other scenarios (student services, staff services) Student Hub appointment module is the recommended method of booking services.
If you are unsure or have a different use case, please contact Student Hub support.
Integration
Bookings integrates with Microsoft Outlook and optimises the support team's calendar. Email notification features in Microsoft Bookings reduces no-shows and enhances customer satisfaction.
Team participants can install the 'Bookings' app in Microsoft Teams to access and manage their appointments within Microsoft Teams.
Microsoft Bookings is not integrated with UQ Book It and has no features for automatically reserving meeting rooms. For all services requiring in-person bookings, reserve meeting rooms via UQ Book It on an ad-hoc or ongoing basis before making the service available on the Bookings page.
Request a Bookings Calendar
You can request a new Bookings Calendar by submitting an IT support request.
Once you have been granted access to a Bookings calendar you can organise the staff and service offerings you wish to make available for booking by end-users. Once ready, you can share a Bookings page with your end-users either via a direct link or by embedding the Bookings page in an existing web page and inviting them to make bookings.
Anyone can use the Bookings page link shared with them to make relevant bookings for staff and service offerings.
Design guidelines
All Bookings calendars are created as per UQ branding guidelines. Do not change any branding elements (UQ logo, colours, etc.) in the Bookings calendar provided to your team.
Set up your Bookings calendar
Before starting to use your new Bookings calendar, check and update:
- business information specific to your faculty, institute, or organisational unit
- do not change any UQ branded elements
- business hours and time offs for your faculty, institute, or organisational unit
- service offerings provided by your team
- staff (i.e., your team members) who should use the Bookings calendar to provide service and in what roles
- add your customers
- add custom or required questions to the Bookings page
- set up and publish the Bookings page
- share the service booking page URL with your customers
Do not share the calendar’s booking page URL with your customers. Sharing an individual service booking page URL reduces ambiguity for customers and allows them to quickly make bookings with the relevant support team.
Each Bookings calendar can have a maximum of 100 staff members providing service to customers. Of these 100 staff members, any staff member can be assigned to any service as per business requirements.
Roles
Teams can organise the staff who will provide services to customers in the following roles:
- Calendar administrator - has full access to the Bookings calendar, can edit all settings, add and remove staff, add or delete services, and create, edit, or delete bookings
- Scheduler - helps reduce administrative load on Calendar administrator by managing the day-to-day operations, appointments, and customers, without being able to modify services or calendar settings
- Team member - manage their own appointments and availability, but not anyone else's
- Viewer - gets read only access to all bookings and settings of the calendar, but cannot edit or modify
- Guest - can be assigned to bookings calendar, and communicated via emails, but can't open the bookings mailbox/calendar
Support
Support resources for Microsoft Bookings are available on the following websites: