If you are a small business owner (or even if you’re not) you know how much time is wasted going back and forth with people over available meeting times.

It’s enough to make anyone who doesn’t have a secretary go crazy.

I recently encountered a great tool that syncs up with whatever computerized calendar you are already using, and creates a really nice interface for other people to see your availability and schedule time with you.

I use Google Calendar, and have tried a lot of different avenues. I’ve tried sending the link to my Google Calendar’s free/busy time to people in emails, but those who don’t use Google Calendar become a little freaked out when they click on it.

I’ve tried embedding my Google Calendar in my WordPress site, but no matter which embed code or plugin tool I use, the buttons don’t work or it doesn’t display in a friendly way. People have tried to use it and become frustrated. The last thing I want is for someone to be frustrated trying to meet with me, especially if they are a new customer.

Now I’m using simplybook.me, and it seems to be working great! For the person who signs up for the tool (like me), it’s not all that easy to navigate. Things aren’t where I thought they would be. But the tool does give you your own webpage for your availability, which you can send people to. I prefer to send people to my own website (where they might stay and learn a little more about what my company does), so I used their javascript tool that puts the same scheduler right onto my own site.

For the visitor, it is very nice. It looks good, and it’s easy to click on a date and see what time slots are available. Even better, the visitor can go ahead and request an appointment. Even better than THAT, when someone requests an appointment, it goes straight into my Google Calendar, so I don’t have to copy and paste. Of course if I want to reject the request, I have to delete it and contact the person, but that would be a rare occurrence since my Google Calendar is always updated.

To see how it works on my site (or to make an appointment with me so I can help you set it up for yourself) check out my schedule and availability page.