Getting Started with Bookings

Start on a Mac with access to Bookings and an email account you can open. These steps take you through signing in, choosing your calendars and sharing your first booking page. You can then use Bookings on your iPhone, iPad and other Macs.

Step 1: Turn On Bookings in BusyCal

Sign in with your email address to turn on Bookings. There's no password; BusyCal emails you a six-digit code.

1. Choose BusyCal > Settings, then select Bookings in the sidebar.
2. Click Sign In….
3. Enter your email address.
4. The first time you sign in on a Mac, read the Bookings Terms and the Privacy Notice, which are linked below the checkbox. If you agree to them, select the checkbox.
5. Click Continue. BusyCal emails you a code.
6. Enter the code, then click Sign In.

BusyCal sends nothing to Bookings until you agree to the terms and click Continue.

The code expires after 10 minutes. Its expiry time appears in the sign-in window.

• If the email doesn't arrive, check your junk mail folder. When the countdown next to Send New Code ends, you can click it to get a new code.
• To sign in with a different address, click Use a Different Email.

Step 2: Add Your Name

Your profile needs a name and username before you can turn on a booking page. Bookings suggests a username from your email address, so you usually only need to add your name.

1. Click Edit Profile….
2. Enter your Name. People see it on your profile page and your booking pages.
3. Check your Username and the profile link below it, such as busybook.me/jane.
4. Click Save.

To add a photo, click Choose Photo… in the same sheet. You can change your name, username and photo later, in BusyCal or in your dashboard. See Your Profile and Appearance.

When you have a username, BusyCal shows your profile link below your name, with Copy Link and Open in Browser.

Step 3: Choose the Calendars to Check for Free Times

Under Free Times, choose which calendars should block booking times. Calendars to check shows the current selection, such as All calendars or 3 of 5 calendars. BusyCal shares their busy times with Bookings, without event details.

You can include On My Mac calendars too. They don't need a calendar account, though BusyCal needs an internet connection to share their busy times with Bookings.

To leave a calendar out, such as a shared family calendar:

1. Click Choose Calendars….
2. Uncheck the calendars whose events shouldn't stop people from booking.
3. Click Save.

Calendar subscriptions, such as a webcal link, start unchecked. To have one count as busy, check it in the same sheet.

BusyCal updates your busy times automatically while it runs. To send an update now, click Sync Free Times Now under Calendars to check. The button shows Syncing Free Times… until it finishes.

See Busy Calendars.

Step 4: Open Your Dashboard

You create booking pages in your dashboard on the web.

1. In BusyCal > Settings > Bookings, click Open Dashboard below your profile link.
2. Enter the same email address that you use in BusyCal, then click Email Me a Sign-In Link.
3. In the email, click the link, then click Sign In in your browser. Or type the six-digit code from the email in your browser, then click Sign In.

The link and code are single-use and expire after 10 minutes. Your browser stays signed in until you sign out or leave the dashboard unused for 90 days. While you're signed in, Open Dashboard takes you straight there. See Signing In to Your Dashboard.

Step 5: Create Your First Booking Page

1. In your dashboard, click Booking pages, then click New Booking Page.
2. Under Basics, enter a Title, such as "Intro call". The Link follows the title until you type your own link.
3. Under Who can book, choose Link only or On your profile.
4. Under Calendar, choose where to save the meetings in Add bookings to. The default is the first calendar in the menu with an account that's turned on in BusyCal.
5. Under Availability, check Duration and Weekly hours. A new booking page offers 30-minute meetings, Monday to Friday, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, in your time zone.
6. Click Create Booking Page at the bottom of the window.

The booking page's summary opens, with its link at the top. Booking Pages describes every setting.

The Add bookings to menu lists calendars that support events and that you can edit, in accounts such as iCloud, Google or Microsoft 365. Each booking page can use a different calendar.

On My Mac calendars

On My Mac calendars can't receive bookings because they have no account to send invitations. Choose an iCloud, Google or other account calendar instead. You can still include On My Mac calendars when checking for conflicts.

Step 6: Share Your Link

• Share one meeting type: Copy its link from the page summary or its card in Booking pages. You can also click Open and copy the address from your browser.
• Let people choose a meeting type: Share your profile link. It lists the pages set to On your profile. Click Copy Link in BusyCal > Settings > Bookings, or copy it from Your links on the dashboard's Overview.

Click Preview on a page's card to try the form without making a booking.

Keep BusyCal running on your Mac. BusyCal shares your busy times and adds each booking to your calendar. Your iPhone, iPad and other Macs do this too, as described below.

Using Bookings on Your Other Devices

After you sign in on one Mac, BusyCal uses iCloud to set up Bookings on your other devices. Devices using the same iCloud account need no separate sign-in.

Each device can:

• Share updates from your chosen busy calendars. The calendar selection applies to all your devices.
• Add new bookings to your calendar, which then syncs through the calendar account.
• Show booking and request updates in its Inbox.

BusyCal receives updates through push notifications and checks regularly as well, normally every 30 minutes. Without push notifications, it checks about every 15 minutes. On iPhone and iPad, these updates depend on BusyCal being open or iOS allowing background refresh. On a Mac, leave BusyCal running.

A Mac that uses a different iCloud account can use Bookings too. Open BusyCal > Settings > Bookings on that Mac, and sign in with the same email address.

The Devices group in BusyCal > Settings > Bookings on your Mac lists your other devices that use Bookings. See Devices That Use Bookings.