Scheduling Pro Availability Configuration Option
Efficient appointment scheduling is vital for contractors, and that's where Scheduling Pro comes in, backed by the innovative Schedule Engine platform. It offers diverse solutions to empower contractors in managing their online booking capacity.
Say hello to intelligent appointment management.
Elevate Your Contractor Scheduling: The Power of Scheduling Pro
In the fast-paced contracting world, managing technicians and appointment availability is crucial to ensuring smooth operations. That's where Scheduling Pro comes in, backed by the innovative Schedule Engine platform. Formerly known as Schedule Engine, Scheduling Pro - Powered by Schedule Engine is the ultimate online appointment scheduler that empowers contractors with various options to take charge of their online booking capacity. With the guidance of dedicated Scheduling Pro Onboarding Specialists, contractors can tailor the solution to fit their unique needs perfectly, ensuring streamlined processes and optimal customer experiences. Let's dive into the details!
Our Onboarding Specialists are here to make things smooth,
working with you to figure out the perfect solution. We'll discuss your needs during the onboarding process and beyond, ensuring Scheduling Pro becomes your new Scheduling superpower.
To use an online appointment scheduler, contractors will need some way to manage their technicians and appointment availability. Scheduling Pro offers a variety of options for contractors needing to control their online booking capacity. An Onboarding Specialist can help contractors determine which solution best fits their needs based on information provided and discussed during the onboarding process and additional conversations that may be required as they implement Scheduling Pro.
One-Way Configuration: Tailored Control for Efficiency
Imagine designating 'time slots' for customers and setting the maximum number of appointments per slot – that's the power of One-Way Configuration.
Customize slots by trade or create a unified calculation
availability across different types of jobs. This set up focuses solely on Scheduling Pro bookings.
In this scenario, contractors can designate Scheduling Pro ‘time slots’ (i.e., the arrival windows offered to customers on the scheduler) and a maximum number of appointments they would like to allow customers to book through Scheduling Pro in those slots. These figures can be set by trade but can also be standardized so that all appointments are included in a single calculation of availability regardless of the type of job. In other words, you can set one total figure for service appointments and a separate figure for preventative maintenance or combine all appointments into one total regardless of trade.
Important Notes: This configuration does not consider appointments booked from other sources. Suppose a contractor can handle five total appointments in the morning and book four appointments for that time slot via their internal CSR over the phone. In that case, Scheduling Pro may potentially ‘overbook’ the contractor and schedule up to four more appointments than they felt they could accommodate (nine total). This can be averted by adequately managing the Scheduling Pro dashboard and using advanced scheduling tools.
Ideal For:
- Contractors without an integrated FSM
- Those unconcerned about overbooking
- Contractors with shifting technician teams
Ideal Use Case:
- Contractors who do not have an integrated FSM.
- Contractors who are not concerned with overbooking or want customers to get on the job board at their preferred time then let their CSRs sort out details and confirm appointments later.
- Contractors with frequent technician turnover and/or changes in responsibility. If a business is frequently hiring/replacing technicians or sending them back and forth between trades based on demand, this capacity configuration is often the easiest to manage. Rather than constantly updating technician lists or trades and risking the potential overbooking/under booking that may arise, you can set a reasonable appointment total by time slot and use the Scheduling Pro dashboard to manage capacity more effectively.
Two-Way Configuration: Precision and Flexibility Combined
For a more intricate approach, embrace a Two-Way Configuration. Set 'time slots' for customers and consider both Scheduling Pro appointments and those assigned by your CSR or dispatcher. Suitable technicians are factored in, ensuring your availability dynamically adapts to your team's assignments.
A Two-Way Configuration dynamically adjusts availability based on technician assignments.
Using this configuration, contractors set Scheduling Pro ‘time slots’ (i.e., the arrival windows offered to customers on the scheduler). In addition to considering the appointments made through Scheduling Pro, the two-way configuration will also consider the suitable technicians for the type of appointment requested and update availability if these technicians have other jobs assigned to them. This should mean that any appointment assigned to a suitable technician by a CSR or dispatcher will deduct one appointment from your Scheduling Pro availability calculation for that time slot. To accomplish this, the contractor must provide the names of the suitable technicians they would like to consider in each trade. If a contractor would like to offer two-hour time slots (i.e., 8-10, 10-12, 12-2, 2-4), any job assigned to one of the suitable technicians during one of these windows will deduct one slot from Scheduling Pro capacity.
Here is what this configuration may look like in practice:
HVAC Service Suitable Technicians:
- Justin Steele
- Kyle Hendricks
- Ian Happ
- Marcus Stroman
- Cody Bellinger
HVAC Maintenance Suitable Technicians:
- Justin Steele
- Kyle Hendricks
- Ian Happ
HVAC Sales Suitable Technicians:
- David Ross
- Jed Hoyer
If any of these technicians have a job on their schedule in the time slot sought by a customer in that trade, or if there are any jobs in the unassigned section for this time slot, we will deduct one appointment from the total availability. If all technicians have been scheduled, that time slot will no longer be offered on Scheduling Pro.
Important Notes: This configuration is only available to ServiceTitan users. While this gets closer to a direct read of the contractor’s availability, it is an imperfect measurement. The most common issues are caused by failures to update Scheduling Pro support with changes to suitable technicians. If a technician leaves the company or is hired and begins taking appointments, these updates must be communicated to the support team for changes to take effect. While we consider non-job events, there can be up to 30-minute delays in communicating these events to Scheduling Pro and updating the calendar accordingly. Adjustments to job duration may also end up deducting available capacity from the next time slot in a way the contractor did not intend.
Ideal For:
- Contractors prioritizing against overbooking
- Teams with a moderate-sized technician count
- Those desiring real-time job board insights
Ideal Use Case:
- Contractors concerned about overbooking and who will manage Scheduling Pro closely. This configuration will get a contractor closer to a live reading of their job board without requiring additional tools or effort on a daily basis.
- Contractors with small/manageable technician counts. Larger fleets become more challenging to manage for both Scheduling Pro and the contractors themselves. We typically see these contractors opt for a one-way configuration as they have more bandwidth to handle appointments as they come in and the staff on hand in the office to block the calendar for bookings when necessary.
- Contractors with low technician turnover. A constant addition/subtraction of technicians becomes difficult for both the contractor and Scheduling Pro. If technicians are frequently shuffled between trades based on demand, this can cause problems. Frequent changes to suitable technicians inevitably lead to overbooking and/or underbooking issues.
Adjustable Capacity Planning: Seamlessly Aligned with ServiceTitan
Contractors looking to the future will appreciate Adjustable Capacity Planning (ACP). This feature synchronizes ACP figures with Scheduling Pro, providing instant availability updates. Rest easy, as your booking capacity reflects changes made within ACP.
Imagine a world where ACP seamlessly aligns its figures with
the power of Scheduling Pro, granting immediate availability updates at your fingertips. Step into the future with excitement and peace of mind, knowing that every change you make within is effortlessly mirrored
in your booking capacity.
Your journey to streamlined scheduling starts here.
If the contractor is using ServiceTitan’s Adjustable Capacity Planning, Scheduling Pro can read these figures and reflect their availability on the calendar. To do this, Scheduling Pro considers the Business Unit (and job type if the ‘skills’ feature is required) and reflects any availability from ACP for the customer on the scheduler. In this scenario, no time slot or technician management through Scheduling Pro is required. Any changes made within Adjustable Capacity Planning will be reflected on the scheduler.
Important Notes: This configuration is only available to ServiceTitan users. Scheduling Pro does not implement or manage Adjustable Capacity Planning functionality directly, so any issues with availability may need to be resolved by ServiceTitan Core support.
Ideal For:
- Contractors already utilizing Adjustable Capacity Planning
- Those profoundly concerned about overbooking.
Ideal Use Case:
- Contractors already using Adjustable Capacity Planning
- Contractors with severe concerns about overbooking
- ACP requires a significant amount of dedication to implement. Contractors should only begin setting up if they have the bandwidth and capable staff.
Whiteboard Configuration: Real-Time Capacity Management
For complete control, explore the Schedule Engine Whiteboard. This powerful feature lets you manage 'time slots' per trade, calculate total appointments, and sync with real-time bookings. Keep your availability precise and ensure Scheduling Pro offers only genuinely open slots.
Manage 'timeslots' by trade, tally up total appointments, and experience the magic of seamless real-time booking synchronization.
Your scheduling brilliance starts here!
Suppose a contractor requires direct control over availability and cannot/will not use adjustable capacity planning. In that case, the Scheduling Pro Whiteboard allows them to manage and manipulate job capacity in real-time. This additional functionality is enabled and managed via the Scheduling Pro dashboard and will require the contractor’s CSR or Dispatch Manager to update it regularly as their staff books appointments.
The Scheduling Pro Whiteboard allows a contractor to set ‘time slots’ (i.e., the arrival windows offered to customers on the scheduler) by trade. From there, total appointments per time slot are configured and used to calculate capacity. As a customer books an appointment through Scheduling Pro, these appointment figures are updated automatically. As the contractor’s staff book appointments, they can update the Whiteboard to ensure that Scheduling Pro always has the correct capacity numbers and only offers time slots the contractor has indicated are still available.
Important Notes: This configuration requires daily maintenance on the contractor's part. Suppose they are not updating the Scheduling Pro Whiteboard each time a CSR/Dispatcher books an appointment. In that case, the online scheduler will need help determining how many appointments to offer per time slot properly. It takes most of the ‘guesswork’ out of managing capacity but requires constant vigilance to succeed.
Ideal For:
- Contractors heavily engaged with Scheduling Pro
- Those needing granular capacity control
- Teams who do not utilize its capacity management tools
Ideal Use Case:
- Contractors who are heavily engaged with Scheduling Pro and willing to use its tools daily
- Contractors without an integrated FSM who need granular capacity management
- Contractors with an integrated FSM but who do not utilize its capacity management tools
- Contractors who want the ability to make ‘real-time’ updates to Scheduling Pro availability or adjust capacity at a moment's notice for any reason.
Scheduling Pro adapts to your needs, whether you seek simplicity or precision in your scheduling. Explore the diverse configurations and elevate your contractor journey with ease.
