Eliminate the back-and-forth of scheduling by letting your clients book appointments based on the availability you set. The Dubsado scheduler integrates with your connected external calendar and handles confirmations, reminders, and calendar sync automatically.
Scheduler overview
The Dubsado scheduler lets clients self-book appointments in real time based on your actual availability. It checks your connected external calendar, respects the availability windows and booking limits you define, and takes care of confirmation and reminder emails so you don't have to.
Scheduling features are available on the Premier plan. The Starter plan does not include access to the scheduler.
Scheduler templates
Every scheduler in Dubsado starts with a scheduler template. Templates define everything about how a particular type of appointment works: its duration, availability, confirmation emails, and more. You can create as many templates as you need — one for consultations, another for project check-ins, another for paid coaching sessions.
Templates are managed at Events ➔ Scheduler Templates.
Each template has two tabs: Basic and Advanced.
Basic tab
The Basic tab covers the core setup for a scheduler template and contains three cards.
Details
The Details card is where you set the appointment's title, duration, location description, and calendar event description.
The Calendar event description field lets you write a description that appears on the calendar entry created when a client books. It supports smart fields and rich text. When a client books, Dubsado uses this description to generate a calendar invite (.ics) that is sent to the client, placing the appointment on their calendar as well.
If you enable video conferencing on the template, the Details card also shows a read-only Notetaker row indicating whether the notetaker will automatically join booked appointments. You can manage that setting from Settings ➔ Notetaker. For more about the notetaker, see the Notetaker article.
For full instructions on adding video conferencing to a template, see the video conferencing article.
Availability
The Availability card is where you set your weekly hours and any date-specific hours for the appointment type.
Booking page
The Booking page card controls the booking window mode (rolling, fixed, or indefinite), the time slot increment, and the welcome banner shown to clients on the booking page.
Advanced tab
The Advanced tab contains additional options for controlling how appointments are managed and what happens after a booking.
Limits — Set buffer times before and after appointments and cap the number of bookings per day.
Form — Attach a form template so clients complete it as part of the booking flow. See the article on adding a form to a scheduler for details.
Payment — Require payment before a booking is finalized.
Reminders — Set up automated email reminders that go out to clients leading up to the appointment.
Invitation & Confirmation Emails — Choose which email templates are sent for scheduling invitations and booking confirmations.
Redirect to URL — Send clients to a specific URL after they complete their booking.
For a step-by-step walkthrough of creating and configuring a scheduler template, see the Creating a scheduler template article.
Sharing your scheduler
Once you have a scheduler template, you can share it with clients in four ways. The right method depends on whether you're bringing in a new lead or scheduling with an existing client.
Public link or website embed — Share a direct link or embed the scheduler on your website. This is ideal for new leads or anyone who needs to book without an existing project. For instructions, see the embedding article.
Scheduling invitation email — Send a scheduler link to a client through an existing project. You can send it manually or include it in a flow. See the article on sending your scheduler in a flow for the automated approach.
Book on behalf of a client — Apply a scheduler to a project and manually select the appointment time for the client.
Scheduler groups — Bundle multiple scheduler templates onto a single booking page so clients can choose the appointment type they need. Scheduler groups are managed at Events ➔ Group Templates. For details on creating and sharing them, see the scheduler groups article.
If you share a scheduler publicly, attach a lead capture form or public proposal to ensure a project is created when someone books. When sharing within an existing project, do not attach a lead capture or public proposal — doing so would create a duplicate project.
How availability works
The scheduler calculates which time slots to show your client by combining several inputs.
The weekly hours and date-specific hours you set on the template
Real-time availability from your connected external calendar — events marked as Busy block those slots automatically
Buffer times and booking limits set on the template
Your workspace's time zone (configurable at Events ➔ Settings or Settings ➔ Calendar and time zone)
For details on connecting and syncing an external calendar, see the external calendar sync article.
Availability modes
The Booking page card offers three availability modes that control how far out clients can book.
Rolling — Clients can book within a rolling window from today, such as the next 30 days.
Fixed — Clients can only book within a specific date range you define.
Indefinite — Clients can book as far into the future as you have availability set.
Time zone display
The scheduler displays available times in each client's browser time zone. If your workspace is set to Pacific Time and a client views the scheduler from Eastern Time, a 9:00 AM Pacific slot will appear as 12:00 PM Eastern.
Filtering availability across workspaces
If you manage multiple Dubsado workspaces, you can enable Filter appointment availability across brands in your calendar settings. When this is on, the scheduler accounts for appointment conflicts from your other workspaces when showing available slots.
What happens when a client books
When a client selects a time and submits their booking, Dubsado handles the rest automatically.
An appointment is created and appears on your Events calendar.
If a form is attached, the client completes it as part of the booking flow before the appointment is finalized.
If payment is required, the client pays before the booking is confirmed.
A confirmation email is sent automatically. If no custom confirmation email is selected on the template, Dubsado uses the default Appointment Confirmed template (found at Messages ➔ Default templates).
If video conferencing is enabled, a meeting link is generated automatically and included in the confirmation.
Any reminder emails you configured are scheduled and sent leading up to the appointment.
If you have an external calendar connected with export turned on, the appointment is also added to that calendar.
Reminder emails can include buttons that let clients reschedule or cancel their appointment. To control whether clients can reschedule, see the article on preventing clients from rescheduling appointments.
FAQ
When a client books, will the appointment be added to my calendar?
Yes. Booked appointments appear on your Dubsado calendar under Events. If you have an external calendar connected and export is turned on, the appointment is also added to that external calendar.
Can the scheduler send text message (SMS) reminders?
No. The scheduler sends email reminders only. SMS reminders are not currently available.
Does the scheduler integrate with video conferencing software?
Yes. Dubsado connects with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and GoTo Meeting. You can enable automatic meeting link generation in the Details card of your scheduler template. For setup instructions, see the video conferencing article.
Can clients book appointments with multiple team members?
No. The scheduler determines availability from the workspace owner's connected calendar only. Scheduling across multiple team members and calendars is not supported.