How to Set Different Weekly Availability in Microsoft Bookings
Question details
The user needs to configure fluctuating weekly availability up to two months in advance in Microsoft Bookings, requiring date-specific scheduling functionality.

- Product
- Microsoft Bookings
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Managing a varying weekly schedule where client meetings can be booked up to two months ahead.
- Observed behavior
- Microsoft Bookings offers general availability settings, but lacks straightforward, automated date-specific schedule rotation compared to tools like Calendly.
Ensure you have administrator access to your Microsoft Bookings calendar and have mapped out the specific dates and times your availability will change over the next two months.
Configure Custom Availability per Service for Specific Dates
Use the date range availability settings within specific services to restrict or allow booking times for upcoming weeks.
While Microsoft Bookings does not natively support automated alternating weekly templates (such as a bi-weekly rotating schedule), you can override general availability by manually defining different date ranges within the service options.
Navigate to the 'Services' tab from the left-hand menu in Microsoft Bookings and select the service you want to edit.
Scroll down to the 'Availability options' section. Under 'General availability', you can set the default behavior, such as 'Not bookable'.
Click the 'Set different availability for a date range' link. Enter the start and end dates for a specific week where your schedule differs.
Specify the exact hours you are available for that specific date range. Click the '+' icon to add additional date ranges for subsequent weeks.
Click 'Save' at the top of the page. Clients will now only see the customized availability for those specific weeks.

Adjust Individual Staff Hours
Modify the working hours of a specific staff member to block out times when their availability fluctuates.
Boost Your Productivity with WPS Office
While Microsoft Bookings handles your appointment scheduling, you can streamline your daily workflow and organize schedule data using WPS Office. It provides a lightweight, highly compatible, and free alternative to Microsoft Office for managing all your documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
- 1. Download WPS Office: Visit the official WPS website and click 'Download WPS Office Free' to install the software.
- 2. Create a Schedule Tracker: Open WPS Spreadsheet and create a custom layout to map out your fluctuating availability before inputting it into Microsoft Bookings.
- 3. Export Client Data: Export your Bookings calendar data to a CSV and open it perfectly formatted in WPS Spreadsheet for easy review and record-keeping.

Frequently Asked Questions
How do I limit bookings to exactly two months in advance?
Go to your Booking Page settings, scroll down to the 'Scheduling policy' section, and adjust the 'Maximum lead time' setting to 60 days. This prevents clients from booking meetings beyond your two-month timeframe.
Can I sync Microsoft Bookings with Calendly to manage complex schedules?
Microsoft Bookings and Calendly cannot directly sync their configuration settings with each other. However, you can connect both tools to your main Outlook calendar. This ensures that if an event is booked on one platform, the time is blocked out on the other.
Why are my custom staff hours not reflecting on the booking page?
This usually happens when the service settings are overriding the staff settings. Check the 'Availability options' within your specific Service settings and ensure that 'General availability' is configured to respect the staff member's hours.
Is there a native feature for alternating bi-weekly schedules in Bookings?
No, Microsoft Bookings currently does not have an automated bi-weekly or rotating schedule feature. You must manually use the 'Set different availability for a date range' tool to block out your varying weeks.




