Setting up your booking calendar — step by step
Your booking calendar is one of the most important tools in CMART. It allows clients to book appointments with you 24/7, syncs with your personal calendar to prevent double bookings, and triggers automated reminders so clients actually show up.
In this guide, we'll walk through setting up your first calendar from scratch.
Step 1: Create a new calendar
- 1Navigate to Calendars in the left-hand menu, then click on Calendar Settings.
- 2Click the Create Calendar button in the top right corner.
- 3Choose your calendar type. For most service businesses, Round Robin (if you have multiple staff) or Unassigned (if it's just you) works best.
Step 2: Set your availability
This determines when clients are allowed to book you. You can set standard hours (e.g., Mon-Fri 9am-5pm) and add specific date overrides for holidays.
Buffer Times
Don't forget to add buffer times if you need prep or clean-up time between appointments. If your service takes 60 minutes and you need 15 minutes to prepare for the next client, set your buffer time to 15 minutes.
Appointment Duration: 60 mins
Buffer Time: 15 mins
Total Slot Time Blocked: 75 mins
Step 3: Sync your external calendar
To prevent double bookings, you should sync your Google or Outlook calendar. CMART will block off times when you have personal events scheduled.
- Go to Settings > Integrations
- Sign in with Google or Microsoft
- Return to your Calendar Settings and select the calendar to check for conflicts
Pro Tips for Success
Once your calendar is set up, you can embed it on your website, add it to your social media profiles, and send the link to clients directly via WhatsApp. Use the Copy Scheduling Link button in your calendar settings to get your direct booking link.
For more advanced setup, check out our guide on setting up deposits for bookings.
