Setting up Availability in iClosed is one of the minimum technical requirements for participating as event host
Availability refers to users work hours - times when a host is going to be available to receive calls on the scheduler. iClosed will look into Availability set and Calendars Connected with iClosed, to ensure hosts get calls only during set times and within slots that are not blocked by Google Calendar events.
In the availability tab you will be able to:
Set up standard availability - work hours
Create and name new availability - event specific
Set your availability time zone - not necessarily your actual time zone. Can be the time zone of your market as well
Select the Events - you want availability to be applied (active) to
Set Date Specific Availability - additional option to override default availability set, for date(s) when you will not be fully available or unavailable at all.
Troubleshoot your availability - for users to understand why their slots are occupied for a specific date, time and event(s) they've selected
Troubleshoot availability of other account member availability - Accessible to Super Admin or Sales Manager user roles
Setting up Availability
Even though you've probably set your availability during the sign up process, you can always adjust it here AI Scheduler → Availability.
The most important aspect of this feature is setting up time zone and times for which availability will be applied. This means that according to the time zone and times set in Availability, the scheduler will convert it times as per time zone selected to show proper times on leads end in case he's visiting the scheduler from a different time zone.
Here's the step by step guide for setting up availability:
Standard Availability - Working Hours
Choose Event(s) for which you wish to activate or deactivate your Availability
iClosed automatically apply availability to all Events
In case you'd like to add new availability for specific event(s), deactivate them from the standard availability - working hours tab
Select time zone
It is very important to set correct time zone in order for your scheduler to be in line with the actual availability. This may not necessarily be your actual time zone, but the time zone of your market.
For example, if you're located in Dubai, but serving French market, you may either set it up:Paris time zone and times as per time zone selected (e.g. 8am to 5pm) or
Dubai time zone and times that you've converted when you expect to be available on Paris time (e.g. 11am to 8pm)
No matter the approach you choose, leads will see times converted as per their device time zone read by iClosed
Select the days of the week that you are available by selecting or de-selecting the toggle button
Select a start and end times for when you are available for that day
Additionally, you can add multiple intervals (block of times) for a specific day by clicking on the "+" button (and to remove it by clicking on the "Trash" button after you added it)
And to copy times set to other days of the week by clicking on the "Copy" button and selecting days to which times should apply
Once you're done, hit "Save" button in the bottom right corner of your screen to apply changes
Check out the video walkthrough below.
Once you've set your Availability, you're ready to start getting calls booked.
Pro tips
Working hours availability can't be deleted. Additional options available are to Rename availability by clicking on the "Edit name" button or to Clone (duplicate) availability.
Creating New Availability - Event specific schedule
In case you'd like to set up specific availability for one or multiple events, you can do that by creating "New availability". Here's the step-by-step guide:
Click on "Create new availability" button and the new window will pop up where you'd need to set the name of your availability
Choose Event(s) for which you wish to activate your Availability
In case you can't select desired event, navigate back to Working hours availability tab to deactivate event from different availability.
Select time zone
Activate days of the week when you want to be available for the specific event selected
Set time slots, and save availability
Here's a video tutorial:
Additional options that you can utilize in newly created availability are:
Edit availability name - for renaming the availability
Set as default availability - so all newly created events will be automatically activated in this availability
Clone - quick button for duplicating availability
Delete - for deleting availability
In case you need to create Event for your scheduler, head right to the Events Page or check article about How to setup an Event.
Date-Specific Availability
Date specific availability is available for all Availabilities that you've created in iClosed. It's a fantastic option for overriding your standard availability set, in case you need to create an exception for a specific date or to block off the whole day:
Click on the "Add a date override" button at top right of your screen under Date-Specific Availability section
Select single or multiple dates for which you need to customize your Availability
Set timeframes for this specific Availability, when are you going to be available
Utilize additional option to create more than one timeframe if needed, by clicking on the "+" icon
And save by clicking on "Add date override" button
That's it, you will now see a list of the dates for which you have added custom availability (date override), without changing the default availability.
Example
Taking a half day next Thursday and Friday for some last-minute shopping?
Not a problem. Just Add Date Override by selecting specific dates and set timeframes during which you'll be available.
For example, if your standard work schedule is from 9am to 5pm, but you need to be out of office from 11am to 2pm on next Thu, select the date and set two blocks of availability for this specific day.
Set 1st block = 9am to 11am
Set 2nd block = 2pm to 5pm
The system will prioritize Date Override for this specific date, over your default Availability, while all the other dates will be prioritized by your default availability.
Additionally, you will be able to block off the whole day (or multiple days selected) by utilizing "Mark all day(s) as unavailable" toggle button, in case you're out of office, on holiday or vacation leave.
Kindly note that date range option is not available, so please select every date for which the Date override should be set.
Troubleshooting Availability
If you have set your availability correctly but you still don't see the available slots on the schedule, don't worry. You can troubleshoot to see exactly why it is happening.
And it's available as separate troubleshooter depending of the availability you'd like to check.
Launching Troubleshooter
Head to AI Scheduler → Availability and follow the steps below:
On the top right of Set your availability section, click on Launch troubleshooter
This will open the troubleshooter panel on the left where you can:
Select the events for which you want to troubleshoot availability, by default All Events are selected
Select the specific date you want to troubleshoot
See when your day starts, reasons why you are busy and when your day ends
Reasons for blocked availability
You will see the source of unavailability. There are two types of sources:
iClosed: availability taken by an Event from iClosed scheduler
Calendar: availability blocked by Google Calendar events, placed outside of iClosed
Learn more
How to Troubleshoot an Event for precise and more detailed information
Learn more about Troubleshooting user calendars on the articles bellow: