Important note:
Group Appointments are not currently supported when using Quickstream.
Quickstream enables your organization to manage appointment flow by service and leverage Coconut in a capacity-based way. Group Appointments rely on a more structured setup that isn’t compatible with Quickstream’s unassigned availability model.
Please reach out to your Customer Success Team to discuss which option best fits your scheduling needs.
Scenario
You'd like to maintain engagement with existing clients/members and increase opportunities to reach prospective clients/members by showcasing specific services your organization offers.
Suggestion
Combine Coconut’s group service and booking shortcut features to create invite-only events - for example a first-time homebuyers webinar or a sustainable investing info session - and invite clients/members and prospects to register through an exclusive link.
When a client/member uses the link, they will be directed to the date & time of the event and need to only enter their details to register
Where to begin?
To make this possible, you will need to create a group service, schedule a group appointment for the service, and create a booking shortcut for the appointment.
Create a group service
To create a group service:
From the navigation menu, click Services
Click +Add
Enter a name for the service
Select the service duration
Ensure that the visibility is set to Invite Only
Select Group Service
Select one or multiple meeting methods for the service
Complete the additional form fields, where applicable/desired
NOTE: Hover over the question icon to learn more about that field and how it is used within Coconut.
Click Save
Ensure your group appointment is bookable in advance
If you’re creating a group service for an event that’s more than a few weeks away, it’s important to make sure your organization’s booking policy allows clients to book that far ahead of time. Otherwise, the booking shortcut may not appear to work when tested or shared-even though everything else is set up correctly.
There are two ways to adjust the advance booking window:
To update your general booking policy:
From the navigation menu, click Settings
Navigate to General, then Booking Policies
Click the dropdown next to How far in advance can clients book?
Select a timeframe that includes the date of your upcoming group event
To allow extended booking for this specific service only:
From the navigation menu, click Settings
Navigate to General, then Booking Policies
click Set for a specific service
Select the relevant group service
Adjust the advance booking window for just this service
This is especially helpful if you plan to test or share the booking shortcut before the event falls within your default booking window. Updating these settings ensures the group appointment will be visible and bookable as expected.
Schedule a group appointment
Next, schedule a group appointment for that service on the date your organization wants to host the event. To schedule a group appointment:
From Dashboard, click Schedule
Do one of the following:
Click + New and select Appointment
Click the desired date and time from within the calendar and select Appointment
NOTE: To pre-populate the location and staff member for the appointment, select the calendar for the desired location and staff member prior to selecting an available date and time
Do one of the following:
From the Attendees field in the New Appointment screen, search for and select a client who will be attending the appointment
To add clients to the group appointment at a later time, leave the Attendees section without a client and proceed to the next action
Confirm the intended staff member is listed as the Staff contact on the appointment
If not, click the More Actions ellipsis to remove the current staff member
From the Attendees field, search for and select the intended staff member
Select/confirm the date and time for the appointment
Within Details, select the appropriate group service from the Service dropdown
Enter the Client Limit for the group appointment/event
NOTE: Leave this field blank to provide unlimited attendance for the appointment/event
Within Details, complete the optional items, if desired
From Internal Notes, click Add notes to include information that is not visible to the client, but may be helpful for a staff member facilitating the group appointment
Click Save
Create a booking shortcut
Lastly, create a booking shortcut for the event that your organization can share with clients/members or prospects. To create a booking shortcut:
From the navigation menu, click Shortcuts
Click +New
NOTE: If this is the first booking shortcut, the page will look a little different; click Create a Booking Shortcut to get started
Select Make all Invite Only and Public resources visible on the client view to ensure clients/members can choose the invite-only service when using the shortcut
If applicable, add staff members and decide whether additional staff can be selected as well when using the shortcut
NOTE: To remove a staff member, click the more actions (⋮) icon and click Remove
Make your desired Meeting Method, Service Category (if applicable), Service, Location, and Language selections
NOTE: If no language selection is made, the booking shortcut will default to the language set for the Client View
Enter a name for the shortcut
If desired, customize the link address for the shortcut
If desired, set an expiration date and time for the shortcut (for example, 3 days prior to the event so that staff can prepare accordingly)
If desired, set a usage limit for the shortcut (for example, a maximum of 50 participants)
Click Save
The booking shortcut for the invite-only event is complete. You can now test the shortcut by clicking the link for the shortcut in the Booking Shortcuts table. Once successfully tested, share the shortcut with your organization so that it can be used to promote the event.
Additional Resources
For more information on how to create a service, please refer to this article.
For more information on how to schedule a group appointment, please refer to this article.
For more information on how to create a booking shortcut, please refer to this article.