When I need to schedule Skype meetings, I use Doodle to offer a group of time slots to my students. Doodle.com has an intuitive interface that’s easy to use, and there are settings that allow me to keep the responses anonymous (to prevent students from seeing the names of my other clients) and to restrict each time slot to one student. As the administrator of the poll, I receive an email from Doodle whenever a student participates. The basic service is free.

—Marilyn C. Morrison (CA)

We use Genbook and it has been fabulous. It allows us to each have our own schedule, block times when we are not available, and sync with our personal calendars. It is super easy for the clients to schedule online and they get a text and an e-mail reminder. You can also customize it to send specific attachments for certain types of meetings. I highly recommend it.

—Lisa Bleich (NJ)

To avoid the email scheduling tango with every prospective client, I created a specific on-boarding sequence that starts with an email introduction and ends with a link to my scheduling software. The email template is tailored specifically to my client demographic to introduce me and my service and personalized so I can easily insert fields, such as the client’s first and last name, their child’s name, and the specific service I’d like to offer them. The most important part is including a specific message and scheduling link that allows clients to make an appointment with you at their earliest convenience. That takes the pressure off you and busy parents. I usually use Square Appointments for scheduling. This easily saves me 2–3 emails per client and shows the parents that I’m a savvy professional.

—Weston Mathews, Associate (CA)