Best 5 Alternatives to Microsoft Bookings for Dynamics 365 Users

Efficient booking systems play a pivotal role in ensuring streamlined operations and enhanced customer experiences. With its seamless integration into Dynamics 365 CRM, Microsoft Bookings has been a front-runner, offering businesses a robust solution to manage appointments, services, and customer engagements. 

However, as diverse as business needs can be, there arises a need to explore alternatives that offer specific features or integrations tailored to unique requirements.  We will discuss top five alternatives to Microsoft Bookings for Dynamics 365 CRM users, offering insights into their features, pricing, and integration capabilities.

1. Calendar 365:

Calendar 365 stands out as a versatile booking and scheduling solution tailored specifically for Dynamics 365 CRM users. More than just a simple booking tool, it offers an end-to-end activity management system that aims to enhance productivity and streamline operations.

With Calendar 365, users can manage diverse aspects of their business operations, from appointments to meetings and even task assignments. Users gain a holistic view of ongoing tasks, their durations, and their status, providing invaluable insights into team productivity and customer engagements.

It comes with features that offer businesses the advantage of having a unified view of their customer interactions, ensuring that every touchpoint is captured and no opportunity is missed.

Calendar 365 is not just a rigid tool. It allows users to customize their calendar views, displaying CRM entities like leads, rooms, and cases, thereby providing a truly tailored user experience.

Entity calendar in our Dynamics 365 Calendar particularly stands out for businesses that require room or resource bookings. For instance, managing conference room schedules becomes a breeze with the entity calendar. 

Integration with Dynamics 365:

As it is a Dynamics plugin made exclusively for Dynamics 365 CRM users, its integration ensures that data flow is consistent and there’s no need for redundant entries, saving time and reducing errors.

2. Calendly

Renowned for its user-friendly design and efficient scheduling capabilities, Calendly has positioned itself as one of the most popular online appointment-scheduling tools in the market. Aimed at simplifying the appointment booking process, Calendly reduces back-and-forth emails, offering users a smooth experience while integrating with various other platforms.

Calendly allows users to set their availability preferences. Invitees then simply pick a suitable time, and the event gets automatically added to both parties’ calendars. It automatically detects and adjusts time zones for both parties, ensuring no confusion during international appointments. It sends confirmation and reminder notifications to ensure that all parties are well-informed about upcoming appointments.

Integration with Dynamics 365:

Though not native, Calendly offers integration with Dynamics 365 CRM through third-party connectors or integration platforms like Zapier.

3. Bookafy

Bookafy caters to both individual professionals and businesses. Its primary focus is to revolutionize the booking experience with features that cater to diverse appointment scheduling needs, from personal trainers to large sales teams.

With Bookafy, users can create customized booking pages reflecting their brand’s look and feel, enhancing the customer booking experience. It supports one-on-one meetings, group events, classes, and even allows multiple staff members to be booked.

Moreover, Bookafy sends automatic notifications to reduce no-shows, ensuring clients and staff are always in the loop. If appointments require payments, it seamlessly integrates with platforms like Stripe and PayPal for hassle-free transactions.

Integration with Dynamics 365:

Bookafy can integrate with Dynamics 365 CRM, though, like many scheduling platforms, it involves using third-party connectors.

4. BookingLive

BookingLive is a comprehensive booking solution known for its flexibility across numerous sectors. From public sector booking requirements to corporate settings, this platform offers many features to manage and optimize appointment processes.

It is perfect for businesses operating in multiple locations as it seamlessly accommodates varying schedules and time zones. Users can design booking forms tailored to gather specific information needed from clients or staff.

Integration with Dynamics 365:

BookingLive allows Dynamics 365 integration via the third-party tool Zapier.

5. Calenso

Calenso is a user-centric and intuitive scheduling solution. What sets Calenso apart is its emphasis on creating a seamless booking journey not just for businesses but for end-users as well. It’s designed with a balance of simplicity and robust features, ensuring every booking feels like a personalized experience.

Calenso employs intelligent algorithms to suggest optimal appointment times, reducing potential overlaps and scheduling conflicts. Its widgets can be seamlessly embedded into websites, ensuring the booking experience feels native and consistent with a business’s branding.

Catering to a global audience, Calenso supports multiple languages, making it an ideal solution for businesses with an international customer base.

Integration with Dynamics 365:

Calenso offers CRM integration via Zapier.

Conclusion

The scheduling world brims with diverse options, each offering its distinct set of functionalities. While all the alternatives to Microsoft Bookings discussed have their merits, Calendar 365 stands out prominently. Its direct integration with Dynamics 365 CRM sets it apart from the rest.

Instead of juggling between platforms or seeking middleware solutions for synchronization, users of Calendar 365 experience a seamless interface where all its rich features are instantly accessible within the CRM. This tight-knit integration streamlines operations, ensures data consistency, enhances efficiency, and provides a unified user experience. 

For Dynamics 365 CRM users, Calendar 365 is the optimal choice, blending the best of scheduling with the familiarity and capabilities of their CRM platform.

To learn more about Calendar 365, visit https://www.appjetty.com/dynamics365-all-in-one-calendar.htm

Read a detailed comparison between MS Bookings and Calendar 365: https://www.appjetty.com/blog/calendar365-msbookings-dynamics365/

The post Best 5 Alternatives to Microsoft Bookings for Dynamics 365 Users appeared first on CRM Software Blog | Dynamics 365.