Microsoft Bookings Guide (Co-op Advisor)
- 1 Out of Office (backup CEA setup)
- 2 NEW STAFF - Microsoft Bookings Setup
- 3 Frequently Asked Questions
- 3.1 Find your public facing page
- 3.2 Use buffer time
- 3.3 Cancel/reschedule an appointment
- 3.4 Book an appointment for a customer (student)
- 3.5 Send a direct link for a specific service type (i.e., work term consultation)
- 3.6 Set custom hours for a specific service type
- 3.7 Set custom dates for a specific service type
- 3.8 Set custom dates and hours for a specific service type
- 3.9 Make service types not visible (unpublished)/visible (published)
- 3.10 Related articles
Out of Office (backup CEA setup)
Adding a backup CEA
Sign into your Microsoft Bookings and select the tile under Shared booking pages (not Personal booking page).
Navigate to the Staff tab, and select Add new staff
In the search bar, look for the name of the back-up Co-op Advisor and select it. Note – you may have to click ‘Search Directory’.
Beside the person icon, ensure the role is set to Team member
Under Availability, the box beside ‘Events of Office calendar affect availability’ should be checked **this is very important to ensure Bookings will sync with Outlook**
Select the Save changes button (note: the backup CEA will receive an email that they have been added to your account)
Navigate to the Business Information tab, and expand the Basic Details section
Edit your Name to add ‘OUT OF OFFICE’ after, e.g., Stacey Verhaeghe – Co-op Advisor – OUT OF OFFICE, and select the Save button
Navigate to the Services tab, and select Add new service
Within Basic details
Name: Contact [backup Co-op Advisor name] until my return to the office on [next business day after absence end date]
E.g., Contact Jill Smith until my return to the office on Sept 20, 2025
Description: I am currently away from the office, returning [next business day after absence end date]. Please contact [name of backup Co-op Advisor] (Co-op Advisor) if you require assistance during this time. They can be reached at 519-888-4567.[backup’s extension], through the ‘Send A Message’ in WaterlooWorks, or use the calendar below to book a meeting.
E.g., I am currently away from the office, returning Sept 20, 2025. Please contact Jill Smith (Co-op Advisor) if you require assistance during this time. They can be reached at 519-888-4567.12345, through the ‘Send A Message’ in WaterlooWorks, or use the calendar below to book a meeting.
Ensure the ‘Add online meeting’ toggle is on
Duration: 30 minutes
Within Availability options
Under Scheduling policy
Time increments – 15 minutes
Minimum lead time – 24 hours
Maximum lead time – 30 days
Under Availability – General availability, select Not bookable from the drop down
Select ‘Set different availability for a date range’ with the start as the beginning of absence, end is last date of absence, and the drop-down set to Custom hours (recurring weekly)
For most CEAs, except Chantal Wall, Erica Rose or Sheila Rodriguez, set hours as below (unless other hours discussed with backup CEA):
For the exception - Chantal Wall, Erica Rose or Sheila Rodriguez, who are in different time zones and would be impacted if meetings are too early, set hours as:
Within Assign Staff
The toggle beside ‘Allow customers to choose a particular staff for booking’ should be off
De-select the circle with a checkmark beside the absentee Co-op Advisor
Select the circle with a checkmark beside the back-up Co-op Advisor (this should be the only circle/name checked)
Within Custom Fields
Under Customer information, select customer email and phone number and turn on the Required toggle.
De-select customer address
Select Customer notes, but don’t turn on the Required toggle
Under Custom fields, select student ID and What would you like to discuss? and turn on the Required toggle.
Within Notifications
Under Email confirmation, ensure ‘Notify the business via email when a booking is created or changed’ is checked and ‘Send a meeting invite to the customer, in addition to the confirmation email’ is checked
Under Email reminders, leave the one day before reminder
Under Email Follow-up, use the trash bin icon to delete the current email schedule
The Default scheduling policy toggle should be off
The Publishing options toggle should be on
**Very important** select the Save changes button
Away for multiple weeks/multiple CEA backup coverage
If you are away for multiple weeks and/or have multiple CEAs as your backup, you can follow steps 2 & 4 in ‘Adding a backup CEA’ to have multiple services showing. You will want to add the out of office dates in your basic details and make it clear which dates each backup CEA is covering for you.
Example:
Removing a backup CEA
Sign into your Microsoft Bookings and select the tile under Shared booking pages (not Personal booking page).
Navigate to the Business Information tab
Expand the Basic Details section
Edit the Name to remove ‘OUT OF OFFICE’ after their name, e.g., Stacey Verhaeghe – Co-op Advisor, and select the Save button
Navigate to the Services tab
Select the backup service type, e.g., ‘Contact [backup Co-op Advisor name]…’
Select the garbage bin icon (Delete service)
Navigate to the Staff tab
Select the backup Co-op Advisor
Select the garbage bin icon (Delete staff)
NEW STAFF - Microsoft Bookings Setup
Visit CEE Resources> Student Focused Resources> MS Bookings for videos outlining the steps below.
Instructions:
Sign in at https://uwaterloo.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/137/group/401/create/1670 to request your bookings page. This can take up to 24-48 hours, and this is the current naming scheme to follow:
Bookings Name: Job Title - Full Name (Co-op Advisor - John Doe)
Bookings Type: Education
Sign into Microsoft Bookings once you receive an email stating your calendar was created.
Select the tile under Shared booking pages (not Personal booking page).
Navigate to the Business Information tab:
Under the drop-down Basic details
Business name: This should be Full Name - Job Title (John Doe - Co-op Advisor), you’ll have to edit from the default setup of Job Title first then Full Name. If you made an error when first creating the calendar, this is where you can correct it.
Business address: This field can be left blank since you are not providing a location for hosting in-person meetings.
Business phone: This should be the University's phone number, followed by a period, then your extension. E.g., 519-888-4567.xxxxx.
Website URL: The student facing website can be entered here https://uwaterloo.ca/co-operative-education/
Privacy Policy URL: The University's privacy website can be entered here https://uwaterloo.ca/privacy/
Terms and conditions URL: Leave this field blank
Under the drop-down Business hours
Set the daily hours you wish to be available to be booked. These hours are recurring and cannot be set on a per-week basis. You will want to ensure that you schedule breaks and lunch, as well as your office hour. You can use the plus sign to add more breaks if needed.
E.g., if your day is 8:30a.m. – 4:30p.m. ET, with a 30-minute admin break at the beginning and end of the day, and lunch from 12-1p.m., this is what your daily schedule of bookable time would look like:
You can set different availability on different days of the week.
Under the drop-down Business logo
Use the logo provided below and be sure to select the white background when uploading to eliminate the coloured bars around the logo.
*Very important* - Click Save at the top of the webpage
Navigate to the Staff tab:
Select your name under My profile and click edit staff (under your name and “Administrator” title).
Check the box for “Events on Office calendar affect availability”.
Ensure the Use business hours toggle is on and select Save changes.
To add the Employment Relations Coordinator to your account, select Add new staff.
In the top search bar, type ‘ceederc’, you may have to click Search Directory. You will see Employment Relations Coordinator to select.
In the drop-down menu beside the person icon, change from Team member to Administrator, then click the Save changes button.
Navigate to the Services tab:
Select Add new service and enter the following details
Under the Basic details tab
Service Name: Work Term Consultation
Description: Book if requested by your co-op advisor. Please complete your eCheckIn form in WaterlooWorks prior to this meeting. Meetings will be held virtually using MS Teams, specify in the Notes box if you prefer a phone call.
Default location: Leave this blank
Add online meeting: Click to toggle on. This will automatically generate a Teams meeting and add it to the meeting invite.
Default duration: 30 minutes
Maximum attendees: 1
Under the Availability options tab
Time increments, set to 15-minutes
Minimum lead time, set to 24 hours (this means appointments can only be booked after 24 hours+)
Maximum lead time, set to 60 days (this means students can book appointments 60 days from today)
General availability - Bookable when staff are free (will follow the Business hours you set)
Under the Assign staff tab
Assign any of your selected staff for an appointment should be selected
The toggle should be off for Allow customers to choose a particular staff for booking
Under Select Staff, check the circle beside your name
Under the Custom fields tab
Deselect the default customer information field Customer address
Select the default customer information fields Phone number and Customer email and turn the Required toggle on. Note: Customer email is tied to sending meeting invitations in the backend, so this field is very important to be selected and required.
Select the default customer information field Customer Notes but it does not need to be Required
Click Add a custom field, Add a text question, then enter “Student ID”
From the custom field list, select Student ID, turn the Required toggle on.
Under the Notifications tab
Email confirmation, Settings -
Notify the business via email when a booking is created or changed is checked
Send a meeting invite to the customer, in addition to the confirmation email is checked
Email reminders - there should be a default automatically added, click the pencil icon to edit.
Timing: 1 day before reminder
Send to: Customer
Message: (first delete the default message), then add -
A quick reminder that your appointment is coming up tomorrow.
If you need to reschedule or cancel your appointment:
From your confirmation email - Select the Reschedule button. This will take you to your co-op advisor’s bookings page with options to reschedule or cancel the appointment.
From the calendar meeting invitation - Open the meeting invitation, in the body you’ll see "Manage Booking" with a link that will take you to your co-op advisor’s booking page with options to reschedule or cancel the appointment.
Email follow-up - delete the default email setting using the garbage bin icon
Default scheduling policy the toggle should be off
Publishing options the toggle should be on
*Very important* click Save changes
Select Add new service and enter the following details
Under the Basic details tab
Service Name: Co-op Support Meeting
Description: Co-op process, job search support, recruitment or work term questions. If you have a brief question, select the Quick Discussion option instead. Meetings will be held virtually using MS Teams, specify in the Notes box if you prefer a phone call. If you can't find a time that works for you, please send a message in WaterlooWorks. If this is an urgent matter, please call me at 519-888-4567.xxxxx
Default location: Leave this blank
Add online meeting: Click to toggle on. This will automatically generate a Teams meeting and add it to the meeting invite.
Default duration: 30 minutes
Maximum attendees: 1
Under the Availability options tab
Time increments, set to 15-minutes
Minimum lead time, set to 24 hours (this means appointments can only be booked after 24 hours+)
Maximum lead time, set to 30 days (this means students can book appointments 30 days from today)
General availability - Bookable when staff are free (will follow the Business hours you set)
Under the Assign staff tab
Assign any of your selected staff for an appointment should be selected
The toggle should be off for Allow customers to choose a particular staff for booking
Under Select Staff, check the circle beside your name
Under the Custom fields tab
Deselect the default customer information field Customer address
Select the default customer information fields Phone number and Customer email and turn the Required toggle on. Note: Customer email is tied to sending meeting invitations in the backend, so this field is very important to be selected and required.
Select the default customer information field Customer Notes but it does not need to be Required
Click Add a custom field, Add a text question, then enter “Student ID”
From the custom field list, select Student ID, turn the Required toggle on.
Click Add a custom field, Add a text question, then enter “What would you like to discuss?”
From the custom field list, select What would you like to discuss?, turn the Required toggle on.
Under the Notifications tab
Email confirmation, Settings -
Notify the business via email when a booking is created or changed is checked
Send a meeting invite to the customer, in addition to the confirmation email is checked
Email reminders - there should be a default automatically added, click the pencil icon to edit.
Timing: 1 day before reminder
Send to: Customer
Message: (first delete the default message), then add -
A quick reminder that your appointment is coming up tomorrow.
If you need to reschedule or cancel your appointment:
From your confirmation email - Select the Reschedule button. This will take you to your co-op advisor’s bookings page with options to reschedule or cancel the appointment.
From the calendar meeting invitation - Open the meeting invitation, in the body you’ll see "Manage Booking" with a link that will take you to your co-op advisor’s booking page with options to reschedule or cancel the appointment.
Email follow-up - delete the default email setting using the garbage bin icon
Default scheduling policy the toggle should be off
Publishing options the toggle should be on
*Very important* click Save changes
Select Add new service and enter the following details
Under the Basic details tab
Service Name: Quick Discussion
Description: Brief questions (15 minutes or less). If you need more time, select the Co-op Support Meeting option instead. Meetings will be held virtually using MS Teams, specify in the Notes box if you prefer a phone call. If you can't find a time that works for you, please send a message in WaterlooWorks. If this is an urgent matter, please call me at 519-888-4567.xxxxx
Default location: Leave this blank
Add online meeting: Click to toggle on. This will automatically generate a Teams meeting and add it to the meeting invite.
Default duration: 15 minutes
Maximum attendees: 1
Under the Availability options tab
Time increments, set to 15-minutes
Minimum lead time, set to 24 hours (this means appointments can only be booked after 24 hours+)
Maximum lead time, set to 30 days (this means students can book appointments 30 days from today)
General availability - Bookable when staff are free (will follow the Business hours you set)
Under the Assign staff tab
Assign any of your selected staff for an appointment should be selected
The toggle should be off for Allow customers to choose a particular staff for booking
Under Select Staff, check the circle beside your name
Under the Custom fields tab
Deselect the default customer information field Customer address
Select the default customer information fields Phone number and Customer email and turn the Required toggle on. Note: Customer email is tied to sending meeting invitations in the backend, so this field is very important to be selected and required.
Select the default customer information field Customer Notes but it does not need to be Required
Click Add a custom field, Add a text question, then enter “Student ID”
From the custom field list, select Student ID, turn the Required toggle on.
Click Add a custom field, Add a text question, then enter “What would you like to discuss?”
From the custom field list, select What would you like to discuss?, turn the Required toggle on.
Under the Notifications tab
Email confirmation, Settings -
Notify the business via email when a booking is created or changed is checked
Send a meeting invite to the customer, in addition to the confirmation email is checked
Email reminders - there should be a default automatically added, click the pencil icon to edit.
Timing: 1 day before reminder
Send to: Customer
Message: (first delete the default message), then add -
A quick reminder that your appointment is coming up tomorrow.
If you need to reschedule or cancel your appointment:
From your confirmation email - Select the Reschedule button. This will take you to your co-op advisor’s bookings page with options to reschedule or cancel the appointment.
From the calendar meeting invitation - Open the meeting invitation, in the body you’ll see "Manage Booking" with a link that will take you to your co-op advisor’s booking page with options to reschedule or cancel the appointment.