Appointment Requests
Appointment requests allow you to invite a matter to book their own appointment based on your availability. You'll see the option to send an appointment request in automations, as well as from the matter, shown below.
It is important to note that you can only use appointment requests if you have an external calendar synced to your Lawmatics account, since the request will need to know your availability in order to show the appropriate time slots that are available. Sync your calendar by going to settings > calendar settings.
If you plan to use appointment requests, make sure you are keeping your calendar up to date and that you have your working hours set appropriately on the calendar settings page. The appointment request will only show time slots within your working hours AND that you have open on your synced calendar.
When sending an appointment request, you will need to select the event type, type in a display name for the event (this is how it will appear on your calendar), and select the location.
You will also need to select a meeting host. This is important because this determines which of your Lawmatics users' availability will be used for the booking. Note: you can only select from users who have their calendar synced on the calendar settings page. You will also have the option to type an appointment description, which will be included in the event itself, and enter in an email body, which will be included with the email sent to the matter.
You will then select the duration of the event, this will determine the length of the time slot options given to the matter.
And lastly, you have options to include a reschedule link and/or a reminder. We suggest opting to include the reschedule link, since this will give the matter an opportunity to reschedule once they have already booked if needed, as opposed to just starting over with booking a new appointment.
The reminder option will send a generic reminder email template at the relative time that you specify. For more customization, we suggest using event automations to send automated reminders as opposed to using this Send Reminder toggle. Learn how to use event automations here.
If you are sending out an appointment request via automation, you will still select all of these same options, they will just be built as a template in your automation, rather than entering the information as a one-off for a particular matter, as you would when sending a request directly from a matter's profile.
Appointment requests will be emailed directly to the individual, if sending from the matter's profile. If sending a request via automation, you have the option to send the request via email, text, or both, shown above.
Once the matter clicks on the request, they will see a calendar where they can click on the days you have available, shown in green, and then select from available time slots on that particular day.
Once the matter selects their appointment day and time, the appointment will be booked on their matter Lawmatics, and any automations that you have created for that particular event type will trigger.
We suggest turning on notifications for appointment requests, so that you can make sure you are aware when a new appointment is booked. Do this in settings > notification settings.
FAQ's
What is the difference between an appointment request and a booking link?
Appointment requests are sent to an individual directly, either manually from their matter profile or via automation. Since the appointment request is already connected to that particular matter, they will not need to enter their name or email to book. Booking links are generic, and can be used in a more broad setting like on your website or in an email template. Since they are not linked to a particular matter, someone booking from a booking link will need to enter their name and email address in order to book.
What does the Appointment Request "Only Mine" notification mean?
This means that you will only be notified when someone books from an appointment request that you are the host of. If you select the notification that does not include "only mine", then you will receive notifications any time an appointment request is accepted for the whole firm, regardless of whether or not that appointment is with you.
Can my assistant send out an appointment request showing my availability?
Yes, as long as you are both Lawmatics users and have both synced your own calendar on the calendar settings page, respectively. Then your assistant will be able to send an appointment request and select you as the host. This will show your availability, and will not take the availability of the person sending the request into account.
What happens if I send an appointment request with two of my users selected as the hosts?
If you have selected two hosts, the request will only show times that are available for BOTH users. This takes into account both users' working hours and external calendar availability.