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Setting Up Calendar Types For Photographers

Overview

This tutorial provides a breakdown of calendar types and suggestions on how a portrait and wedding photography studio could setup their StudioCloud account.


Basic Calendar Type Concepts

Calendar types are the brains behind the calendar. Using calendar types you can select what type of appointment, session, or event you are scheduling and setup lots of different actions based on the type of calendar type. Some of those actions include CloudAlerts, automatic personalized email and text messages, confirmation emails or text messages, as well as pipelines to track what needs to be done before or after an appointment, session or event.


StudioCloud also support running reports based on the type of calendar type so it is important to setup calendar types in a way that supports running financial reports.


What is a Calendar Sub-Type?

Calendar sub types are used to group similar appointments, events, or sessions together. One way to think of calendar sub-types is that a calendar type is a folder and that calendar sub-types are the items inside of that folder.

What is the value of Calendar Sub-Types?

One critical item to understand regarding calendar types and calendar sub-types is that the actions setup for calendar types apply to calendar sub-types but not the other way around. As such, you can setup a CloudAlert reminder email for a calendar type and it will also apply to all of the calendar sub-types. If you set up a CloudAlert email for a calendar sub-type it only applies to that calendar sub-type.

Calendar Type Actions Calendar Sub-Type Actions

Suggestions on Setting Up Calendar Types and Calendar Sub-Types


StudioCloud has a few core suggestions when setting up calendar types and calendar sub-types. Those are as follows:


  • Each appointment, session, and/or event you want to include in financial reports should either be a calendar type or calendar sub-type.
    • For example, portrait session, wedding, family session, etc. should all be either a calendar type or calendar sub-type.
  • If there is a group of appointments, sessions and/or events that all use the same automatic emails and text messages then create a calendar type to group them together and create them as calendar sub-types.
    • For example, often times portrait sessions, family sessions, children's sessions, etc. would use the same reminder emails and text messages. As such, it is common to group them together under a calendar type of Session and to apply the CloudAlert emails to the Session calendar type. That way you only have to modify one email CloudAlert if you want to change anything rather then modifying lots of CloudAlert emails.
  • If there is a group of appointments, sessions, and/or events that share the same workflow group them together.
  • If there is a group of appointments, sessions, and/or events that share the same confirmation email when booking them then group them together.


Suggestions on Setting Up Confirmation Emails and Confirmation Text Messages


StudioCloud offers two different methods to send out confirmation emails and text messages. Option 1 is to have StudioCloud show you the confirmation email or text message when booking the session. Option 2 is to have the confirmation email or text message automatically go out a few minutes after the session or event is booked by setting up a CloudAlert.


StudioCloud recommends that you use Option 1 as this allows you to preview and customize the confirmation email or text message before it is sent to the client.


StudioCloud recommends Option 2 in the following situations:


  • You would prefer that the employee that is booking the appointment, session or event not be able to edit the email or text message before it is sent out.
  • You are concerned that the employee might accidentally not send out the confirmation email or confirmation text message
  • You are using the CloudBooking and you want the customer to receive a different email when they book a session that is not the confirmation email but you still want them to receive a confirmation email.
  • You are using the CloudBooking for scheduling and you want the customer to receive a text message confirmation
    • StudioCloud does not currently support sending out text message confirmations when a session is booked using the CloudBooking.

How to Create a Calendar Types and Calendar Sub-Types


Click here for a tutorial on how to create calendar types and calendar sub-types


How to Setup CloudAlerts for Calendar Types and Calendar Sub-Types


Click here for a tutorial on how to setup CloudAlert emails and CloudAlert text messages for Calendar Types and Calendar Sub-types