If you’re an MSP using Microsoft Bookings just because it comes with your M365 subscription, you’re not alone.
On paper, it feels like a win – you get a scheduling tool “for free,” no setup required. But if you’ve tried to use it in the real world, you’ve probably run into its limits.
And like a lemon that looks perfect on the outside but turns out dry and full of seeds, it leaves you doing more work than you should have to.
Let’s talk through what’s missing, why it matters, and how TimeZest changes the equation.
What “Free” Actually Costs
Bookings isn’t built for MSPs. It’s built for everyone, which means it’s optimized for no one. You can get meetings on the calendar, sure, but if your workflows live in ConnectWise, Autotask, or HaloPSA, Bookings leaves you flying blind.
There’s no PSA integration. No ticket updates. No SLA management. Just another appointment floating around in Outlook.
What that means for your team:
- Someone has to manually log the meeting in the PSA
- SLA clocks keep running when they shouldn’t
- Sales and Account Management lose visibility
- Techs show up without context
That “free” tool just added 10 minutes of admin for every meeting.
You’re Not Documenting the Client Journey
This one’s big. When your sales team books a meeting in Bookings, that meeting has no connection to the opportunity in your PSA. When Account Managers run a QBR? Same story. When Support picks up where onboarding left off—there’s no trail.
That breaks your ability to tell the full story of your client relationships. And that hurts trust, handoffs, and long-term value.
TimeZest fixes this. Every appointment, reschedule, or cancellation is logged directly in the PSA. No extra work, no missing data. Just a clean record of every interaction that happened and when.
Bookings Doesn’t Know Your Team
Bookings only sees Outlook calendars, and only one person at a time. It can’t schedule across teams or coordinate multiple people on the same call. It doesn’t know who has the right skills for a job. And it definitely doesn’t care if someone blocked off time in the PSA but forgot to update Outlook.
TimeZest pulls in calendars from both Outlook and the PSA. It lets you build links that include the right people. It balances workloads. And it prevents the stuff that makes dispatchers and clients crazy—like offering a time that was never actually open.
It Has to Work for Clients, Too
Bookings can feel a little clunky on the client side. You might’ve seen issues like:
- Booking pages that randomly show no available times
- Confusing or duplicate reminder emails
- Inconsistent behavior on mobile
- Group bookings that disappear if one attendee cancels
These things sound small—until a client misses a meeting or thinks they booked and didn’t. That’s a trust problem.
TimeZest gives clients a professional, branded experience. Simple links. Calendar invites. Reminders that actually send. Rescheduling when they need it. It works like you do—clean and reliable.
Built for How MSPs Actually Work
We built TimeZest because we’ve seen the friction first-hand. It wasn’t just about adding scheduling to the PSA, it was about making it easier for MSPs to work across Sales, account managers, and Support without creating more admin.
Here’s what you get with TimeZest:
- Ability to read multiple calendars (Outlook + PSA)
- Personalized links by user or team
- Website widgets for prospects to book on their own
- Automatically pause SLA when waiting for clients to schedule
- Panel scheduling for Sales + Tech teams
- Team scheduling finds the best available resource in the team
- Full audit trail of every scheduling action
Real Results We See from MSPs
- Fewer no-shows because reminders actually go out
- Less back-and-forth over email
- Sales and Account Management meetings logged automatically
- Dispatchers spend less time double-checking calendars
- Clients have a better experience at every touchpoint
All of that means more time for your team, better visibility for leadership, and smoother service for your clients.
Making the Switch Is Easy
- Setup takes less than 30 minutes
- No changes to how you use Outlook
- Your team doesn’t need extra training – it’s simple
- 14-day free trial to try it for yourself
Here’s the Bottom Line
Microsoft Bookings comes with your license. But it’s not really free if it’s costing your team time, adding manual work, or creating missed opportunities with clients.
TimeZest isn’t just “better scheduling”. It’s scheduling that actually fits the way your MSP works.
If you’re ready to make scheduling easier, cleaner, and more integrated, schedule a quick demo. We’ll show you what it looks like, and you’ll know pretty quickly if it’s right for you.
