We caught up with Clever Ducks CEO Peter Kardel at a conference recently. He had let us know that after initially cancelling TimeZest he quickly signed back up, so we wanted to hear his story.
When Peter’s San Luis Obispo, CA-based MSP switched to HaloPSA they ditched TimeZest in favor of its native scheduling feature. It looked like a smart move on paper: fewer tools, tighter stack, one system of record. But once they went “all in” on native scheduling, the cracks showed up fast.
When “good enough” scheduling isn’t good enough
Clever Ducks, quickly realized what they’d lost when they turned TimeZest off:
- Appointment collisions started creeping in, creating stress for techs and dispatch.
- Limited control over appointment types made it harder to support real MSP workflows—onsite visits, quick remote sessions, deeper project work, and so on.
- A less polished client experience undercut the premium service Clever Ducks is known for.
HaloPSA is still the hub of their operations—but native scheduling alone wasn’t built with the depth, buffers, and guardrails an MSP help desk actually needs.
Why they came back to TimeZest (and kept HaloPSA)
After living with the limitations, Peter Kardel and his team made a different decision: they stayed on HaloPSA, but returned to TimeZest for scheduling.
That move restored:
- Smart buffers and guardrails that reduce collisions and protect tech time.
- Role-based customization so the right people show as available for the right appointment types.
- A smoother client experience that matches the premium services Clever Ducks delivers.
If you’re on or are making the change to HaloPSA consider that “free” tools can sometimes save a dollar, but can cost more time than those savings are worth. Read more about when “free” tools can cost you money in the end: https://timezest.com/blog/microsoft-bookings-vs-timezest-when-free-still-costs-you/
