Scheduling

This guide describes the step-by-step process for logging and tracking customer appointments — sampling visits, consultations, sample pickups, and other events tied to a specific contact, analysis, or location. The Scheduling page is the application's calendar — there is no separate records table.

Important: For recurring lab activities that are not customer appointments — instrument calibrations, internal audits, or staff training tracking — use the corresponding pages instead: Calibration Programmes, Audits, and Training Records. Scheduling covers customer appointments only.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure the following data exists:

#	Prerequisite	Why it's needed	Page
1	Users	Each appointment is assigned to an associate (required field).	Users
2	Contacts	The appointment is linked to the customer it concerns (required field).	Contacts
3	Analysis Types	Each appointment is linked to the analysis to be performed (required field).	Analysis Types
4	Crops	Each appointment is linked to the crop it concerns (required field).	Crops
5	Task Statuses	Define the tracking stages (for example Scheduled, In Progress, Completed) — required field.	Task Statuses

Tip: Define Task Statuses first before creating appointments.

Regional Unit and City (also required fields) and Toponym (optional) are chosen from the system's existing geographic data.

Go to the Work Calendar (Scheduling) page from the main menu. The page displays the application calendar directly.

At the top of the page you'll find:

Item	Description
Today / ‹ / ›	Calendar navigation
Day, Week, Month, List	Switch calendar view
"+" (Add Event)	Open the form to create a new appointment
Print	Print the current calendar view

Step 2 — Creating an Appointment

To create a new appointment, click the "+" button on the toolbar, or click directly on a day/time slot in the calendar (or drag to select a time range) — both open the same creation form, pre-filled with the date you picked.

Fill in the fields:

Start — Start date and time (required)
End — End date and time (optional; disabled if the appointment is all-day)
All-day event — check if the appointment lasts the whole day
Assigned To — The user responsible for the appointment (required)
Contact — The customer (required). If the contact doesn't exist yet, use the button next to the field for Quick Create Contact (Last Name, First Name, Phone) without leaving the form
Analysis Type — The analysis this visit is for (required)
Crop (required)
Regional Unit (required)
City — enabled once you select a Regional Unit (required)
Toponym (optional)
Status — from Task Statuses (required)
Notes (optional)
Calendar Color — color marker for the event on the calendar

The save button is only enabled once all required fields are valid.

Step 3 — Recurrence, Reminders and Guests (Google Calendar)

Open the Google Calendar Settings section (collapsed by default) for additional settings. These are shown only when the appointment's Sync with Google Calendar toggle is on:

Setting	Description
Calendar	The Google Calendar the appointment will be added to
Recurrence	Non-recurring, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly
Event Color	One of the 11 standard Google Calendar colors
Reminders	One or more notifications (push or email) before the appointment, in minutes/hours/days/weeks
Guests	Contacts with an email, or free-form email addresses, to notify

The sync toggle is disabled if Google Calendar sync hasn't been enabled in the application Settings.

Step 4 — Tracking Completion

As the appointment progresses, open the entry and update the Status field (for example "In Progress" → "Completed", depending on the Task Statuses you've defined). Add Notes for findings or observations.

Step 5 — Google Calendar Sync

If sync is enabled for the appointment, it also appears automatically in your selected Google Calendar, along with any recurrence, reminders, and guests you've set.

Use the Day / Week / Month / List buttons to switch views, and Today / ‹ / › to navigate through time. The Print button prints the current calendar view.

FAQ

How does appointment recurrence work?

Recurrence (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly) is applied on the linked Google Calendar when sync is enabled for the appointment.

Can I add the appointment to my personal Google Calendar?

Yes, enable sync in the appointment form (Google Calendar sync must first be enabled in Settings).

Can I change an appointment's date after creating it?

Yes, either by opening the appointment and editing the Start/End fields, or by moving the event on the calendar.

Can I change the recurrence frequency of an existing entry?

Yes, open the entry in edit mode, expand the Google Calendar Settings, and change the Recurrence.