Drop Funnel

Let me paint you a picture. It’s 3 AM. I’m on my fourth cup of coffee. My cat’s judging me from the corner. And I’m about to throw my laptop because HighLevel’s appointment system just ate another booking. Again.

Fast forward six months, and now it’s running my entire calendar without breaking a sweat. Here’s the raw, unfiltered truth about HighLevel’s booking system – the good, the bad, and the “why the hell did they design it this way?”

First Impressions: What Were They Thinking?

When I first opened the appointment booking setup, I’ll be honest – I nearly gave up. The interface looks like someone took a perfectly good system and hid half the features where only a bloodhound could find them.

What finally made it click for me:

• Stop comparing it to Calendly (it’s not trying to be Calendly)
• Embrace that it’s built for sales teams, not just solo entrepreneurs
• Accept that the first setup will suck (but it gets better)

Setting It Up Without Losing Clients

Here’s how I finally got it working without my clients wanting to murder me:

1. Timezone Hell

• By default, it uses YOUR timezone, not your client’s
• Found this out when a client in London got a 3 AM meeting invite
• Fix: Settings > General > Default Timezone (set to “Auto-detect”)

1. The Buffer Time Trap

• You think you’re setting 15 minutes between meetings
• But if you don’t check “Apply to all services”, it only applies to that one type
• Lost a whole afternoon to double-bookings before I figured this out

1. Payment Integration

• Works great with Stripe… once you find where they hid the settings
• Pro tip: It’s under the individual service settings, not the main payment section

What Actually Works Surprisingly Well

Once you get past the initial headache, some things are genius:

• Automated reminders that actually reduce no-shows
• Seamless CRM integration (no more copy-pasting client info)
• Custom intake forms that don’t look like they’re from 1998
• Group booking that doesn’t make you want to cry

The Dark Side Nobody Talks About

• Mobile experience is rough – clients sometimes get confused
• Timezone bugs still pop up – I test every new update thoroughly
• Customization options are limited – you can’t make it look exactly how you want

My Current Setup That Finally Works

After burning through about 20 test bookings, here’s what’s running smooth:

1. Two-way calendar sync with Google Calendar
2. Automated text reminders 24 hours before
3. Stripe payments for certain service types
4. Custom fields to collect exactly what I need upfront

Who Should Actually Use This?

✅ Service businesses (coaches, consultants, agencies)
✅ Sales teams who need more than basic scheduling
✅ Anyone already using HighLevel for other features

❌ If you just need simple scheduling – just use Calendly
❌ If you hate tinkering with settings – the learning curve is real
❌ If your clients aren’t tech-savvy – the interface can confuse some people

Final Verdict: Worth the Pain?

For me? Absolutely. Now that it’s set up, it saves me about 5 hours a week and reduced my no-shows by 60%. But getting there was… an experience.

If you’re willing to:

1. Spend a weekend setting it up properly
2. Test thoroughly with real clients
3. Be patient with the quirks

…then yes, it’s worth it. But if you want something that “just works” out of the box, look elsewhere.

Rami told me to keep it real – so there you have it. No fluff, no BS, just what actually works after months of trial and error.

Got questions? Hit reply. I’ve made every mistake so you don’t have to.

• Martin

PS: If you’re setting this up right now and want to scream at your screen – I feel you. It gets better. Probably.