appointments

Any manager of hourly employees can tell you how difficult it is to create a schedule that takes into account both business needs and employee availability. ClockIt: Easy Schedule Creator is a powerful program for managing employee schedules and attendance. It's not the most intuitive program we've ever seen, but it has plenty of tools for creating schedules no matter how complex your needs.

We liked that ClockIt: Easy Schedule Creator starts off with a wizard, which allows users to easily set up the schedule range, employees, and shifts. Once everything is configured, the schedule is displayed in … Read more

TimeTable is a low-cost tool that works with iCal to help you track your hours, so you know exactly how much time you've spent on particular tasks--which can be especially handy for consultants and anyone else who tracks their time for billing purposes.

TimeTable has a simple, multipane interface that plugs right into your iCal data: You see your iCal calendars on the left, which you can select or deselect, and a list of events with date, duration, and title on the right (and you can add a dozen different columns in all, including notes and start and end … Read more

Ever feel like the stock iOS Calendar app has room for improvement? Like, a lot of room? It's a pretty rudimentary tool, without so much as a week view or the option to sync with Google Calendar.

Needless to say, there are alternatives. I've rounded up three apps that make scheduling and agenda management a whole lot easier. Take a look:

Calendars Readdle's Google Calendar client ($6.99) does it all, syncing with all your calendars and letting you manage them both online and offline. It features day, week, month, and list views, drag-and-drop event management, and one-tap appointment creation. My only complaint with the app is that it's slow at times, but if you're a GCal user, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better solution.

Cozi Family Organizer Cozi is a Web-based calendar manager for families. It's pretty awesome--and so is this companion app. Although the calendar limits you to a list view, it effortlessly stays in sync with the Web version, thus giving you a color-coded, at-a-glance look at who's doing what and when. For busy families, there's no better solution. The app is free, just like the service, and it's available for Android as well (great for cross-platform families).… Read more

QuickCal Mobile is an app that lets you quickly create new events for your calendar using plain language typed into a text field.

Mac users may know QuickCal from the free Dashboard widget of the same name, and the interface shares some similarities: you create events in the same way, by typing into an always-on text field. QuickCal will automatically recognize most parameters--for example, "Go to gym tomorrow 11-noon," "Yard work next Saturday at Dad's house," or "Team meeting next Friday for two hours starting at 3." As you type, the app will … Read more

We occasionally come across programs that work as they're supposed to but that just aren't, in our view, designed to be very useful. Date Reminder is one such program. As promised, the program will remind you of scheduled events, but we're not sure why anyone would choose this program when there are so many more feature-filled and versatile options available.

The program's interface is plain, with a handful of buttons and a grid where scheduled items are listed. It's easy to create a new item, and users can enter the name of the event, the … Read more

Pester is a freeware alarm clock utility that provides a simple way to set timed reminders, along with a few cool extras.

Of course, you can use iCal and other scheduling software to alert you to upcoming events, but sometimes these apps are overkill--like, for example, when you're just putting something in the oven, or you're trying to remember to catch a bus. Pester occupies a middle ground between iCal and more bare-bones timers (such as egg-timer widgets), letting you quickly set an event, name it, choose a countdown or a specific time for the alert, and then (… Read more

Business Appointment Manager (BAM) from Business Management Systems is a multiuser, network-capable business software and database suite that bundles scheduling, billing, customer contact, and a variety of reporting tools. The program can help coordinate appointments and other important events and actions, everything from ordering supplies and reserving conference rooms to sales, client meetings, and purchasing, helping to reduce wasteful duplication and conflicts like double-booking. It also integrates billing, customer relations, and business-planning tools, all in one comprehensive, shared interface.

When you install BAM, you have the option of installing the full program, which includes SQL Server components, or just the … Read more

Pimero Free Edition is a sleek personal organizer that allows users to keep track of appointments, tasks, and more. The program's attractive design and intuitive use make it a great choice for this type of program.

Pimero's interface is among the best we've seen, with a modern, sophisticated design. The program's major functions are organized into tabs, including sections for the calendar, tasks, notes, and contacts. The calendar offers multiple customizable views, as well as reminders and a search feature. Tasks can be organized with settings for priority, deadline, and percentage complete. The program doesn't … Read more

We review a lot of programs, and it's not often that we come across one that we like well enough that we want to keep it for our own use. Time & Chaos is one such program. This planner and contact manager offers plenty of features without becoming cluttered and unwieldy.

The program's interface is sleek and very intuitive, and we absolutely love how everything is displayed in separate panes in one screen. At a glance we can see our calendar, contacts, appointments, and tasks. Need to schedule a meeting with George, or put calling Betty on your … Read more