When you integrate your vcita account with Reserve with Google (RwG), clients will be able to view your list of services and book appointments directly from Google Search or Google Maps.  Although this service can help promote your business and it is very convenient for clients, it currently involves a number of limitations as RwG completes its full features list. This article presents some essential issues to consider as you opt-in to RwG. 

This article shows how to opt into RwG and explains several aspects of the integration that are important for you to know:

• Getting Started
• Opting In to Reserve with Google
• Following Up on Account Integration

Getting Started

Before you begin the opt-in process, verify that:

• You have a Google My Business account.
• You are not opted in with any other scheduling provider. (RwG supports opt-in through one provider only.)

As RwG currently has several limitations related to service requirements, you may want to review your service settings before opting in. 

Business Considerations and Limitations

The following sections list business requirements and issues related to account setup and payments.

Account Requirements

• You must have a Google My Business account.
• RwG supports opt-in through one scheduling provider only. If you have previously opted in via another provider, you need to opt out through that provider before you will be able to opt-in via vCita.

Business Location and Type

• At the moment, opt-in is available only for businesses located in the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, and United Kingdom. 
• Google currently does not allow opt-in for all business types. After you opt in, your request will be reviewed by Google for validation. 

Payment Issues

• RwG currently does not support payment gateways. 
• Since payment via RwG is not supported, services for which advanced payment is required will not be displayed on your RwG Services List. 
  For more information about service limitations, refer to the sections below. 

Service Considerations and Limitations

The following sections describe requirements and issues related to how your services are set up. Not all service settings and fields are supported by RwG.

Service Location Requirements 

For clients to be able to book a service through RwG, the service needs to be provided at the location of your business. Make sure that your location settings are set up as shown in the example below, and verify that the address matches the address that appears in your Google My Business account.

Online Booking Requirements

For a service to be supported by RwG, you need to enable online scheduling and automatically accept appointments that clients book online. Make sure that your Booking Options settings are set up as shown here.

Pricing Requirements and Limitations

• For a service to be supported by RwG, it must have a fixed price. Free services and sliding scale services are considered invalid. 
• Since payment gateways are not currently integrated with RwG, services for which you require advanced payment are not supported. 

 For best results, it is recommended to select the Paid - Display fee only pricing option.

Intake Form Limitations

Due to limitations of RwG related to Contact Form matching, custom fields that you add to your Intake Forms and Client Cards will not be displayed to clients booking in Google. In addition, RwG does not support the Opt-in for campaigns checkbox.

The figure below shows some examples of fields that are NOT currently supported by RwG.

Opting Into Reserve with Google

You can activate integration with RwG directly from your vCita account. Here's how to do it:

To opt-in to RwG:

1. Open the Online Presence menu, and select Reserve with Google. Then, at the right side of the page, click OPT IN. 
   
   
   The Reserve with Google form opens, automatically populated with your Business Info details. 
2. Review the information on the left side of the form. Make sure the details are accurate and that they match the details you provided for your Google My Business account.
   
   
3. At the lower right corner of the form, click Next. 
   A progress bar is displayed while the integration is being completed.
   
   
4. When integration is completed, click Done. 
   Your Services list is displayed in the lower portion of the Reserve with Google page.
5. Review the Services list and check for services that are not supported by RwG. Hovering over an Invalid Service icon opens a tooltip that explains why the service is invalid. If you want, you may click on the service and update its settings. 
   
   

Following Up on Account Integration

After opting in, your opt-in request will be reviewed by Google. The review and approval process can take up to 14 days. 

Following the review, you will not receive a notification of whether your request was approved or not. To verify your integration status, it is recommended to visit your Google My Business page and check for a Book button. For example:

Once your vcita account is integrated with RwG, all changes related to booking (e.g., cancellations, reschedules, etc.) are updated in both environments in real-time. However, keep in mind that changes you make to Service settings may take up to 24 hours to be updated on your Google My Business page.