Offering meetings with booking packages
Connect Calendly or Cal.com and sell 1-on-1 sessions to your organization's clients.
Updated July 2, 2026
Essay reviews are asynchronous, but a lot of advising happens live. Booking packages let you sell 1-on-1 sessions — strategy calls, brainstorming meetings, application check-ins — directly through Draftl, with scheduling handled by the calendar tool you already use.
Who can book meetings with you
Booking packages are for your organization's clients — students who accepted your invite and joined your organization. Unlike marketplace essay reviews, which any student on Draftl can purchase, meetings are only available to students you have an ongoing advising relationship with. If you haven't invited any clients yet, start with Managing clients, groups, and broadcasts.
You'll also need a connected booking provider and, for paid packages, a completed Stripe Connect setup. See Getting paid on Draftl for the payments side.
Connect a booking provider
Draftl doesn't run its own scheduling — instead, it connects to the calendar tool you already use. Head to Integrations at /dashboard/organization/integrations and choose one of the two supported providers:
- Calendly
- Cal.com
Click Connect on your provider of choice and complete the OAuth flow in the popup. Once connected, the Integrations page shows your connection status, and you can Disconnect at any time.
Tip: Set up your event types (for example, a 30-minute call) in Calendly or Cal.com before creating packages in Draftl — each package links to one of your provider's event types.
Create a booking package
Packages are what students actually see and buy. Manage them on the Payments page at /dashboard/organization/payments. Click Add package and fill in:
- Name — what the session is, like "30-min college coach call"
- Description — what the student gets out of the session
- Price — what you charge; $0 is allowed if you want to offer free sessions
- Calendar event type — the Calendly or Cal.com event type this package books into
- Active toggle — only active packages are visible to students
You can create multiple packages at different lengths and price points, and toggle any of them off without deleting them.
What students see
Your organization's clients get a Book a Session page listing every active package with its name, description, and price. Each package has a Book button that starts the checkout flow.
How the booking flow works
- The student clicks Book on a package.
- For paid packages, they complete a Stripe checkout. Free ($0) packages skip payment entirely.
- After checkout, the student is redirected to your Calendly or Cal.com scheduling link to pick a time that works.
- When they confirm a time, the booking webhook records the meeting in Draftl automatically — no manual entry needed.
Where you see your meetings
Upcoming meetings appear on your Home page (/dashboard), alongside your client and essay stats — the "Upcoming meetings" stat card gives you the count at a glance. For the full picture — past and upcoming meetings with their status and payment details — open Analytics at /dashboard/analytics. Each meeting record includes the date, duration, and meeting URL, plus cancel and reschedule links, so you or the student can adjust plans without leaving the flow you already use.
Understanding statuses
Bookings move through two sets of statuses: one for the checkout, one for the meeting itself.
| Stage | Status | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Checkout | Pending payment | Student started checkout but hasn't paid yet |
| Checkout | Paid, awaiting booking | Payment complete; student hasn't picked a time yet |
| Checkout | Booked | Student picked a time and the meeting is on the calendar |
| Meeting | Pending | Scheduled and upcoming |
| Meeting | Completed | The session happened |
| Meeting | Cancelled | The session was called off |
If a checkout sits in "paid, awaiting booking," the student paid but never selected a time — a quick nudge usually resolves it. Checkouts can also end up expired or refunded if a payment doesn't complete or is returned.
Fees on paid bookings
Draftl's standard 10% platform fee applies to every paid booking, just like essay reviews. A $50 session pays you $45. Free packages carry no fee. Paid bookings count toward the earnings totals on your Payments page, and your ten most recent paid bookings are listed there too. For the full breakdown of fees, balances, and payouts, see Getting paid on Draftl.
Meetings pair well with the rest of your services: many consultants offer a free intro call as a $0 package, then move students toward paid sessions and essay reviews as deadlines approach.