Daily deals website Groupon has launched its new Scheduler online booking system to provide UK businesses with the opportunity to manage their schedules and accept bookings directly.

Designed for service providers such as spa and wellness operators, the free service is based on technology from OpenCal - a startup founded in 2009 in Vancouver, Canada and acquired by Groupon in September 2011.

Once customers have purchased a Groupon voucher for services, they can schedule or cancel appointments for the services.

Customers immediately receive an email confirmation upon completion of each booking, as well as automated email reminders 24 hours before any scheduled appointments.

Merchant partners also benefit from the Scheduler service sending them similar email reminders.

Roy Blanga, MD of Groupon UK, said: "Scheduler is the first in a suite of innovations which we plan to roll-out across selected markets in 2012."