Groupon has just announced that a free beta version of its Scheduler is available to small business merchants who want to make it easier than ever for their customers to make 24/7 appointments in conjunction with their online deals. “Effectively managing appointments and staffing schedules is critical for small businesses, but it takes a tremendous amount of time and energy,” said David Katz, Groupon Scheduler’s General Manager, in a statement made yesterday. “Scheduler streamlines these time-consuming tasks and lets business owners (do more of what matters most).”