How much time have you spent sending emails today?
Probably way more than you would like to. Back and forth email coordinating takes up a lot of time for very little return. In fact, only about 20% of sent emails get opened. Appointment scheduling apps and software can help automate scheduling meetings with potential and existing customers without relying on email replies to nail down a good time.
When it comes to appointment scheduling for your business, you need an appointment scheduling tool as dynamic and professional as you are. Whether you’re a healthcare practitioner or a solo entrepreneur scheduling meetings. All tasks that makeup booking management can easily eat into your precious working hours.
Why should you invest in an appointment scheduling tool?
The primary benefit of scheduling apps and software is that they reduce the administrative tasks that can be a burden to complete. Here are three characteristics of a great appointment scheduling app that you’ll want to keep in mind:
- Reduce the number of emails you send to schedule a meeting.
- Sync with your calendar.
- Send reminders for your appointments.
What is an appointment scheduler?
Appointment scheduling apps and software are business tools that allow clients to book, reschedule and cancel appointments through a web interface. When clients want to make an appointment, they go to your website and choose an available date and time.
On the backend you set up the parameters about when people can book certain services. Based on your business hours, you set as well as the times and dates that you or your staff are available. Appointment scheduling apps also prevent double-booking and overbooking. Which gives you the flexibility to block off times when you are unavailable.
What makes a great appointment scheduling app or software?
The best booking apps do more than simply give clients a list of available times when they can come in for a meeting, treatment, or service. They also let your clients cancel and reschedule appointments without having to contact you. Additionally, they make it easy for business owners to do their jobs. Allowing you to streamline communication, centralize payments, and manage your staff.
Appointment Scheduling Software
We have presented a short overview of the major considerations around appointment scheduling software. The in-depth analysis of each feature is probably still worth considering and I’ll add these to another article.
We have compiled a list of resources for you summarising some of the main options around appointment scheduling software.
IsoEvolve has one-way calendar syncing with all major calendar apps, and integrates well with IsoEvolve apps, like CRM, Billing, unpaid etc. It offers personalization and branding options. We support clients through email and help documentation.
Zoho Bookings integrates well with Zoho apps, like CRM, Meeting, Flow, Sites, etc. It offers the best personalization and branding options in the market, without pushing the user to do HTML and CSS coding. Their customer support channels are email, community, and help documentation.
SimplyBook.me has a usage-based pricing model, which is different from all of the other apps compared here. They allow you to pick a specified number of features in each pricing plan. Supports customers by email, chat and help documentation. They have mobile apps. The primary target audience is the health and wellness industry.
Setmore comes from a design-oriented parent company and it shows. They have good mobile apps, and the web app UI is one of the better ones in the market. Setmore supports customers with help documentation, email, and live chat support. Their pricing plan is one of the simplest.
Calendly needs no introduction. Their minimal user interface is the main attraction, and their community and support are active. They do not cover all scheduling use cases—for example, classes. They have mobile apps and plug-ins that make it easy to share your schedule.
Appointy also covers many use cases in the service industry. Unlike other apps, they have features that enable at-home/house-call type services. Also, they have many options to filter out unwanted bookings. They support customers via email, chat, and help documentation. They integrate with Square POS, have mobile apps, and offer custom development.
Appointment Scheduling Apps
We have presented a short overview of the major considerations around appointment scheduling software. The in-depth analysis of each feature is probably still worth considering and I’ll add these to another article
We have compiled a list of resources for you summarising some of the main options around appointment scheduling apps.
Visibook has appointment reminders and calendar synchronization are among the basic must-haves Visibook offers in their scheduling app, but their platform offers much more. If you accept deposits or booking fees from customers before confirming appointments, Visibook supports this feature with payment processing integration.
Rallly (with three Ls) is an appointment scheduler with classic polling functionality where the members of your group can vote on the best times for the meeting or event. It also supports chat and messaging within the interface so that meeting attendees can discuss the best time to connect.
Appointment Scheduling Online Free
Almost all appointment scheduling apps have a free option. The idea of a free plan is that it helps solo business owners and small businesses get started with automated appointment scheduling without worrying about added costs. However, not every free plan is the same in its capabilities.
When looking at a free plan you should do as much research on them as you would do on a paid plan. Some things to consider when choosing your free plan.
- Are essential features included in the freemium plan? If not, there will be gaps in your appointment scheduling abilities.
- Are there features available beyond the essentials? It’s one thing to provide the bare essentials, but another to add features that support the essentials. For instance, the ability to add available hours is less useful without the additional option to add buffer time between appointments.
- Is the free plan flexible? A common problem that free plans suffer from is having limits (on users, calendar connections, appointments booked, services you can add, etc.). If the limits are too low, you won’t be able to use the app for long.