Appointment Scheduler App: Ways to Increase Bookings for Your Small Business

Appointment Scheduler App: Ways to Increase Bookings for Your Small Business clients to view a calendar of your business’s available meeting times and self-book an appointment.

It lets business owners manage appointments, send automatic reminders, and accept deposits online.

Unfortunately, free appointment scheduling software can be hard to find, as many programs are limited versions of more extensive, paid services.

However, we identified seven programs that provide comprehensive features at no cost.

What makes an excellent appointment or booking app?

Flexibility

The best selection scheduling apps know that different types of organizations have different needs, so they allow you to customize how your booking works deeply.

For example, a small gym that offers individual training sessions should have a different booking experience than a community workshop that rents lawn equipment.

Likewise, do you want your clientele to be able to choose from a menu of services?

Must they be able to specify the location of your appointment, for example, for services offered in your home?

While there are great niche options out there (like Vagaro for salon, spa, and fitness businesses), the best appointment scheduling apps let you customize these aspects.

Calendar syncing

  • Almost all appointment scheduling apps allow you to sync with a calendar. Some even require it.
  • That way, you can see your company’s scheduled appointments and other important information, like when you’ll be closed for holidays or renewals.
  • In addition, the application can compare your availability with the events on your primary calendar.
  • However, for our tests, apps were only considered if they offered sync with Google Calendar and at least one other popular calendar, and apps that offered two-way sync were prioritized.

Payment processing

  • The best appointment scheduling apps allow you to collect a payment at booking.
  • You can revenue a deposit for an appointment or have clients pay for your services in advance. If a customer doesn’t show up, your business isn’t at a total loss.

Integration with third-party tools

  • However, your appointment scheduling tool absolutely needs the ability to connect with the rest of your tech stack.
  • And also, if the app can’t integrate with tools like Slack, Mailchimp, and Zoom (or at least lets you set up your own connections with Zapier), it doesn’t have to be on this list.

Professional presentation

  • Here your appointment scheduler should be an extension of your brand. Whether clients are making reservations or an industry peer is scheduling a Zoom call with you.
  • The appointment scheduling process should be streamlined, seamless, and aesthetically pleasing.
  • It should also be flexible, with multiple access points, such as a widget on your website, a Facebook business page, or a custom URL.
  • For this reason, I tested each application on both the business and client sides.

Best Appointment Scheduler Apps to Choose

1. Calendly

Calendly is one of the easiest online schedulers to use. Create your calendar rules and share the link to your scheduling page, and clients can start setting up their appointments. They’ll only see the times you’re available and the length and type of meeting you want to have. In addition, because Calendly automates administrative tasks like sending reminder emails and follow-ups, you can focus on the work that builds your business and brings customer back for more.

There’s no more back-and-forth for you or your client. Your schedule fills up efficiently, and everyone avoids excess email exchanges.

2. Acuity scheduling

  • Acuity offers a reliable automated scheduling tool and expands its capabilities into business administration like client management, customizable intake forms, and invoicing.
  • Acuity’s users are interested in replacing multiple existing admin systems with a single cloud-based tool.
  • As a result, its functionality goes beyond automated scheduling and accounting and client database management.

3. ScheduleOnce

  • Businesses that rely on large pools of potential customers need a way to connect prospects with the right contacts directly.
  • ScheduleOnce eliminates the typical wait time for a response after someone completes a “contact” form.
  • With ScheduleOnce, prospects choose the time they want to meet for an introductory phone call or product demo.
  • Here the app assigns it to the appropriate contacts and notifies them about the appointment.

4. Bookafy

  • One of the effects that set Bookafy apart from other booking tools is how it handles calendars between people.
  • For example, you can enable two-way calendar sync when you want each party to be able to see the other’s schedule.
  • Or choose one-way sync when someone needs to see your calendar but you don’t need to see theirs.

Also Read: The Best Practices for Using Automated Meeting Reminder SMS in 2022