Are you looking for service scheduling software to streamline your business booking admin?
Scheduling software serves multiple purposes for service providers, including better organization, time management, and easy workforce allocation.
Whether you work alone or head up a larger company, it can improve your customer relationship management, increase customer loyalty, grow revenue, and decrease overall costs.
All of which help you grow your business seamlessly!
These benefits ensure that your business operates at an optimum level to provide the best service to your customers.
With hundreds of options on the market, every Boss needs to ask themselves a set of questions to pinpoint the right service scheduling software to suit their requirements. At Book Like A Boss, we’re here to help you find the answers so you can make more bookings, more money.
Ten Things To Look For In Service Scheduling Software
1. Is it easy to use?
If technology is not your thing, it can be overwhelming and confusing to use complex software tools. This makes it crucial to choose an easy-to-use platform that makes life simpler for you!
A user-friendly system will allow you to create your calendar seamlessly, list your available services, and manage your staff.
Ensure that the platform you choose has a quick and efficient onboarding process with a simple and responsive interface.
Most importantly, the software you pick should be easy for your clients and staff to navigate, providing minimal steps before they make a booking.
2. Am I getting value for my money?
Another goal is to find service scheduling software that meets your budget. For new business owners, keep a lookout for free options that offer you a taste of the functionality, features, and overall value.
For veteran business owners, your scheduling needs may be more complex, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot. Many scheduling platforms offer you dynamic but affordable paid features.
3. Does it have the necessary integrations?
Today, we need a wide variety of apps to help make our lives and business management simpler.
Shifting from those apps and getting them to work together can be a hack, so it’s crucial to find scheduling software that has integration capabilities. This way, you can use all your usual calendar apps, CRM software, video conferencing platforms, and payment-processing apps.
This will make the transition to using the new software more straightforward. Plus, if your chosen platform has Zapier integration, this will make life much easier for you as you’ll have access to multiple web applications!
4. Is it scalable?
Most service scheduling software does exactly what it promises… It helps your business to grow! The ideal scheduling platform will help you increase the number of appointments made, expand to more locations and help you manage and hire more people.
This means that your software should manage all of that growing data. It shouldn’t limit you on how many staff or locations you can include. The correct system will give you peace of mind. You’ll know that it can seamlessly handle the growth whenever you add a new staff member.
5. Can my customers make online bookings easily?
Nowadays, your website is a one-stop-shop for your brand. Good scheduling software will allow you to easily add a booking button or widget to your website. If your business uses WordPress, ensure that it offers the correct plugin.
Another important channel to use is social media. It is essential to have an engaging social media profile that represents your brand well. Some scheduling software allows you to add a ‘Book Now’ button to your social media pages for booking convenience.
6. Can I process payments efficiently?
This is not a deal-breaker, but payment processing can significantly improve your business's efficiency.
Normally, you might accept payments through a POS terminal or wire transfer. But, with the right processing features, you can seamlessly collect payments directly through your scheduling software.
Even more convenient is if you can work with several payment processors, such as Stripe, Square, and PayPal. Pretty much anyone who books your service can then quickly settle up their bill using their preferred payment method.
7. Can I offer discounts and deals?
After the extensive COVID-19 lockdowns, most people are looking to get their business going again as fast as possible, be it through sales or discounts.
The best scheduling software will allow you to create and manage your sales and marketing strategies. Many platforms enable customers to add their available discount codes, automatically apply the code, and make payments online.
8. Does it have mobile access?
Today, close to 70% of the world’s population has a smartphone or mobile device. Mobile access is vital for you to run your business and crucial for your customers and clients. When looking at your software, it should allow anyone to access your website and all the booking functionality you offer.
9. Does it have ongoing customer support?
Have you ever struggled to understand software? Even the most easy-to-use software can include advanced features that may need some explaining. If you are paying for scheduling software, make sure that it comes with the proper support.
Can you ask the supplier for help at any time if needed? Do they offer any kind of training? Is there a comprehensive FAQ on their website? Is there a live chat feature?
Based on the nature of your business and your overall requirements, you can decide what kind of support plan you will require in scheduling software.
10. Is my data secure?
With data breaches becoming commonplace, you need to ensure that your data is safe. The right scheduling software service will allow you to deal with confidential or sensitive information with complete privacy, automatically protecting your data.
If you are looking for enhanced security, the platform you choose should offer fully encrypted, cloud-based storage on a safe and secure server.
Conclusion
Finding the right software scheduling platform isn’t easy as there are many factors to keep in mind.
In case you hadn’t guessed it, BLAB ticks all of the boxes above. Get in touch with us to learn more about how our scheduling software can help your business thrive!
