Many small businesses struggle with their appointment scheduling. If you use a paper calendar, you can’t locate appointments easily since you need to go through the monthly calendar page-by-page. With an online appointment scheduling system from AppointmentMaster, you can go to a single website and quickly find any date you want.
Square Appointments
BEST FOR
Businesses that require a POS.Visit Website
- Flat rate pricing
- Easy setup
- No monthly fees
- Free for individuals
After purchasing BookFresh, Square developed the appointments service to help improve customer handling in terms of bookings.
Square Appointments is now a section of Square Point of Sale (POS). This business appointment scheduling software is suitable for brick and mortar, multi-location on the go, and occasional businesses.
Calendar management
Soon after signing up, you can create a test appointment to see how the system works. After that, you can start setting up your booking website. Your clients can see your availability in real-time, allowing them to pick suitable time slots.
You can view your calendar by day, week, 5-day period, or month. From here, you can also edit your availability and set recurring schedules.
Also, you can pick where you’d like your meeting to occur, be it at your office, customers’ location, both, or phone. You can also send your calendar to accept all time zones or lockout specific ones.
Online booking
Your customers can choose to make appointments from anywhere, and at any time that is convenient for them.
If you don’t have a website yet, worry not. Square Appointments offers a free website that your clients can use to book you 24/7.
Payment processing
You can choose to either collect cash or through credit cards. Unfortunately, this software doesn’t support PayPal, Stripe, or other popular options.
Reminders
This software sends SMS or email reminders automatically to facilitate proper planning for you and the clients. The reminders come after bookings, reschedules, or cancellations.
You can set your software to request for deposits. Also, to discourage clients from canceling, you can ask for a cancellation fee.
Built-in CRM system
Square is one of the best appointment scheduling software on our list because of its CRM system. The scheduler has a set of engagement tools to help you analyze customer behavior, collect leads, and build loyalty.
The system has an inbuilt email collection at “Checkout” that you can add to your existing contact list. From the email database, you can see new, regular, one-time, and lapsed clients to help you tailor your campaigns.
Advanced features
Square Appointments does more than accept bookings. The software has a POS that allows you to make sales on goods and services and also track the process in real-time.
The scheduler also has a reports feature that lets you check your company’s performance in terms of item, type, and discount. The reports are essential in making sales comparisons either daily, weekly, or annually.
Also, this employee scheduling software allows you to track your staff’s bookings. You can run reports regularly to see how your team is performing.
Apps and integrations
Square is compatible with; Android, Windows, iOS, Mac, and Linux.
This software integrates with other apps to help you work more efficiently, such as:
- Reserve with Google
Ease of use
Square Appointments has a user-friendly interface for clients, staff, and business owners. Making a booking is easy and takes just a few seconds.
It’s easy to navigate from one icon to the next using a minimalistic panel in your admin dashboard.
Customer support
This software is highly intuitive and easy to use. There’s a support center, help guide, and community to help resolve issues. If you prefer speaking to someone, the company offers phone support.
Price
Square Appointments is yet another free online scheduling toolthat also has paid plans for more features.
Here are the schedulers different plans;
- Free- $0 (suitable for individuals)
- 2- 5 employees – $50/month
- 6 – 10 employees – $90/month
- Over ten employees – Custom pricing
Genbook
BEST FOR
Small businesses.Visit Website
- “Book Now” feature
- Easy customization
- Color coding
- 30-day free trial
Genbook has been in the market since 2006. The software makes booking management easy, improving user experience.
Are you looking for an appointment scheduling software for salons? This scheduler is suitable for small businesses in the following industries; beauty, hair, and wellness.
Calendar management
You can set your availability on your calendar to let clients know when you have free time slots. The system also has color coding, which makes it easier for everything to pop out for quick locating.
Customers don’t have to leave Google, Facebook, or City Search to book an appointment, which can help you book more appointments.
The calendar has a “Head-up” feature that lets bookings in whenever you have free time slots. Also, the software helps fill up your empty slots with the “Last minute booking” feature.
Online booking
With this software, there is no longer any need for users to wait for hours to make bookings. Clients can book at whatever time so long as they’re within Canada or the US.
This software automatically connects your business to social media, major search engines, local app, and online directories on a 24-hour basis. That way, you’re less likely to miss a booking, while growing your exposure.
Payment processing
Genbook has an inbuilt POS to help you receive payments securely. You can choose to take full payments before the appointment or get a percentage, and the balance later.
Upon booking, Genbook instantly captures the payment history. If you chose partial payments, the scheduler sends invoices to your clients to remind them to pay. Also, clients can make payments using their mobile phones for convenience.
Other payments options are;
- Stripe
- Square
Reminders
This software limits the number of no-shows by sending reminders via email or text messages. The systems send notifications automatically to both customers and service providers to confirm.
Built-in CRM system
Genbook has an in-built customer relationship management to provide you with insights on how to manage your campaigns better. The system displays crucial, like regular, one-off, or no-shows.
Advanced features
Multiple user access and locations
Most appointment scheduling solutions do not have an option for managing branches in different locations. This software allows you to manage staff in different places under one dashboard.
Apps and integrations
Genbook is cloud-based and is compatible with Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Linux, and Mac.
You don’t have to use your favorite apps when you subscribe to this software. You can connect Genbook with;
- Siri
- iCal
- Constant Contact
Ease of use
Signing up for this software is pretty straightforward. All you have to do is enter your name, business name, email address, phone number industry, and you’re good to go. However, note that you must be in Canada or the US to use this software.
After sign-up, one of the first things that you’ll see is your calendar. Genbooks’ user interface is neat and easily navigable. Everything is where it should be until you need it.
There’s a row of buttons at the top that takes you to different pages such as analytics, calendar, inbox, offers, amongst others.
Customer support
Although the booking interface is easy to use, this software lacks in terms of client support options. Locating the help guide isn’t straightforward, and even when you do, it doesn’t contain crucial information.
However, the scheduler has a blog and a “contact us” option.
Pricing
If you’re looking for the best free appointment scheduling software, this might not be a good fit for you. However, Genbook has a free trial period that you can experiment with as you source for funds to subscribe to the paid plans. You can also check out our list to see schedulers with $0 charges.
Here are the Genbook’s packages;
- Solo – $25/month/one person
- Teams -$49/month/2-5 users
- Company -$83/month/6-12 users
*Note that Genbook bills annually for all its packages.
Setmore
Best for Classes and Multiple Staff Members
PROS
- Class booking
- Team calendar management
- Paid plans are cheaper than most
CONS
- Only accept payments through Square
- Free reminders limited to email
- No intake form capability
Overall Score3.47OUT OF5
| RATING CRITERIA | FREE PLAN LIMITATIONS | 2.5 | OUT OF | 5 |
| APOINTMENT BOOKING TOOLS | 3.81 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| BACK OFFICE FEATURES | 3.5 | OUT OF | 5 | |
| EXPERT SCORE | 4.38 | OUT OF | 5 |
Setmore supports up to four users for free and is loaded with features that make it great for managing teams. Clients can book online and see which employees are available at a particular time. Or, you can add appointments manually from the dashboard, as well as reschedule or reassign appointments with just a few clicks. You can accept payments with Square and maintain a customer database. It also integrates with mailing, sales, and CRM programs, as well as a multitude of business apps.
This software is easy-to-use and well regarded by users, so Setmore earned a 3.47 out of 5. But, loses points as a free plan because it charges for many of the features that other scheduling software on our list offer free. (Paid features include reminders, customization, and video integration.) However, its paid plans are reasonably priced, especially if you have three or more employees.
Setmore Pricing
- Free: Most features for up to four employees, payment with Square only
- Premium ($9 per user, per month): 1-2 users, includes all free features, plus SMS reminders, custom notifications, recurring appointments, Zoom, calendar sync, payment with Square or Stripe
- Pro ($5 per user, per month): 3+ users, includes all free features, plus SMS reminders, custom notifications, recurring appointments, Zoom, calendar sync, payment with Square or Stripe
Setmore Features
- Book individual appointments or classes with the number of seats available. (The free plan has the Setmore logo.)
- Accept payments through Square (or Square and Stripe with paid plans), including deposits against no-shows.
- Integrate with Teleport.video for video appointments (or with Zoom for paid plans).
- Integrate with Salesforce, QuickBooks, Freshdesk, Mailchimp, and more
Setmore
BEST FOR
Businesses of any size.Visit Website
- Easy to use
- Color-coding for different services
- Unlimited staff and service
- Free account available
Setmore created the scheduler in 2012. The software helps businesses automate bookings, and customers make their appointments using an easy drag-and-drop interface.
This appointment scheduling software has automatic alerts, reminders, automated payments, helping you manage your appointments more efficiently. Setmore also allows enterprises to share their bookings pages on social media networks, emails, and websites to reach more customers.
Calendar management
Booking an appointment using the Setmore calendar management system only takes a few seconds. As soon as a client fills in details such as name, appointment date, or staff member to see, the system quickly creates a client profile, and stores the info in a database.
The software then sends a notification to both the customer and the service provider. Setmore also sends a link schedule to the person making the appointment in-case they’d like to amend the details in the future.
Online booking
One of the reasons why Setmore is one of our top schedulers is because it allows online bookings. Clients can book appointments from anywhere 24/7. The system relays this information to you and your customers in real-time.
Payment processing
The scheduling app allows you to take either credit cards, Stripe, or Square payments after clients make bookings. Note that Setmore doesn’t have any additional payment processing fees. However, Square and Stripe charge transaction fees.
Once a customer makes a booking, the system ties in booking and payment details and stores them in the database. That way, it’s easy for you to track payments and send out invoices to customers with pending balances.
Note that Setmore doesn’t offer PayPal as a payment option. Also, the free plan offers only one payment option, which is Square. To use Stripe, you must have a premium account.
It’s not all bad though:
You can download the Setmore app straight to your iOS or Android phone and manage your payment from there. The app syncs all your primary data seamlessly, allowing you to switch devices seamlessly.
Another great feature here is the ability to set your account to receive bookings. You can ask your clients to either pay a certain percentage of the total fee or make the full payment to show commitment, which translates into fewer or no cancellations.
Reminders
Setmore sends reminders via email or text message to remind clients to keep their commitments.
Let’s start with text reminders.
Text message reminders set up takes just a few seconds and after that, you never have to do anything. The software automatically sends out the messages a few hours or a few days before the appointment without you ever lifting a finger.
Once you enable the feature, you can customize your texts according to your business. Note that you must have a premium account to set automatic text reminders.
What’s more?
You can send unlimited texts and monitor these from your end. However, note that clients can opt-out at any time.
And now for the email reminders.
The appointment scheduler also sends automated email reminders to both clients and staff whenever there’s a;
- Booking
- Cancelation
- Reschedule
Note that you don’t need a premium account to enjoy this feature.
Like the texts, email reminders also notify both clients and service providers, days, or hours before the appointment. You can use an .isc attachment to outgoing emails to enable clients to add the bookings to their Apple, Office, or Google calendars.
Built-in CRM system
Setmore doesn’t have a built-in CRM. However, the software can automatically export your contacts to Zoho CRM every time a client makes a booking.
Why Zoho?
Zoho can help you make accurate forecasts, which will help you adjust your marketing tactics, especially when it comes to promotional offers.
Advanced features
Google Analytics
Once you enable Google Analytics, you’ll be able to learn details regarding visitors on your bookings page.
Why is this information important?
Analytics data lets you know how many visitors visit both your social media and website with intentions of making a booking.
The data also shows you where your visitors come from geographic-wise, or even their age.
With that information, you can tailor-make your marketing campaigns to meet your target audience expectations.
Teleport
Does your business offer services that you can share online, such as training or counseling? Well, Setmore has a built-in video feature that allows you to transform your browser into an office where you can virtually meet your clients.
With this feature, you can expand your business to global clients. The best thing about the teleport feature is that it doesn’t come at an extra cost!
Apps and integrations
Setmore is cloud-based and is compatible with; Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac.
You can integrate your Setmore software to some of the world’s most popular apps for more efficiency. Examples of apps that you can link to your scheduler are:
- Social media accounts like Facebook and Instagram
- Slack
- Teleport
- Google Calendar
- WordPress/Weebly
Ease of use
If you like clean interfaces, then you’ll love Setmore. This software layout is easily navigable, helping you find everything when you need it.
Setmore’s color-coding gives different things a conspicuous look, making it easy for you to spot something quickly.
Customer support
Setmore has several options through which customers can get help such as;
- Live chat
- Phone support
Pricing
Thescheduling software has three package options, and they are as follows;
- Free – $0 (1-4 staff logins)
- Premium – $25/month (20 staff logins)
- Live booking US and Canada -$89 per month (all premium features and in-house receptionist)
Conclusion
There are many reasons why businesses should rely on an appointment scheduling software. The first reason is that an appointment scheduling software professional will be able to automate the entire process, which will lead to better productivity. An automation tool can increase productivity by helping to fill out time slots that would otherwise need to be left open, freeing up your employees for other tasks.