I’m assuming you’re here because you want to start your own online booking and payment system – well, that’s what I created this article for. I’m going to walk you through the steps that you need to take to start offline booking and to help those who are thinking of starting there own small business.
Housecall Pro
Housecall Pro certainly comes close to meeting all the needs of your home service business. HouseCall Pro’s management app is designed specifically with home services in mind—everything from cleaning and plumbing to electrical and HVAC to renovation and repair.
Customizable for any size business, the cloud-based software provides online booking with real-time scheduling for both customers and your team. It also has client messaging and notifications.
Want something even more robust?
The platform accommodates invoicing and payments, estimates, an internal company chat function, and assistance with marketing automation. You may not require the full suite of products immediately, but Housecall Pro provides you peace of mind knowing the functionality is ready when you are.
Pricing includes three tiers based on the number of users & features — $49/month, $109/month, or a MAX plan with advanced features for bigger companies.
10to8
Offering broad appeal for both large and small businesses, 10to8 maintains a simple, productive approach to online scheduling for your clients and the communication between your team members.
10to8’s software lets you dictate how your booking should function, including manual approval. The platform integrates with PayPal and Facebook and website builders Weebly and WordPress. The service also includes a neat feature to identify appointments that may be at risk of no-showing or canceling.
Pricing is as straightforward as the service. There is a free option with 100 appointments per month, but the ability to brand starts with the $9.60 monthly plan that includes 100 appointments. You’ll pay $20 per month for 300 appointments and $40 per month for 600 appointments. There is also an enterprise option for more than 600 bookings.
Appointy
Appointy may not specifically identify itself as a home service appointment solution, but its flexibility allows any business to use it. It’s good for companies relying heavily on appointment setting and repeat business, like landscaping, cleaning, pest control, pool maintenance, auto detailing, or pet sitting.
Simplicity is Appointy’s major selling point. Along with online appointments, the service includes client notifications and social media and Google calendar integrations.
Don’t have a website
? No problem. Appointy has a sub-domain option where you can create a booking page for your business.
There are four service tiers, including a free option with a cap of 100 monthly appointments. Unlimited booking starts at $19.99 per month, and increased services are available at tier 3 for $49.99 per month and tier 4 for $79.99 per month.
SuperSaaS
The definition of customizable, SuperSaaS accommodates for home service booking needs. Of course, this platform includes the essentials, like real-time booking, automated SMS and email reminders, integration with Facebook, and the ability to accept customer payments. There is even a solution for equipment rental services.
SuperSaaS provides a high comfort level for its users. Everything from your schedule, booking, and registration are customizable to fit your branding. Plus, you can control your sync settings.
Much like the service, pricing is incredibly flexible, with 11 different packages. There is a basic free version with a cap of 50 appointments. The paid tier starts at $8 per month for 100 appointments and increases to $186 per month for 15,000 bookings.
BookedIN
BookedIn is a straightforward, yet feature-rich product. It certainly helps that you have 30 days to test out the software before making a commitment.
Your customers can set appointments from your website (including all major platforms), a promotional email, or social media channels like Facebook and Instagram. Capture as much or as little client data as necessary with custom onboarding forms branded specifically to your business.
Apart from the free option, plan pricing is $24, $39, $54, or $69 per month based on the number of calendars that require management.
Square Appointments
If the name sounds familiar, Square Appointments is the online booking tool of the payment processing giant Square. The same innovation that users love with the payments goes into their scheduling software, which features a free booking website, automated reminders, and, of course, payment integration.
Square Appointments also emphasizes robust prepayment and cancellation fee options to help you guard against no-shows. Pricing is as simple as the solution itself with a free option for single users, a $50 per month tier for 2 to 5 users, and $90 for 6 to 10 users. If you need more users, you can contact their sales team for an enterprise-level package.
BookSteam
BookSteam is another service that can cater to a number of different business types and needs. The core product includes online appointment setting, SMS and email notifications, and online payment with the ability to keep credit cards on file.
BookSteam’s feature set goes well beyond basic scheduling to include client database and review management, marketing and promotional tools, inventory tracking, and client accounts.
BookSteam does not offer a free option but has a 14-day free trial. Pricing is based on users and runs from $19.95 for one user, $29.95 for 2 to 5 users, $39.95 for 6 to 10 users, and $69.95 per month for 11 to 50 users.
Genbook
We close out our list with the cloud-based Genbook platform, which targets midsize firms looking to better organize their approach to online booking.
Specifically designed to track both customer appointments and the techs that fulfill them, Genbook manages the booking lifecycle from first booking to final payment. The software even allows you to accept payments online or at a stand-alone store—great for pool service or home design and furnishing companies.
Genbook offers a 30-day free trial, and pricing starts at $29 a month for a single staff member. Plans increase to $59 per month for 2 to 5 members and $99 for 6 to 12 users. If you need more than 12 users, they will build a custom plan for your business.
Reservio
Reservio is a cloud-based booking software aimed at various types of SMEs. It offers online booking, appointment management and automated reminders.
The pricing starts at £7 per month, with further options of £14 and £29, which allow you to add more users and various levels of customisation.
It integrates with Google Calendar, iCal and others and provides booking systems for a range of businesses with adaptations for different business types. You can also setup booking pages, add a ‘Book now’ button on your website and connect your Facebook page through a widget.
Pros:
- Reservio reviews are overwhelmingly positive and praise its ease of use
- Integrates with Google and other popular calendar software
- With price plans starting at £7, it’s an affordable option
Cons:
- It isn’t currently in Google’s list of supported providers but is listed as ‘coming soon’
- Some reviews point to double booking issues
- Customer support is email only
Simplybook.me
Any scheduling software offers appointment booking from the get-go. Simplybook.me does too, but it expands those capabilities to include back-end organization, operations, customer retention, and much more.
Simplybook.me offers several additional features across its pricing plans built to make workflows easier, data more useful, customer lifetimes more lucrative, and much more.
Collect client info at booking
Saving unwieldy steps that often come with the potential to drop the ball, Simplybook.me allows you to collect customer information right at the point of booking. You can further customize that process from drop-down menu questions to longer-form text answers to collect all the data you need.
Facebook, Instagram, Google, and email integrations
Simplybook.me doesn’t force you to stick with one area for scheduling. You can integrate with your existing channels on Google, Facebook, and Instagram. And you can add “Book Now” buttons wherever your customers live online and are more likely to click.
Simplybook.me also syncs with many email services, such as Mailchimp, to import email addresses, and it allows you to send communications directly to a client list.
You can set up booking details through your site or Facebook. Source:
Simplybook.me software.
Create coupons and gift cards
Customer retention is an important part of any business, and Simplybook.me offers ways to keep clients hooked, thanks to the ability to create and market coupons and gift cards right from the app.
Cut down on no-shows and double bookings
No-shows are financial drains, and double bookings are chaos. Simplybook.me lets you set auto-reminders for appointments to reduce missed bookings.
It lets you charge an upfront deposit, which helps reduce skipped appointments. You can sync personal calendars to workplace ones to avoid double-booked slots.
Set your availability on a recurring basis or block one-off unavailable times. Source:
Simplybook.me software.
Using cloud-based technology, Simplybook.me is a scalable solution well suited for various businesses across the service industry. Not only does it offer an efficient online booking and appointment tracking system; it also provides an intuitive customer experience.
You can cut down on missed appointments thanks to email reminders for both customers and providers while maximizing time efficiency with calendar syncing.
Its ability to create and send out marketing promotions is a great tool to encourage return business, while its external integrations with Google, Facebook, and other social media sites means your clients can book from anywhere at any time.
For all its useful features, Simplybook.me also doesn’t break the bank with its free and budget-friendly pricing.
24/7 booking
By being available for customers at all hours, 24/7 online, you can lock in more appointments, as clients are more likely to book whenever they remember and not necessarily during 9-5 phone hours.
Online booking means clients are more likely to book more often, as it’s more streamlined.
Ability to sell tickets, subscriptions, and more
Simplybook.me lets you go beyond regular appointments and sell subscriptions and memberships, as well as singular class or event tickets for one-off sessions.
Conclusion
Overall, it has been a very good experience using each software. My guess, you would want to go for simplybook.me. It is my favorite, don’t know about you. you can now book your own appointments, share and make payments online at ease. it saves me time having to email, call, or text back and forth reminding clients, etc.. You can do all that in one system which allows you to be more productive.