Online booking systems bring service and activity business owners into the 21st century. And when you pair the technology with old-school telephone and note taking, your business gets an exciting edge for selling services and filling activities. But before you choose a provider, it’s a good idea to consider the advantages and disadvantages of using an online booking system to make sure the software is right for you.

The Good

Your business is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Clients who make a decision to book a service, class or activity don’t want to wait until you are in the office — they want to lock in the booking on their own schedule. Using an online booking system means that your business is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

You can fill your calendar

Clients who book their own reservations are more likely to show up, making no-shows a thing of the past. If a client does need to cancel, they should be able to this online, and the spot automatically opens, giving another client the chance to book it. By maximizing your reservations, you won’t leave unused spots on the calendar.

You can take payments at the time of booking

With an online booking system, you can require customers to prepay for services and classes and to enrol in courses and events. This puts money into your pocket faster.

You are not dependant on a phone

If a client calls a company and gets routed to voicemail, they may call back later — or they may call their second-choice. Online bookings means you capture more potential business because reservations and information are always available. It also means you won’t get caught in a dreaded game of telephone tag. This works especially well if you are a Mobile Business and on the road.

Easily upsell more products and services

You can always add more services, grow your classes and courses and allow the booking of multiple services at a time. Online bookings also take into account staff availability, their skillsets, if a room or equipment is required, days off and public holidays and prevent double bookings.

Managing your calendar is much easier

Online booking systems allow you to check your reservations and availability wherever you are using any mobile device. You always know the status of your business, and your schedule can be easily managed from a convenient location.

Get valuable insights about your business and its operations

An online booking system provides you with a dashboard of analytics that help you grow your business. Quickly determine your most popular sellers, the most requested time slots, or even the most popular add-ons by using an online booking system with robust insights. Take advantage of knowing what your customers want most — saving you time and money on offerings that don’t help your business grow.

See if an Online Booking System is right for you

The Challenges

There's nothing really bad about Online Bookings

First up - you do need an internet connection, which now days is basically a pre-requisite for the business. Keep away from any software that needs to be installed on your computer. Only use Cloud based solutions that remove the need for installs, upgrades and maintenance. Cloud software is usually much more modern.

Be prepared for lots of new Clients

Online booking software is a great way to attract new clients, many of whom prefer booking online from their computers and mobile devices. However, if you’re running a small operation without enough staff members or resources to expand your activities, growing too quickly may pose a challenge.

Avoid dodgy booking systems

If you’re going to invest in a new technology platform and take the time to train your staff, we recommend you choose a booking system that fits all of your business needs — including bringing you a stream of new, high-quality customers. Make sure you do your research to find a booking system that guarantees a consistent stream of quality customers, is easy for Clients to use, takes into account all dependencies of your business (staff, skills, rooms, equipment, rosters etc), has the option to take pre-payments and is accessible from both desktop and mobile devices.

Not all online booking systems are created equal

Avoid booking systems that ask the client to provide a variety of days they would like to book - that's what the system is supposed to work out first (availability) and offer only the slots that are available. Careful those that demand the client has to login - they should also offer Guest access too. Online Bookings should offer the option to login and check/make changes to a profile, view loyalty points and packages, check when memberships will expire. It should be a real portal. Also be sure that clients are able to change or cancel their bookings online.

The Beautiful

Digitized and automated businesses will beat the competition

Digitizing your business and automating tasks like marketing, client notifications and scheduling, invoicing and reminders, Point of Sale, provide a better level of customer experience, and make your business run much more effectively. People are doing more and more business online - make sure they love dealing with your business too.