What to look for when reviewing online appointment booking software?

What to look for when reviewing online appointment booking software?

Here are 10 features to consider when reviewing online appointment booking software for your business:

1. Real-time scheduling. Clients don't want to wait to find out if their booking request went through they want instant confirmation. Does the software confirm the appointment as soon as it's made?

2. Mobile apps. Can you access the appointment booking software from your smartphone or tablet?

3. Calendar synchronisation. Can you feed the appointment booking details into other calendars you use, such as iCal, Google Calendar or Outlook?

4. Automatic appointment reminders. Will the online appointment booking software automatically remind clients they have a booking? Does it support e-mail and SMS text messages?

5. Connection to social media. Can clients make bookings  from your Facebook page ?

6. Instant promotions. If you've identified a period or service that's under-booked, can you send out an email of SMS text message promotion or limited-time deal from within the appointment booking software?

7. Multiple log-in: Can several staff members log in to view and manage appointments at the same time? Can you limit access by role, so that, for example, a Driving Instructor can see his appointments only but not see other instructors appointments?

8. Database. Can it export client contact details and booking history?

9. Portability: Does the service let you export all the data to load into other applications such as  email marketing mailchimp program or accounting software Zero ?

10. Ease of use. It's no fun to struggle with a counter-intuitive interface. Does the booking interface make it easy to find the next availability and make an appointment booking?