What is the easiest way to provide an online scheduling service to my small business?

If your small business regularly books meetings with clients, you’re already well aware of how time-consuming it can be to go back and forth with one person as you try to find an available timeslot in your schedule. By the same token, customers aren’t interested in wasting their time with this either. People want convenience, and when it comes to making appointments, that means being able to book a meeting online. If you’re not meticulous about keeping track of all of your commitments, it’s all too easy to run into a scheduling mishap. If clients experience too many issues when it comes to setting up meeting times, you run the risk of losing their business to one of your competitors.

The easiest way to bring online scheduling into your small business is to use a software solution that facilitates it. Online scheduling software providers your company with a way to visit your website and find a time which works with their schedule and yours. You can customize your calendar according to your working hours, and you can even build in multiple calendars for each of your employees. That way, if a client needs to meet with a specific team member, they can view that person’s schedule and book an appointment directly with him or her. Clients can also schedule recurring meetings when necessary or cancel a meeting in advance with just a few clicks.

When you run a small business, your resources are limited and today’s online scheduling services come with numerous business benefits. Since self-service calendars are easy for clients to use and are available 24/7, they can log onto your website and book appointments whenever they need to. By reducing your team’s administrative tasks, it frees them up to work on accounts, finish projects or bring in new clients – all of which contribute to your company’s bottom line and profits.

By connecting your online calendar system to your client relationship management software (CRM), you’ll have a more holistic view of how your resources are being used and how it contributes to your company’s income. Booking systems come with a built-in layer of automation which can be used to send reminders about upcoming meetings. Some solutions even allow for clients to submit payments online via credit cards, e-checks or even PayPal. If you opt for a system that doesn’t include this feature, you can simply connect it to your online invoicing software and set up automated reminders for unpaid bills.

As a professional, it’s important to make your clients feel that the online booking system they are using is part of your business. To that end, you can customize the look and feel of the solution with your own branding and color scheme. Clients will have a seamless experience and never be the wiser that your solution isn’t custom built. Implementing an online scheduling system comes with zero drawbacks, and as soon as it’s installed on your website, you’ll start reaping the benefits.