Imagine you’re sitting at your work/home office desk, sipping your morning tea or coffee. All is well until you notice a massive stack of papers lying on the corner of your desk. You quickly realize that today isn’t going to be anything near easy. You thumb through the documents, full of job schedule complaints, work orders, and screenshots of texts and emails between your dispatchers and field technicians. It sounds like a nightmare, doesn’t it? This scenario can be avoided if you invest in some of the best scheduling apps for small business, and transform your productivity in the process.
What are Service Scheduling Apps ?
Service schedule, or job scheduling, is the process of finding the optimal way to assign services and resources.
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Infield service management, service scheduling refers to the process of assigning staff who work in the field to work orders efficiently. Service scheduling software, also known as service tech scheduling software or booking software, helps service teams track and stay connected with field staff.
How can service scheduling software help your small business?
Without an efficient system to schedule service requests in advance, your staff who work in the field might become overloaded with last-minute requests. When service tasks are assigned without proper notice, staff members might not be prepared or might not reach the destination on time. This leads to back to back conversations between yourself, your staff, and customers, often causing delays and unsatisfactory customer outcomes. It affects your overall business productivity unfortunately. Also, due to the lack of a streamlined process, it can take a toll on the customer experience.
Service scheduling software for small business can help automate key tasks such as scheduling, managing work orders, dispatching, payments, and other field service processes. With service schedule software in place, dispatch managers have for example the advantage of scheduling requests according to customers’ convenience and field technicians’ availability. This leaves no space for last-minute requests, optimizes your team’s schedule, gives your field technicians clarity and helps ensure they deliver consistent customer experiences.
Features of Service Scheduling Software / Apps
There are a few features that the best scheduling apps for small business should contain, as these features make up the core functionality of this type of software.
- Monitor appointments across service groups
- Route requests automatically
- Track and measure performance
- Appointment App for Mobiles
- Customer Information Integration
- Updates regarding scheduling changes
- Dedicated Support Staff
What Should You Look For When purchasing service scheduling software?
So you have made the decision to move forward with your Service Scheduling software requirements? First step? Research. Ask the right questions now to get the right solution for your small business. Here are five points to consider:
- How much does it cost? Is there a contract?
Typically scheduling software pricing is defined on a per-user per-month basis, often with a minimum number of users requirement. Try to avoid a contract. You don’t want to be locked in. You should look for pricing that will let you scale your use up or down with seasonal staffing changes or as your business grows.
- What features are included?
Certain features are standard across service scheduling applications, including automated scheduling, customer database, appointment reminders, and mobile access. I would encourage you to have a demonstration of the software, discuss how the system will work for your specific operation, and try it out over several weeks.
- How complicated is the app to set up and use?
The best scheduling app for your small business is the one that requires minimal setup on your end. More than a few hours is too long. Some scheduling apps like Acuity Scheduling, Bitrix24, Appointfix will set up your customer accounts for your small business.
- What support and training will you receive?
No matter how easy the scheduling tool is to use and install, there will be a learning curve. Ask what kind of support is available – this is crucial for time poor business owners.
- Can I customise the software to my business?
The best scheduling apps for small business is the one that adjusts to your business, not the other way around. There could be high hidden costs if you have to make significant changes in your workflow, documentation, or hardware.
- What software integrations are supported?
Verify that the software is compatible with the hardware and software you are already using or intend to buy. Can it be used on Windows and Mac? What mobile devices will it run on? These questions matter a lot.
5 of the Best Service Scheduling Apps Available in 2021
So now that we have covered a little detail on what service scheduling software can do for your business, and criteria you should consider to help with selecting which apps are must have vs nice to have. In no particular order here are some of the best scheduling apps for small business on the market in Australia.
1) Engagebay
EngageBay is an effortless, affordable, one-stop marketing and sales CRM software. It is built for small businesses and startups to acquire, engage, analyze web visitors, and convert them to clients and customers. It offers a free online appointment scheduling software to schedule appointments faster by publishing your calendar online, get more appointments, and stay productive with one easy to use platform.
What makes it special/unique? – Automated Email Correspondence, Multiple Team Member Integrations, Customised Time Slots, Automatic Reminders, Appointment Tracking Software
Core Features
- Appointment Reminders
- Calendar Sync
- Group Scheduling
- Automated Scheduling
- Client Database
- Mobile Access
Pricing – starts at AU$ 19.91 per month.
Free Trial – Available
Link to Site – Engagebay Website
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2) Acuity Scheduling
Acuity is as good as a personal assistant for your schedule. Using Acuity as an online booking software for small business, booking appointments with your clients & customers will become an efficient process. It lets your clients view your real-time availability. They can even select the date and time that works best for them. It provides the option to pay in advance via Stripe, Paypal, or Authorize.net. They can even cancel or reschedule all on their own without you having to followup.
What makes it special? – 24/7 Support, Auto-Schedule Adjustment, Customised Client Database, Custom Automatic Reminders, Online Prepayments.
Core Features
- Room Booking Management
- Online Payments
- Multi-Location
- Recurring Appointments
- Online Booking
- Appointment Reminders
- Calendar Sync
- Group Scheduling
- Automated Scheduling
- Client Database
- Mobile Access
Pricing – starts at AU$ 19.93 per month.
Free Trial – Available
Link to Site – Acuity Scheduling Website
3) TimelyVisit
TimelyVisit is one of the best scheduling app for small business. It will make sure that there are no messy appointment books, and it will eradicate endless phone calls to customers, reminding them about these appointments. Using TimelyVisit, you can send quick automated text messages or email reminders from your customisable calendar. An additional feature that you get with TimelyVisit is creating a simple one-page website.
What makes it special? – 24/7 Email Correspondence, Multiple Team Member Integration, Customised Calendar, Automatic Reminders, Unlimited Bookings.
Core Features
- Room Booking Management
- Online Payments
- Multi-Location
- Recurring Appointments
- Online Booking
- Appointment Reminders
- Calendar Sync
- Group Scheduling
- Automated Scheduling
Pricing – starts at AU$ 19.93 per month.
Free Trial – Available
Link to Site – Timely Website
4) Calendly
Calendly is a powerful yet ultra simple automated scheduling tool. It allows your customers to book meetings with you in seconds using a highly intuitive calendar selection system. Using Calendly, you can benefit from an enjoyable scheduling experience. It brings more time to spend on top priorities and flexibility to accommodate individual users and large teams. It can effortlessly integrate with free booking softwares such as Google, Office 365, and Outlook calendars and apps like Salesforce, Stripe, GoToMeeting, and Zapier for a seamless user experience.
What makes it special? – Simplicity and speed of use, Minimum Scheduling Notice, Automatic Time Zone Detection, Full Customization, Metrics & Reporting, Integration with Web.
Core Features
- Online Payments
- Online Booking
- Appointment Reminders
- Calendar Sync
- Group Scheduling
- Automated Scheduling
Pricing – starts at AU$ 13.29 per month.
Free Trial – Available
Link to Site – Calendly Website
5) Appointy
Appointy is a thorough, practical, and powerful scheduling solution designed to help you grow and manage your small business. It allows you to receive appointments online, send automated emails or SMS reminders. Appointy integrates with social media apps and Google Calendar. It accepts online prepayments and creates gift cards, deals, and much more. You can get customized plans for your small business as well. Over 85,000+ companies are currently using it. Not to mention that the basic plan is free forever – massive benefit!
What makes it special ? – Live Chat and Email Support, Customization Development, Advanced Booking Features, Dedicated Relationship Manager, Resource Scheduling.
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Core Features
- Room Booking Management
- Online Payments
- Multi-Location
- Recurring Appointments
- Online Booking
- Appointment Reminders
- Calendar Sync
- Group Scheduling
- Automated Scheduling
- Free Online Booking Calendar
Pricing – starts at AU$ 26.56 per month.
Free Trial – Available
Link to Site – Appointy Official Website
FAQs
1.Is there a free scheduling app?
Yes, there are a lot of free scheduling apps available in the market. You can even try the premium apps with the free trial to give you a taste of something more complex without risk.
2. Does Google have a scheduling tool?
Yes, Google does have a scheduling tool. It is a type of cloud-based appointment booking system. It is known as Google Calendar. You can access it via the web or download it for free from Google Play Store. You can find other plugins that rely on Google Calendar to schedule appointments, one such option is called TeamBooking and it integrates really well with the website builder WordPress.
3. What is the primary purpose of a work schedule?
The purpose of a work schedule is kind of self-explanatory. It merely dates and times when somebody is supposed to work. Your work schedule is dependent on multiple factors like the type of work you do, the holidays you take, or the laws in your state or country. There are different types of work schedules for other people and objectives.
Work schedules prevent conflicts. It ensures that you meet your deadlines and leave work on time.
Furthermore, when you know when you have to function, it’s much easier to say “no.” For instance, you can’t meet a colleague for coffee or take on a new responsibility because you’re already committed to your scheduled work.
Put all of that concurrently, and you’ll have less troublesome life. And, that’s just not helpful for your productivity. It’s also one of the best ways to protect your health. Having a work schedule provides you clarity and boosts your productivity at the same time.
