10 Features You Need In Your Online Scheduling Software

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Choosing an online scheduling system can be difficult. You need a calendar that’s easy to use, yet robust enough to manage your unique business. Plus, clients today want to be able to easily schedule appointments anytime, day or night – right from their phones.

As MyTime CEO Ethan Anderson noted: “America’s small businesses are falling massively behind when it comes to finding, booking and paying for services online, even more so when it comes to mobile.”

To make sure you’re staying ahead of the game, here are 10 features you need in your next scheduling software:

1. Real-time scheduling. Clients today prefer to see your real-time availability and book a confirmed appointment. Your software calendar should be able to confirm the appointment right away, instead of requiring the client to request a time with you.
2. Access your schedule from your phone. Make sure you can access and manage your schedule from anywhere, whether you’re at work or on-the-go. It’s also important to sync your personal calendar such as Google Calendar, iCal or Outlook so that you’re never double-booking your time.
3. Automatic appointment reminders. Calling all of your clients to confirm appointments is time-consuming. Your software calendar should be able to automatically send reminders to your clients before the appointment. As an added bonus, make sure it can remind your clients when it’s time to rebook.
4. Client messaging tool. Look for an integrated chat tool that allows you to communicate effortlessly with your clients. Does your current calendar allow you to SMS and/or email with each client?
5. Instant promotions. Have any slow times during the day? Choose a scheduling software that utilizes happy hour pricing to discount those slow or hard-to-fill times.
6. Employee access control. If you have multiple employees, decide how much control they can have over their schedule. Then, be sure you can set an individual level of access for each employee.
7. Client Manager. Keep all of your clients in one place, including appointment history and notes about each client. Do any of your clients get special pricing? Select a scheduling program where you can easily save custom prices for individual clients.
8. Reviews. Look for a scheduling software that prompts customers to write reviews and syndicates them across the web. You should be able to publish them to your own website and share them on sites like Twitter or Facebook.
9. New client acquisition. The perfect scheduling software not only manages your current clients – but also helps you find new customers. Does your scheduling software do that?
10. Ease of use. It’s no fun to struggle with a counter-intuitive product. Select a scheduling software that makes sense to you (and your budget), but be sure it’s easy for your staff and clients to use as well.

If you’re looking for a scheduling software that does all of that and more, check out the MyTime Scheduler. MyTime Scheduler™ combines four products in one: A state-of-the-art online calendar, client manager, automated marketing engine and instant messenger that allows you to chat with any of your clients in real time. All of these great features are available right from your mobile phone.

Try Scheduler free for 30 days with plans starting at just $9.99/month. Learn more about MyTime Scheduler.

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