Technology changed a lot in the past few years. Thus, there is no wonder why people use it in all aspects of their lives. It is much more comfortable, it reduces errors, it makes our jobs easier and so on. Most processes can now be automated. Thus, technology can help people save a lot of time and money by simply using tech in any of its shapes.
One should keep up with these changes. People invest all their resources into finding the product that fits their needs. You can't live without including technology in one way or another in your day-to-day tasks.
Especially, if you are an entrepreneur. You can lose the competitive advantage that other businesses gain. This is just because they use tech. There is one of the breakthrough tech products that made the jobs of thousands of people much easier. It is represented by online booking systems.
Making appointments manually has always caused misunderstandings because pen-and-paper can lead to errors.
But something that could replace this traditional method of keeping track of appointments? It was a long-awaited change.
Today, people can use an online appointment booking system that is entirely automated. It requires minimum effort and intervention from humans. Besides, this technology became mainstream lately. This means that is much more affordable than ever. If you are looking for such a system yourself, here are the 5 things you should keep in mind:
1. Good Appointment Systems Are Mobile-Friendly
Nowadays, people use mobile phones more than ever. In fact, mobile phones became even stronger than some laptops and desktop computers. Thus, users use smartphones exclusively, without using any other type of device.
The features of a flagship smartphone are enough to handle everything with it. It includes everything from social media to complex appointment apps. The convenience of using a mobile phone comes from accessibility.
People can access information when they want and where they want. This is true for as long as they have a connection to the Internet. If you randomly remember that you need to make an appointment, you no longer have to call assistants.
Instead, you will save some time by making an appointment using an app. A few taps here and there and your appointment is set – all of it while you are on the go. This is the number one feature to look for when selecting an online appointment booking system. It is the mobile-friendliness.
2. Good Appointment Systems Are Intuitive
People of all ages started to use mobile phones. Even though they might not be as tech-savvy as the new generations.
How to make the transition from traditional methods to tech-based one easier? It is important to look for systems that are intuitive and easy to use. Online appointment booking systems that are simple to use, see Booksy as an example. They can be figured out by anyone without much trouble.
They also are more appreciated than complex ones. In the latter, instructions are needed to make a simple appointment. It shouldn’t take longer than 5 minutes just to make an appointment. The ultimate goal of such systems is to help people save time.
3. Good Appointment Systems Are Easy to Manage
Scheduling an appointment is not that difficult for sure. But when it comes to managing these appointments, things get much more complicated.
This is the feature that is always good online appointment booking systems. After making an appointment, see if the booking system offers setting reminders. It should also ask for confirmations a few days prior. Notifying the user about potential cancellations is also a plus.
4. Good Appointment Systems Are Customizable
Personalization seems to be highly important for tech users. This is regardless of what type of products they use.
In the case of booking systems, they need to be customizable. This is needed to make the experience pleasurable for any user. Each person has unique requirements, needs, and expectations. These can only be met using customization. Online booking systems should be easy to personalize in terms of design, as well as features used (custom fields, filters, additional information text box, etc.).
5. Good Appointment Systems Include Different Payment Methods
To make appointing even easier, booking systems should feature multiple payment methods that users can select from when purchasing their services beforehand. Whenever users decide to schedule appointments, they can choose to pay for it in full.
If the appointment system doesn’t look safe or offer plenty of payment methods, the user might choose another service. This is why you should look for appointment systems that use the most reliable payment methods.
Amelia
Amelia is one of the most popular online appointment booking systems and it features all the elements listed above. Automating the booking process has never been easier. Amelia does everything, from simplifying the appointment making the process of sending reminders, confirmations and cancelation alerts.
Users can also manage the appointments the way they wish, making use of the high level of customization that this appointment system offers. Plus, Amelia is a plugin created by TMS Outsource that can easily be integrated with Google Calendar or WooCommerce, making it even more convenient to use.
Amelia’s features include:
A search interface for all appointments
Users can rapidly scroll through all the appointment options they have, as well as the service times, what is included, how many spots are left, costs and so on. There are some filters that can be applied for a more accurate search result.
Easy-to-use booking wizard
This system features a user-friendly, step-by-step wizard that can be used to set up appointments. Here, users can include what service they would like to book, how many persons will come and other relevant details that might be required for the appointment.
Tracking dashboard
To make everything clearer, Amelia features an easy-to-read dashboard that gathers all the information about future appointments, reports related to finances and other KPIs that can provide you insightful data.
Settings for booking and cancelation times
You can modify the time before booking and cancellation depending on your preferences and needs.
Notification center
You can decide what kind of notifications you would like to receive as a customer. Employees can also receive push notifications regarding possible changes that may occur. Amelia offers a wide range of notifications to choose from, depending on the specifics of your services.
Schedule center
Here, employees can modify general settings regarding schedules, from available working hours to days off and personal schedules of different employees. Amelia also has a feature that allows users to synchronize their Google Calendar with the system.
More than one payment method
Amelia offers a broad range of payment methods, including PayPal and Stripe. Because it can be integrated with WooCommerce, users can access simple invoicing and tax management features through it.
Customizable design
Amelia can be customized in terms of looks, to suit the business style the best. There are numerous options, including changing fonts and colors.
Personalized booking fields
Users can customize their booking form entirely from scratch. They can add or remove fields, they can decide what kind of information they would like to collect from customers (in the case of employees), they can tweak the appointment process according to business needs and so on.
It is effective for both customers and business owners because it makes the process much faster and simpler.
Final word: Amelia is worth it
As mentioned in the beginning, there are many online appointment booking systems that can be considered, but just a few of them respect all the criteria that transform them into great systems.
Amelia is one of them and it suits the needs of both regular customers and entrepreneurs. Anyone who wants all the listed characteristics and features in one single product should give Amelia a shot.
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