Internet Booking Systems for Small Business
Information and common questions about utilizing an internet booking system within your business
Owning and operating your small business is hard enough, so why make it even harder when it comes to taking online service bookings? Fortunately for you, technology has progressed to the point where any and all small and medium-sized businesses can afford to have their own internet-based booking system. On top of that, it’s probably a lot easier to set up than you think it is.
There are several reasons why you should be utilizing appointment booking tools at your business. Here are a few:
- The modern customer expects it
- You will miss fewer opportunities
- Clients can book services 24 hours a day
- It creates more time for you to do other things
- Improved automation of redundant tasks
How do internet booking systems work?
When you use GigaBook you will start by entering the relevant information about yourself and your business using Smart Start, our intelligent account setup process. You will need to enter information like the name of your business, contact information, the price of services and their durations, your hours of operation and then some other preferences such as when you want to send reminders and how often.
After you have set up the basic information in your account you will have options as to where and how you want to take appointments. At GigaBook, we recommend that you place our booking application on your website. Why? Because getting people to visit your website is hard enough, we don’t suggest that you redirect them elsewhere.
If you decide to place our booking applications on your website, you will be surprised at how easy that is. All you need to do is paste the embed code we provide onto the page on your website that you want it to appear on. Refresh that page and your new online booking application will appear!
Try GigaBook’s Internet Booking System Free for 14 Days!
Will I need to change my website every time I add a new service or staff member?
No! Once GigaBook booking applications are placed on your website you can control every part of them from within your GigaBook account! Pretty cool, right?
Will using an internet appointment booking system increase my sales and bookings?
Every business is different, however, it is very likely that you will see increased appointment bookings. The reason for that is that you now make it easier for your clients to schedule your services. This factor alone can have a dramatic impact on your business. Your clients and customers want easy access to your availability. Making them call for an appointment is just one more obstacle that you will have removed from the process of scheduling with you.
In addition to making booking easier, you now also enabled the setting of a sequence of reminders for both you and your staff. Thus, reducing the likelihood of no-show appointments. Yet another reason for using an internet booking system at your business.
Is it expensive to implement a new internet booking system at my business?
Integrating a new internet booking system is NOT expensive. If you choose GigaBook you won’t need any new equipment, and you won’t need to install anything. It all works on our server, which means the only thing you need is internet access. In addition, GigaBook is a subscription-based platform, we only charge based on the number of service providers that you take bookings for, or the number of things you take bookings for, such as batting cages, or tanning beds.
What if I don’t want to take bookings through my website can I still use GigaBook?
A lot of our users utilize our calendars and reminders but choose to not take bookings through their website. That is all up to you. While we recommend that you offer your services online, that is all up to you. Even if you don’t take internet-based bookings you can still benefit from the many other efficiencies that GigaBook can provide for your business.
Will my clients and customers be able to cancel or reschedule appointments online?
That is all up to you. When you use GigaBook that is an option that you choose during setup. You can also assign buffers that will only let rescheduling or cancellations occur outside of certain timeframes, like only 24 hours out or less. You can choose to allow rescheduling and not cancel when you use GigaBook, or disable both options. Once again, that is all up to you.
Can I take bookings for classes, seminars or other group functions?
You sure can! GigaBook can help you take bookings for classes, services, or resources (things). For our group booking applications, you can configure multiple variables. You can choose minimum or maximum attendance levels, set up recurring classes, make it mandatory that classes are attended in succession, you can even choose to have your class schedule released on a specific date and time.
Will I be able to take payments online?
Most internet booking systems will allow you to take payments with appointment bookings. If you choose GigaBook you will be able to use PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.net or BrainTree. In addition to taking payments online, you will also be able to sync your transactions with a QuickBooks Online account.
Hopefully, some of this information made your decision about adding an internet booking system to your business. Doing so will require some work and change on your part, however, the overall benefit your business will find in the long run is significant. Just remember… There usually IS a better way!
