There’s a simple tool I consider to be a must-have for all business owners. It saves time, hassles, and headaches, and I make sure all of my clients use it.
Whether you’re a coach, nutritionist, private yoga teacher, massage therapist, copywriter, or anyone else who sets meeting times, you must implement this in your business.
In today’s Build Your Business Challenge, I’ll tell you what this tool is and share my personal recommendation.
Are you accepting this week’s action challenge?
First, tweet about it!
Then, declare it in the comments below and go take action!
If you have insights, experiences, or stories about this week’s challenge plus your favorite scheduler and other online tools, please share them in the comments as well.
In case you need it, here’s a link to my favorite scheduler.
I am a slave to my online scheduler at this point (and since I worked with Jenny in the past, I use Acuity). I send it out to clients who can book & reschedule appointments without hassle, and I also use it to schedule networking meetings, too!
Checking it right now 😉
Awesome!
I got started on one, but then let it slip. I am now inspired to try again!!!!
thank you!
Yes! It’s totally worth it to have this time-saver.
I’m doing a trial of Satori right now. I’m looking to integrate paypal, constant contact, wordpress, and intake forms/contracts, etc. I also teach classes so I need it to take group sign ups as well. Loving your recommendations!
I looked at Satori and really like it Torie…I had already purchased vCita before then, so we’ll see what happens next!
MamaRed- What is the monthly cost of VCita?
Hi there Tori…here is the pricing page for it: http://www.vcita.com/pricing
It starts at $9.95 a month…
You mention you need to take group signups, which vCita doesn’t currently have (figured I would let ya know!)
Torie – how did you get on with Satori – I’m seriously considering that one right now. I also like the look of Simplero – so much choice out there!!1
So important! As my biz grows, I find I’m needing just what you’ve suggested. Timely, as always, Jenny. Thanks!!
Awesome!!
I have been checking Acuity Schedule and I realized I needed the pro plan (in Spanish and €) that brings immediately a monthly cost. That has stopped me from trying it but I have the feeling that maybe customers will be more willing to contract me as a coach if they could see for themselves the open agenda gaps?? What do you think, does such a tool really do help so much to starters or is more a tool for people that already has a very full agenda??
Sonia, I think that might be why I tried out one for a while, and then realised that I am not busy enough to warrant paying for such a service. I’d love to know what Jen says about this, because it’s totally relevant to me too!!
Hi Claire, I am at this very moment trying SimplyBookMe as suggested by Gwendolyn and I have to say their free package is very good, maybe you want to take a look at that too ! In the meantime we wait for Jenny to give her thoughts about it.
thank you Sonia – I’m re-trying schedule once which seems to work ok for me right now. I’ll take a look at SimplyBookMe too – I never imagined that there would be so much choice out there!!!
Clare
No idea when you made your original comment
But’s it’s not about your being busy enough or not
It’s about easy for client….
professionalism for you…..
which is win win and so worth a monthly
cost you would drop at SB without a thought
I am beginning my journey as a coach too
Best
When I was starting, I knew I was serious about my business and making it work. Although I didn’t have a ton of clients, I wanted to use a scheduler because it was professional — the exact way I wanted to project myself and my business. Sometimes we need to invest in things to create the business we want to have. If you believe in yourself and the future of your business, don’t let the small investment of a scheduler hold you back from creating what you know you can have.
Thanks a lot Jenny what you say makes a lot of sense (as always!) ; )
Hey Sonia, I use Calendly – it’s free & syncs with my Google calendar. Maybe worth a look? It’s definitely made my life a lot easier!
http://www.calendly.com
Good luck & best wishes Katie.
Totally 1500% agree with you Jenny (no surprise since you’re so brilliant)! Years ago I started with Tungle.me and then moved to vCita. My connections and clients tell me they love it because it is easy to understand and use without instructions (I consider that an essential!). I do use the pro plan and consider it an important cost of doing business because time, as the old saying goes, is money.
I love it because you can hook it into Facebook, your website, send individual links and customize the colors to match what you’re up to (on a pro plan that is).
A friend of mine has introduced me to calendly and I have been the one to set it up…it has been easy to use from the client side.
He coined a phrase I love “To avoid playing Calendar Tennis, please use the link to my calendar.”
Thanks for sharing the tools you like, MamaRed. I agree that it’s an essential cost of doing business!
I use (and love) vCita. BUT having now purchased Infusionsoft, I’m stuck because there’s no integration APIs between the two (not that I’ve found yet!), so looks like I might need to move to Timetrade which doesnt look/feel half as good as vCita.
I use SimplyBookMe.They have a free version and very moderately priced upgrades. I like it because I can set up an unlimited number of services and I have a plug-in for Paypal so booking and payment all happen at the same place.
I so agree with you Jenny about the extreme annoyance of emailing back and forth to try to set up appointments.
Thanks for sharing your scheduler of choice. Love giving folks options to check out. Thank you!
I couldn’t agree more… Emailing back and forth about scheduling drives me insane! I use TimeTrade and really like the layout + the one-time annual payment rather than having another monthly bill. It also has a mobile app and syncs with google calendar and iCal.
I totally agree with you, Kristy! LOVE TimeTrade! Thank you Jenny for another awesome sauce video! <3
Thanks again for sharing your tool of choice, ladies!
I use TimeTrade as I can integrate it with InfusionSoft as a campaign goal – appointment is booked. Also in the past tried vCita (was very good, especially website popup in the corner, but it doesn’t work with Infusionsoft), set up acuity for a client – to sell classes and yoga sessions, ages ago – tungle.me. There are so many tools out there now – you could try a few and work out which you like best, which one integrates with other tools and services you use, which is in the right price range for your business.
Love that you’re sharing multiple ones. Thanks so much!
Tamara – which of the ones you’ve used have you liked the most?
I use Timetrade! I’ve been using it for a few years. The free option lets you have 5 bookings a month and integrates with google calendar. The paid option is only $46 for the year which is awesome and totally affordable for a new business owner.
I’m on Appointlet just now. http://appointlet.com There’s a free version if you just have one service, or I pay $10 a month and have two services.
I have a feeling I may change to another as my business builds, but for a starter scheduler, it’s simple, easy to customise and syncs perfectly with Google Calendar. Big thumbs up from me! If you’re interested in seeing how it looks to clients, mine is https://yesyesmarsha.appointlet.com
Hi Jenny! I just invested in TimeTrade, it’s not the pretties of choices but it was budget friendly and it does exactly what I need it to do! It also allows me to ask some questions during the time that clients are scheduling which is helpful and avoids that extra email that used to have to go out with the pre call questions. Thanks so much.. love the curls!
Amen sister! After hours of research, I chose Bookfresh.com. I can’t remember all the reasons now, but I recall that a big one was that it communicated BOTH WAYS with my Gmail calendar, cross checking my availability and adding the time block when an appointment is added. It also allows me to charge upfront for the appointment. I do pay per month for this tool – but I consider it a bargain assistant.
Excellent way to word that Nicole a “bargain assistant!” One of the reasons I liked vCita was that two way sync…essential for keeping up with things, isn’t it! Thanks for introducing another option (although I think it’s time I figure out how to get paid for rooting in these tools…I think that or time for a 12 step program!)
Hi Jenny, Great point – I’m just setting up Calendly… will see how it integrates with everything else but seems to be gmail friendly!
Hey All-
I spent a lot of time trying out different scheduling programs. My challenge is that I drive from client to client. My price varies depending on how far I drive (up to an hour). I also try to group people due to location and travel time in between. I’m not sure that having people schedule themselves would work for me.
I would LOVE a program that synchs with iCal to send out reminders 24hrs in advance for each program.
Any suggestions? THANK YOU!!!
Some schedulers have the option to add in “buffer time.” I know I can do that with Acuity. Would it be possible to add in a few options for where people live where you can put in appropriate buffers for travel time?
Hi,
I recently went over to time trade. I too HATE emailing back and forth. I’m not doing that anymore. I let people know what my schedule is is, and that it’s.
Love these little bit 60 second tidbits …
Nathalie
Hello,
I’m the co-founder of Appointlet (https://www.appointlet.com), an appointment scheduling tool made for Google Calendar.
Great challenge Jenny. Appointment scheduling tools are essential for anyone looking to streamline their scheduling. It saves time by reducing the back and forth, by letting your clients set their own appointments & by sending them auto confirmations & reminders.
Automating your scheduling will go a long way in improving your productivity.
As a business owner, I find Appointlet perfect for my needs as I don’t need to manually set Appointment Slots – the tool automatically determines my availability from my Google Calendar. Furthermore, the interface makes it easy for my customers to schedule their appointment. They find it quite enjoyable to use.
Again, great challenge, I hope every business owner here finds the perfect tool for him.
Rami.
Thanks everyone else for chiming in. I’m so so so impressed with everyone’s helpfulness and insights here. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. You rock!!
Sarah Tacy – it is possible to get google Calendar to sync with iCal.
I have done this (couldn’t tell you how – but a quick google search was all I did). I tend to rely on Gcal more than Ical now but its good to have access via both.
Would give you a backup calendar and might make it easier to find tools that integrate?
I too thank you all for your responses! What a fantastic community. Thank you Jenny Shih for the challenge, the community, and the follow up!
Yes!! The people here are amazing, helpful, kind, and generous! I’m thrilled to have such amazing individuals in this community!
I don’t use a time scheduler in my own business because I don’t have to schedule appointments, but I’ve used sites like Time Trade and Doodle with other people and they work really well. 🙂 Doodle is actually great for scheduling group meetings too!
Thanks for adding that suggestion here. Doodle is great for scheduling group meetings and way better than multi-way email scheduling. Great addition!
David,
AppointmentCore has an API that seamlessly integrates with InfusionSoft. Hope that helps you.
Just create one for my site! Great advice as always!!
I’m loving Satori! Like Jenny said, I’m just getting started but decided to make this small investment for the sake of ease and professionalism.
I am actually spoilt for choice here.
My business mainly requires me to get on calls (free) for clients to have a pre-sales call. If contract begins, we’d need a kickoff call and then recurring calls on an as-needed basis (to discuss strategy, work, etc,).
If I add “consulting or coaching” to the mix, would Appointlet do? I saw Marsha’s appointlet page and it looks awesome to me — with her logo and everything.
But then, even Satori looks great.
Now, I’ve picked up Appointlet’s free trial and I managed to book several appointments with it. It’s time to upgrade but I am lost for choices.
Appointlet? Satori?
I have no idea now. The paradox of choice or what?
Hi Rami,
Thank you so much for the quick response (while I was still banging my head on the wall). You have a point: there’s no point getting bogged down by all these options. I’ve used Appointlet just a few months ago and It was already proving to be effective.
Can you please confirm if Paypal can be used for accepting payments?
Many thanks, Rami.
Ash
Exactly Ash. Cost of switching is quite low so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
Yes, Paypal can be used to accept payments but Stripe is very much recommended. Much nice and more effective payment experience which results in more bookings and more satisfied customers. Their fee is a bit higher than Paypal but worth it thanks to their very high standards in user experience.
Hi Rami,
I am in India but doing business with clients globally. I don’t think stripe is available for me? Or is there a workaround I don’t know about? I don’t want to setup shop in the US as yet(Stripe Atlas?) as it doesn’t make sense from a tax standpoint.
Ash
Hey Ash,
I did some research and found this answer on Quora.
Stripe Atlas is another option of course.
If those options don’t work or if you prefer not to pursue them, you can accept payments with Paypal.
Rami
Hi all! I’m trying to avoid analysis paralysis and you all are great with your offerings of suggestions! I need something that can sync with Ical, can clients the option of google and ical, gives reminder text and or emails, takes various forms of payments, allows me to access it from my phone too, and connects with Wix. On another note, I’m completely bummed that Wix is not up to date with having their apps for booking connect to ical-they only connect with Googlecal (with the premium plan I pay for). I seem to do well with apps that are visually appealing and super easy to use. I also think having a “client capture” would be great with a booking service (date of birth, etc). I’ve been sooooo hard headed about adding this service to my business because of the blockout times I need and also not wanting to have a 10 o’clock and a 5 o’clock appointment only on one day, when I could “verbally” put them all together for my convenience. I’m finally clear that I am holding myself back! Oh My! Better late than never!!! I am hoping to find something in a reasonable price frame as well as a platform that can be exported easily when and if I need to move it. I am hopeful Wix will quickly step up to syncing with Ical…oh, which also brings me to wanting something I can easily get out of with regards to a “contact.” This is all so wonderful and my first intro w/Jenny! I’ll definitely be digging into your site-thank you for all that you are making available to us!
Again, thanks to you, Jenny, and to all of you for your great suggestions!
Mary
Oh! And I facilitate distance sessions via Skype, so it would also be nice to have a scheduling app that works with time zone differences! Is anyone familiar with Time Tap?
I truly apologize for blowing this feed up…I’m unsure of how old these post are since Jenny’s youtube is marked as 2014. Anyhow, I seem to have it narrowed down to Satori vs TimeTap. Anyone have anything they would like to elucidate for me?
Thanks so much!!
Mary