If there is one thing that the Covid-19 pandemic has taught small businesses users, the ability to adapt working practices quickly is the key to survival. Many smaller businesses survived the crisis by altering their working from face-to-face to virtual. Of course, not every business can work this way, but many found it helped keep going in the face of enormous pressure.
One factor that helped this way is our reliance upon digital media for communications and many business practices. In this article, we are looking at how online booking apps and software packages became an essential part of the day-to-day operation of smaller businesses and why they will remain vital to the growth and continued improvement. Let’s look first at what scheduling software does and what types of businesses use it.
What Does Booking and Scheduling Software Do?
If you click the link, you’ll see a good example of legal scheduling software called Missed.com. It is not only for the legal profession, but we thought this is an ideal portrayal of the package we are talking about. Consider a lawyer who provides domestic services for his or her clients.
They would normally book a suitable time for the client to come into the office and go through whatever business needs to be covered by phone or email. In a time of lockdown – where essential travel only was permitted, and face-to-face meetings discouraged – this meant that lawyers could not do their job. Unless, that is, they had a way of performing face-to-face meetings virtually. The likes of Skype and Zoom were the saviors here, as they solo and group video conferencing.
Like many booking software packages, missed.com incorporates a video conferencing feature as part of the package. This makes it a comprehensive solution as it also has features for accounting, HR, and creating reports and other documents. We need to talk about the main feature: the online booking system, and why it is important.
What Sort of Businesses Uses Booking Software?
Small businesses that had to resort to remote working discovered something unexpected: with a simple yet correctly equipped home or remote office, they could reach the same productivity levels as when office-based – if not, in fact, greater. This was enabled by using clever software such as the booking system we mentioned above.
As we’ve already touched on, a lawyer, accountant, businesses consultant, life coach, and even hotels, guest houses, restaurants, and more use traditional booking systems by phone or email. Missed.com and other packages work like this: the business owner populates an online cloud-based calendar with available appointments, rooms, tables, or whatever applies. They can do this to cover a chosen period.
Let’s say you want to book a meeting with your lawyer. You simply sign in to the calendar and pick a convenient slot for you. The lawyer is then notified that you have booked an appointment, and it is automatically removed from the available slots. The great thing is that this sort of system can be used for both physical bookings and arranging virtual appointments or meetings. The versatility of such a system cannot be overlooked. For the sole trader or small business, the time and cost-saving elements are clear to see, and for the client, it is far easier to book the most convenient appointment. Let’s close by summarizing the benefits of booking software.
What Other Benefits Do Online Booking Services Provide?
The simple fact is that the pandemic has highlighted the benefits of having a home office that you can use just as you could your physical office. This has led to many professionals – accountants and lawyers, as we have mentioned – recognizing the convenience of online booking services and the cost-efficiency of using this method.
There is a lot to be said for such software applications becoming an essential part of the future of small business growth and sustainability, so check these solutions out now, and you’ll find they are surprisingly affordable and can bring a lot of benefits to your small business.
