Small businesses need all the help they can get in the current commercial climate. The pandemic left a lot of businesses with no way back, and many of those who lost their jobs have started small businesses, especially online, and they can use online tools like the best scheduling apps to streamline operations.
Technology has always been important in business, and now that just about every business – even the very smallest sole trader – uses digital technology, there are many apps and software packages that can help small outfits compete and grow.
In this article, we are looking at a useful type of app that is used for scheduling. What is a scheduling app, and why would you need one? And which are the four best scheduling apps on the market? Let’s start by explaining why your small business needs a scheduling app.
Let’s say you run one of the popular online small businesses, perhaps as a personal trainer or a counselor. You need to schedule your appointments in a smooth and effective fashion. As your business is online, you want an integrated scheduling app that does away with the need for phone calls and a diary. The same app could be used by an online tutor, but beware, some do not allow class schedules. Basically, a scheduling app makes one mundane but necessary task an automated one. Let’s have a look at some of the best examples on the market.
Missed.com is a free appointment booking app that includes scheduling as one of its features. It is also equipped with a video conferencing package. The appointment booking is done by way of a cloud-based calendar and is simple to use and effective. Missed is aimed at a small business that is envisaging growth and is a sensible choice if you are a recent start-up. There are many further features to this one, making it well worth checking out. It can be used for class schedules as well as appointment scheduling.
If you are looking for a popular and established appointment booking tool that offers a streamlined scheduling system, then Jobber may be the answer. This package includes automated scheduling, which is a major time-saver, plus appointment, employee, and resource scheduling. It’s easy to set up and use and comes with a variety of useful features but does not offer a class scheduling feature. It’s still worth looking at if your business is one on one.
Each of these tools is designed to help improve your business performance by streamlining appointment booking and scheduling, and Connecteam is an established and popular example that offers a great variety of functions. While it does offer automated scheduling, there is no stand-alone appointment system, which makes it less appealing than the above. However, it does offer a class schedule, so it is one that tutors and fitness instructors who run classes for multiple persons to consider.
Officely is aimed more toward businesses that need to keep track of employee schedules as it features no appointment or class scheduling function. It scores very well in customer reviews and is a handy tool for smaller businesses who perhaps want an automated staff rota system – may be a small café or shop or online retailer.
Each of the above tools offers interesting features that will be of use to small, growing businesses. We would recommend that you check these best scheduling apps for small businesses out in more detail to get an idea of the usability of the product for your particular business. Whichever one you choose, there is no doubt whatsoever that a scheduling tool will help you shape your business for future efficiency and growth.
