Taking bookings without living on your phone.

Write down what a booking means

Start with the service, how long it takes and what has to be available. Is a customer booking your time, a room, a table, a class place or a piece of equipment? Those are different problems.

A haircut may need a buffer afterwards. A treatment may need a particular room as well as a person. A class has several places. A good setup reflects those details so you do not spend the day correcting the diary.

Keep one reliable source of availability

If you take bookings by phone, in person and online, they need to end up in the same place or be kept in step reliably. Otherwise someone can book a slot you have already promised to somebody else.

Think about holidays, lunch breaks, travel time and how far ahead people can book. Decide how late they can book too. The system should protect the time you need to do the work.

Decide what customers can change themselves

Rescheduling and cancellation links can save another round of messages. They also need rules you are comfortable with. How much notice do you need? Which changes should come to you first?

Make the rules visible before a booking is made. If deposits or payments are involved, agree how those will work and make sure the system can support the policy you have chosen. The technical setup should follow the business decision.

Make the confirmation useful

A useful confirmation says what has been booked, when it is happening, where to go and how to get in touch. Include anything the customer genuinely needs to bring or do beforehand.

Reminders can be helpful, but check what the provider includes and what costs extra. Test the messages on a phone. A confirmation that leaves out the address can create just as much admin as the booking system saves.

Understand the costs before choosing the tool

Booking services can have subscription charges, payment fees and extra costs for particular features or messages. The right choice depends on the business, the number of people using it and the features you need.

A simple appointment service may do everything you need. A more complicated setup may need different tools or some custom work. We should agree that before the site is built, with the accounts in the appropriate business name.

Start with the bookings you already take

Bring me a few typical examples and the awkward exceptions. That tells us more than a long feature list. We can then check the customer's journey and your day-to-day admin together.

My booking website package starts at £1,400. The written scope sets out what is included, with subscriptions and running costs agreed separately. If you already have a booking service that works, I can look at connecting it to a clearer website rather than replacing it for the sake of it.