Small business owners have to juggle various tasks and responsibilities, making it challenging to stay organized. To help small business owners stay on top of their work, there are many scheduling apps available that can make life easier.
These apps allow you to plan your day, share calendars with team members and clients, and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
I’ve used several of these scheduling apps over the years, so I did an in-depth review of the best scheduling apps that should be used for your small business.
What Are Our Top Small Business Schedule App Picks
During this review, we decided to list 6 of the best scheduling apps by their features, like pricing, and what business they might fit the best.
There are plenty of options for schedule apps for small business these days. That’s why narrowing those options down to a handful that best suits your business needs is imperative.
We’ve helped with that process by narrowing the list down to the best apps and reviewing them.
The Apps we’ll review are as follows:
- Calendly
- Appointy
- Doodle
- Square Appointments
- Setmore
- Zoho Bookings
Calendly is the top schedule app for small businesses. It is easy to use and set up, making it easy to share with team members and clients.
It can be integrated with leading programs like Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, Salesforce, Office 365, and Zapier.
It’s also free to use with essential features and the ability to upgrade for more advanced features.
Calendly offers a variety of scheduling options like one-on-one meetings, group events, online appointments, and custom forms.
Key Features
Calendly isn’t one of the top scheduling apps for no reason.
They have plenty of features to offer, such as:
- Routing Forms: Request information from website visitors or invitees and route them to the right person.
- Workflows: Automating routine communications with reminders to increase show rates and reduce busy work.
- Team Scheduling: Pool team scheduling availability. Your schedule fills up quicker without endless amounts of emails.
Pricing
The annual billing cycle is the cheapest option at 20% off for Calendly pricing plans.
Basic Plan: This plan is always free. Part of what’s included is automated event notifications, adding Calendly to your site, and the ability to connect one calendar.
Essentials Plan: This plan starts at $8 per seat a month, and you get to connect two calendars, unlimited event types, and live chat support, among other features.
Professional Plan: This plan costs $12 per seat a month, and you get to create collective event types and routing forms, connect to Gmail, Outlook, and hundreds of others, and view analytics and insights.
Teams Plan: This plan is $16 per seat a month and allows your team to collaborate efficiently on a scheduling process. You also gain access to unlimited features with this plan.
Enterprise Plan: This plan is for businesses with teams of 30 or more people and comes with unlimited features and customized pricing for a personalized experience that meets your budget.
Pros
- User friendly
- Automated workflows
- Set meeting preferences
Cons
- Limited calendar styling options
- Limited mobile usability
- Not all plans offer customization of calendar
Doodle is one of the best appointment-scheduling apps for your business because it allows you to quickly and easily schedule meetings with coworkers, clients, and customers.
It eliminates the back-and-forth emails by allowing everyone to pick available times on their schedule. You can even send out a poll to get suggestions from others before finalizing the meeting.
Doodle also has mobile capabilities to schedule on the go and integrates with Google Calendar, Outlook, and iCal.
Key Features
There is a reason Doodle is near the top of the list of best appointment-scheduling apps. Doodle has plenty of great features to help with scheduling, like:
- Poll Creation: This feature helps to create polls quickly and easily.
- Reminders & Notifications: Automated reminders for people who haven’t responded yet.
- Seamless Integration: Connect Doodle events to Google Calendar, Outlook, and iCal.
Pricing
Doodle has a free pricing plan option, however, the annual billing is the most affordable for its paid pricing plan options.
Pro Plan: This plan costs $6.95 per month and includes one user, no ads, unlimited group polls, and booking pages, as well as custom branding.
Team Plan: This plan costs $8.95 per month and includes five users, an admin console, activity reports, and roles and permissions.
Enterprise Plan: You need to contact Doodle for this pricing plan. You get priority support, single sign-on, and onboarding and training.
Pros
- Has a free beginners option
- A strong app for scheduling meetings
- Integrates well with other systems
Cons
- Too many pop-ups
- The layout is difficult to navigate
- The new updated feature can be clunky
Square Appointments is some of the best appointment-scheduling software for businesses looking for an easy way to schedule appointments.
It has many features that simplify scheduling and managing appointments, like online booking, SMS reminders, analytics & reports, and team management.
The app also integrates with other services like Zapier, Google Calendar, Outlook Exchange Server, or mobile calendar.
Key Features
Some of the critical scheduling features you get with Square appointments including the following:
- Scheduling software: You get an appointment scheduler and automated appointment reminders.
- Staff Management: With multiple calendars, employees can log in, view their appointments, and manage clients.
- Point of Sale: Take secure payments with no hidden fees. Square appointments let you keep cards on file to hold appointments.
Pricing
Like many appointment apps, Square Appointments has free and paid plans at your disposal.
Plus Plan: This plan is $29 per month and comes with recurring appointments, protection from no-shows, time card reporting, and more.
Premium Plan: This plan is $69 per month and comes with task management, email reminders, and appointment reminders.
Pros
- Calendar syncing
- Free App option
- Easy to use
Cons
- Integration options are skewed toward Square
- Payment processing limited to Square
- The scheduling process can be clunky
Setmore is one of the best schedule apps for small business owners because it offers a variety of features and options that make scheduling easy.
You can easily create recurring appointments, send automated reminders, accept customer payments, and even set up your booking page so customers can book appointments.
The mobile-friendly app integrates with other services like Google Calendar and Outlook.
Key Features
There is plenty of scheduling features Setmore has that make some people consider it the best appointment-scheduling app on the market:
- Email Reminders: You can set up automatic appointment alerts for customers and employees.
- Automatic Confirmations: This makes booking easier with instant email notifications with details.
- Staff logins: You can pick more than one team member to book their clients.
Pricing
Setmore has a free plan or annual plans available.
Premium Plan: This plan is priced at $5 per month for an annual subscription and allows multiple users, SMS reminders, two-way calendar sync, and more.
Pro Plan: This plan is priced at $5 per month for an annual subscription and comes with everything in the Premium plan, plus three users allowed access.
Pros
- Third-Party integrations
- Mobile apps available
- Intuitive navigation
Cons
- Employee scheduling is clunky
- Accounting apps have no integration
- Features aren't as expansive as other apps
Zoho Bookings
Zoho Bookings is one of the best appointment-scheduling apps for small businesses because it offers many features, flexibility in pricing options, and excellent customer support.
The app is easy to use with a clean interface and integrates seamlessly with other services like Google Calendar or iCal. It also has a mobile-friendly version if you need to book appointments while on the go.
The app also includes features like online booking, customer reminders, analytics & reporting tools, and team schedules. You can even take payments securely through Zoho Bookings.
Key Features
- Calendar synchronization: Integrate calendars from Google Calendars, O365, and more. Automatically marks slots as unavailable when a calendar event is scheduled.
- Avoid Surprise Bookings: Simplify all the scheduling processes with a feature that allows only appointments within your window.
- Time Limits: Allow time limits for cancellations and if a client needs to reschedule appointments.
Pricing
Zoho Bookings has a forever-free plan and multiple paid plans available.
However, if you choose the annual plan, you save 25%:
Basic Plan: The Basic plan is priced at $6 per staff a month and includes reports on appointments and staff, a brand color palette for the booking page, and one-on-one service booking.
Premium plan: The Premium plan is priced at $9 per staff a month and has three workspaces included, recurring group events, and a booking page hosted on your site’s domain.
Pros
- Fairly good pricing
- Reminders/Notifications are available
- Payments integration
Cons
- Difficult setup
- The free plan has a few features
- Customer assistance isn't great
What Is Scheduling Software for Small Businesses?
Scheduling software for small businesses is a specialized software designed to help companies streamline their appointment-setting processes.
Scheduling tools allow businesses to organize and manage their calendar easily, book appointments online or over the phone, send automatic reminders, and more.
This software allows businesses to quickly and accurately schedule individual or group appointments with customers, clients, or staff members.
It also helps businesses save time and money by streamlining their scheduling process and reducing administrative overhead.
How to Choose an Appointment Scheduling App
Size of Your Business
The size of your business should be one of the main factors when choosing an appointment-scheduling app. If you have a small business with only a few staff members, you may only need some of the features that larger companies need.
For example, Doodle is one of the best appointment-scheduling apps for small businesses because it allows you to quickly and easily schedule meetings with coworkers, clients, or customers.
It eliminates the back-and-forth emails by allowing everyone to pick available times on their schedule.
However, another appointment-scheduling software may be more suitable if your business is more significant and needs features such as integration with other systems or mobile capabilities.
Integrations You Need
The integrations you need will also be necessary when picking an appointment-scheduling app.
Square Appointments has a range of integrations with other software tools such as Salesforce, QuickBooks, and Zapier. This integration allows customers to book appointments directly from your website or social media channels. It also helps with accounting, customer service, and marketing.
Setmore also has a range of integrations with other systems like Google Calendar, Outlook, and iCal. This integration allows you to sync your existing appointment data across multiple systems easily.
Customer Support Level
The customer support level of each app is an essential factor to consider when picking scheduling software. A great support team for a scheduling app can help your company easily use and integrate many features into your business!
Doodle has a friendly and helpful customer service team that can help with any questions or issues you may have.
Square Appointments offers great customer support, with 24/7 live chat and phone support.
Setmore offers an extensive knowledge base full of tutorials, FAQs, and user guides. It also has a help desk for customers to submit tickets and get help from their customer service team.
Zoho Bookings also has excellent customer support with an online forum where users can ask questions and get answers from the community.
Your Budget
Your budget is one of the most important factors when choosing an appointment-scheduling app.
Square Appointments is one of the most affordable apps, with plans starting at just $29 per month. It has various features, including online bookings and text message reminders.
Setmore also offers competitive pricing, starting at $5 per month. It has various features, such as online bookings, SMS reminders, and customer management tools.
Doodle is one of the more expensive options but still has cheaper pricing options at $6.95 per month. Doodle offers advanced features like automatic scheduling and real-time customer data tracking that can be invaluable to businesses with complex scheduling needs.
Features of a Small Business Scheduling App
Digital Calendar
Every small business needs a digital calendar feature. A digital calendar allows enterprises to easily view, edit, and share their appointment information with customers, staff, and other stakeholders.
Client Booking
Client booking is an essential feature for any appointment scheduling app. It allows customers to easily book appointments with their favorite businesses and get reminders about their assignments.
Email & Text Reminders
Email and text reminders are also essential features of a small business scheduling app. These reminders help ensure that customers arrive on time for their appointments and reduce no-shows.
Client Alerts
Client alerts are another essential feature of a small business scheduling app. These notifications help businesses keep track of appointment changes and cancellations, so they can quickly adjust their schedules.
Alerts and notifications can also be sent to customers, staff, and other stakeholders so that everyone is up-to-date with the most recent appointment changes.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is an excellent feature for any small business scheduling app. Email campaigns can announce appointments and promotions and remind customers of their up meetings.
This feature helps businesses drive appointment bookings and increase customer loyalty.
Deal Management
Deal management is another valuable feature of a small business scheduling app. This feature allows businesses to easily create and manage deals for their clients, such as discounts and promotions.
Deal management also helps businesses keep track of customer engagement, so they can identify which deals are most popular and target their marketing efforts accordingly.
Payment Integrations
Payment integrations are a crucial feature of appointment-scheduling apps. This feature allows businesses to easily accept customer payments and process them quickly, securely, and conveniently.
Many payment integrations also have additional features, such as automatic invoicing and refunds, that can save businesses time and effort.
Wrap Up
Almost every online small business these days can benefit from appointment scheduling apps.
We covered many scheduling features to help your business, such as calendar sync, automatic appointment reminders, client management, and project management tools.
The best scheduling apps can streamline your business, make you more money, and alleviate scheduling conflicts with resource management.
Let us know your thoughts on our list and which appointment-scheduling software you swear by!
Small Business Scheduling App FAQ
The best app to make schedules is dependent on the budget and needs of each business. Some of the most popular scheduling apps include Zoho Bookings, Square Appointments, Setmore, and Doodle.
Calendly is a great appointment-scheduling app for small businesses. It offers a range of features, including online bookings, text message reminders, and client alerts. It also has competitive pricing compared to other scheduling software.
There are a few free scheduling apps available, such as Calendly, Setmore, and Doodle. However, these apps have limited features and are best suited for businesses with simpler scheduling needs.
For businesses that require more advanced features, such as automatic scheduling and customer data tracking, a paid subscription may be the best option.
The best online booking system for small businesses depends on their budget and needs. Some of the most popular options include Zoho Bookings, Square Appointments, Setmore, and Doodle.
These booking systems offer features such as client booking, email/text reminders, scheduled meetings, email marketing, deal management, and payment integrations.
They also have competitive pricing compared to other scheduling software.
Yes, scheduling apps are secure. Most scheduling apps use industry-standard encryption protocols to protect customer data and payment information from being compromised.
Additionally, many apps also offer additional security features, such as two-factor authentication and secure password storage. With these measures in place, businesses can be sure that their customer data is stored securely.
However, they should still take additional steps, such as requiring customers to create secure passwords when signing up.