Nowadays everyone wants to search, choose and book their activities, events, and services online. With a credit card at hand, it only takes a couple of minutes for someone to decide to book an activity or event. Therefore, by not having an online booking system you are commercially disadvantaged.
If you are not already taking bookings online, we have prepared this handy guide of five things you should consider before choosing an online boking system.
1. Figure out your needs and wants
Compile a list of features you need, and then sort the list into two columns: must-haves and nice-to-haves. This will help you focus on the critical needs in order to run your operation as effectively as possible.
Here are some basic online booking software requirements:
- Cloud-based
- Payment options (Credit card, bank transfer, PayPal, deferred payment processing, cash)
- Real-time booking
- User-friendly interface
- Support
Here are some complex online booking software requirements:
- Detailed reports
- Business management functions
- Voucher and promo code management
- Resource management
2. Cost of ownership for an online booking system
It’s important to consider the cost for the provision of an online booking system. You should factor the total cost of all fees that would affect your bottom line. One of the BookingHound price plan options is the ‘Freedom Plan’. This allows you to keep 100% of your sales price and gives you unlimited access to the extensive range of all the Freedom plan features.
3. Is it simple and easy to use?
One of the first things you need to think about while looking for the right online booking system is simplicity. How easy is it to use? And will your customers find it user-friendly and easy to book an activity or event? We at BookingHound offers a free 1-to-1 live demo of our system in action so you can see first hand what our system can do for you. We also offer a 30-day free trial so you can try BookingHound for yourself.
4. Reports
Reporting is a key part of any business and is an important feature to look for in an online booking system. An in-depth report will enable you to have a better view of all aspects of your business and customers.
5. Can you integrate the booking software to your website?
Cloud-based online booking systems usually have ‘widgets’ that can be easily added to your site. With BookingHound your ‘widget’ is fully customizable allowing you to change the text and colour of the widget to match your own website.
If you are interested in finding out more about how our online booking system could boost your business, please call us on +44(0)208 736 0566 or email: letstalk@bookinghound.com or click here for a free 1-1 demo of our system in action!
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