Scheduling Software

What is scheduling software?

Scheduling software allows small business owners and professionals to manage their appointments, bookings, employees, and resources. The software centralizes data in a single place and updates it in real time to improve the visibility of resources and facilitate scheduling. It enables project management professionals to create and communicate work schedules to employees, track time, and monitor employee attendance. The software also provides automatic reminders in case of changes in employee schedule or overlaps.

What is the best scheduling software?

When it comes to selecting the best electronic scheduling software for your business, there is a lot to consider, including the cost and the level of support provided by the vendor. To find the best software, view our GetApp’s Category Leaders report for scheduling software that is based on verified user reviews. The list—which features top scheduling solutions based on ease of use, functionality, customer support, value for money, and likelihood to recommend—will help you compare and select between two or more software solutions to find the right one for your business.

How much does scheduling software cost?

Scheduling software costs in the following price ranges*:

Price ranges*:

• $4 - $6

• $7- $15

• $15+

Most products in the market are priced on a “per user, per month” basis and can be divided into three pricing tiers based on their starting price.

What are the benefits of scheduling software?

• Facilitates optimum utilization of resources: Scheduling software enables users to plan, organize, and allocate resources, which include employees, meeting rooms, and medical equipment. With this tool, project management professionals can monitor the availability of resources, measure their utilization, and procure resources on the basis of their demand and usage, which helps them prevent over and under-utilization of assets.

• Provides scheduling updates in real time: An online scheduling system offers calendar management as a core feature that allows users to check the availability of the team, set schedules, and update changes in real time. Stakeholders, such as employees, managers, and clients can all have access to a common calendar that keeps them informed with respect to the latest scheduling updates. The tool also offers automatic alerts to inform the clients or the team of any scheduling changes or upcoming meetings.

• Improves efficiency by automating scheduling: Scheduling platform automates mundane processes, such as creating employee schedules and approving time-off requests for users. Several tools available on the market also assist users with recurring schedules by offering them pre-defined templates and the option to copy older schedules, which further helps save time and manual effort.

Is there a free scheduling app?

Several scheduling software vendors offer a free version of their product that allows businesses to test the features of the product without making any huge investments. In case you are interested in a free scheduling solution, check out GetApp's scheduling software directory where we have filtered the software list by selecting “free” software in the pricing option drop down menu.

What are the types of scheduling software?

• Appointment scheduling software: An online appointment scheduling software enables users to schedule appointments with their clients. The software assists professionals in customer-facing roles with online bookings and reservation management. It also allows customers to schedule, reschedule, cancel, and pay for appointments online. An appointment scheduler is specially used by service-based businesses, such as healthcare, beauty, and recreation.

• Employee scheduling software: Employee scheduling app allows managers to create and manage work schedules for employees. The software enables users to plan work hours, track employee availability, manage staffing changes, schedule conflict alerts, and add/copy schedules to speed up the process. It also allows employees to manage assigned tasks, apply for leaves, and modify their upcoming shift schedule.

• Meeting scheduling software: An online meeting platform allows users to organize, host, and attend online meetings, which include team meetings, conferences, webinars, and training sessions. The tool offers multiple features, such as instant scheduling, real-time chat, file sharing, voice calls, video conferencing, and screen sharing to facilitate communication and collaboration between the participants.

How does scheduling software help SMBs?

• Eliminates scheduling conflicts: Scheduling issues, such as double booking of resources, overlapping events, and disorganized shift swapping can hamper the reputation of businesses, especially small businesses that are looking to develop a long-term connection with customers. A scheduling system helps businesses manage their resources well and avoid conflicting scenarios.

• Improves client experience: The traditional method of booking appointments or resources can be both time-consuming and cumbersome. Online scheduling tools automate the scheduling process for businesses without the need for back-and-forth communication. It also helps the clients book appointments for themselves, decide on their preferred professionals, avoid scheduling conflicts, and get real-time updates in case of scheduling changes. All these help save time for business owners and enhance customer satisfaction and experience.

• Prevents loss of revenue: Scheduling software offers automatic reminders to remind customers of upcoming appointments and minimize no-shows for client-based businesses. Several tools also facilitate online payment processing that enables customers to pay for their appointments ahead of time. Reduction in cancellation rates and prepayment for appointments help ensure that the businesses do not lose money in case a customer didn’t show up.

Sources

Products evaluated for the pricing calculation were taken from GetApp’s scheduling software directory. The pricing ranges exclude freemium versions of the products. The features highlighted were identified based on their relevance and the percentage of products in the Get App’s directory that offer them.

*The pricing included is for the entry-level/lowest-priced offerings found on vendor websites as of December 01, 2022. These ranges correspond to the 25th, 75th, and 100th percentiles of pricing information gathered from vendor websites of sample products.

The above list includes pricing for the base plans of most products. An enterprise or premium product that is priced higher may include additional features such as compliance management, customizable branding, email management, and group scheduling.