Online appointment scheduling software provides customers with a portal to book an appointment online and enables businesses to track and manage those appointments. This software enables businesses to schedule appointments, view calendars, print forms, integrate payment options, customize schedules, and enforce scheduling rules. Additional features may include automated emails (reminders, follow-ups, cancellations, rescheduling, etc.) and notifications, online payment for services, custom profiles, and calendar integrations. A feature that is becoming more popular within this software is the use of AI scheduling, where typical schedules are analyzed and times are suggested based on all parties' time zones, best work hours, and consistent availability.
This software can integrate with enterprise content management systems, email software, meeting management software, video conferencing software, and calendar software, among other useful office software. Online appointment scheduling tools are used by various appointment-based business segments, such as health and wellness professionals, salon and beauty professionals, professional service providers, and medical professionals. Having access to online appointment scheduling software allows for service and appointment-based businesses to boost revenue and clientele bases.
There are some categories similar to online appointment scheduling, but offer features for different use cases or business types. For instance, patient scheduling software caters specifically to healthcare and medical professionals. Business scheduling software is meant for internal business meetings as well as teams who work with outside vendors or customers. Sales, revenue operations, recruitment, and customer success teams use business scheduling software to schedule one-on-one meetings or groups to accomplish specific goals. The biggest difference between business scheduling and online appointment scheduling tools is that the latter enables scheduling and receiving payments. Business scheduling users do not need to collect payment as that is not beneficial to the meetings scheduled via this software.
To qualify for inclusion in the Online Appointment Scheduling category, a product must:
- Have a scheduler that can be viewed, managed, and edited by administrators and multiple users
- Gather contact information for appointment makers
- Send appointment notifications to customers
- Contain a form of payment integration for clients’ appointments
- Allow for integration with other office products such as email, calendar, or video conferencing tools
