Advantages of Appointment Scheduling Software vs Paper Appointment Calendars

What would you rather do? Flip through a paper appointment calendar that has lots of handwritten scribbles, eraser marks, and illegible notes? Or, use easy-to-read appointment scheduling software that allows you to book appointments fast? Let’s compare the differences between a paper appointment calendar and appointment scheduling software.

A paper appointment calendar is easy-to-use – all you have to do is pick up a pencil. However, it can be time-consuming to search through all the pages to find an open appointment time. There is not a lot of room to write appointment details about the services to be performed. It can be difficult to read messy handwriting and information about double bookings that are squeezed into the same space on the calendar. A paper appointment calendar can be easily destroyed. A spilt cup of coffee can blur months of appointments. It could light on fire or even eaten by your dog! Even though a paper appointment calendar seems easy, it sure does come with a lot of risks.

Appointment scheduling software can be just as easy as a paper appointment calendar. It’s very intuitive since it is simply an electronic version of an appointment calendar. You can back-up your appointments, so you won’t have to worry about losing appointment information. You can color code appointment types to help schedulers and employees see at a glance the type of services that are scheduled. You’ll be able to collect more information about your customers, including contact information that can be used to communicate with them. For example, you can call or email appointment reminders to customers to prevent no-shows.

You’ll also be able to create a waiting list and call customers to fill open time slots from cancelations, so your appointment calendars always remain full. Since the appointment details are stored electronically, you’ll be able to run lots of reports that can show you which services are most popular and if you have any employees who have difficulty filling the calendars. When there is slow time, you can use customers’ contact information to mail coupons and other promotional items to lure them back to your business. If you’re a really busy business, you may want to have more than one scheduler booking appointments. You can use appointment scheduling software on more than one computer and have multiple schedulers booking appointments all at the same time.

There are so many more advantages to using appointment scheduling software versus using a paper appointment calendar. And, appointment scheduling software is just as easy to use.