Evaluating an Online Appointment Booking Service

When evaluating an Online Appointment Booking Service, your top 5 concerns should be:

1. Protecting your Client Records. If the online service provider you are considering will be assigning your clients any type of "Points or Rewards", what this really means is that the online service provider will also be communicating with your clients and promoting their business (and in some cases they will also promote other professionals) to YOUR CLIENTS.

2. Your clients should never be able to search to find information about other Salon and Spa professionals from any site you use for online booking. Why would you send your regular clients to a site that can refer them away to your competition. Online booking tools should be structured to keep your client's attention on you and your business. It should not be a place where they can coupon shop by zip code.

3. Get some idea about how long they've been in business. You can check when a web URL / domain was registered by using the "Who Is" database search at Network Solutions.

4. Look for a do-it-yourself online FREE TRIAL. If the only way you can get a demo for online booking and managmenet tools for your Salon and Spa is with a software sales person, chances are that the set-up and use of the software is more complicated than it needs to be. Don't sign up unless you can test an online system on your own with both your home and work computers to be sure you will have easy access to your online books.

5. Free Technical Support. If technology is done right, you will not need so much technical support that it cannot be free. Paid technical support is an ancient concept that should be eliminated as soon as possible! Short online demos for all functions in the system you are using are the best type of free training.