What to Look for in An Online Booking Software in Canada (And Beyond!)

online booking software in Canada

Searching for online booking software in Canada (or elsewhere)? 

Good choice. Convenience is paramount in today’s world, and online booking is yet another extension of incorporating convenience into your service for a better customer experience. Indeed, the entire market is only expected to grow even more so online booking is not going anywhere.

P.S. We’re also one of the few scheduling software options based in Canada (in Vancouver!). 

Of course, if you’re searching for the right solution, right here and right now, we wouldn’t be surprised if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed with all of the options. We understand how daunting and time-consuming it can be to compare every last feature.

That’s why we tried to make it easy.

In a nutshell, you’ll see what makes Yocale a best-in-class scheduling software and how Yocale moves beyond online booking to bring additional value through integrated payment processing, forms, video conferencing and more. Yocale’s counseling scheduling software is just an example.

Easy, Smart and Customizable Online Booking Software in Canada: Yocale (We’re Also Free!)

If you’re brand new to scheduling software, you likely have a few criteria in mind: you’re likely looking for something that’s easy to use and perhaps even free. 

We check those boxes (more on this below), but we’ve also been in the industry for nearly ten years – we know scheduling inside and out. We were also Google’s first Reserve with Google partner in Canada! 

Read More: Best Salon Software

Of course, we’re not just easy to use. Here’s why clients like Shoppers Drug Mart, Emily Carr University and AAA Ohio choose Yocale:

1. One of the Easiest Scheduling Software Options

With our friendly user interface and user experience, Yocale is easy to use for both staff and customers. Indeed, you can have online booking set up in no more than 15 minutes.

But it’s just as critical that the online booking experience is easy and quick for customers.  We can’t stress this enough. Just like you only have a few seconds to capture website visitors before they leave your website, the same theory applies to the online booking experience. 

This is actually where many businesses go wrong: they choose scheduling software with clunky and slow booking pages, and they end up losing customers because of it (you can read more about what a good booking page should look like and do here). 

In just a click or two, your customers will be able to book your services online, and that’s exactly what you want. For those using Yocale’s healthcare or med spa software, it’s one of the greatest features.

2. Start Free

Yocale is one of the most affordable online booking software options in Canada. You can start for free and upgrade your package as you expand (start free here).

3. Highly Customizable

Yocale is also one of the most customizable scheduling software options on the market.

Whether you only want to accept appointment requests or allow specific staff members to perform specific services, you can customize nearly every aspect of the booking experience – even the colours of your booking page!

4. A Smart (Intelligent) Scheduling Software for Automated Scheduling

One of Yocale’s differentiators is the fact that it’s an intelligent scheduling software.

Put another way, it automates many different scheduling tasks, including rebooking reminders. With this, you can send reminders to clients who haven’t visited you in a while. Yocale’s smart functionality even considers resource availability when scheduling so that you don’t overschedule yourself.

Read More: Best Mental Health Software

5. The Most Loved Online Booking Experience

Yocale offers customers a premier booking experience. Not only is the booking process made easy (see above), but Yocale is one of the few scheduling software options out there that offers such a customizable booking experience for the end-users (your customers).

This means clients can search for appointments based on availability, service, location and more. Why is this important? Clients want personalized experiences more than ever, and this is one way to blend personalization into your booking experience.

online booking software in Canada

Beyond Online Booking Software: Forms, Video and More

As your business grows (or even now) you can add features to your scheduling software. For instance, this might include:

  • Reserve with Google and Omnichannel Booking for 79% More NEW Bookings. Add a “Book Online” button to your Google My Business listing just like the example below (Reserve with Google) and your social media platforms (omnichannel) for more bookings. 

  • Client Relationship Management (CRM) for More Personalized Customer Service (And a  Paperless Business!). Create individual customer profiles while storing client details, notes and forms. Plus, get an overview of each client, such as the client’s last appointment, number of no-shows, etc. 

  • A Point-of-Sale (POS) for Integrated Payment Processing. Integrate your POS with your scheduling software so you can seamlessly check clients out from your appointment window. With Yocale, you’ll get access to the lowest integrated payment processing rates for thousands of savings every year. 

You’ll also be able to protect your bottom line with flexible online payment options such as pre-payments, deposits or the option to save cards on file. 

  • Forms for Better Client Communication. Forms are integral to medical-based practices like chiropractors and mental health professionals. But non-medical professionals are also using forms to provide a superior customer experience. Salons, for example, are using forms as means to walk clients through pricing to minimize surprises at the end of the appointment.

Dog groomers can also use forms prior to each appointment; instead of taking haircut instructions over the phone, clients can fill out information or attach pictures online when they book their appointment. This minimizes surprises and ensures client satisfaction while also improving efficiency. 

Yocale offers best-in-class form-builder technology, allowing you to annotate on images or pin items to forms.

  • Video Conferencing for More Revenue Streams. Many appointment-based businesses shifted toward video-based appointments during the pandemic and plan to integrate this option permanently. However, many businesses are also using video conferencing to expand their revenue streams in general. 

Salons, for example, are using video conferencing as a support tool, offering hairstyling expertise, or as a means to sell products while giving clients the convenience of being able to take advantage of these additional services from home. 

The benefit of using Yocale for video conferencing is that it’s secure (this is critical for health care providers) as well as easy to use – no plugins or downloads. You simply click to connect. In addition to high-definition video and crisp audio, Yocale has unique annotation and collaboration functionality on a shared whiteboard.

  • Reporting for Powerful and Easily Accessible Data. Yocale presents all online booking/appointment-related data in an easy dashboard. This includes, but is not limited to, where your bookings are coming from, your most popular services and your most visited clients, to name a few.

But what makes Yocale different is its ability to drill down on your data. For instance, if you have multiple locations, you can filter data based on location to see which staff members have the highest number of bookings, etc. 

You can also create custom reports.

Wrapping It Up

If you’re searching for an online booking software in Canada, you’ve got a few options. In fact, you can see how Yocale compares to other scheduling software out there here.

But if you’re looking for an online scheduling software that’s been around for nearly a decade and that’s easy to use, customizable, has smart functionality and that is much more than a scheduling software, you’ve come to the right place.

You can book a demo here or start for free here.

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on Linkedin