I Tried 6 Appointment Scheduling Tools – Here’s What Worked (and What Didn’t)
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Trying to cut down on scheduling emails? Here are the appointment booking tools I’ve tested, what I liked, and what I ended up using.
You love what you do, and you love your clients (or at least most of them 😉 ) But you probably don’t love spending valuable time going back-and-forth to schedule appointments. And don’t get me started on cancellations and reschedules!
There are a lot of ways to simplify booking appointments, and I’ve tried quite a few. I’ve listed them below, along with what I liked and why I moved on. I hope this helps you find one that works for you.
Appointment Scheduling Tools I’ve Tried
Contact Form
The first thing I tried was to add a field to my Gravity Forms contact form, allowing clients to suggest three possible times for a phone call.
What I liked:
- No additional cost
- No added stress on my website
Why I stopped using it:
- I still had to send an email to the client to confirm the time
- Some clients had unrealistic expectations, like the woman who emailed me late Thursday night looking for an appointment at 4:30 pm on the Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, or the one that emailed at lunchtime looking for a phone call at 1:00, 1:30 or 2:00 that day. I generally need a little lead time!
Overall:
It was only marginally better than no system at all, so I eventually set out to find a more practical solution.
Doodle
Doodle was my go-to for group scheduling, so I decided to try their one-on-one appointment feature as well.
What I liked:
- Easy to connect to my calendar
- Made my availability visible to clients
- A familiar platform
Why I stopped using it:
- Some clients found the booking process confusing and didn’t complete all the steps
- Appointment requests didn’t always trigger reliable email notifications
- I still had to manually review and confirm appointments
- The overall process wasn’t as smooth or automated as I needed
Overall:
It wasn’t as seamless as I wanted. I’m sure they’ve made improvements since then, but by that point I had switched to a different solution.
Acuity Scheduling
Acuity Scheduling kept popping up in the Facebook groups I’m in, so I decided to check it out.
What I liked:
- Customizable reminder emails for me and my clients
- Automatic time zone conversion
- Branding customization
- Ability to embed the scheduler on my website
- Integration with
- Google Calendar
- Zoom
- Mailchimp
- PayPal
- Ability to create different schedulers for different appointment types
Why I stopped using it:
- While implementing Profit First, I decided to switch to a less expensive solution.
Google Appointment Scheduling
As part of my financial review, I realized that by signing up for Google Workspace Individual, I could access premium Google Meet features (allowing me to cancel Zoom) and use their appointment scheduler (allowing me to cancel Acuity).
What I liked:
- Cost savings
Why I stopped using it:
- Fewer customization options than Acuity
- All appointment types appeared on the same page, so I couldn’t separate client-only bookings
- Each appointment type had to be managed separately
Overall
This would be a great option if I didn’t have two separate audiences.
Calendly
Before giving up on Google Appointment Scheduling, I created a free Calendly account (which allows only one appointment type) for my Get to Know You sessions and continued using Google for clients.
What I liked:
- No extra cost
Why I stopped using it:
- Using two systems was more complicated than it was worth.
Overall
The point of using this type of software is to simplify things, so this setup wasn’t working for me.
That said, I did like Calendly and still recommend it. Just keep in mind you’ll need a paid plan for multiple event types or advanced features.
TidyCal
Because I was frustrated with the low-cost options I’d tried, I decided to purchase TidyCal as a one-time deal from AppSumo.
What I liked:
- Low price with no ongoing fees
- Customizable reminder emails
- Automatic time zone conversion for clients
- Integration with Google Calendar and Google Meet
- Ability to set up multiple appointment types
Overall
So far, it’s working well for me. In fact, while writing this post, I discovered another feature that will streamline my admin work even more!
Which Appointment Scheduling Tool Is Best?
There are a lot of great scheduling tools out there, and the best one really depends on your needs.
I recommend Calendly if the free plan meets your needs, or TidyCal if you’re looking for more flexibility without a monthly fee.
Either way, an appointment scheduler is one tool that can easily pay for itself in time saved and a smoother experience for your clients.
How Do You Schedule Your Appointments?
What do you like (or dislike) about your system?
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This is a great review of the scheduling tools. I have thought about using calendly. I know that it’s past time for me to streamline this process and would possibly result in more clients (which would be good).
I promise if you do this, you’ll never look back! You may have the odd client that’s not comfortable using the booking calendar, but as long as there’s another way for them to reach you, you can always work around that.
Well, I don’t use a scheduling tool. I actually book via direct contact with my clients. Usually I book my next appointment at the end of a session. I am always keeping in mind my energy, the type of job, what I have in my personal schedule, etc. I like having this level of control of my schedule.
I certainly understand that this approach isn’t for everyone. Especially if you are working with a team, scheduling needs to be quick and easy.
I have had the experience where I scheduled with another business through one of these tools, only to find out they forgot to block off the day I selected. I showed up and they weren’t there… you have to be on top of it if you let people book directly.
That’s terrible, Seana! To me one of the major benefits of using these tools is that they synchronize with your calendar. That said, I confess that there have been a couple of times that I was so engaged in what I was working on that I totally forgot about the appointment. I guess there’s no such thing as a perfect system, especially when humans are involved.
Wow! You have tried a tool or two! I currently use Acuity but it will be replaced before too long by my Go High Level Calendar. I have been pretty happy with Acuity and with their customer service. Thanks for sharing the ups and downs. 🙂
It was hard giving up Acuity and I still miss it, but am happy to have that extra money in my bank account!
What a great review! I’m impressed by how many tools you tried out.
For years, I scheduled directly with my clients either in person, by phone, or by email. However, in 2020, when I started working with Revel Coach, they asked their advisors to use Calendly. They wanted their clients to receive a consistent scheduling platform/format.
I was hesitant at first, but quickly adapted to this way of scheduling. I opted for the paid version so it would link my Zoom account to it.
Fast forward six years later and I can’t imagine NOT using it. It saves me time, sends reminders and Zoom links to my clients, and allows them to easily reschedule if needed. As a matter of fact, one of my clients made a point of letting me know this morning how much she loves that I schedule this way.
It’s amazing, isn’t it? I can see why your client loves it. I much prefer booking appointments online rather than calling, finding out what’s available, and figuring out the best time for me. Or in one case, I called and left a message that I wanted to book an appointment and received a return message with a date and time – I had no opportunity to tell them my preferences or availability!