Booking for service businesses

Service businesses book time differently from office workers. A customer picks a service, maybe a specific staff member, and a time, and the business wants a deposit, a reminder before the visit and a record of what was booked. The tools on this page are built around those needs, from a single studio to a home service company with several crews on the road.

Square Appointments, Setmore, SimplyBook.me and Appointy handle appointments at a fixed location: online booking pages, staff calendars, reminders and payments. Square Appointments makes the most sense if you already take payments with Square at the counter. Jobber and Housecall Pro are built for home service trades, where a booking becomes a job that needs dispatching, quoting and invoicing as well as a time slot.

Start by listing your services with their real lengths, prices and the staff who can do each one. A good booking tool uses this to show only slots where the right person and the right room or equipment are free. Then decide your no-show policy: deposits, card on file, cancellation windows and reminders by email or text.

Check the customer side on a phone. Most bookings now come from a phone, often from a link in a social profile or a map listing. The booking flow should take a minute or two, show prices clearly and confirm the booking straight away.