It’s easy to become stressed out when you’re constantly dealing with an overfull calendar, missed appointments, and double bookings. When working with multiple calendars and a manual appointment system, these frustrations occur more than they should, leaving you and your staff feeling overworked and stressed out. In order to save valuable time and delight clients with a clean, reliable schedule, scheduling software might be the solution you’ve been looking for.
With so many scheduling tools and CRMs out there, how do you choose the best one for your business? Here are the top five most essential features you should consider.
#1: A Self-Scheduling Feature
Self-scheduling is a convenient way to save time scheduling appointments while also delighting clients by making the process easier for them. It’s a win-win!
Save Time Scheduling Appointments
Eliminate the need to send multiple emails or messages back and forth with clients, desperately trying to find a time that works for both of your busy calendars. With self-scheduling, you simply share your calendar online, allowing your client to choose the time and date that works best for them. They can only select the times you are also available, so there’s no back-and-forth. Best of all, it all occurs in a centralized CRM.
Give Your Clients More Control
Instead of agreeing to a time and date that may or may not be ideal, self-scheduling allows your clients to choose the time and date that works for them, eliminating cancellations and no-shows. It also helps avoid the confusion of a back-and-forth where the appointment time and date may have changed multiple times.
#2: A Customizable Client Portal
Having a client portal allows you to keep all client data, including notes, history, and documents, in one centralized location. You can also manage upcoming appointments, with all future communication funneled through the portal, eliminating bulky file folders and lost documents.
Allow Clients To Access Their Documents
If you work with confidential documents, a portal can allow your clients to share them electronically, eliminating the need to manage paper documents. Even better, using the portal, your clients can access all shared documents, edit their personal information, and even access their completed tax returns, all without coming into your office.
Showcase Your Brand
Your portal should reflect your business and your brand. Be sure that any client portal you’re considering allows you to give the interface a customized and branded look with your recognizable logo front and center.
#3 A CRM That Can Manage Walk-Ins
If you offer walk-in appointments, you need a way to manage them effectively. Using a scheduling application that incorporates walk-ins will allow those appointments to be equally distributed among available staff members.
Easily Incorporate Appointments and Walk-Ins into Your Schedule
Instead of clients waiting for hours, use a scheduling application that easily incorporates walk-in clients directly into your or your coworker’s schedule. If you regularly use Microsoft Outlook or Google to manage appointments, ensure that any application you’re considering will sync with these two popular calendar apps.
#4 An Automatic Buffer-Time Feature
A good business CRM will allow you to factor in brief breaks between appointments, providing you with a few moments to relax and regroup between appointments.
Have Time to Prepare For Your Next Meeting
Meetings with clients can go smoothly if you have a few moments to prepare ahead of time. Setting a buffer between appointments allows you to take a few moments to prepare for the next client, keeping you on schedule.
Avoid Burnout
It can be difficult to set boundaries, especially when running your own business. However, if you don’t, appointments will fill every minute of your workday, leading to burnout and dissatisfied clients. Choose a CRM that helps set these boundaries for you, so that you don’t have to worry about burnout.
#5 A Convenient Time-Zone Conversion Feature
If you deal with clients from multiple time zones, you know how difficult it can be to schedule meetings that work for everyone. The best solution to this problem is to let your scheduling software manage it.
Avoid Missed Appointments and Reschedulings
How many times have you missed an important meeting because your CRM didn’t factor in the correct time zone? Instead of having to reschedule meetings, use a business scheduling app that factors in the time zone for you.
Offer Convenience For Your Clients
The time-zone conversion features are not only beneficial for you but also save your clients time. Any meeting time your client chooses will automatically factor in the time zone difference, so there’s no confusion on either end.
ProClient: Your Comprehensive Scheduling Tool & CRM
If you’re tired of overbooking appointments, client no-shows, and a stressed-out staff, it’s time to implement a comprehensive business scheduling tool.
ProClient can help. Affordably priced, this all-in-one platform allows you to set a buffer between appointments and sends out automatic appointment reminders to your clients. In addition, ProClient automatically converts timezones, handles walk-ins, and manages all client communication with an easy-to-use client portal and CRM.
ProClient also lets you place limits on the number of appointments in a day and integrates with your personal calendar application. To see what ProClient can offer your business, visit the our website and sign up for a free trial today.
