Disclosure: Some of the links in this article may be affiliate links, which can provide compensation to me at no cost to you if you decide to purchase a paid plan. We review these products after doing a lot of research, we check all features and recommend the best products only.

Are you struggling to book appointments efficiently and seamlessly for your small business? 

If so, you're not alone. 

Managing appointments can be a stressful task, especially when you're juggling multiple clients and schedules. 

But fear not! 

In this article, we're here to simplify your search by highlighting the best appointment software for small businesses. 

Whether you're a salon owner, a consultant, or a healthcare provider, finding the right appointment software can streamline your operations, enhance customer experience, and boost productivity. 

So let's dive in and discover the perfect appointment software to take your business scheduling to the next level.

10 Best Appointment Software for Small Business

1. Square Appointments

Square is a free appointment scheduling software that allows you to manage your availability for calls.

Square's Appointments feature is a valuable addition for retail businesses seeking an appointment scheduler with integrated Point of Scale (POS) functionality. 

This all-in-one solution is especially beneficial for small retail businesses. It offers diverse features within a single app.

Square's Appointments module offers flexible payment options, including the ability to purchase POS hardware. It thereby provides businesses with versatile tools to manage appointments and transactions seamlessly.

Another key advantage of Square is its comprehensive approach to client management. The platform facilitates online and in-person booking. It offers staff management tools and maintains a client management database.

This integrated approach streamlines operations and improves customer relationships. Square thus enhances overall efficiency for service-based businesses.

Square's emphasis on aesthetics and user experience sets it apart. The clean interfaces for backend management and customer-facing interactions contribute to a professional and user-friendly booking process.

Additionally, the tool encourages businesses to showcase their products and services through uploaded photos. This adds a visually captivating element to the online booking experience. 

Key Features

  • Secure payments with the Point of Sale system
  • No hidden fees
  • Contactless payments
  • Client management
  • Supported calendars
  • Staff management
  • Supports individual employee accounts
  • Easy integrations

Pros

  • Inbuilt POS system 
  • Best for mobile app
  • Streamlined interface 
  • Client management 
  • Resource management
  • Tracks commission

Cons

  • The free plan encompasses only basic features
  • Supports only Google Calendar for synchronization

Pricing Plans

Free: $0
Plus: $29
Premium: $69

2. Zoho Bookings

Zoho Bookings stands out as a robust appointment scheduling app within Zoho's suite of cloud-based business platforms.

Zoho Booking software offers an array of features designed to streamline scheduling processes.

Notably, it provides two-way calendar synchronization with popular platforms like Zoho, Google, Microsoft 365, and Outlook. It ensures seamless integration with existing workflows.

One of Zoho Bookings' key strengths is its intuitive interface and user-friendly functionalities. You can effortlessly schedule meetings and appointments. It thus reduces the need for time-consuming phone calls, email exchanges, and repetitive administrative tasks.

Moreover, the software facilitates online meetings by integrating with Zoom and Zoho Meeting platforms. It thereby offers an added convenience for virtual interactions.

Zoho online booking system empowers businesses to enhance customer experience by allowing clients to self-schedule appointments based on the team's availability.

Clients can choose their preferred staff member. On the other hand, system can automatically book an appointment as per the availability. It optimizes scheduling efficiency.

Overall, Zoho Bookings is a versatile and practical appointment software for small businesses seeking efficient appointment scheduling solutions. 

Key Features

  • Intuitive booking page
  • Team scheduling tools
  • Customize scheduling rules
  • Calendar synchronization
  • Integrate video calling tools like Google Meet, Zoom, etc
  • Automatic SMS appointment reminder
  • Supports various payment options

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Allows 1-way and 2-way synchronization
  • Supports multiple payment options
  • Collective bookings

Cons

  • Does not support Round Robbin Meeting Scheduling
  • Does not support WhatsApp text-based scheduling

Pricing Plans

Forever Free Plan
Basic: $4.32per staff/month
Premium: $6.48 per staff/month

3. Acuity Scheduling

Acuity Scheduling is a versatile cloud-based appointment scheduling software that is now part of Squarespace. It is designed to streamline appointment management for businesses.

With Acuity, businesses can offer clients the flexibility to choose recurring appointments, fill out intake forms online, and prepay for services. The platform also supports the creation of coupons and add-on services. It thereby enhances the overall customer experience.

One of Acuity's standout features is its diverse range of booking options. You can share your booking page through direct links, booking buttons, embedding options, booking bars, and even QR codes. This option makes it convenient for clients to schedule appointments.

Moreover, Acuity integrates seamlessly with various powerful apps such as QuickBooks, ClassPass, Salesforce, and Zoom. It thus further enhances its functionality and versatility.

Acuity Scheduling caters to many businesses, from small to midsize enterprises and individual professionals. It is particularly well-suited for service-based industries such as training centers, coaching services, photography studios, fitness studios, salons, and health clinics.

With its comprehensive features and integrations, Acuity Scheduling is the best appointment software for small businesses. 

Key Features

  • Seamless client scheduling
  • Secure payments
  • Workflow automation
  • Integrates with video calling tools
  • SMS reminders
  • Automate appointment booking
  • Client self-scheduling

Pros

  • Personalize customer experience
  • Unlimited booking pages
  • Possesses advanced features
  • Block off personal time
  • Easy customization

Cons

  • Does not offer a free trial
  • No SMS reminder in the lowest subscription plan

Pricing Plans

Emerging: $16/month
Growing: $27/month
Powerhouse: $49/month
Enterprise: Custom

4. SimplyBook.me

SimplyBook is a comprehensive online booking system tailored for service-based industries. This scheduling software is designed for businesses ranging from training centers to healthcare providers.

It simplifies the scheduling features by allowing businesses to define their services and providers, showcase availability, and enable clients to make bookings 24/7. This flexibility is especially valuable in today's digital age, where convenience and accessibility are key factors in customer satisfaction.

SimplyBook is popular for its integrated payment options, which offer a smooth and convenient payment experience for both business owners and clients.

Businesses can process payments using clients' stored credit cards, display QR codes for direct mobile payments, send payment links for easy transactions, and even enable Tap & Pay options. This versatility streamlines the booking process, enhances customer engagement, and encourages repeat business.

Additionally, the client and admin apps provided by SimplyBook further enhance the user experience. It offers personalized mobile apps for clients to manage bookings and for businesses to handle appointments and notifications on the go efficiently.

Key Features

  • Allows mobile-optimized bookings
  • Provides Email/SMS reminder options
  • Accepts online payments/deposits
  • Coupons & gift cards
  • Integration & API
  • Offers inbuilt templates & widgets for customization

Pros

  • No credit card is required
  • Mobile app available for Android and iPhone
  • Integrates with existing website
  • All plans support the Admin app
  • Simple online appointment scheduling

Cons

  • Only 50 appointments per month in the free plan
  • No plan possesses unlimited booking
  • Customer service is slow

Pricing Plans

Free: €0
Basic: €8.25/month
Standard: €24.9/month
Premium: €49.9/month

5. Calendly

Calendly is cloud-based appointment-scheduling software for small businesses. The tool is easy to integrate with Google Calendar, Outlook, and iCloud and offers versatile bookings during diverse business hours.

It offers customizable scheduling pages and forms, supports various event types, and sends automatic reminders and confirmations. 

With features like 1:1, group, round-robin, and collective meeting scheduling, Calendly streamlines appointment management for busy professionals.

Its significant features make it the best appointment software for small businesses seeking robust scheduling features.

Key Features

  • Offers free version
  • Create round-robin events
  • Workflow automation
  • Customize notifications & reminders
  • View insights about scheduled meetings
  • Over 700 app integrations with Zapier
  • Integration with diverse video-calling software

Pros

  • Unlimited appointments are booked
  • Customize booking link
  • Inbuilt beautiful templates
  • Can view the scheduling activity

Cons

  • Limited features in the free plan
  • Customer service is a bit daunting
  • Lacks recurring bookings

Pricing Plans

Free: Always free
Standard: $10/seat/month
Team: $16/seat/month
Enterprise: Starts at $15k/year

6. Setmore

SetMore is the best appointment scheduling software tailored for small businesses. Its standout feature is the customizable online booking page. It allows customers to easily view your availability and book a call directly from your website. This saves time and enhances customer experience.

SetMore integrates seamlessly with Google and iCal calendars. It prevents double bookings and keeps your schedule updated.

Apart from the best scheduling, SetMore offers appointment reminders, staff scheduling, and custom branding options. This ensures smooth appointments and adequately prepares your staff.

SetMore also supports integrations with Square or Stripe for online payments. Moreover, it can sync with major calendars and link to Slack accounts for streamlined communication.

However, SetMore lacks mobile number-based appointment booking and WhatsApp integration for meeting notifications. It thereby is more suitable for service-based businesses like spas, salons, and medical clinics.

Key Features

  • Unlimited appointments
  • Offers custom booking page
  • Supports integration with online payment apps
  • Supports iOS and Android apps
  • Recurring appointments
  • 2-way calendar sync

Pros

  • Unlimited appointment types
  • Staff scheduling
  • The pro plan is also very affordable
  • All plans include a custom booking page

Cons

  • Limited features in the free plan
  • Limited to 2 users in the pro plan
  • Only 500 email reminders in the free plan

Pricing Plans

Free: $0
Pro: $5 per user/month (1-2 users)
Team: $5 per user/month (unlimited users)

7. Doodle

Doodle is an efficient online meeting scheduler for organizations that have frequent internal meetings.

It features polls to determine the best meeting time, surveys for gathering opinions on meeting details, and bookable calendars to streamline scheduling.

The polls feature allows you to create polls anytime, letting colleagues vote for their preferred option in real-time.

Surveys help gather multiple opinions on meeting length, location, or agenda. It thereby aids in effective meeting planning. Bookable calendars enable sharing availability and direct scheduling. It reduces back-and-forth emails.

For larger organizations, Doodle offers more features like Single Sign-On (SSO) for security, a mobile app for Android and iOS, a dedicated success manager, a reliable 99.9% uptime SLA, training options, and priority support catering to diverse organizational needs.

Key Features

  • Enterprise-level security
  • Allows control over your calendar
  • Straightforward bookings
  • Automatic video conferencing links
  • Group polls
  • 1:1 meetings

Pros

  • Fastest & easiest
  • Free trial version
  • Easy to create meetings
  • Supports multiple integrations with desired apps

Cons

  • No recurring bookings
  • No booking reminders
  • Daunting customer service

Pricing Plans

Free: $0 
Pro: $6.95/user/month (billed annually) (For one user only)
Team: $8.95/user/month (billed annually) (For five users)
Enterprise: Contact Sales

8. Appointy

Appointy is a robust appointment software for small businesses. Appointy offers a range of plans to suit different business needs. Its plans start with the Free plan that enables Google Calendar bookings and integrates seamlessly with Square Payments and Point of Sale systems for instant payments. 

What sets Appointy apart is its extensive integration capabilities, with over 1,000 Zapier integrations available. This allows businesses to automate workflows and streamline processes to a great extent.

Appointy's integration with Google Calendar ensures efficient appointment scheduling, while the inclusion of payment processing features adds convenience for both businesses and customers. 

With Appointy's robust integration options, businesses can tailor their workflows and automate tasks to improve productivity and customer experience.

Key Features

  • Web-based scheduling
  • Manage all schedules in one place
  • Serves multiple industries
  • Full-functional 14-day free trial
  • Website integration
  • Integration with payment gateways
  • Automatic reminders

Pros

  • Suitable for small and midsize businesses
  • Easy to use
  • Excellent customer service
  • Powerful user interface
  • Unlimited services

Cons

  • Steep learning curve
  • Enterprise plan features are a bit daunting

Pricing Plans

Free: $0 (1 staff, five services)
Growth: $19.99/month (1 staff)
Professional: $49.99/month (5 staff)
Enterprise: $79.99/month (multi-location)

9. Google Appointment Schedule

Google Calendar Appointment Schedule is a tool designed to book external meetings efficiently.

You can create personalized booking pages linked to your individual calendars. It thereby ensures professional and organized scheduling.

As meetings are booked, the page updates automatically and sends out email notifications, helping you manage your busy schedules effectively.

This feature mainly benefits workers handling appointments outside internal domains or servers. It streamlines the booking process and ensures users stay updated with upcoming meetings.

Google Calendar's appointment software enhances productivity by providing a seamless scheduling experience, whether for individual professionals or teams handling external meetings.

Key Features

  • Straightforward scheduling process
  • Manage your availability
  • Appointment scheduling
  • Shareable booking pages
  • Easy customization
  • Offers personal booking page

Pros

  • Limits the number of appointments each day
  • Offers free trial
  • Supports adding custom buffer time
  • Easy to use
  • Appointment booking form to understand the clear agenda of the meeting
  • Easily share your booking page

Cons

  • No SMS/WhatsApp reminder
  • Cannot book a meeting with just the mobile number of the guest
  • No integration with Outlook or other calendars
  • No integration with video calling apps

10. Picktime

Picktime is a robust appointment software for small businesses that stands out for its ease of use and comprehensive free plan.

Picktime offers unlimited appointments, support for three team members, and options for two locations. Its generous package caters to businesses looking to streamline their booking processes without breaking the bank.

Navigating Picktime is straightforward. Its sidebar menu provides quick access to critical features. Such features include a Calendar for managing appointments and Online Booking for customizing booking pages and rules.

Picktime's customization options for booking pages may be limited compared to other platforms. Its default design is sleek and professional. It allows you to set up your profiles quickly and professionally.

One of Picktime's strengths is its Overview dashboard. It provides a snapshot of primary metrics like total appointments, revenue projections, and upcoming appointments.

Picktime offers intuitive features and native integrations with popular platforms like Facebook and Google Maps. Moreover, it provides a user-friendly experience for businesses looking to optimize their booking workflows at no cost.

Key Features

  • Customer & team management software
  • Free online appointment and booking
  • Perfect for diverse businesses
  • Integrate with video calling software
  • Sync with calendars
  • Sends appointment notification
  • Integrates with multiple payment gateways
  • Resource management
  • Location management

Pros

  • Offers a free plan
  • Pricing plans are also very nominal
  • Supports over 30 languages
  • Possesses widgets and templates for many website builders

Cons

  • The booking page lacks customization
  • 1-way calendar sync option in the free plan

Pricing Plans

Free: $0
Starter: $3.00/user/month
Pro: $2.25/user/month

Frequently Asked Questions

Appointment scheduling software includes popular options like Calendly, Setmore, Acuity Scheduling, Doodle, Google Calendar Appointment Scheduler, PickTime, Appointy, and Zoho Bookings, among others.

The best app for making appointments depends on specific needs and preferences. Popular options include Calendly, Acuity Scheduling, Setmore, and Google Calendar Appointment Scheduler, each offering unique features for scheduling and managing appointments efficiently.

Yes, Google offers an appointment scheduling tool called Google Calendar Appointment Scheduler.

Yes, Google Calendar Appointment Scheduler is free to use.

Calendly offers a free plan with basic scheduling features. However to make use of advanced features you have to take subscription plans.

Ready to Unlock the Benefits of Appointment Scheduling Software?

In conclusion, appointment scheduling software offers a range of benefits, from streamlining operations to enhancing customer experience. 

Whether you're a small business or a large enterprise, these tools can improve efficiency and organization while saving time and resources. 

So, figure out your requirements and opt for the best-tailored appointment software for small businesses.

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