Appointment Booking System for Coaches: The Ultimate Guide

Are you struggling to set up an appointment booking system on your coaching website or looking to improve it? This post has you covered.

An appointment booking system enables the customers to book the services that you offer on your coaching website 24/7. It includes all the flexible appointment scheduling options for the coaching clients.

Online appointment booking systems are designed to provide all the features of self-service portals. Website users can choose and book the appointment from the suggested dates as per their requirements. 

In this post, you will learn about:

• Benefits of adding the booking system to your coaching website
• Must-have features of an appointment booking system
• Best appointment booking services for coaches
• Steps to set up an Appointment booking service 

Let’s get started!

Benefits of adding the booking system to your coaching website

Online bookings on your coaching website aren’t the future, they’re the present. You should make the most of all the benefits that an online appointment booking solution can deliver. Having an appointment booking system is a must have feature on your website.

Following are some of the most important benefits of having an appointment booking system on website:

• Time-saving for the business owner
• Generates leads
• Maximize reservations
• Reduce no-shows
• Increase payment speed 
• Provides the better security
• Keep your business running 24/7
• Provides key information that streamlines processes
• Flexible payment methods
• Customers can book based on their preferences

Do you know, 40% of appointments are booked after business hours and businesses gain an average revenue increase of 27% when using online appointment booking systems?

Must-have features of an appointment booking system

Essential features of an appointment scheduling system are:

• Two-way calendar sync
• Mobile friendly interface
• Integrated payments options
• Automatic notifications and reminders
• Canceling and rescheduling
• Approval feature before finally confirming the appointment
• Integrated video or voice call meeting links
• Integration with google maps 
• Time tracking, billing, and customizable reports
• Integration with CRM tools

In addition to the above, your appointment booking system should be easy-to-use, comprehensive, scalable, and cost-effective.

Best appointment booking services for coaches

We have listed the best appointment booking services to manage the online coaching business’ appointments and bookings.

1. Simple WP Events

Simple WP Events is one of the best event management and appointment scheduling plugins out there. It is specially customized for WordPress websites but also works with others. It is a free event management plugin. It helps you to easily create and manage events on your WordPress booking website.

It is the most simple, fast, and reliable event and scheduling plugin. 

Key features of the Simple WP Events plugin:

• Easy to create events
• Calendar integration
• Have location post type to reuse locations
• Option to add an event to Google Calendar
• Completely responsive for all devices 
• Custom HTML email templates
• Hooks & filters for customization
• Multiple locations

You can also export events, registrations, and subscribers to CSV files. 

Pricing details:

The current version of Simple WP Events is Free to use for everyone.

2. Calendly

Calendly helps to schedule meetings without any hassle. It is one of the most popular scheduling software. Your website visitors can book appointments based on your schedule and availability. 

Key features of Calendly:

• Fully optimized for all devices
• Calendar integration
• Enhanced privacy and controls
• Automatic and custom notifications
• Metrics and reporting

Pricing Plans of Calendly:

The basic version of Calendly falls in the Free Plan. The Premium version costs $8 per user per month and the Pro version costs $12 per user per month.

3. ScheduleOnce

ScheduleOnce is considered the top-of-the-funnel lead generation solution for scheduling meetups. It helps you to automate your scheduling tasks with ease. It’s a great option for online coaches who want to minimize handling appointments manually. 

Key features of ScheduleOnce:

• Allows Multi-Location scheduling
• You can create and send customized emails and texts
• Payment processing is fast 
• Easy to integrate with calendars
• Use its multi-channel widget to collect appointments from site visitors

Pricing plans of ScheduleOnce:

The basic version is applicable for up to 3 users and is free. Advanced features for unlimited users cost $10 per user/month. Custom plans start from $950 per month. 

4. Acuity Scheduling

Acuity Scheduling helps you to automate everything from payments to reminders as it is also a scheduling app. It is an easy-to-use appointment booking management app. Being the owner of a coaching website, you can easily schedule your tasks with Acuity Scheduling. 

Key features of Acuity Scheduling:

• Real-Time availability
• Client intake forms
• Self booking
• Manage schedule
• Accept payment and tips with ease through the use of Stripe, Square, and PayPal
• recurring appointments

Pricing plans of Acuity Scheduling:

The basic version of Acuity Scheduling is free. The emerging version costs $15 per month. The growing version costs $25 per month. The powerhouse version costs $50 per month. 

5. YouCanBook.Me

YouCanBook is one of the best online appointment-scheduling services. It works directly with Google, iCloud, and Microsoft cloud calendars. It is designed to help you to configure your availability schedules for each week. 

Key features of YouCanBook.Me: 

• Activity tracking
• Automated scheduling
• Group scheduling
• Availability management
• Reporting & statistics

Pricing plans of YouCanBook.Me: 

The basic version of Acuity Scheduling is free. The advance-paid plan costs $10 per calendar per month.

 

6. Pick

Pick is the most simple and easy-to-use booking software. You can easily customize URL slug as well, such as pick.co/yourname. Pick quickly set up the availability, so that the website visitors can pick a time for the meeting that suits them best.

Key features of Pick:

• Supports integration with Office 365 and Gmail
• Keep track of all your appointment bookings, invoices, and refunds.
• Give your customers priority service by pre-booking their slots
• Support cash and card payments right from your Picktime Calendar
• Turn your website into a booking engine

Pricing plans of Pick:

The basic version of Pick is free. STARTER plan costs $9.99 per month. PRO plan costs $19.99 per month. 

7. Doodle

Doodle is the fastest and easiest way to schedule anything. It lets you conduct polls to determine client preferences. Also, simplify the processes of appointment setting and scheduling.

Key features of Doodle:

• Native app for iPad, iPhone
• Glance view
• Automatic and manual reminders
• Custom design and branding
• SSL encryption

Pricing Plans of Doodle:

The basic version of Doodle is free. Pro version for $6.95 per month. Team version for $8.95 per month. 

8. NeedtoMeet

NeedToMeet is the best option for busy people who don’t have time for the back and forth for appointment booking. It allows you to quickly find a time that suits all parties. 

Key features of NeedtoMeet:

• Schedule a meeting in two easy steps
• Create a unique meeting link to invite attendees
• Plan meetings on the web, on mobile apps, or on Microsoft Outlook plug-in
• Data is secured for your protection
• Schedule a meeting for free without the distraction of ads

Pricing plans of NeedtoMeet:

It has a free 14-day trial and a standard free version. The advanced version costs $12 per year per user. The premium version costs $19 per year per user.

Steps to set up an Appointment booking service 

Appointment booking service helps to drive revenue and improve efficiency with scheduling. 

Follow the following steps to capture the benefits of online scheduling: 

Step 1: Choose the appointment booking service that fulfills your requirements 

Choosing the right online booking system for your coaching website is quite difficult. You should know exactly what you need to facilitate your coaching website.

Above, we have listed the best appointment booking services for coaching websites. Based upon your requirement, choose any one of them. 

Step 2: Create your URL

URL is one of the most basic yet crucial elements of SEO. You need to generate a unique URL for each new event you create.

Step 3: Specify time zones

The local time of places on different meridians are bound to differ. The time difference may be more than twelve hours. Displaying the time zones shows consideration that will be appreciated.

Most appointment booking services automatically detect your time zone when you create an account. You can still customize it. 

Step 4: Decide the audience

You need to specify with whom you schedule appointments primarily. Having the information about who is looking to meet you can help you to identify how you can reach them. 

Step 5: Add your business details

Always make sure to add all of the necessary details about your business while creating an event. It helps potential customers to know more about your coaching website. 

Step 6: Specify the time

You are in control of your schedule and time. Clearly define your available meeting hours and block out scheduled breaks. 

Step 7: Automate reminders

Automated reminders are used by most people these days. Don’t miss out on them. No-show appointments waste time and resources. 

Do you know, automated SMS and email reminders have reduced no-shows by up to 87%? 

Step 8: Integrate for a seamless experience

Calendar integrations are the best way to ensure efficient schedule integration. Integrate the appointment booking page for a seamless experience with a wide range. 

Calendar apps aren’t the only ones. Add appointment scheduling apps, marketing tools, video conferencing, payment processing, analytics, and more as well. 

Step 9: Embed scheduling into your website 

At last, you will get a code. Embed the scheduling code into your coaching website.

Conclusion 

Being the owner of a professional coaching website, it is necessary to stay competitive in the market, and providing the appointment booking service on your website is one of the best key factors. 

The appointment booking service on your coaching website allows a customer to do all the work for you. Website users can make bookings for the time that suits them the best. 

Ready to set the appointment booking service on your coaching website? Follow the above steps and launch it today. 

Feel free to comment below if you have any queries or get in touch with our support team if you need help with setting it up.