Being a service-based business owner is a thrilling job. You spend your days dealing with the ever-changing scenarios that your job brings on your plate, while your nights fly-by while finding the best strategies to grow your business and utilize your potential to the fullest.

It’s all part of the package that comes along when you decide to own a hustle or ditch your full-time job for a freelancing career. You wish to excel at almost every aspect of your job – and that includes how effectively you engage with your clients.

After all, they are the focal points of your business and you are willing to go to any extent to support their goals.

One of the keys to have a successful business is continuously identifying areas within your business that can be optimized to serve clients quicker and efficiently. One of the best ways in doing this is through the use of online schedulers.

Say goodbye to the the email scheduling tag game by allowing your clients to schedule appointments and services directly on your website.

Not too long ago, I could almost swear by Acuity for managing my online scheduling with my clients – and why not? It gave me the freedom to share my calendar with my clients – and that too – with a flexibility that allowed them to choose their preferred time slot based on my availability.

However, as much as I loved this automatic scheduling software it didn’t integrate with my CRM system Dubsado and was one of many recurring bills I had to pay out every month to support my business.

Dubsado’s built-in scheduler, not only saved me the $30 additional fee but also included the ability to attach dynamic forms, questionnaires,

and…

Automated workflows!

For the longest time, I wanted my online scheduler to send out customized forms, questionnaires, and proposals right on the spot when someone books an appointment. This additional information is always helpful before a meeting, as it helps me to organize myself and devise a possible meeting agenda to keep the appointment on track.

Luckily, I shared my calendar fantasies with a colleague over a cup of coffee – and I am glad I did it because from her, came a billion dollar advise that I think I will cherish for many years to come. She recommended that I use the Dubsado Online Scheduler to ease my pain-points.

Although, I was a bit skeptical at first, I browsed the Dubsado website when I reached home – and was completely blown away by the time saving features that this online scheduler had to offer.

After spending hours testing it out with varying scenarios I decided to implement it as my business main scheduler.

Now, here I am fondly writing this blog to share the effectiveness and user-friendliness of Dubsado Online Scheduler for anyone who had been hesitant to make this wise move up till now.

So here is the 411 on the top 4 reasons you’ll love the Dubsado scheduler and how it has resulted in enhancing my client interactions:

 

1. Catch your breath with the ‘Buffer time’

THIS is the ultimate feature that made me fell in love with the Dubsado scheduler. This is the time that allows you to catch some breathe in between the two meetings or to gather your thoughts or even to cater the travelling time in between the two engagements. This automatic feature allows you to set a padding interval as per your own convenience, hence restricting anyone who tries to book a slot in between. Additionally, you can set a buffer time to set how far in advance can someone book you, to avoid any trouble to both you and your clients.

 

2. Control how much is too much

When you are in business, it is very likely to have back to back meetings in a row – and that too for many days. Though buffer time allows you to keep some padding time in between the meetings, you sometimes yearn to work uninterrupted for a few hours. And here again – the Dubsado scheduler comes to the rescue.

With it’s ‘Maximum Appointments’ feature, you can cap the number of meetings that you’d like to attend in one day. This feature not only prevents overbooking, but it also lets you maintain a balance between your work and appointments.

 

3. Facilitate payments to secure an appointment

The online scheduler offers a convenient way to secure your outstanding invoices before you dedicate an appointment slot to a particular client. You can easily set up an option that requires your clients to pay the generated invoice in full, in order to secure an appointment with you.

This is a subtle yet the most definite way to keep your accounts straight, without the need to send time consuming reminders to clients.

 

4. Automation is your friend

Now you can setup exactly when you would like for an appointment scheduler to be sent out through the use of Dubsado’s workflow feature. For instance, if you wanted a client to receive a certain form only after they have booked an appointment…well that’s possible with the automated workflow.

But wait that’s not the only thing…

Clients can access their unique schedulers directly in their Dubsado Client Portals. This design allows you to share “specialized” appointment types with the clients you wish to have access to, shielding it from the general public.

 

5. Time-zone friendly

No matter what part of this planet your clients are based on, they can view your calendar and availability translated in their own time-zone. This makes it easier for them to understand the time difference and choose a slot that is convenient in their own part of the world – while it’s still one of your open time slots.

Unbelievable, isn’t it?

While I can go on and on explaining the effectiveness of this software, in the favor of time I stop here to allow you to visit the Dubsado Online Scheduler and try it out for yourself.

You can always thank me later! 🙂