Appointment scheduling software allows practitioners to reimagine their appointment booking experience. They will enable you to book appointments, access calendars, and automatically send out email and SMS reminders in real-time.
Practitioners are busy, and that is not going to change anytime soon. It makes complete sense to use an appointment scheduling app that reduces no-shows, cancellations, and reschedules. Basically, it automates or streamlines most of your scheduling process and workflow. 🙌
It isn't easy to know what to look for in a scheduling tool and how much you should expect to pay.
As a small business owner, it's not likely that you have spare money lying around to invest in appointment scheduling software. 💰
This doesn't mean that you have to run your booking system on google calendar, social media, outlook, or another Office 365 program. Today as a practitioner, there are plenty of free schedulers available that you can use to improve your workflow and the functionality of your practice.
Considering the different aspects of each platform is a crucial part of selecting user-friendly software, which will streamline your business. Which scheduling features do you require? How many people in your team? 🙋♂️
Do you need a scheduling platform that can be used on the move? Are text messages or appointment reminders important to you? Will employee scheduling or online payments through a credit card be a part of the equation?
These are all questions that need to be answered before selecting which free appointment scheduling software is best for you. Once you've decided what the most essential features are for you, then it's time to look at the assessments we've made below of some HIPAA-certified options to choose from.
After having considered numerous scheduling software's, including but not limited to; quickbooks, zapier, simplybook.me, appointy, setmore, and acuity scheduling ( that is quite a list ✋). We decided that for healthcare and wellness practitioners, there are 5 free options worth sharing:
Overview
Carepatron is an all-in-one digital workspace for healthcare practitioners and their clients. Designed specifically with healthcare in mind. Its functionalities mean practitioners can automate many different aspects of their practice, not just booking appointments and online scheduling. Additionally, Carepatron enables unlimited appointments and user accounts of the free version.
Advantages
- Free version enables unlimited user accounts and appointments
- Explicitly designed with healthcare practitioners in mind
- All-in-one workspace platform
- Award-winning customer support
Pricing
- Essential - Free
In terms of appointment scheduling software for single users, Square Appointments is a good example. They enable access to all of their business management software free of charge, which is great for solo practitioners but does become costly as soon as you require a multi-user option.
Advantages
Square appointments have many advantages✔️, these include;
- Unlimited appointments per month
- Access to all capabilities for free
- Email and SMS reminders
- Compatibility with Windows, macOS, IOS, and Android
- Good track run of customer support
- Great mobile app
Disadvantages
- Multi-user paid-plan accounts become costly
- Is not an all-in-one software for healthcare practitioners
- Android app is under development, and a lot of the features do not function correctly that can cause issues with clients
- Was not explicitly created with healthcare in mind
Pricing
- Free plan for individual users
- $50 per month for 2-5 users
- $90 per month for 6-10 users
Calendly is an excellent software for online booking if you want to present professionally. It also offers robust administration capabilities and a high level of security. Calendly does provide a free version but only giving access to some functionalities and limited email support. In addition to this, the platform they provide is not customizable.
Advantages
- A well-established appointment scheduling software with some advanced features
- Automatic email notifications
- compatibility with Windows, macOS, IOS, and Android
Disadvantages
- Provides limited customer support for the free version
- Lacks booking page customization and has been reported to cause issues with custom objects, fields, and views
- Confusing pricing levels
Pricing
- Basic - Free
- Premium - $8 per month
- Pro - $12 per month
- Enterprize - Contact Calendy directly
10to8 is online booking software that focuses on an instant messaging feature. It can be integrated with some different apps and programs such as Stripe, Paypal, Microsoft, iCloud, and Zoom. You can also embed 10to8 on your social media page. Although it is important to note that 10to8 only allows 100 appointments per month on its free version, its customer support is limited to an online platform.
Advantages
- Free version can have two staff logins/ service providers
- Calendar sync automation
- Can be integrated and embedded with other enterprises such as PayPal for payment processing
- Live chat feature
-No email marketing
Disadvantages ❌
- 100 schedule appointments limit
- online only customer support for the free option
- No follow ups
Pricing
- Free Forever - Free
- Basic - $12 per month
- Grow - $25 per month
- Bigger Business - $50 per month
Appointlet is a scheduling app for businesses that don't need a smartphone app. They offer several different features in the free plan and unlimited online appointments but only for one staff member and only supply email reminders.
Advantages
- Unlimited scheduling solution per month
- Google calendar and office 365 integration in all plans
- Automated notifications for rescheduling and cancellations
Disadvantages
- Only one staff member/team member on the free version
- Only a web-based interface, so no booking on the go (widget)
- Average customer support
- No point of sale (POS)
Pricing
- Basic - Free
- Premium - $8 per month
Free appointment scheduling software is an integral part of any modern private practice. It can be hard to choose which of the best appointment scheduling software is right for you.👊
After assessing all of the different options above, it's clear that Carepatron is the best healthcare booking software. 🙌
In addition to offering free appointment scheduling software, Carepatron also offers these capabilities;
