What is Scheduling Software?

Scheduling software allows businesses (or individuals) to organize schedules, appointments, tasks, and resources efficiently. The software automates the process of creating, modifying, and tracking employee schedules, making it easier to coordinate jobs and allocate resources effectively. Scheduling software also often has an integrated online booking system that populates the relevant employee’s schedule as a customer books an appointment. 

Scheduling software is an invaluable tool for any appointment-based business and is commonly used in industries such as healthcare, education, hospitality, fitness, and home services (e.g., HVAC, plumbing, etc.). 

‍

Scheduling software features

Scheduling software can range from a simple tool that handles basic scheduling functions to more advanced solutions that integrate with other systems or cater to specific industries and use cases. That being said, standard scheduling software features include 

• Automated appointment reminders 
• Automatic schedule updates and notifications 
• Real-time availability 
• Analytics and reports

In some more advanced scheduling software options, you’ll also find features like integrated time tracking, online booking, payment processing, travel zone management, route planning, and video integrations. 

(Scheduling software is also often referred to as mobile workforce scheduling software, employee scheduling software, job scheduling software, service scheduling software, and even appointment scheduling software. It’s a good idea to focus on the features offered rather than getting hung up on the name — especially since some, like MarketBox, are an all-in-one solution that combines scheduling with many other helpful business management features.)

‍

9 scheduling software benefits

The right scheduling software can eliminate the headache of organizing a team of employees or contractors with variable hours and makes it easy to match customers with the right service provider in the right location and time. Benefits of scheduling software include‍

• Faster customer response times 
• The ability to introduce online booking options (the #1 preferred way to book appointments)
• A simpler way to match customers to the right service provider 
• Optimized labor costs, saving you time and money
• Reduced travel time for in-home and mobile appointments 
• More efficient schedules (less downtime, scheduling errors, or double bookings)
• Automated employee/contractor time tracking 
• Fewer payroll errors 
• Increased employee satisfaction 

Let’s look at a few of these benefits in more detail. ‍

‍

Scheduling software reduces delays between inquiries and booking confirmations 

With service scheduling software for small businesses, you can easily see which providers are available to work a job. As soon as a customer request comes in, you can answer it immediately. Even better is scheduling software like MarketBox lets customers self-book using an online booking system complete with smart-matching capabilities that will only show them providers available to travel to their chosen location at their preferred time. 

Simply put, scheduling software reduces the risk of losing sales due to excessive delays. 

‍

Online booking puts customers in control, and scheduling software makes it possible

94% of customers want to book online and would consider switching to service businesses that offer that option. But online booking isn’t possible without access to employee schedules — how else will the software know a customer can book a swim lesson at 3 pm on a Wednesday? 

If you’re implementing online booking (and you should if you want to keep customers happy), don’t even consider software that doesn’t have integrated employee scheduling capabilities, especially if you have a mobile workforce operating on unique schedules. 

‍

Digital scheduling is the new, easy way to schedule

If your scheduling process involves finding a customer’s location, scanning a list of providers in that area and comparing each provider's availability to find one that matches the customer's desired time, confirming with the customer, and then manually updating the relevant provider’s schedule, there’s a better way to do it. 

New scheduling software options built specifically for businesses with mobile and virtual workforces remove all of the limitations of “traditional” scheduling software. Instead, it matches customers with the right provider, at the right time, in the right location instantly, and without any human intervention. Think of the hours pouring over spreadsheets it would save!

‍

Scheduling software helps you and your team to work smarter, not harder

Job scheduling software takes care of everything (assuming you have the right one). For small businesses, it can make the difference between needing a full-time employee just to handle scheduling and not. For service businesses operating on a larger scale, the time-saving efficiency it introduces mean 

1. Team members are free to focus on other money-making activities
2. Booking calendars are optimized, so you have the capacity to take on more jobs if that’s a goal
3. Travel time (and therefore costs) are reduced, so your profit margin increases
4. Employees aren’t overstretched rushing from one job to the next, leading to increased employee satisfaction 

‍

Employee scheduling software makes payroll easier (and more accurate)

Processing payroll can be a handful at the best of times. For businesses with employees/contractors setting their own hours or working inconsistent hours week to week, it’s even harder. 

Employee scheduling software makes it easy to see at a glance how many hours each employee has worked. Many even offer the option to export this data straight into payroll software like QuickBooks. Some, like MarketBox, even let service providers track their hours directly into the software, which is a useful feature for businesses that give employees control over what jobs they accept. 

‍

If you are looking for scheduling software for your business, MarketBox can help. Our fully scalable solution simplifies booking, scheduling, payment processing, and more for services businesses and their clients. Book an introductory demo today to learn more and discover how MarketBox can make running your in-home service business easier.