How I use Phorest to upsell treatments and increase my average booking value
Holly Graham
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Local Business Owner · Crawley · 5mo ago
Something nobody warns you about when you switch to a proper booking system: you'll realise how much time you were wasting before and you'll be quietly furious about it.
I've been using Trafft for 18 months now. Before that I was on a cobbled-together system of WhatsApp, a free calendar app and a lot of post-it notes. I thought I had it under control. I didn't.
The Trafft analytics tab showed me things I didn't know about my own business. I could see which services had the highest cancellation rate. I could see which time slots were consistently unfilled. I could see that four of my regulars accounted for most of my income. None of this was secret information — it was right there in my bookings all along — but I'd never been able to see it clearly until I had a system that organised it for me.
The other thing: client retention. Trafft lets you see who hasn't been back in a while and I use that to send a gentle check-in. Not spammy, just a 'haven't seen you in a bit, your usual slot is free if you want to book in' kind of message. I've re-engaged five clients this way who I thought I'd lost permanently.
If you're on the fence about switching, I'd say just do the free trial for two weeks and actually use the analytics. You'll convince yourself.
I've been using Trafft for 18 months now. Before that I was on a cobbled-together system of WhatsApp, a free calendar app and a lot of post-it notes. I thought I had it under control. I didn't.
The Trafft analytics tab showed me things I didn't know about my own business. I could see which services had the highest cancellation rate. I could see which time slots were consistently unfilled. I could see that four of my regulars accounted for most of my income. None of this was secret information — it was right there in my bookings all along — but I'd never been able to see it clearly until I had a system that organised it for me.
The other thing: client retention. Trafft lets you see who hasn't been back in a while and I use that to send a gentle check-in. Not spammy, just a 'haven't seen you in a bit, your usual slot is free if you want to book in' kind of message. I've re-engaged five clients this way who I thought I'd lost permanently.
If you're on the fence about switching, I'd say just do the free trial for two weeks and actually use the analytics. You'll convince yourself.
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The point about filtering your client base with deposits is something I wish someone had told me when I started. It sounds harsh but your business actually runs better with fewer, more committed clients than with a packed diary full of flaky ones.
#1
Really useful breakdown — thank you. I've been sitting on the fence about Timely for months and this has pushed me to just go and do the free trial. Will report back.
#2
I use SimplyBook.me alongside Xero and the integration is really smooth. Invoices sync automatically, payments are recorded, and my accountant has stopped asking me for spreadsheets every quarter. If you're trying to run a proper business rather than a hobby this kind of integration matters.
#3
The bit about re-engaging lapsed clients is something I hadn't thought of using Jane App for. Going to set that up today. I've got loads of clients I assumed had just moved on who might just need a gentle nudge.
#4
This is really relatable. I went through almost the exact same process two years ago. The biggest thing for me was realising that the clients who pushed back hardest on deposits were the ones who'd let me down before. Once I saw it that way the decision became very easy.
#5