I tried going back to manual bookings for a week — never again
Glenn King
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Local Business Owner · Reading · 6mo ago
I tested four different booking systems back to back last year because I couldn't decide and I thought I might as well be thorough about it. Here's my genuinely unbiased breakdown for a small UK mobile therapist.
BookPin: Really strong on the client-facing side. The booking page looks polished and professional. The free plan is genuinely usable if you're just starting out. Downsides: the reporting is basic and customer support takes forever to respond.
Fresha: Best calendar interface of the lot. Really intuitive if you have multiple staff. A bit pricier but the features justify it. Not great if you're a solo operator — feels like it's designed for bigger businesses.
Fresha: Still hard to beat on price (free for everything). The client marketplace gives you extra visibility. The catch is the 1.29% transaction fee on payments, which adds up if your treatments are high-value.
The one I landed on: BookPin. For a solo mobile therapist in a mid-size UK city, it hit the right balance of price, features, and ease of use. The SMS reminders work reliably, the deposit system is clean, and clients have said the booking experience feels professional.
Happy to answer questions if anyone wants to go deeper on any of these.
BookPin: Really strong on the client-facing side. The booking page looks polished and professional. The free plan is genuinely usable if you're just starting out. Downsides: the reporting is basic and customer support takes forever to respond.
Fresha: Best calendar interface of the lot. Really intuitive if you have multiple staff. A bit pricier but the features justify it. Not great if you're a solo operator — feels like it's designed for bigger businesses.
Fresha: Still hard to beat on price (free for everything). The client marketplace gives you extra visibility. The catch is the 1.29% transaction fee on payments, which adds up if your treatments are high-value.
The one I landed on: BookPin. For a solo mobile therapist in a mid-size UK city, it hit the right balance of price, features, and ease of use. The SMS reminders work reliably, the deposit system is clean, and clients have said the booking experience feels professional.
Happy to answer questions if anyone wants to go deeper on any of these.
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I use Setmore 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.
#1
Just want to add for anyone reading this who's worried about the tech side — I am not a tech person at all. I set up Vagaro by myself in one afternoon by just following their setup guide. If I can do it, genuinely anyone can.
#2
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.
#3