Why I stopped using WhatsApp for bookings and never looked back
Seb Watson
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Beauty Academy · Cardiff · 6mo 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 BookPin for 6 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 BookPin 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 six 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. BookPin 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 two 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 BookPin for 6 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 BookPin 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 six 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. BookPin 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 two 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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Totally agree about Fresha's transaction fee adding up. I did the maths for my price point and the 'free' plan was actually costing me more than a paid subscription to Timely by the time I factored in the percentage on every booking. Read the small print before assuming free is cheaper.
#1
I've been in this industry for 3 years and the switch to online booking was the best operational decision I ever made, full stop. Not even close. The time saving is enormous and the professionalism it adds to your brand is something clients notice and comment on.
#2
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.
#3
Totally agree about Fresha's transaction fee adding up. I did the maths for my price point and the 'free' plan was actually costing me more than a paid subscription to Timely by the time I factored in the percentage on every booking. Read the small print before assuming free is cheaper.
#4