The 7 Free and Open Source Appointment Booking Software

Updated on :October 19, 2023
By :Jemimah Rodriguez

Scheduling appointments or booking reservations is an important task for organizations of any size. Whether it is an SMB or a Fortune 500 company, if it is a service-based company, embracing a streamlined process for scheduling appointments ensures a smoother flow of business processes. 

The task of scheduling appointments and booking reservations is not as simple as it seems to be. If there are a huge number of daily appointments or reservations to be made, this process becomes tedious and time-consuming. Moreover, if the appointment scheduling process has flaws, it can lead to customer dissatisfaction, which can be risky for the financial health of any business.

Lacking Appointment Scheduling Software

Earlier, appointments were taken over the phone and recorded in an appointment book. After that, it progressed to the use of an electronic calendar offered by Google or Microsoft Outlook. But, these traditional ways of managing appointments require more manpower and are highly time-consuming, which can drive up operational costs.

An appointment scheduling software can address these issues caused due to outdated scheduling methods. It provides the flexibility to your customers to book an appointment online on their own even after your business hours. Earlier people used to make a phone call or email to book an appointment. Now, people prefer booking appointments online, thereby eliminating the frustration caused due to busy phone lines and delay in response to emails.

Thus, the appointment scheduling tools market is growing and has become a necessity for appointment-based businesses wanting to stay competitive and achieve their sales goals.

Appointment Scheduling Software Stats
(reuters.com)

Let's take a further look at what exactly is appointment scheduling system, how is it better than other different ways of scheduling, and why all appointment-based businesses should use it.

What is Appointment Scheduling Software?

The software can automate, streamline, and improve the entire appointment and reservation booking process consuming less time and manpower. Thus, businesses that rely on appointment scheduling for providing services like salons, health centers, consulting & law firms, educational institutes, etc., prefer using appointment scheduling solutions also known as booking software for the convenience of their employees and customers both.

What Is Appointment Scheduling Software

Appointment booking tools have become the most efficient and effective way of managing appointments, and reservation bookings, as well as storing the contact information of the customers. Not only does it manage the entire appointment scheduling process, but it has also simplified the way organizations stay connected with their customers, students, patients, clients, etc., In short, The software helps businesses in improving their services ultimately resulting in high profitability and growth.

Appointment Scheduling Tools Are Beneficial for Businesses Like...

Who Can Use Appointment Scheduling Software

What Does the Appointment Booking System Do?

What Does Appointment Scheduling Software Do?

Benefits of Appointment Scheduling Tools

Now you know what an appointment scheduling system is, and what does it. But why should we use appointment booking software? In this age of Uber and Zomato, consumers expect to complete their basic errands online. This is where appointment schedule software helps. It gives your haphazard, hay-wire appointments a streamlined approach.

As per a recent survey relating to appointment scheduling in healthcare -

Appointment Scheduling Software in Health Care

The same applies to other sectors as well. Consumers these days highly prefer online self-appointment scheduling, which also benefits organizations by saving their time spent on answering phone calls, replying to emails, and maintaining appointment books or electronic calendars manually.

Online appointment scheduling has given birth to various other benefits too as mentioned below -

Appointment Scheduling Software Benefits

Are you looking for appointment scheduling software for your business? Let's have a basic understanding of the characteristics to look for in appointment scheduling tools that would help you in selecting the best one compatible with your business requirements.

How to Select an Appointment Scheduling Software?

While selecting an appointment scheduling tool, most organizations look for basic features like online self-scheduling and automated text/email reminders. But, other organizations may require additional functionality to improve their entire scheduling process. So what should we look for in appointment booking tools? Below mentioned are some factors to be considered before selecting the software.

Features and Functionality

Obviously, the features included in the software you select should suit your business requirements. It is always better to go for a demo before adapting software for your business to save time and avoid disappointment.

Scalability

Your business is definitely going to grow with time. You need to look for software that grows with your business. You need to select an appointment scheduling software capable of expanding its functionality to meet the changing demands of your business.

Security

There is a lot of important data including your customers’ information stored in your software. Securing that data from malicious attacks or hackers is highly significant. Thus, security is one of the most required features in an appointment scheduling application.

Cost

The cost of an appointment scheduling app may vary depending on the features it provides. Many times, we end up paying for the features we are not going to use. Thus, it is wise to select the software which can meet the specific needs of your business, so that you get what you pay for. It is always better to go for a free trial of the software before purchasing one to make the right decision.

Integration

Many organizations look for advanced functionality beyond the standard features in an appointment booking app. These organizations should ensure that the software they select can integrate with other tools like payment gateways, email service providers, CRMs, Calendars, etc.

Support

Prompt support by the software provider is quite significant, especially if you are a new user. You may face several problems while operating the software, and so quick support would help you in case of a system glitch or any kind of technical failure.

Credibility

There are many appointment scheduling software available in the market. Thus, it requires enough research to decide which one is competent enough to tackle your appointment scheduling processes. Go through the users' reviews before making the crucial decision of selecting the software.

Although you can choose and deploy any of the 7 Free and Open Source Appointment Booking software discussed below in this article, TimeTap deserves special mention., Built in 2006, TimeTap is one of the most trusted scheduling systems available in the market that offer comprehensive appointment booking solutions to businesses that want to automate their appointment scheduling system. 

Let us discuss this enterprise-grade appointment booking software in detail: 

TimeTap

A highly sophisticated and feature-rich application, TimeTap is a next-generation appointment scheduling software that is built to serve the scheduling needs of diverse businesses ranging from small clinics to large enterprises. From booking doctor appointments to scheduling classes and seminars, TimeTap can automate the complete process of scheduling, including booking confirmations, reminders, and cancellations. The software comes with powerful integrations such as Salesforce CRM, Office 365, Google Calendar, Twilio, and many more.  TimeTap comes with a 14 days free trial of its services. 

TimeTap appointment booking software

(Source: TimeTap)

Key Features: 

  • Create custom booking sites and forms
  • Collect payment and send invoices for booking
  • Send automated email notifications and triggered emails
  • Automated email campaigns
  • Automatic waitlist feature
  • Client management tools
  • Data privacy compliances, including HIPAA and GDPR
  • Mobile compatible scheduling 

If you are looking for free and open source appointment scheduling tools, then continue below with the list of best appointment booking software solutions compiled by GoodFirms.

The 7 Free and Open Source Appointment Scheduling Tools

#1 Easy!Appointments

Easy!Appointments is free and open-source software that allows your customers to book appointments with you through the web. Also, you can sync your data with Google Calendar, helping you to manage your appointments accurately. You can install this software in a single folder on the server and thus can run smoothly with your existing website.

Easy!Appointments(easyappointments.org)

Key Features

  • Allows customers to book, modify, and cancel appointments online within specific time slots
  • Includes flexible calendar displays and layouts helping in managing appointments, booking history, and customer information
  • Helps in sending automated email notifications in case of a schedule change, booking modifications, and cancellations
  • Define different services, and specific teams and employees serving customers for each service
  • Events can be synchronized with Google Calendar and share that information with other applications
  • User Interface can be translated into 21 different languages
  • Facilitates multiple-attendant slots, helping to handle groups of customers at certain times
  • Responsive design and thus can be best viewed in any device and platform
  • User community from all over the world available for support and troubleshooting

#2 classroombookings

Classroombookings is a free and open-source booking system specially designed for schools. Launched in 2006, schools all over the world use this software for managing their computing resource availability. It is written in CodeIgniter PHP framework and uses MySQL as a database backend.

classroombookings

(classroombookings.com)

Key Features

  • Allows online booking and thus eliminates the double booking problem
  • Ability to configure an unlimited number of rooms and users
  • High-end control over room booking in terms of which users and groups can book rooms available and the types of bookings possible
  • Can setup the quota in room booking to control the number of bookings per user
  • It has easy to use and simple user interface
  • Helps in customizing the timetable schedule based on the working of the school

#3 BUK

BUK is a free software that is flexible & straightforward with versatile features helping you to streamline the entire booking process making it as seamless as possible. It allows 24/7 self-booking, enables you to sync appointments to your Google Calendar, and sends automated text notifications to your clients. It also allows you to create your customized booking page, helping your clients to book appointments easily.

BUK
(buk.app)

Key Features

  • Allows your clients to self-book at any time with real-time updates
  • Helps you in managing your team’s schedule
  • Allows you to access your calendar on any device and receive notifications on a real-time basis
  • Enables you to create a booking link which can then be shared on social media accounts and your clients
  • Helps you in checking the stats and client information to streamline your business operations

#4 Calendly

Calendly is an automated appointment scheduling software that allows you to book appointments without any hassle. It connects your calendar to Calendly, lets you define the duration of the meeting, and allows you to share your Calendly link with people attending that meeting. Your clients, colleagues, or students would not be able to view more information than they need.

Calendly
(calendly.com)

Key Features

  • Can integrate with different calendars by Google, Outlook, Office 365, and iCloud eliminating double-booking issues
  • Allows setting up buffer time between meetings, create secret event types, and prevent last-minute meetings
  • Ability to detect different time zones, so that there is no confusion due to a difference in geographical locations
  • Can work with different apps like Zappier, GoToMeeting, SalesForce, etc.
  • Can support one-on-one meetings, and collective availability meetings both

#5 Reservio

Reservio is an online appointment booking app helping businesses to stay organized and manage their appointments from any device or platform. Specially designed for beauty salons, yoga centers, and healthcare clinics, it is available in 13 different languages. It is an extremely user-friendly appointment scheduling system that can drastically change the way you manage your appointments.

Reservio
(reservio.com)

Key Features

  • Schedule appointments and book events easily with a few clicks
  • Ability to send booking reminders through email and SMS
  • Helps in accepting online bookings through website and Facebook 24/7
  • Provides access to customer details and booking history
  • Can integrate with Google Calendar
  • Track and optimize sales data as well as business performance

#6 Acuity Scheduling

Acuity Scheduling can organize your appointment booking process so that you get more clients, receive payments on time, and take your business to the next level. By using this software, you will be empowering your clients to view your real-time availability, book appointments with you, and even pay online instantly. They can even reschedule on their own, get reminders relating to their appointments, and eliminate 100% confusion.

Acuity Scheduling
(acuityscheduling.com)

Key Features

  • Easily customizable as per your business requirements
  • Allows preparing team calendars
  • Provides access to the real-time calendar
  • Ability to adjust with different time zones automatically
  • Can work well with multiple locations and employees
  • Can be embedded directly to your business website
  • Can send appointment reminders via Email and SMS
  • Facilitates event and group scheduling

#7 Bookafy

Bookafy is a free and open source appointment scheduling software that comes with features to book group appointments, recurring meetings, one-on-one meetings, and many more. Bookafy’s free plan offers a booking page, a mini website for appointment booking, unlimited appointment bookings, and enhanced booking logic. If you need more features, then upgrade to their premium plans -The Pro Plan and the Pro+ Plan. 

Appointment Booking Software Bookafy

(Source: Bookafy)

Key Features: 

  • Unlimited appointments
  • Automated calendar sync
  • Automatic Time Zone Selector 
  • Limit booking into Future
  • Multiple appointment bookings in one session
  • Custom colors and fonts
  • Free website with booking app
  • Custom booking system integration
  • Set appointment lead time
  • Text reminders
  • Integrates with WordPress, Google Calendar, Wix, Squarespace, Stripe, and more.

So, this was the list of free appointment scheduling applications that you can consider using for your business. If you are still confused about which one to select, just go through the below comparison chart to make a smart decision.

The 7 Free and Open Source Appointment Booking Software Comparison Chart

comparative chart appointment scheduling system

Conclusion

While selecting an appointment scheduling system, you need to research different software in-depth so that you can never regret it in the future. We hope this list of the top 7 free and open-source appointment scheduling apps has been helpful to you.

Also, you can go through the freemium and paid appointment scheduling software like ScheduleOnce, vCita Online Scheduling, Cogsworth, Bookeo, 10to8, and Set a Time. If investing in these solutions is not a problem, you can consider purchasing one of these solutions and enhance your appointment scheduling process for your business.

Just don’t forget to leave your valuable feedback if you have used any of the software mentioned above.

You can also browse all software categories if you are looking for the best software for other facets of your business as well.

Just stay tuned, as our research team keeps on updating the latest software which you might be looking for.

Jemimah Rodriguez
Jemimah Rodriguez

Jemimah Rodriguez is a content marketing specialist having 8+ years of experience in content writing, SEO, and social media optimization. At present, she is working with GoodFirms – a reliable platform helping businesses in selecting right Software Companies & Products. For further information, you can get in touch with her on [email protected]

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