Best Small Business Tools You Don't Want to Miss

Square is a comprehensive suite of financial and business management tools designed for various business types, including restaurants, retail, beauty salons, and service providers. It offers a range of products and services, from point-of-sale (POS) systems to online ordering, marketing tools, loyalty programs, gift cards, staff management, payroll, banking, and payment processing. Square's offerings cater to businesses of all sizes, from small independent shops to large franchises. The platform aims to streamline operations, enhance customer experience, and provide financial tools to help businesses thrive. Square's hardware, such as registers and terminals, are designed to be user-friendly and efficient. The software is built to manage everything from payments to payroll, providing a holistic solution for business needs. Square also offers banking services, allowing businesses to manage their finances effectively. The company's commitment to supporting local businesses globally is highlighted, with a focus on empowering entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Sign In Scheduling is an appointment scheduling software designed to streamline the entire appointment lifecycle, from booking to arrival. It empowers organizations to manage bookings, optimize outcomes, and enhance the visitor experience. Key features include: <em> <strong>Seamless visitor experience:</strong> Provides a smooth experience from booking to attending appointments, with control over the entire process. </em> <strong>Reduced no-shows:</strong> Automated email, SMS, and voice reminders help significantly reduce no-show rates (up to 90% reduction). <em> <strong>Centralized calendar:</strong> Manage bookings and availability for the entire organization from a single platform. </em> <strong>Online booking pages:</strong> Give clients the convenience of booking appointments anytime, anywhere. <em> <strong>Integrations:</strong> Connects with thousands of apps, including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Salesforce. </em> <strong>Reporting:</strong> Provides data-driven insights to improve visitor experience and make informed decisions. <em> <strong>Accessibility:</strong> WCAG-compliant, ensuring accessibility for all users. </em> <strong>Appointment scheduling across channels:</strong> Supports online and phone bookings, with automated reminders. <em> <strong>Control and coordination:</strong> Manage all locations, services, staff, and integrations from a centralized panel. </em> <strong>Bulk edits and updates:</strong> Streamline administrative tasks. <em> <strong>Staff management:</strong> Assign staff to teams, allowing them to view their calendar and availability. </em> <strong>Data insights:</strong> Gathers and stores data in compliance with regulations, providing insights into bookings, busy times, popular services, and no-shows. Sign In Scheduling is trusted by thousands of businesses worldwide and offers a comprehensive solution for managing appointments effectively, reducing administrative burden, and improving overall efficiency.

Bookafy is a robust online appointment booking software designed to automate customer appointments and reimagine the customer experience for businesses of all sizes. It helps businesses streamline their scheduling process, improve customer interactions, and drive sales. Bookafy's advanced logic ensures the right staff member is booked with the right customer, every time. It offers various features to enhance the customer journey, including: * **Skill-based lead routing:** Customers are automatically directed to the appropriate staff member based on their skills and expertise, leading to more efficient and effective interactions. * **Automated reminders:** Prevent missed appointments with SMS text reminders, saving time and resources. * **Video calls:** Integrates with Zoom, GoToMeeting, Webex, and other platforms to automatically fetch meeting links, facilitating seamless video calls. * **Payment processing:** Secure appointments with credit card payments at booking time or secure credit card information to prevent no-shows. * **Flexible scheduling options:** Supports one-to-one, many-to-one, and one-to-many meeting types, catering to diverse scheduling needs. * **Customizable branding:** Allows businesses to customize the platform's appearance with custom colors, fonts, logos, and white-label options to match their brand identity. * **Automated pre and post-appointment communication:** Impress clients with automated emails and SMS messages for pre-appointment warm-up, reminders, and post-appointment feedback requests. Bookafy integrates with various third-party apps and offers an open API for custom integrations. It's designed to be user-friendly, with a simple UI and full access to all features. The platform is available on a per-user licensing basis, with optional white-label rebranding. The company offers a dedicated success manager, a top-tier technical integration team, and an easy-to-use dashboard, along with email and live chat support. Bookafy's commitment to data security is paramount, with robust privacy and security protocols in place. The platform can be launched quickly, providing a fast and efficient solution for businesses looking to add booking capabilities to their offerings.

Appointlet is an online scheduling platform that helps businesses and organizations streamline their appointment scheduling process. It allows users to easily set their availability, share booking links, and manage bookings. Appointlet integrates with various calendar systems, video conferencing tools, CRMs, and payment processors. Key features include customizable booking pages, automated invites and reminders, team scheduling, and the ability to embed Appointlet onto websites. Users can create web conference rooms, sync with Google/Outlook calendars, and manage bookings through a dashboard. Appointlet is designed to simplify scheduling, improve client experience, and save time for professionals. The platform is trusted by over 100,000 companies and organizations worldwide, and offers a free plan with no credit card required.

Doodle is a fast and easy scheduling tool for everything from meetings to collaborations. It's trusted by over 70,000 companies and has scheduled over 2 million meetings last month. Doodle offers enterprise-level security and allows you to start scheduling appointments in minutes. Doodle helps professionals of all types get more done, quickly booking work or client meetings. This includes support for recruitment, board meetings, sales, education, non-profits, freelancers, and enterprise scheduling. Doodle is designed for teams of all sizes. Individuals can keep their calendars organized and book meetings with clients and teammates efficiently. Teams can add teammates to invites and booking pages, using shared calendars. Enterprises can manage their entire organization's scheduling needs securely. Doodle allows you to stay in control of your scheduling. Instead of sharing your calendar, you share an invite or booking page, controlling who can book and when. It's easy to create an invite, send it, and receive responses in minutes. Booking is straightforward. Doodle sets up every meeting for success with automatic video conferencing links, calendar invites to all participants, and more. Every meeting is ready to start right away. Doodle integrates with your favorite apps, so you can streamline your processes without adding overhead. It integrates directly into your favorite apps, including Google Meet, Zapier, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and Stripe. For example, Google Meet automatically adds video links to virtual meetings scheduled with Doodle, while Zapier allows you to connect to thousands of apps and build custom workflows. Zoom adds Zoom links automatically, Microsoft Teams generates conferencing links, Outlook brings Doodle's scheduling power to your email and calendar, and Stripe allows you to charge people to book your time, ensuring accurate and timely payments without extra work.

SimplyBook.me is an online booking system designed for service-based businesses of all types. It allows businesses to define their services and providers, display availability, and accept bookings 24/7. Key features include: <em> <strong>Online Booking:</strong> Businesses can create their own mobile-optimized booking website or integrate with existing websites. Bookings can also be accepted through Facebook, Instagram, Google, or a branded client app. </em> <strong>Notifications:</strong> Automated SMS/email reminders for staff and clients regarding bookings, cancellations, and rescheduling. Push notifications are also available for new booking information via the admin app. <em> <strong>Client & Admin Apps:</strong> Clients can use a personalized client app to book services and manage their bookings. Administrators can use an admin app to manage their business on the go. </em> <strong>Payment Processing:</strong> Accept online payments and deposits through various payment processors (PayPal, Stripe, etc.) or accept cash/card onsite via a POS system. <em> <strong>Integrations:</strong> Integrations with Facebook, Instagram, Google My Business, QuickBooks, FreshBooks, Xero, WordPress, and other CMS systems. An API allows for custom integrations. </em> <strong>Customizable Features:</strong> A wide range of custom features are available, including coupons, gift cards, customizable emails, product sales, memberships, classes, waiting lists, loyalty systems, HIPAA compliance, SOAP forms, intake forms, file uploaders, packages, POS, deposits, related resources, and more. <em> <strong>Scalability:</strong> Pricing is based on bookings and features, allowing businesses to start small and grow with the system. </em> <strong>Customization:</strong> Businesses can customize their booking website to match their brand and customize messages for notifications, reminders, and feedback requests. <em> <strong>Business Analytics:</strong> Monitor bookings, site visits, and popular services/providers on any device. </em> <strong>Calendar Sync:</strong> Sync the booking page with Google or Outlook calendars to avoid scheduling conflicts. <em> <strong>Multiple Locations:</strong> Support for multiple service locations and staff assignments. </em> <strong>Products & Promotions:</strong> Offer discounts, gift cards, and sell products alongside services to increase revenue. <em> <strong>Booking Channels:</strong> Accept bookings from multiple channels, including the booking website, the business's website, Booking.page, Facebook, Instagram, and more. </em> <strong>Reminders:</strong> Automated email, SMS, and Telegram reminders and booking confirmation notifications. <em> <strong>Reviews:</strong> Automatic feedback requests after appointments for client reviews and visibility. </em> <strong>Recurring Bookings:</strong> Easily schedule recurring appointments. <em> <strong>Client App:</strong> Clients can easily book, change, or cancel bookings via the client app. </em> <strong>Group Bookings:</strong> Schedule bookings for groups and accept upfront payments if needed. <em> <strong>In-Store Payments:</strong> Enhance in-store payments with features like processing payments against stored credit cards, displaying QR codes for mobile payments, sending payment links, enabling Tap & Pay, and allowing clients to leave tips. </em> <strong>Templates:</strong> Choose from a range of beautiful templates or booking widgets to match the business's brand. <em> <strong>Mobile Apps:</strong> Personalized business-branded client and admin apps for mobile access to bookings and business management. </em> <strong>Support:</strong> 24/7 live chat support from qualified agents, along with video tutorials and a help center. <em> <strong>Security:</strong> Secure communication, daily data backups, HIPAA compliance, SOAP forms, password security, SSL, SSO, and ISO27001 compliance. </em> <strong>Free Trial:</strong> A 14-day free trial is available with 50 included bookings and most custom features.

Setmore is a free scheduling software that helps businesses organize their appointments, manage bookings, and automate reminders and payments. It allows businesses to create a custom Booking Page to showcase their services, availability, and prices online. Customers can self-book appointments 24/7, without needing to call or visit the business in person. Setmore integrates with various platforms, including Zoom, Google Calendar, Facebook, Instagram, and Stripe, to streamline operations and enhance customer experience. The platform offers features like automated confirmations and reminders, staff scheduling, calendar sync, and mobile apps. Setmore caters to a wide range of industries, including barber shops, legal firms, automotive businesses, medical practices, photography studios, and personal training services. The platform offers different pricing plans, including a free plan, Pro plan, and Team plan, with varying features and user limits. The free plan allows up to 4 users, while Pro and Team plans offer unlimited users. Setmore provides 24/7 human support and offers a money-back guarantee for Pro features. The platform also connects with other calendars and enables online payments. Setmore is committed to providing a seamless and user-friendly experience for businesses and customers alike, helping businesses grow and improve customer experiences. Setmore also donates 1% of its revenue to plant trees.

Acuity Scheduling is flexible scheduling software designed to help businesses succeed. It offers seamless client scheduling, secure payments, and workflow automation, allowing professionals to focus on their work. <strong>Control your availability with online appointments:</strong> Customize how and when clients can book, host virtual appointments or classes, and block off personal time. Grow your business with scheduling automation. <strong>Enable automated appointment booking:</strong> Manage multiple locations, let clients easily cancel or reschedule, and send automated receipts and reminders to keep clients prompt. <strong>Grow your customer base and keep them engaged:</strong> Create custom intake forms to personalize the customer experience. Use powerful loyalty tools to drive business growth and keep customers returning. <strong>Protect your time and maximize your income:</strong> Reduce no-shows with tools like storing credit cards and secure deposits. Offer recurring subscriptions, packages, and gift cards to increase earnings. <strong>Automated booking software built to save you time:</strong> Get a branded scheduling page showcasing your services and real-time availability. Easy payment and intake forms make it easy for clients to self-schedule appointments. <strong>Appointment software that adapts to your business:</strong> Free up time with scheduling tools tailored to your needs. The software supports various industries and services, including education, financial services, pet care, automotive, health, coaching, beauty, spa, fitness, and more. <strong>Delight clients with robust online booking options and payment tools:</strong> Offers a seamless booking experience, relationship-building tools, and easy and secure client payment options. <strong>Easy scheduling management, so you can focus on your passion:</strong> Provides flexible availability tools, calendar and staff management, and scheduling tools to grow your client reach. Integrates with third-party apps and offers global support.

Calendly is a scheduling automation platform designed to eliminate the back-and-forth emails needed to find suitable meeting times. It offers a range of features beyond basic scheduling, including automated reminders, follow-up emails, and SMS messages to improve meeting attendance and results. Calendly allows users to share their booking page directly with invitees, or embed their availability in emails or on their website. The platform is used by over 20 million professionals and is considered the #1 scheduling tool. Calendly offers solutions for various departments, including Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, Recruiting, IT, and Education, helping them drive revenue, speed up sales cycles, close more deals, drive pipeline, improve lead response times, boost conversion rates, drive retention, speed up response times, improve NPS and customer health, hire more efficiently, speed up recruiting cycles, improve the candidate experience, maintain enterprise-grade security, implement and govern scheduling easily, drive adoption and ROI across teams, drive valuable connections, increase communication and foster coordination, and deliver a better educational experience. Calendly integrates with various tools, including Google Suite (Calendar, Meet, Analytics) and Microsoft Suite (Teams, Outlook, Azure SSO), and other applications, to seamlessly integrate into users' workflows. It supports team-based scheduling, customizable availability settings, scheduling rules, buffers, and the ability to connect conferencing tools. Users can create custom event types, share scheduling links, and automate workflows for reminders and follow-ups. Calendly also offers routing forms for qualifying, routing, and scheduling meetings with high-value leads, round robin and collective events for team scheduling, admin management tools for streamlining onboarding, ensuring consistency, tracking scheduling trends, maintaining security standards, and more. The platform is available in various pricing plans, including a free option for individuals, Standard, Teams, and Enterprise plans with custom pricing for enterprise-level needs. Calendly is trusted by over 100,000 leading organizations, including 86% of Fortune 500 companies. It prioritizes security with enterprise-grade admin management, security integrations, data governance, compliance audits, and privacy protections. Calendly's features include scheduling automation, customizable availability, mobile apps, browser extensions, meeting routing, email & website embeds, reminders & follow-ups, meeting polls, analytics, and admin management. It integrates with various tools like Google ecosystem, Microsoft ecosystem, calendars, video conferencing, payments, sales & CRM, recruiting & ATS, email messaging, embed Calendly, analytics, API & connectors, and security & compliance.

Square is a comprehensive suite of financial and business management tools designed for various business types, including restaurants, retail, beauty salons, and service providers. It offers a range of products and services, from point-of-sale (POS) systems to online ordering, marketing tools, loyalty programs, gift cards, staff management, payroll, and banking solutions. Square's POS systems are tailored for different business models, such as quick service restaurants, full-service restaurants, coffee shops, fast casual eateries, bars, breweries, ghost kitchens, and caterers. For retail businesses, Square provides POS solutions, online stores, and tools for managing staff, payroll, marketing, loyalty programs, and gift cards. Beauty salons and service providers can utilize Square's appointment scheduling, POS, online store, payment links, staff management, payroll, and marketing tools. Square also offers a suite of products for managing customers, including marketing tools, messages, loyalty programs, customer directories, and gift cards. Staff management features include shifts, payroll, advanced access, and team communication. Square's banking services encompass checking, savings, and loans, and they offer hardware options like registers, terminals, and stands to streamline transactions. Square's platform is designed to integrate various business functions, from payments to payroll, into a single, user-friendly system. The company aims to support millions of businesses globally, providing them with the tools and resources they need to succeed.