When your business operates on appointments, you want to make it as easy as possible for your potential customers to check availability and book a service. If the booking experience is complicated or buggy, that can translate to lost customers.
To make sure their booking process runs smoothly, many business owners turn to appointment scheduling software. One such option is the cloud-based software 10to8, which counts businesses as major as Yale University, US Bank, Expedia, and Mercedes-Benz among their enterprise clients. Despite their impressive roster of big-name clients, however, 10to8 is an equally viable online scheduling software for small businesses that need an efficient, automated method of managing their appointments.
With 10to8, your clients will be able to book appointments with you via a standalone booking website, right on your business website through an embeddable booking widget, or on your Facebook page. This feature-rich software is also loaded with messaging tools, reporting capabilities, tons of app integrations, a cloud-based calendar, and staff management tools, all of which come together to create a fuss-free, streamlined booking process.
In this 10to8 review, we’ll tell you more about 10to8’s features, pricing, and common raves and rants so you can decide whether this is the right online booking software for your business.
10to8 is a truly comprehensive appointment booking software—but as is the case with most sophisticated, cloud-based scheduling platforms on the market now, it’s equipped to do much more than just let your clients book appointments online. Here’s a closer look at what 10to8 can do for your business.
We did just say that 10to8 is more than just an online booking software, true—but at its heart, that is what this software is made for.
With 10to8, you’ll get a dedicated online scheduling page where your clients can book whatever services you offer directly into your calendar. You can also decide how far in advance your clients can book and cancel, dictate whether clients can book one-on-one or group sessions, and manage several rooms and locations.
10to8 offers an easily embeddable booking widget that you can integrate into your business website or Facebook page so your clients can book without needing to be redirected to a separate scheduling system. You can embed a “Book Now” button to your email newsletters or email signatures, too. Plus, 10to8 integrates with major payment processors PayPal, Stripe, and SagePay, so you can process your clients’ online payments. 10to8 won’t charge an additional commission for online payment processing.
Perhaps what most sets 10to8 apart from similar cloud-based booking software are the several tools that enable you to interact with your customers.
For starters, the calendar will automatically send your clients interactive text and email appointment reminders, which they can respond to directly to confirm, modify, or cancel their appointments. Handily, too, you’ll be able to track when they’ve opened and read their reminders so you can follow up accordingly. 10to8 also integrates with Slack and Facebook, so you have the option of sending your clients notes through those messaging systems, too. And depending on which service plan you choose, you’ll be able to brand and customize your messages however you see fit.
10to8 is equipped to manage several staff members and their particular schedules and specializations. Each employee can set up their availability and working hours, and you can set the types of services each employee offers, if need be. Also, all your staff members can receive their own logins so they can view their own calendars, according to permission levels that you’ve set (whether that’s a system admin, viewing only their bookings, viewing and managing their bookings, or other available permission options).
As a cloud-based platform, all bookings made in 10to8 will automatically sync with your personal calendar (10to8 is compatible with Outlook, Office 365, Exchange, Google Calendar, and Apple iCal), and all communication is secured with bank-level encryption and certificates. 10to8 also boasts a huge number of app integrations, including such well-loved apps and platforms as Twitter, QuickBooks Online, MailChimp, Google Analytics, and WordPress. Since 10to8 is cloud-based, you can access your 10to8 dashboard from any device, be it phone, tablet, or computer—but if you prefer hard copies, you can print your calendars, too.
From your 10to8 dashboard, you can view live reports that track your appointments, new customers, visits on your booking page, and no-shows, as well as all your upcoming appointments, messages, and other key metrics to help you plan out your week. You can also generate reports according to staff member-, service-, or customer-related data.
10to8 offers five service plans that increase in cost and available features. Here’s a quick rundown of what each membership plan has to offer, though keep in mind that cost and features may vary slightly depending on your region.
Also note that all plans come with the ability to send your clients SMS text reminders and appointment confirmations. 10to8 offers 30-day free trial periods for their Basic, Grow, and Bigger Business plans, as well as a demo for their Bigger Business and Enterprise plans. You can also change or upgrade your plan at any time as your business grows.
If you’re still on the fence about signing up for 10to8, it might be helpful to know that this appointment scheduling software receives stellar reviews across all major review platforms: For some context, the software receives a 4.5-out-of-5 rating on Capterra, 8.9-out-of-10 on Trustpilot, and 4.7-out-of-5 on G2 Crowd.
In particular, reviewers like 10to8’s built-in customer communication tools, automatic calendar syncing, ease of configuration, robust app integrations, and that it automatically stores important client information. Still others rave about the easily navigable interface, scheduling customization, and excellent value for the price. Reviewers also say that 10to8’s customer service team responded to their questions promptly and courteously. Be aware that the support staff is based in Britain, however, so you’ll need to account for potential time differences when expecting your response.
Although negative comments about the software are rare, they’re still worth considering. A few complaints we’ve seen about 10to8 are that customers can’t pay for appointment packages, that it lacks invoicing capabilities, and that the interface looks a little outdated. Other reviewers dislike that you’re limited to 100 appointments per month on the Free plan, with no option to increase that capacity without upgrading to a paid plan. Along those lines too, customization is limited on the Free plan.
But on the whole, it seems that users are thrilled with 10to8, and almost all of them would recommend the software to other small business owners.
Even though 10to8 is highly recommended by other small business owners, it’s always a good idea to comparison shop before you buy. In particular, we’d recommend taking a look at the following appointment scheduling software options, all of which are also well-loved by service-based business owners:
Square Appointments is the cloud-based booking software offered by Square, one of the leading platforms in payment processing and other small business-centric tools, products, and solutions.
In addition to providing users with either a standalone booking website or a booking widget for your existing website, Square Appointments will send your customers text and email reminders of their upcoming appointments, sync with your calendar, save your customer information for easy rebooking, and automatically track tips and commissions, among other automated features. No surprise, too, that Square Appointments in inbuilt with Square POS, the platform’s payment processor that enables users to accept both online and in-person payments, along with a huge number of additional business management tools.
Square Appointments may well be the best option on this list for solopreneurs, as it’s totally free for individuals. The service jumps to $50 per month for businesses with two to five employees, $90 per month for businesses with six to 10 employees, and a custom price for businesses with more than 10 employees. Regardless of your business’s size, remember that you’ll also be responsible for paying Square transaction fees.
If you’re looking for an appointment scheduling software that’s especially chock-full of business management features, Appointy might be the right solution for you. Firstly, Appointy lets your customers book whatever services your business offers, whether it’s appointments, workshops, tours, classes, rides, events, or activities, either from your business website, Facebook page, or a mobile app. You’ll be able to customize each appointment slot as much as you want or need, including setting available staff members, rooms, time slots, and required tools and resources.
In addition to several tools designed to streamline and automate the booking process, Appointy also offers a handful of marketing and customer relationship management tools, plus it’s compatible with major payment processors Square, Stripe, PayPal, and Authorize.Net. Especially valuable is Appointy’s integration with Zapier, which aggregates thousands of workflow-automating apps—like Slack, Asana, Gmail, Dropbox, Salesforce, and virtually every other business- or productivity-related app you can think of.
Appointy offers four service plans with increasing capabilities, which range in price from free to $99.99 billed monthly (or $79.99 per month billed yearly), though Appointy offers all users a 14-day free trial period.
If you run a business in the health and wellness industry, then MINDBODY should be your first consideration. This super-popular platform is designed with your particular booking and management needs in mind—for instance, you’ll be able to set a maximum class size and enable an option for clients to join a waitlist. The app also securely stores your customer information so you can access important info like any of their signed forms or waivers and their booking history. The app also stores billing information so your clients can quickly rebook appointments.
And like any good cloud-based booking software, MINDBODY is also loaded with marketing, client management, and staff management tools, as well as useful integrations with other relevant apps like FitBit and ClassPass. MINDBODY also features a built-in POS system that allows you to take payments on the app, your website, at your front desk, or through an entirely customized, branded app that MINDBODY can help you build.
Be aware that MINDBODY is on the pricier end, however—their three service plans range from $129 to $349 per month.
10to8 can truly work for all types of businesses, as evidenced by their long list of example scheduling solutions for industries as varied (and specific) as financial advisors, gym owners, charities, franchises, and music teachers, among many others. 10to8 is an especially good option for businesses in the health care industry, since the platform provides all the tools you need to remain HIPAA compliant.
Despite 10to8’s flexibility and those almost-flawless user reviews, you still can’t go wrong by evaluating your other appointment scheduling software options, as well—as there are many.
But don’t forget that 10to8 offers month-long free trial periods for their paid plans, along with a totally free membership plan. So if you’re even a little bit curious about how 10to8 can work for your business, you have nothing to lose by taking advantage of these free options.
Caroline Goldstein is a contributing writer for Fundera.
Caroline is a freelance writer and editor, specializing in small business and finance. She has covered topics such as lending, credit cards, marketing, and starting a business for Fundera. Her work has appeared in JPMorgan Chase, Prevention, Refinery29, Bustle, Men’s Health, and more.