Why you should invest in an Online Class Booking System.

Should I spend the extra money on an online booking system or just keep taking my class bookings manually? I remember asking myself this question. Having taken all of my booking manually for a year, I started to ponder if there was an easier way to do things…

This WAS my process:

• Requested to book class by students one of the following ways: Text, WhatsApp, Instagram, email, Facebook (private account and business) and in person
• Book them in by adding them to the event in my mobile calendar
• Remove manually if anyone cancelled
• Take cash at the end of class for booking (regularly have people be short on money and promise to pay me ‘next week’…which often didn’t happen once I really started to track who owed me what!)

Writing this down now, it amazes me that I ever worked in this way. Not only was it an inefficient use of my time, but it also left room to make mistakes; to miss people, to overbook classes, to run under booked classes when I’d lost track of who was actually coming and ultimately, I lost money because if even just 1 person cancelled a class last minute, at £10 a drop in and 6 public classes a week I was losing a total of over £240 A MONTH! CRAZY I KNOW!

After realising just how much I was losing financially on average a month, suddenly the investment in a booking tool didn’t seem like much money. The thought that I could just direct everyone to the same place to book and cancel, to not HAVE to take cash in class and spend the time taking payments and logging who had paid what AND to also be able to add in a cancellation policy WAS A REVELATION!

Since I started using Instabook, I can honestly say that my life is so much simpler and do you know what, the process is so much easier for my students too, it’s a win win all round.

This is my NEW and improved process:

• Students go to my website, choose the class they want to join
• Choose their payment method (single drop in or class pass – I only allow payment online now)
• Students receive an automatic confirmation email confirming their place
• If students wish to cancel, they do this themselves online and pay full fee if less than 24 hours notice
• I can see who is booked in anytime I like
• I can market special offer to clients and track which classes are performing best.

Notice from my new process that I don’t actually need to do anything? I would estimate that I have saved 3 hours a week dealing with bookings, it’s no longer a point of frustration for me and financially, the impact on my bank account is less even with my booking system fees as I’m no longer losing money on last minute cancellations!

From one wellness professional to another, if you’re thinking of transitioning to a booking tool - DO IT. It’s one of the best things I ever did for my business and my students would agree too!

If you would like to try Instabook and see how it could work for your business – get in touch for a free branded preview today!

Tash