BookingKoala

From the first client to a full team of providers

Anyone can now set up a cleaning round, a pet sitting service or a repair business and look as professional as a much larger competitor. BookingKoala was built for that situation. Its makers say it grew out of running a service business of their own, and that more than 20,000 people in different industries and countries now use it. The company is clear that it sees the product as more than online booking software: it is meant to cover marketing, sales, management and day-to-day convenience in one account.

Three kinds of account

The platform separates the people involved in a booking. Providers, the staff who do the work, get their own accounts where they can see bookings, payments, tips and ratings, and the business owner decides how much access they receive. Customers have an account too, where they can view and change their appointments, make new ones, refer friends and buy gift cards. The merchant account is where the owner runs everything, and it can be used from a desktop, tablet or mobile phone.

Website builder and booking forms

A business with no website can create one with the built-in builder, and a business that already has a site can place BookingKoala booking forms on it. The company says either route can be working in under a minute, and it publishes example sites made with the builder. Other listed features include an admin dashboard, themes, referrals, coupons and a rating system.

Scheduling, hiring and campaigns

Scheduling is described as the part that makes growth manageable, since rescheduling comes up every day and both the owner and the customer should be able to find an open slot at once. A hiring module gives a business automated application forms that collect and sort candidates, which suits firms that need to recruit providers regularly. A campaigns feature uses the emails and phone numbers collected through bookings to send automated or manual emails and text messages later.

Learning and support

Education material includes guides, growth stories on a video channel and an instant demo. A free trial of fourteen days has been offered. Help is given by email at any hour, and the company also runs a Facebook community where members answer one another, sometimes within minutes by its account.

BookingKoala is a platform for running and growing a service business, covering online booking, scheduling and team management. The company says it has been used by more than 20,000 people across industries and countries.

What BookingKoala does

• Website builder and booking forms: build a site or add booking forms to an existing one.
• Smart scheduling: makes finding and changing slots quick as the business grows.
• Hiring module: forms with automation to capture and filter job applicants.
• Campaigns: automated or manual emails and texts to collected contacts.
• Separate accounts: providers see bookings, tips and ratings; customers manage appointments and refer friends; merchants run the whole business from desktop, tablet or mobile.

Who it serves

Service businesses of any size, from a first client to a full team, including pet sitting firms.

Key facts

• Access: desktop, tablet and mobile
• Support: email, plus a Facebook community