Veribook

Passport acceptance offices and small businesses that take appointments use Veribook, an online scheduling and appointment booking service. It shows a business's real-time availability so that clients can book without phoning, and it is designed with small businesses in mind. The company behind it, Amobius Group, is a privately held Canadian corporation founded in 2009 that develops and licenses productivity tools for businesses worldwide. The company says Veribook has clients in more than 15 countries.

Passport offices that cut phone scheduling

Scheduling passport appointments by phone ties up lines and consumes valuable staff time. Veribook gives passport acceptance offices a way to take bookings online at any hour, whether the office has a single clerk or serves a busy city centre from several locations. The company says it takes time to understand each office's needs before setting the system up.

How clients book and what the office sets up

Clients indicate how many people are attending, choose an open time slot and supply the details the business asks for, including answers to specific questions and completed forms. Individual and group appointments are supported, including bookings for a family. The system confirms each appointment and sends reminders without any staff involvement, and clients can cancel or reschedule themselves.

Payments, reminders and calendar links

Clients can pay in advance by credit card or PayPal, and the service works on smartphones and tablets. Veribook integrates with Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook, and the company says setup takes minutes once the booking pages are linked to an existing website. Emails, booking forms and landing pages can be customized to suit the business.